Re: Moving Win XP from one PC to another?

divoch wrote:


Thank you for your rely and advice. I did not really expect it to be as simple as "assembling" together new motherboard and an old hard drive with OS and expect bit to work but then what if it was as simple as that -:)

As far as the licence is concerned I cannot accept that I would not be able to re-use the software on another single computer when the first one dies. Where does it say so?


It's clearly stated in the EULA (End User License Agreement) to whose terms you agreed to be bound when you first installed the OS. (If you clicked the <Agree> button without reading it, you're still bound.) To whit:

"Software as a Component of the Computer - Transfer. THIS LICENSE MAY NOT BE SHARED, TRANSFERRED TO OR USED CONCURRENTLY ON DIFFERENT COMPUTERS. The SOFTWARE is licensed with the HARDWARE as a single integrated product and may only be used with the HARDWARE. If the SOFTWARE is not accompanied by new HARDWARE, you may not use the SOFTWARE. You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as part of a permanent sale or transfer of the HARDWARE, provided you retain no copies, if you transfer all of the SOFTWARE (including all component parts, the media and printed materials, any upgrades, this EULA and the Certificate of Authenticity), and the recipient agrees to the terms of this EULA. If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer must also include all prior versions of the SOFTWARE."


With what hardware does the OS actually need to be associated? It does not sit on the motherboard and I want to reuse the hard drive on which it is installed anyway.

Again, this is clearly stated in the EULA. The OEM license is bound to the entire computer, and not to any single component:

"The term "COMPUTER" as used herein shall mean the HARDWARE, if the HARDWARE is a single computer system, or shall mean the computer system with which the HARDWARE operates, if the HARDWARE is a computer system component."


I have paid for that software separately and so, as far as I am concerned , I have the right to use it on one computer, which is all I want to do.


"... So far as I am concerned..." is meaningless. Remember, you didn't purchased any software; you purchased a license to use someone else's (Microsoft's, in this case) software for only so long as you abide by the terms of that license. Furthermore, you paid a significantly reduced price for the OEM license; with that lower price come fewer features. Had you wanted additional features, such as transferability, you should have purchased (and paid more) for a fuller-featured license. Retail licenses are transferable.


Imagine this scenario:
I had my old PC with an 80GB hard drive and Win 98SE upgraded to Win XP (and paid for it) and, say 60 days later, the motherboard dies. So I get a new motherboard and want to reuse Win XP I have purchased recently. This is not far from what has happened and hat I intend to do.


On the contrary, repairing an existing computer is very, very different from transferring the OS to an entirely new computer. And there's nothing in the OEM license that precludes repairing the computer on which it's installed.


I am certainly not prepared to pay for the same software a second time round just because some piece of hardare, like processor, on the motherboard failed!


Nor would you have to do so. But this isn't your situation, is it? You're simply trying to rationalize your way through doing something that you already know is wrong (or you wouldn't fell the need to rationalize it).

Ultimately, it boils down to whether or not you have any integrity. There's no technical safeguard in place on a generic OEM installation CD to enforce the license, so it finally boils down to is: Can a bank, mortgage company, etc. trust your signature on a contract? Can you be trusted not to renege on an promises you've ever made to anyone? If you opt to violate the OEM EULA, then you've answered those questions with a resounding "*NO!*" It's your choice.


--

Bruce Chambers

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