Windows XP
 

i have a prior copy i bought for my last build, if i buy a new hard drive, can i load that onto a new computer?

Yes, but you might have to call Microsoft and explain that it's a new PC if it's a legit version. It's only legal if you stop using the last PC though.

are u joking with me?

it's no joke.

hats kinda a jip

so sayi have a friend who has an XP disc installed on his computer sells that and installs the same disk on his new rig, is their anyway for windows to actually tell if my friend is doing this, and will my friend still get updates ect...

activation generates a unique ID based on the product key and hardware components, which M$ keeps in a database. if a copy has been activated on one machine, other activations will be denied.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302878

and u know whats even more annoying about this it's just as expensive to get another keycode as it is to get the damn software and keycode. completely unresonable

/rant

Activation is retarded, i agree. I've never had to activate a copy of windows in my life - <3 vlk.

PM me how to do that!

Nocando sorry, VLK stands for Volume License Key - businesses etc get these things which license entire suites of microsoft software, can't give mine out i'm afraid.