XP License Question.

[iamskew]

Ok, here's my situation:

I had a computer that I bought from CyberPower PC. It came with Windows XP Home and the License. That computer was destroyed in a power surge/lightning strike. I am now building a new computer, and I don't want to buy Windows again if I don't have to. Will I be able to use my Windows XP Home license again on my new computer because the old computer was destroyed?

If that is not possible, then the other question I want to ask is as follows:

I have a laptop that also came with Windows XP Home. At my university, I bought a software bundle that included Windows XP Pro and Office XP. I installed both of them on my laptop. I have no idea why I installed pro on my laptop, I know it was idiotic. Now, if I were to reformat my laptop and just use the Windows XP Home version that came with it, could I then use the XP Pro from school on my new computer?

Thank you much for your help, it is much appreciated.

skew.

P.S. They only Microsoft technical support I can find is like $29.95 per incident from Microsoft, or like .99 cents a minute with third party tech support. I don't want to pay $30, especially if they tell me I have to buy Windows again, or even if they tell me it's okay to reuse. Does anyone know a toll-free way to contact Microsoft?

 

[tyanni]

Yes, you can use the XP Pro you got from Cyberpower. It should work fine, it may ask you to activate again. The worst thing that would happen is you'd need to call microsoft (via toll free number they give you when you are prompted to call them to activate).

Yes, again. Same as with above.

 

[MrChad]

Technically, OEM license agreements require that you only install Windows on the machine that you purchased the OS with. I don't know if there are any provisions in case the PC is destroyed. Some OEMs (e.g. Dell) bundle special XP CDs that will not allow you to install on other machines. I doubt that CyberPower has done anything similar.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with either of the scenarios you described.

 

[Sideswipe001]

You should be able to use Pro on your desktop and Home on the laptop. You will most likely have to call and activate both though.

And yes, you can re-use it if the computer get fried. The only time I've heard of XP not installnig right on a new computer is if you use a version that came with a Dell/Gateway type computer.

 

[iamskew]

I finally found a number for the microsoft licensing department. They said that if I get a new motherboard, which I obviously will be, then I have to buy a new copy of windows xp, so that puts the cyberpower version out of use for me. I asked thema bout the second scenario, and they said if I remove xp pro from my laptop then I can use it on my new pc.

I hope this guy was telling me the correct information, because I'm gonna use the money I would have spent on windows xp to get a better video card with the new pc i'm building. If he's wrong, then i'll be overbudget and have a pc with no operating system

Thank you both for posting, I really appreciate the quick response.

I'll keep my fingers crossed,
skew

 

[iamskew]

thanks to you too sideswipe, you posted as i was posting

 

[drag]

For future reference the difference in price between the OEM version and the Retail version is caused by the differences in liscence.

The OEM is to be sold to you when you buy a computer or parts to build a computer. Once installed it is tied to that computer if you need to use it on a different computer then you have to buy a new OEM liscence.

If their is a dispute on what constitutes a "new" computer, then the deciding factor is the motherboard. If you replace the mobo then that means it's a new computer to microsoft.

When you buy a Retail version then that liscence is tied to you and not your computer. You can install it on many computers, but only one at a time.

Plus it makes you eligable for a "upgrade". Which is you purchase a liscence upgrade that would allow you to install a newer version of the software.

So if you buy a Retail version of WinXP and Microsoft offers a upgrade option for whatever Longhorn will end up being then you can install Longhorn on your computer at a greatly reduced price. So basicly that would be a retail version of Longhorn as long as you promise not to reinstall your retail version of XP.

If you buy a OEM liscence you will not be eligable for a "upgrade" so when you want to install "longhorn" thru a upgrade (the upgrade may never exist, but it's normal for MS to do that) you have to buy a entirely new liscence.

So obviously it's much more desirable for a computer geek to buy retail version if you can afford it.

