Ableton Forum

So I am about to buy a new laptop.

What's the word on the Thinkpads?

If I ordered the Thinkpad with Vista, can I install the XP SP-2 of my old laptop on it or is it "tied to the machine it came with"?

Thank you so much!!!

Laura

My old ThinkPad was nice. Dunno about the new ones...

As for XP, there are (at least) three parts to your answer!

1) Legal. Microsoft may claim you cannot legally move a license from one machine to another (especially if it's an OEM version). However, in some territories, such restrictions may be porhibited, therefore a move would be legal.

2) Activation. You will probably need to reactivate your copy of XP. This may involve a phone call to Microsoft and answering a bunch of questions. However, I've never known them actually refuse reactivation. Some people recommend telling them that your motherboard failed, and that's why you need to reinstall it (again, especially if it's an OEM version).

3) Technical. You may find that there are no XP drivers for one or more of the components in your new PC. Check this out as much as possible first...

Good luck.

All you need is the thinkpad drivers for xp and a fresh new xp bootdisk.

go get your drivers for you model on the lenovo website.

if you need to recover yout ancient windows serial in the old machine use Jellybean keyfinder http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

best

-B

blank wrote:All you need is the thinkpad drivers for xp and a fresh new xp bootdisk.

go get your drivers for you model on the lenovo website.

if you need to recover yout ancient windows serial in the old machine use Jellybean keyfinder http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

best

-B

be wary.. could be correct.. could be that its vista oem and the serials will therefore NOT work with XP...

robbmasters wrote:
3) Technical. You may find that there are no XP drivers for one or more of the components in your new PC. Check this out as much as possible first...

In the case of lenovo/Ibm the xp drivers are avaible for every models of the moment.

-B

GUY SMILEY wrote:
be wary.. could be correct.. could be that its vista oem and the serials will therefore NOT work with XP...

Was talking about the old machine win xp serial.

Sure the vista one wont work

blank wrote:

GUY SMILEY wrote:
be wary.. could be correct.. could be that its vista oem and the serials will therefore NOT work with XP...

Was talking about the old machine win xp serial.

Sure the vista one wont work

oh sorry misunderstood. good tactic. would still need 'activation' though

IBM XP option http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... 19644D3694

Laura_Live wrote:So I am about to buy a new laptop.

What's the word on the Thinkpads?

If I ordered the Thinkpad with Vista, can I install the XP SP-2 of my old laptop on it or is it "tied to the machine it came with"?

Thank you so much!!!

Laura

If you buy a machine with a Microsoft operating system installed, it is almost certain that that copy of the operating system is tied to that particular machine and cannot be moved elsewhere.

That said, I bought a Thinkpad last year and am quite pleased with it.

You can also buy a xp licence that is not tied with any machine for a decent price I guess.

Probably the best solution.

-B

or buy one of the lenovo's that doesnt come with Vista - Im about to get one with XP professional installed instead of Vista! Its an R61i i think, just take a look down the list of products and see if you can find one with xp!

Thank you so much for the replies! Excellent forum

you'll also need to go into the bios and change the hard drive to "Compatibility mode" else the hard drive will not be recognized by xp on install.

I've been on a ThinkPad t60P for a year now, upgraded from a r40. The ThinkPads built by Lenovo are as solid as they ever were. I'd buy another again without thinking about it.