How to "uninstall" Windows XP Pro from a HD?

[mysticfm]

My hard drive (only 8 months old or so) is on its last legs. I have the replacement in hand. However, my Windows XP is an OEM version I got from mwave.com (along with the original barebone, which did NOT include the hard drive by the way). I've read that I can legally continue to use the same OEM version on a new hard drive as long as the MB is still the one that the OEM version originally came with (which it is), but that it is best to "uninstall" Windows from the old hard drive first.

Here's the trouble: I don't know how to legally "uninstall' Windows XP in a way that Microsoft will recognize! In the past I'd just pull out and throw away a failing drive, but is there now some way that I can and should "uninstall" or at least "de-register" Windows XP on the failing drive before I pull it out and get rid of it?

Rapid advice would be greatly appreciated, as the drive is quite literally within hours or even minutes of of dying in my belief, so if I'm going to be able to "uninstall" Windows XP, I need to do it ASAP.

Thanks for any help!

- David

 

[Woody419]

No need to uninstall. Just image your current drive to a new drive and you are good to go.

 

[mysticfm]

I'd rather start from scratch, since in the process of dying this current hard drive has already lost some files that are a part of Windows, and I really don't trust the state of the OS on it anymore. Also, I doubt very much that the hard drive would keep running throughout the process of imaging all of its remaining contents.

Edit: I just called Microsoft, and apparently the online advice I'd read about this was wrong. There is no way to "uninstall" or "deactivate" Windows XP (as far as licensing issues go, that is). For an OEM version, I've been told I just have to call the MS activation department after the installation so they can take care of it. Which is fine with me, I guess ... I just wanted to make it easier than that if there was a way to do so.

 

[timswim78]

You will probably be able to reactivate online.

 

[JW310]

Originally posted by: timswim78
You will probably be able to reactivate online.

You're probably right. With just the hard drive being replaced, you shouldn't have a problem reactivating it online. There shouldn't be a significant enough of a hardware change to need to call to reactivate.

JW

 

[Aisengard]

I think you get like 11 online activations for each OEM Windows code.

 

[mysticfm]

To elaborate a bit, the MS rep told me that you get exactly *one* online activation for an OEM version, regardless of hardware changes. But you guys are right and she was wrong ... online activation DID work. I guess it was because the machine had remained unchanged for enough months, and the only item that changed this week was the hard drive, so maybe it didn't see enough of a difference to have a problem with it. Anyway, crisis averted.

 

[dragonlord2112]

As far as you old HD, search for the "Ultimate Boot Disk". It's an ISO you put on a CD and it has some great programs to completely wipe off that drive.