Quote Originally Posted by yebo
question lang po. dito kasi sa work we buy about 6 new computers a year to replace ageing units, and each new computer comes with an original windows cd. anyway, last time we had a delivery of 3 units i took one of the cds, with permission of course (dami na windows xp cd sa office and they only use the latest one for re-installing if ever). so ang tanong e eto: if that particular windows xp cd has been installed in one computer already will installing it in another computer make that computer a target for microsoft? windows xp pro bundled with sp2 nga pala.
It depends. Try to find out what kind of version the windows xp installed in your office. There are two kinds: volume license edition and retail edition. Retail requires validation through phone, internet, etc to activate Windows otherwise it will cease to function after 30 days (if you fail to activate it). For the volume license programs, here is what Microsoft has to say:


How does Microsoft Product Activation work?

Product Activation works by validating that the software's product key, required as part of product installation, has not been used on more PCs than is allowed by the software's end user license agreement (EULA). In general, Windows XP can be installed on one PC and Office 2003 or Office XP can be installed on one PC and the laptop computer used by the user of the one PC. (For specifics, please see the EULA accompanying your product.) Product key information, in the form of the product ID, is sent along with a "hardware hash" (a non-unique number generated from the PC's hardware configuration) to Microsoft's activation system during activation. In Windows XP SP1, the product key itself is sent in addition to the product ID. Activation is completed either directly via the Internet or by a telephone call to a customer service representative. Activations on the same PC using the same product key are unlimited. Product Activation discourages piracy by limiting the number of times a product key can be activated on different PCs.
Which customers will be required to activate?

Product activation will not be required for licenses acquired by a customer through one of Microsoft's volume licensing programs such as Open License or Select License. Volume licensing programs can scale to even the smallest of businesses, as customers can qualify for the Microsoft Open License program by acquiring as few as five product licenses.