Wednesday, September 21, 2011

How do I change my Windows XP/Office XP licenses without reformatting?

My church had loaned out a copy of Windows and Office to me but now they need those licenses back. How can I ';release'; the current licenses and purchase new ones without reformatting?How do I change my Windows XP/Office XP licenses without reformatting?
you can't return a licence, just return the cd to your church, if you want to buy a new licensed cd and re install xp, but back up your old version and don't do a clean install, just take the repair option.How do I change my Windows XP/Office XP licenses without reformatting?
Warning: The following answer involves editing the system registry. Do not do this unless you know what you are ding. Back up your registry first, then perform the following:



Open Start, Run, and type in regedit. Then go to HKey Local Machine / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / Current Version. Click on Current Version in the left pane. In the right pane, look for the key that says ';ProductId'; Double click ';ProductId'; and type in the license number of the new one that you bought.



Office will be a bit trickier - depends on what version you have. Here is the Microsoft article on how to do that:



http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895456

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