 

[MtnMan]

The greed of micro$oft knows no bounds. Ethically I believe that you own XP, and it should not be tied to a motherboard or anyother hardware componet, which micro$oft knows has a probability of failure at some point. I would certianly work with it, perhaps by re-using the HD out of the old system (where m$'s code is actually stored) and if you get it running, great, and if you do, don't loose sleep thinking about how you deprived Bill Gates of a few dollars.

 

[iamskew]

drag, good info, thanks for posting it. Mtn Man...microsoft is quite greedy...perhaps that's why we have anti-trust laws in this country...too bad they aren't enforced.

 

[drag]

There are legal limits to what MS can do, and they do surpass them.

But if they aren't going to tell you want they can and cannot enforce then what do most people know?

Lots of this stuff goes on. Like copying media for different uses. It is legal to copy DVD's for backups, even if you have to break encryption to do it. It's legal to make mix tapes and let your freinds have a couple mp3's you ripped from a music CD. It's legal to record TV shows, strip out commercials then watch them with your buddies.

They (big companies with intrests they try to protect) will tell you that you can't do stuff like that, but it's all legally protected rights.

And I do beleive that the OEM liscence is something that that is legally unenforcable. But it's a liscence you agree too (but that doesn't nessicarially make it legally binding if it's unreasonable in the first place), and you can't force MS to activate it if they refuse.

I think it's still within your legal rights to install it on a different computer or transfer it to another user. Of course if they refuse to activate it you could probably sue them or something, but it's doubtfull that it would ever be worth it, unless your a big company and are getting fined/sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars for liscencing agreement breaches. And that would be iffy.

Maybe that's were legal piracy could take place, I don't know. I wouldn't do it, I just don't put up with crap like that (I am a linux user). And I am not a lawyer, so you should take anything I say as real advice, just opinion.

Personally I think it's all BS.

 

[iamskew]

Hmm...somewhat bad news. I was reading through the license agreement for the xp pro from my school It says "Students are entitled to purchase one license for one computer under the Campus License agreement." However, a friend of mine said he used his xp pro cd purchased the same way as mine in a similar siutation and his activated just fine.

Should I be worried? I really can't go overbudget, so I'm trying not to screw up.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: drag
It is legal to copy DVD's for backups, even if you have to break encryption to do it.

Are you sure about that? According to the DMCA:

No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.

Text

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: iamskew
Hmm...somewhat bad news. I was reading through the license agreement for the xp pro from my school It says "Students are entitled to purchase one license for one computer under the Campus License agreement." However, a friend of mine said he used his xp pro cd purchased the same way as mine in a similar siutation and his activated just fine.

Should I be worried? I really can't go overbudget, so I'm trying not to screw up.

It's a question of legality and ethics. Like I said earlier, there is nothing preventing you from pursuing either scenario. IMO, as long as you are not installing a copy of XP on multiple computers simultaneously, you shouldn't be worried about using a license purchased for one computer on another. People do a lot worse when it comes to illegal versions of XP.

That said, if you were in a corporate environment where auditing might occur, I would be much more careful about license compliance.

 

[drag]

It is legal to copy DVD's for backups, even if you have to break encryption to do it.

Are you sure about that? According to the DMCA:

No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.

It doesn't matter. The DMCA has had some exceptions added to it.

Anyways, it's one law conflicting with another law even if it's the DMCA. You DO have legal rights to copy media, you bought it and you can make copies.

It's classic stuff, fair use concepts and protections are a legal standard, a legal precedent going back hundreds of years. (probably) and has been writen down as a legal protection.

Plus the DMCA has a clause that exceptions can be made if gone thru a proper precedure, and this could be one of them. It has been accepted that for instance you can backward engineer encrypted stuff for research/education even though under the letter of the law it was initially illegal. For the ability to distribute/use the actual code for doing this, like the libdvdcss code, has been stood up in court because it's so prevelent that it's public knowledge thru a judge's ruling..

But yet again I am no lawyer. I am just a normal American with a very bad attitude. If a law is BS, I am not going to respect it or follow it if I can help it. Natural rights of man are above that of the laws of the government or even the constitution (being self-evident and endowed by our creator and all that happy stuff).

