Re: Window XP OEM edition

On Tue, 7 Jul 2009 11:06:12 -0400, "Daave" <daave@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:49:29 -0500, Leroy <leroy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"OEM licenses for XP are tied to the first computer onto which they
are installed and the license is not permitted to be moved on any
other computer. For the purposes of defining what a computer is,
since a computer is really just a collection of parts, Microsoft has
established that the motherboard is the base or "defining"
component, and the OEM license is permanently tied to the
motherboard."

Ref:
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuinewindowsxp/thread/24be6886-b410-4d3b-aa07-2ca1651aedc9


Sorry, what you say here is *not* correct. What you quote is not a
statement by Microsoft, but a statement by a single Microsoft
employee.

In fact, Microsoft has stated exactly the opposite. As I posted in
another message in this thread For a long time, it wasn't clear
exactly what constituted the original computer, and many people felt
that replacing the motherboard made it a different computer. However,
Microsoft has clarified the situation. See
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/activationfaq.mspx
or http://tinyurl.com/384gx5

which states

"If you acquired Windows Vista pre-installed on a computer from a
major manufacturer (sometimes referred to as an Original Equipment
Manufacturer or OEM), Windows Vista will require re-activation if you
replace the motherboard with a motherboard not provided by the OEM."

So clearly, if you can reactivate it, it's legal to use it.

Although that page is specifically about Vista, it's reasonable to
assume that the same thing applies to XP.

Actually, Ken, in this KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824125/en-us

Microsoft *does* seem to have a different standard for XP (and 2000 and
Server 2003):

<quote>
Users who run a Microsoft Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
operating system may upgrade or replace most of the hardware components
on the computer and still maintain the license for the original
Microsoft OEM operating system software provided by the OEM, with the
exception of an upgrade or a replacement of the motherboard. An upgrade
or a replacement of the motherboard is considered to create a new
personal computer. Therefore, Microsoft OEM operating system software
cannot be transferred from another computer.
</quote>


Interesting, thanks. I hadn't seen that. I see no reason why there
should be a difference between the rule for one operating system and
another, and I suspect that the difference between these two Microsoft
pages is that the one you quote is older than one I did. Also, they
were almost certainly written by two different people, each with a
different idea.



But as I pointed out in my post to Leroy, it _doesn't matter_ since the
EULA is the only relevant legal document, and the EULA does not specify
that changing a PC's motherboard (to one of a different make/model or to
one not of "the same manufacturer's replacement or equivalent") is
analogous to transferring XP to another PC. The EULA *is* the agreement,
not some after-the-fact KB article.



That is exactly right, and I said much the same thing here many times
before the article I quoted appeared.

By the way, in the article you quote, one of the last paragraphs says

"Understanding that end-users, over time, upgrade their computers with
different components, Microsoft views the CPU as the one remaining
base component that still defines that original computer. Because the
motherboard contains the CPU, when the motherboard is replaced for
reasons other than defect, a new computer is essentially created.
Therefore, the original OEM cannot be expected to support this new
computer that they did not manufacture."

That says that changing the motherboard means that the OEM will very
likely no longer support the computer and *that* is why they consider
it a new computer. However, it also implies that it's the OEM, not
Microsoft, who decides whether it's a new computer, and if the
particular OEM will support it after the motherboard change, it is not
a new computer.

So, even in Microsoft's view, a computer that you build yourself and
install a store-bought OEM copy of Windows on it *can* be considered
the same computer even after a motherboard change, if the OEM (in this
case, you) wants it to be.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Window XP OEM edition
    ... has established that the motherboard is the base or "defining" ... and the OEM license is permanently tied to the ... statement by Microsoft, but a statement by a single Microsoft ... with the exception of an upgrade or a replacement of the ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Window XP OEM edition
    ... Your evidence is that one person in a forum stated that Microsoft has ... know what the EULA says, you need to read the EULA. ... PC's motherboard as the "defining component." ... an OEM window xp disk for the operating system. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Window XP OEM edition
    ... are installed and the license is not permitted to be moved on any ... established that the motherboard is the base or "defining" ... statement by Microsoft, but a statement by a single Microsoft ... Manufacturer or OEM), Windows Vista will require re-activation if you ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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