Question about selling hard drive from parted desktop

[casey-86]

I recently bought an old desktop from a yard sale that I'm going to part out and sell the parts on eBay. Only paid $5 for it and figured I could make about $40. Anyway I tested it first and it boots up normally and smooth. The hard drive has Windows XP installed and has been factory reset. The Windows XP sticker that verifies it is a genuine copy is on top of the desktop. Do I need to remove this sticker and include it with the hard drive? I've never sold a hard drive before so I just want to be sure I do it right before I sell it. Thanks

[Anonymous]

How big is the hard drive? make/model?

Search the completed listings to see what they sell for, I would not sell it loaded with an OS but rather get a zero fill program to run a complete test then wipe it.

You may or may not run into trouble by selling it with the authenticity code that doesn't match the ancillary hardware that was originally installed to activate that version of Win-XP.

The hard drive is only one of the components that the previously activate key looks at, others parts may include the modem, network card, CDrom, etc. If all those pieces are not present in the buyer's machine then the operating system will shut down after 30 days.

There are ways around that but doubt the headache for the few extra dollars would be worth it - or in some cases may not even be legal to transfer.

[casey-86]

I'm not selling the computer. I want to take the parts out and sell them then throw the empty chassis away. Isn't there a way to see if the OS installed on the hard drive matches the authentication sticker on the desktop?

[Anonymous]

Please re-read what I said, or if I was not clear - the already activated authenticated XP code is only good for all the integral components of the computer as a whole, the hard drive is only one of those and will not qualify on its own to the new buyer without problems or repercussions.

As said before I don't think it is worth the effort for the future problems you may get.

[casey-86]

Well when I search for the model computer on eBay I see all kinds of different auctions of parts and components to it. The computer is a HP xw4400 Workstation. Its not worth enough to sell the desktop because its heavy and shipping would be too much. Did I buy it for nothing or what?

[Anonymous]

You can part it out, motherboard, ram, etc, or hard drive but was just warning you that the XP OS has only been activated to the system as a whole, not as a piece. Forget about selling the key unless the person you are selling the drive to understands that they will need to contact Microsoft to use that OS key in any other hardware configuration other than what was originally in that boxed system.

Some people may be looking for an XP key so it may just work out, check the sales to see if it is worth the headache as a 160gigabyte hard drive may not be worth much.

Just know that unless it is an OEM key it will not work with custom configurations, otherwise, the new customer must contact Microsoft for an exception, which they only allow a few times over the life of the license.

do you have an auction link to a hard drive that already has an XP os already installed?

[casey-86]

I'm not selling the key. I was asking if I sell the hard drive if I should include that sticker with it. I was thinking of just selling all of the parts together. Would that be fine? The desktop weighs at least 30 pounds but the parts would only weigh a couple pounds so shipping wise that would be better. I only paid $5 for the desktop so it wouldn't be much of a loss if I just discarded it but I would like to try to get something out of it.

[omgitlightsup]

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@casey-86 wrote:

I'm not selling the key. I was asking if I sell the hard drive if I should include that sticker with it. I was thinking of just selling all of the parts together. Would that be fine? The desktop weighs at least 30 pounds but the parts would only weigh a couple pounds so shipping wise that would be better. I only paid $5 for the desktop so it wouldn't be much of a loss if I just discarded it but I would like to try to get something out of it.

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Per MS's EULA, you  are not permitted to sell the sticker. It's an OEM license that is not transferrable, pretty much.

You can certainly imply that Windows is installed on the drive, and a savvy user would be able to get it working pretty easily... but you're asking for trouble for an item that isn't worth the hassle should your buyer make a case out of it. 

On craigslist or at a yard sale, then the sticker would absolutely be a value-added feature... but on eBay it can only cause you heartache and you should leave it out of the equation entirely. I'd recommend erasing the drive and reporting that it has (hopefully) zero bad sectors.

[goldenicp]

If it was me, I would not include the CD Key with it. Just toss it. It is a hassle for the buyer to get that key reactivated assuming the drive will be on a new motherboard. It is a good chance anyways that Microsoft moved away from that old operating system anyways and will not provide any support for it.

Reformat the drive and check the drive for any errors or bad sectors before selling. Hope this helps.

[dennisdotdeckmann]

An option would be to load linux on it...

[omgitlightsup]

It's a trivial task to get an XP image and find a stolen key that will work. Your buyer will be able to install that OS if he wants it. Having the sticker doesn't add much value and it is inviting some screwy buyer to claim it doesn't work because XP won't boot on their machine.

Running XP today is pretty tricky anyway; you have to do some hacking to get it to work because MS has officially pronounced it dead. You need to import some components of the point-of-sale OS and trick it into thinking it's a cash register.

If you do a deep scan of the drive you'll wipe its contents and simultaneously verify that it has no bad sectors. That won't save you from a SNAD if the buyer can't make it work, but it might encourage someone to bid a little bit more.