Will a Dell OS work on a custom built PC?

[MrZucchiniHead]

i really want to reformat my hard drive, but if i do that then ill have to use up my only extra copy of windows XP. lord anthrax told me not to quotehim, but i am. he said "there's something in the registry on the dell copy of windows that only works with dell motherboard" but neither him or I was sure if it was true.

does anyone know if this is true? cause if it isn't, im not gonna reformat and save $90 when building my computer, unless XP professional is so much better than home.

 

[Snake-Eyes]

I think Anthrax is right. BTW, with Windows retail CD copies, you have to activate, but you do NOT have to register online (i'm pretty sure that's the order). Nice little hint to know.

 

[dwarf]

yes, I tried a spare Dell XP install disc when I was first setting up my custom build ( I borrowed my mother's boyfriend's, honest! ) anywho, an error message came up, saying something along the lines of "This Installation-Disc is meant only for use with Dell brand machines." Now my optical drive is TAINTED!! UNCLEAN!!

 

[IfYouHaveToAsk]

i managed to do it with a 2002 dell xp home edition disk on my custom pc, activated fine as well with the dell product key but i guess i was lucky, since my friend tried with his laptop key and his old dell desktop keys and they both failed.

 

[infiltrator7]

my friend bought one of those cheapy dell OEM xp home cd's from some guy on the internet. It was a cd that came with a dell or hp or something, and it worked fine for him.