How to Turn an Illegal Version of XP Legit

Reader Jason writes: On my computer at home, I have a copy of XP that a friend gave me.  It turns out that it is an illegal copy, which he claims he didnt know about, and I believe him on that. The other day I was walking through an office supply store when I saw they had copies of XP on sale for about $150. If I were to purchase the new copy, would I be able to get that on my PC without losing all my files and programs?

Good for you for doing the right thing. And of course, there's a practical reason for installing a legitimate copy of Windows instead of a pirated one: If Windows Genuine Advantage marks your copy as phony, it can wreak all kinds of havoc on your system.

Indeed, it's fairly simple for most users to transfer their existing copy of XP to a new, legal license key (or serial number, if you prefer). You can do this a number of ways ranging from difficult to very difficult, but the easy shortcut is to use Microsoft's own Key Update Tool. Just download the app by clicking here, run it once the download is complete, and follow the prompts. You'll be asked for the new license key (the 25-character sequence in your new XP packaging). Click Next then Finish and you're done. You'll have to restart your computer and activate Windows afterwards, and then everything should be running perfectly. Run Windows Update and validate your copy to make sure everything's on the up and up. You won't lose any data or programs at all.

Incidentally, this functionality is built right into Vista without extra software. Just go to the System control panel and click "Change product key" at the very bottom of the screen. That's it!