Hmmm....I chatted with a very friendly and helpful MS support rep last night
and confirmed that yes, the license can be transfered to the new machine, and
yes, the SP1 key will work with the SP2 CD.

He told me that if i ran into any trouble, I could contact him directly for
more help.

I know that the keys are not tied to specific CD's. They don't make a
specific CD for each key. I have used CD's for various keys before, but they
have all been SP2 to SP2.


PK

"Jerry" wrote:

> No, the key is tied to the installation CD - that's why slipstreaming to a
> later version maintains use of the original key.
>
> "Allochthonous" <Allochthonous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:4A1C3F63-299F-4EE0-AAC4-642A10352E35@microsoft.com...
> >I wanted to avoid the need to do that, if the SP2 key works with the SP1
> >CD.
> >
> >
> >
> > "Jerry" wrote:
> >
> >> You can slipstream SP2 or SP3 into the original XP Home CD, either one,
> >> and
> >> burn a new XP Home w/SP2/3 CD and go from there.
> >>
> >> Google slipstreaming for how to do it.
> >>
> >> Google AutoStreamer for a program that will make it much easier.
> >>
> >> "Allochthonous" <Allochthonous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
> >> message
> >> news:9D57E5B2-7319-4E87-9B8B-59F138BA4617@microsoft.com...
> >> >I have two copies of XP Home Upgrade, one with SP2 and one without,
> >> >installed
> >> > on older machines.
> >> >
> >> > I am going to sacrifice one install, which happens to be the SP1
> >> > version,
> >> > for a dual boot setup on a new laptop. I know that I need to remove
> >> > the
> >> > install from the original machine, but other than that the license
> >> > should
> >> > be
> >> > transferable without any problems, right? I do have a previous copy of
> >> > Windows to use for verification in the install process.
> >> >
> >> > My other question is this: Can I use the XP with SP2 CD with the XP
> >> > with
> >> > SP1 key? I have a standalone SP2 CD, so it's not a huge deal if I
> >> > can't,
> >> > but
> >> > it sure would be easier if i can install straight to SP2.
> >> >
> >> > Thanks.
> >> >
> >> > PK
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>