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XP OEM - Interesting conversation with MS employee
Last night I upgraded a customers machine with new motherboard, cpu, memory,
video card, netcard and soundcard. The only thing that was the same was the HDD, dvd drive, tape backup and scsi card. I was having trouble with the internet so I phoned MS to activate XP again. After it activated I asked him what the limit is to hardware change before XP won't activate. He said that XP oem has to always remain on the same PC to be activated. In return I asked "what constitutes the same PC?". He kept going around in circles and not answering my question and just stating that it has to always remain on the same PC. He never gave me a definition of what "same PC" means. In the end I asked if it was more of a policy than a technical limitation and he said "thank you for calling microsoft to activate your software" and hung up! I suspect that means that it can be installed on a completely new machine and will activate ok. Is that true? |
#2
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"Michael C" wrote Last night I upgraded a customers machine with new motherboard, cpu, memory, video card, netcard and soundcard. The only thing that was the same was the HDD, dvd drive, tape backup and scsi card. I was having trouble with the internet so I phoned MS to activate XP again. After it activated I asked him what the limit is to hardware change before XP won't activate. He said that XP oem has to always remain on the same PC to be activated. In return I asked "what constitutes the same PC?". He kept going around in circles and not answering my question and just stating that it has to always remain on the same PC. He never gave me a definition of what "same PC" means. In the end I asked if it was more of a policy than a technical limitation and he said "thank you for calling microsoft to activate your software" and hung up! I suspect that means that it can be installed on a completely new machine and will activate ok. Is that true? Good guess. See http://www.microscum.com/mmpafaq/ for more details. Alias |
#4
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"Leythos" wrote in message
... You've asked/speculated two different things: 1) What are the rules 2) What can you get away with One has little to do with the other, the other has a lot to do with the one, you can read it as you want That's exactly what I asked him. I asked "if it was more of a policy than a technical limitation". I don't want to pirate XP but if a customer has bought XP I'd like to know what I can do to their machine before a new copy is required. If XP hadn't worked after their machine was upgraded it would have been a problem and it would have been good for me to know before hand. I probably should have found out earlier but there are so many things I should have found out earlier and MS don't make it easy sometimes. Anyway, it looks like I can do whatever I want to the machine and it will still work, which is a good thing. :-) Michael |
#5
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In article ,
says... "Leythos" wrote in message ... You've asked/speculated two different things: 1) What are the rules 2) What can you get away with One has little to do with the other, the other has a lot to do with the one, you can read it as you want That's exactly what I asked him. I asked "if it was more of a policy than a technical limitation". I don't want to pirate XP but if a customer has bought XP I'd like to know what I can do to their machine before a new copy is required. If XP hadn't worked after their machine was upgraded it would have been a problem and it would have been good for me to know before hand. I probably should have found out earlier but there are so many things I should have found out earlier and MS don't make it easy sometimes. Anyway, it looks like I can do whatever I want to the machine and it will still work, which is a good thing. :-) Actually, you can call MS and ask for Licensing information, not the activation drones, MS proper and ask for a email/document explaining licensing. Now, after I've said this, you are also going to get people telling you that you can do what you want as MS has never taken any personal user/installer to court over multiple installs against a single key/license. In the grand scheme of software licensing, it's up to you to determine what is right/wrong and what you feel you can get away with. Some of us are hard-line and purchase a OEM copy considering that additional MS documents call the Motherboard the defining component, while others look at the EULA and say that the power cord could be the single defining component. It's all in what you are comfortable with until you ASK MS legal what they mean. -- -- remove 999 in order to email me |
#6
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Leythos wrote:
In article , says... "Leythos" wrote in message ... You've asked/speculated two different things: 1) What are the rules 2) What can you get away with One has little to do with the other, the other has a lot to do with the one, you can read it as you want That's exactly what I asked him. I asked "if it was more of a policy than a technical limitation". I don't want to pirate XP but if a customer has bought XP I'd like to know what I can do to their machine before a new copy is required. If XP hadn't worked after their machine was upgraded it would have been a problem and it would have been good for me to know before hand. I probably should have found out earlier but there are so many things I should have found out earlier and MS don't make it easy sometimes. Anyway, it looks like I can do whatever I want to the machine and it will still work, which is a good thing. :-) Actually, you can call MS and ask for Licensing information, not the activation drones, MS proper and ask for a email/document explaining licensing. Now, after I've said this, you are also going to get people telling you that you can do what you want as MS has never taken any personal user/installer to court over multiple installs against a single key/license. In the grand scheme of software licensing, it's up to you to determine what is right/wrong and what you feel you can get away with. Some of us are hard-line and purchase a OEM copy considering that additional MS documents call the Motherboard the defining component, while others look at the EULA and say that the power cord could be the single