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| Thread ID: 79069 | 2007-05-07 05:29:00 | Has Microsoft changed vista OEM rules? | Morgenmuffel (187) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 547971 | 2007-05-07 05:29:00 | Hi all I have read on a couple of forums that microsofts policy on OEM has changed In that if you are using an OEM version of Vista and you upgrade your computer hardware you don't need to buy a new copy provided you deactivate the original version and then reactive it on the new hardware, Is this true, i have probably explained it badly but I would like to know either way. Cheers |
Morgenmuffel (187) | ||
| 547972 | 2007-05-07 05:36:00 | Hi all I have read on a couple of forums that microsofts policy on OEM has changed In that if you are using an OEM version of Vista and you upgrade your computer hardware you don't need to buy a new copy provided you deactivate the original version and then reactive it on the new hardware, Is this true, i have probably explained it badly but I would like to know either way. Cheers I suspect you are getting confused with the fact that MS had inferred that what we currently recognise as OEM restrictions would apply to ALL installations of Vista (including full retail versions.) They backed down on this prior to Vista's release however. |
Miami Steve (2128) | ||
| 547973 | 2007-05-07 05:50:00 | Hi Steve No i realised that part, but i have seen people asking about OEM vs full retail and being told that there is no difference apart from packaging and support and that the OEM supports being moved to different computers, which is not currently case with XP or 2000 and it seemed all a bit to good to be true, (I want it to be true) heres one thread i read (www.geekzone.co.nz) |
Morgenmuffel (187) | ||
| 547974 | 2007-05-07 05:57:00 | That's interesting. However, it was strange that so many posters on there did not comprehend the difference between OEM and retail versions of software. I'll be interested to hear what others have to say on this. | Miami Steve (2128) | ||
| 547975 | 2007-05-07 19:54:00 | but i have seen people asking about OEM vs full retail and being told that there is no difference apart from packaging and support and that the OEM supports being moved to different computers, (I want it to be true) [/URL] So make it true. I am of the opinion that if you have bought Windows whether it was OEM or not, and the PC you had it on no longer exists, then you should be able to re-use it on the new PC. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 547976 | 2007-05-07 20:08:00 | I have Vista Ultimate Retail EN, and there is no limit to how many times I can activate it: " How many times can I install Windows on my computer before I have to activate Windows again? You can reinstall Windows on the same computer as many times as you want because activation pairs the Windows product key with information about your computer’s hardware. If you make a significant hardware change, you might have to activate Windows again." Hope this -from Vista Help files -answers your question |
georgeks (9122) | ||
| 547977 | 2007-05-07 20:51:00 | Without searching I think the change in policy you are thinking of is that once OEM Vista would have been tied to the original motherboard it was activated on. If that died you'd need a new copy of Vista. MS conceded that a faulty MB could be replaced. | PaulD (232) | ||
| 547978 | 2007-05-08 07:36:00 | As far as I know, you can't buy a copy of a MS OS to be used as you please. What you buy is a licence to use the OS in accordance with the End User Agreement, and MS throw in a physical medium containing the software. Microsoft get to write the terms of the agreement. You get the option of agreeing to the terms. ;) The consumer versions are licenced for use on one computer. The activation procedure gives MS quite a lot of ability to enforce that. Whether you can reactivate the same OS on changed hardware is up to MS. Allowing you to change the motherboard would probably (strictly) require the motherboard to be put in the same case, that is, in the "same computer". If the version of the OS is an "OEM" one, provided by MS to one of the larger manufacturers, it would be quite easy for MS to refuse activation on a motherboard not made for that computer manufacturer. They might even be able to check that it's the same model (though probably this wouldn't occur ... you'd get another licenced OS with the new computer). But if you want to install the OS you got with a Dell on your homebuilt computer, that's almost certainly against MS's rules, and easily preventable. |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 547979 | 2007-05-08 13:16:00 | I have the OEM version of Vista Ultimate and I have had no trouble reactivating it. I changed my motherboard and CPU after I had installed Vista because the hardware was not handling it very well, and the reactivation process was just like it is with XP. So either MS have changed their policy on OEM software or I got very lucky (the former is more likely :P). | kyranbrophy (12226) | ||
| 547980 | 2007-05-08 14:03:00 | OEM supports being moved to different computers, which is not currently case with XP or 2000 You can you just need to call Microsoft and they give you a new key to enter. Done this plenty of times with OEM Windows. |
trinsic (6945) | ||
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