Can I do this? (computer question)?

I have a desk top and my anti-virus expired. I don't do much surfacing. Just the ones I know for business. I bought a lap HP pavillion just a week ago and had some software like anti-ware and Norton security and some other stuff installed in it. I came home and discovered the diskes were still there in the box but were opened and used/installed on my laptop. Can I still use those diskes on my desktop too? will it work again?

Can I do this? (computer question)?virus removal

If the software came pre-installed on your new machine then it is most likely is is OEM licensed software. In this case you are NOT allowed to install it on any other machine under the terms of the agreement on the packaging. If the software is retail software (like you would buy off the shelf), and this could be found out by reading the small print on the box, then you CAN install it on another machine, but ONLY if you have first uninstalled the copy on the first machine.

The only case where you can install software on multiple machines is when the license is for a network or multiple installations (and this is unlikely for a boxed product).

All that said, you probably actually can install it on the second machine and get a free year's protection before being forced to renew or upgrade, which you will have to pay for anyway.

I personally would uninstall Norton (because it is a resource hog and crashes your desktop all the time) and install something like AVG (do a google for "avg free"). You can even pay for AVG if you prefer, and get all the support etc, and it is still cheaper than Norton.