See? Bad attitude. I just don't care in situations like this. It makes me angry.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: iamskew
Hmm...somewhat bad news. I was reading through the license agreement for the xp pro from my school It says "Students are entitled to purchase one license for one computer under the Campus License agreement." However, a friend of mine said he used his xp pro cd purchased the same way as mine in a similar siutation and his activated just fine.

Should I be worried? I really can't go overbudget, so I'm trying not to screw up.

It's a question of legality and ethics. Like I said earlier, there is nothing preventing you from pursuing either scenario. IMO, as long as you are not installing a copy of XP on multiple computers simultaneously, you shouldn't be worried about using a license purchased for one computer on another. People do a lot worse when it comes to illegal versions of XP.

That said, if you were in a corporate environment where auditing might occur, I would be much more careful about license compliance.

I don't know in a situation like this one. I'd call MS and ask them if the liscence for a student is a considured a OEM one when it comes to re-activation on a different computer , or is it like a retail version(providing you format the first one of course)?

I never read anything about student liscences.

I had a free liscence given to me for W2k Pro/W2k Server/W2k advanced server/W2k advanced database server to be installed on my computer. It was completely free, and I was given a install CDROM with various activation codes for the various stuff. (I installed adv. database server eventaully). I also got a free install of WinXP.

My agreement was that I'd install them, and was eligable for downloads and limited support for the time I was attending school. After I finished school I could keep them installed and use them for my own purposes, but I couldn't reinstall/reactivate it and I couldn't redistribute it or resell it.

But mine was free, yours is a different agreement.

 

[iamskew]

I caved in and called the Office of Info Tech at my university. They said if I removed windows xp pro from my laptop, then i could install it on my new desktop. I'm gonna take their word for it. Thanks for your help everyone. I hope this is all settled now.

 

[stash]

I had a free liscence given to me for W2k Pro/W2k Server/W2k advanced server/W2k advanced database server to be installed on my computer

What is W2k advanced database server?

And, I don't mean to be grammar cop here, but the word is license No offense.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: STaSh

I had a free liscence given to me for W2k Pro/W2k Server/W2k advanced server/W2k advanced database server to be installed on my computer

What is W2k advanced database server?

And, I don't mean to be grammar cop here, but the word is license No offense.

Sorry I remembered it wrong. I always thought of it like that because the naming... w2k, w2k server, w2k advanced server, w2k advanced database center.

But they were actually:
W2k pro
W2k server
W2k advanced server
W2k datacenter server

But it was actually Windows 2000 Datacenter server. Supported up to something like 32 proccessors or something like that. It cost serveral thousand dollars if I remember correctly. You don't see it mentioned much anywere. Ran like @ss on my computer (1.13ghz, 256megs). But I expected it to.

windows datacenter

And as far as spelling? It's a lesser one of my many vices, I am not too concerned about it as long as the message gets across.

 

[stash]

Ha, yes I know what datacenter is It is intended to be sold with specific hardware, which is why it runs like crap on your system. You can't buy Datacenter separately.

 

[Nothinman]

The greed of micro$oft knows no bounds

Don't buy their software if you don't like their licenses.

Ethically I believe that you own XP, and it should not be tied to a motherboard or anyother hardware componet, which micro$oft knows has a probability of failure at some point.

That's the difference between an OEM license and a 'normal' license, the OEM one is tied to a piece of hardware and if that hardware fails you have to get a replacement from the equipment manufacturer to legally use the software that came with it.

Anyways, it's one law conflicting with another law even if it's the DMCA. You DO have legal rights to copy media, you bought it and you can make copies.

It's classic stuff, fair use concepts and protections are a legal standard, a legal precedent going back hundreds of years. (probably) and has been writen down as a legal protection.

So far no rulings have been made either way, just ask 321 Studios.

 

[Sianath]

Microsoft Licensing: 800-426-9400

It's free, and they'll answer any and all licensing questions you have.

OEM licenses are more restrictive than retail licenses, that's why they are cheaper.

 

[iamskew]

thanks

 

[Sianath]

Anytime.