defining component. It's all in what you are comfortable with until you ASK MS legal what they mean. LOL! The End User never agree to that post EULA password-protected webpage that makes the unsubstantiated claim that the MOBO is the defining component! And different MS employees tell a different story about at what point does upgrading components constitute a new and different computer. Leythos you really should just give it up! The OP actually talked to a MS employee and couldn't get a straight answer out of him. And why is that? Because MS rather keep the FUD surrounding when upgrading a computer turns it into another computer by defining it in the EULA. MS KNOWS if pressed their POST EULA FUD is in no way enforceable. -- Peace! Kurt Self-anointed Moderator microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea http://microscum.com/mscommunity "Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron! "Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei" |
#7
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In article ,
says... And different MS employees tell a different story about at what point does upgrading components constitute a new and different computer. Leythos you really should just give it up! The OP actually talked to a MS employee and couldn't get a straight answer out of him. And why is that? Because MS rather keep the FUD surrounding when upgrading a computer turns it into another computer by defining it in the EULA. MS KNOWS if pressed their POST EULA FUD is in no way enforceable. What part of "my personal" did you miss - Hell, I even stated your and Alias's positions of being able to do anything you want. I've not made a statement as to one or the other being fact in this thread. -- -- remove 999 in order to email me |
#8
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On Tue, 10 May 2005 23:42:05 GMT, Leythos
wrote: Actually, you can call MS and ask for Licensing information, not the activation drones, MS proper and ask for a email/document explaining licensing. No, you quite specifically cannot do this. It is not binding to add terms and not legal to try to enfore them. Of all possible avenues, MS cannot supply you with "Further" details about a license that weren't already part of that license. If someone simply can't find their EULA then they might be SOL. In the grand scheme of software licensing, it's up to you to determine what is right/wrong and what you feel you can get away with. Some of us are hard-line and purchase a OEM copy considering that additional MS documents call the Motherboard the defining component, That's not "hard-line", that's ignorance. If the license agreement that came with the product specifies the motherboard, then it is (a) defining component. It is improper and pointless to make any mention at all of "additional MS documents". If those documents had told you that you are bound to reformat your hard drive every 7 days, would you do that too? while others look at the EULA and say that the power cord could be the single defining component. It's all in what you are comfortable with until you ASK MS legal what they mean. No reasonable person will conclude the power cord is a defining component, UNLESS the license was purchased with that cord, if the EULA allows it. It is NOT "what you are comfortable with until you ask MS legal". MS legal cannot add, subtract, or redefine a EULA after the sale. |
#9
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In article ,
says... In the grand scheme of software licensing, it's up to you to determine what is right/wrong and what you feel you can get away with. Some of us are hard-line and purchase a OEM copy considering that additional MS documents call the Motherboard the defining component, That's not "hard-line", that's ignorance. If the license agreement that came with the product specifies the motherboard, then it is (a) defining component. It is improper and pointless to make any mention at all of "additional MS documents". If those documents had told you that you are bound to reformat your hard drive every 7 days, would you do that too? So, if I were a registered OEM, having agreed to the OEM agreements, you are saying that I should ignore the documents on the OEM site that I've already read concerning the definitions of terms before I sign my OEM agreement? Dude, you missed my point, I never suggested that anyone was bound by the clarification, only informed by it, not bound by it - come down off the soap-box. -- -- remove 999 in order to email me |
#10
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kony wrote:
On Tue, 10 May 2005 23:42:05 GMT, Leythos wrote: Actually, you can call MS and ask for Licensing information, not the activation drones, MS proper and ask for a email/document explaining licensing. No, you quite specifically cannot do this. It is not binding to add terms and not legal to try to enfore them. Of all possible avenues, MS cannot supply you with "Further" details about a license that weren't already part of that license. If someone simply can't find their EULA then they might be SOL. In the grand scheme of software licensing, it's up to you to determine what is right/wrong and what you feel you can get away with. Some of us are hard-line and purchase a OEM copy considering that additional MS documents call the Motherboard the defining component, That's not "hard-line", that's ignorance. If the license agreement that came with the product specifies the motherboard, then it is (a) defining component. It is improper and pointless to make any mention at all of "additional MS documents". If those documents had told you that you are bound to reformat your hard drive every 7 days, would you do that too? while others look at the EULA and say that the power cord could be the single defining component. It's all in what you are comfortable with until you ASK MS legal what they mean. No reasonable person will conclude the power cord is a defining component, UNLESS the license was purchased with that cord, if the EULA allows it. It is NOT "what you are comfortable with until you ask MS legal". MS legal cannot add, subtract, or redefine a EULA after the sale. Amen! -- Peace! Kurt Self-anointed Moderator microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea http://microscum.com/mscommunity "Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron! "Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei" |
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