System Restore 1838
In regards to the actual question asked:
I'm aware of all that except the no information by phone part. Still, it seems asinine for them to let activations time out. But, as we all know, that doesn't...
I don't think you can use system restore the way you are asking. Even if you could (and if you mirror the drives) that copy of XP Pro is setup for different hardware (motherboard, sound card, network card etc). In rare cases I have actually seen people fry motherboards by trying to boot a copy of XP from a drive that was setup on different hardware. Long story short, you want to format the new systems and do a clean install of XP pro on them. It would be a good idea to use a drive image program to image the new drives before you do anything to them. That way if you later decide to sell the laptops, you can restore them to the original XP home software first and keep the Pro for yourself.
Hi all, My wife just got this computer, and I thought I'd give some feedback...
buttuming retail copies, you will need to call MS to get the keys for the copies of XP Pro you are transferring to the new systems "deactivated" before they can be activated on the new systems. If the XP Pro discs are Dell, then you won't need a key to install them and they won't need to be activated on Dell systems. But, as was already stated, that may not be legal. IMHO if you are throwing the old systems away, you purchased a license to use those two copies of XP Pro already and I wouldn't sweat it.
-Mike