CREATING A PASSWORD RESET DISK ON A COMPUTER THAT IS A MEMBER OF A WOR...

2-9Lesson 1 Preparing for Installation

How Microsoft Grants Software Licenses

A software license grants a user the right to run an application. Microsoft grants soft-

ware licenses in one of three ways:

Full Packaged Product A Full Packaged Product is boxed software like you would

buy in a retail store. Full Packaged Products are intended for consumers who need

to purchase a small quantity of software licenses. When you install the Full Pack-

aged Product version of Windows XP Professional, Setup asks you to enter a prod-

uct ID (a 25-digit code found on the product packaging) during installation. You

must also activate Windows XP Professional after installation.

Original Equipment Manufacturer or System Builder Original Equipment Manu-

facturer (OEM) and System Builder licenses are acquired when you buy a com-

puter that already has software installed. Typically, you do not have to activate this

type of license.

Volume Licensing Microsoft Volume Licensing programs are intended for consum-

ers who need to purchase large quantities of software licenses, such as in a small

business or corporate environment. When a company has a volume license for

Windows XP Professional, the installation files are typically made available for

installation over the network. Product IDs and product activation are not required.

Practice: Prepare for Installation

In this practice, you will determine whether your computer meets the minimum

requirements specified by Microsoft to run Windows XP Professional and whether the

hardware in your computer is in the Windows Catalog. Complete the two exercises that

follow.