What makes a copy of XP Pro legal?

[kcbaltz]

I'd like to own a legal copy of XP Pro, so I've been searching lots of places. The major OEMs seem to agree on $140+, but I see copies going for ~$100 +s/h on Ebay, and Pricewatch has some vendors selling them as low as $80.

There are variations on what you get at various prices and I'm concerned about paying a lot for a potentially illegal copy. Is the Certificate of Authenticity enough, assuming I can get a copy of the CD elsewhere?

Edit:
I'm not looking for an academic version (unless someone knows a "school" I could register at in order to get the discount, but this seems like a shady route). And as far as I know, it's not legal to have someone who qualifies for the academic price buy it and give/sell it to someone else to use.

 

[rc23]

I think those $80-$100 copies of WinXP Pro are academic upgrade versions. To use them you have to have a previous copy of a MS O/S to upgrade from. Just like the regular WinXP Pro retail upgrade package (~$200). You also have to be a college student to buy it or at least you are supposed to be. No idea if Microsoft really checks to see if you are a student.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Text

 

[kcbaltz]

I still don't feel like we've had a definitive answer here, especially for non-academic licenses. I found a place, 9software.com, that sells the COAs from system pulls, and nothing else, no CD, no manual. They say you need to obtain a copy of the CD on your own. I assume they mean in order to perform the install, not to be legal. Thoughts?

 

[Navid]

One thing to kep in mind is XP activation.
You have to be careful from whom you are buying your XP.
If they have already activated the license and then sell it to you, you may have difficulty activating it on your machine.

Keep these in mind:

1- An OEM license is tied to a machine. It is not meant to be installed on any other machine even if the first machine dies!

2- A single (non-OEM) license can be installed on only one machine at a time. It can be installed on a second machine only if removed from the first.

3- When one activates a license on line or by phone, a record is created on a database somewhere (I don't know where). This record identifies the license and the hardware. It contains a code that can only be generated by the windows XP pogram installed on thet particular hardware.
If you attempt to activate the same license on another machine, a different code is sent since the hardware is different. The difference between the code that your XP sends with the code on the database will be detected and you will not be able to activate.


In short, I am warning you against buying a license from someone you do not know.