activation

[Brian]

i installed windows xp pro on one of my computers then
used the same software to install it on another computer.
I expected to have to use a different product key to
install it, but when i went to activate it, it went
through with the same product key. shouldn't i have had
to use a new key?
I thought one key only worked on one computer. I wouldn't
normally care, but i already bought another license and i
hope i didn't accidentally do anything illegal.

 

[Genghis Khan]

i installed windows xp pro on one of my computers then
used the same software to install it on another computer.
I expected to have to use a different product key to
install it, but when i went to activate it, it went
through with the same product key. shouldn't i have had
to use a new key?
I thought one key only worked on one computer. I wouldn't
normally care, but i already bought another license and i
hope i didn't accidentally do anything illegal.

One serial can be used multiple times; I don't know exactly how much, I
think on three occasions or so. So no, you didn't do anything illegal.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Just as it says, right on the box, you'll need to purchase a
separate WinXP license for each computer on which you install it.

As it has *always* been with *all* Microsoft operating systems,
it's necessary (to be in compliance with both the EULA and U.S.
copyright law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/117.html), if not
technically) to purchase one WinXP license for each computer on which
it is installed. (Consult an attorney versed in copyright law to
determine final applicability in your locale.) The only way in which
WinXP licensing differs from that of earlier versions of Windows is
that Microsoft has finally added a copy protection and anti-theft
mechanism, Product Activation, to prevent (or at least make more
difficult) multiple installations using a single license.

Just why the same Product Key activated on two computers, though,
is something of a mystery. It really shouldn't have happened. To
rectify the situation, simply perform a repair installation on the
second PC, using the second Product Key.


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH

 

[choro-nik]

But isn't it legal to install a copy of windows on a second computer such as
a laptop (assuming that the original CD including licence etc) was bought
for one's home computer without one having to buy a second copy and a second
licence of the same software?

I thought the legal requirement was that the two computers would not be used
at the same time. Surely if one is entitled to use anything be it software
or something else one can use it anywhere. And if I chose to use it on my
desktop now and tomorrow on my laptop, this would NOT constitute any illegal
use.

Also my understanding is that one is fully entitled to make a copy of the
CD -- just in case anything should happen to the original -- as an insurance
against mishaps. This does NOT constitute a breach of the agreement or of
copyright. Of course, it would be different if one were then to sell the
original and keep the copy. That WOULD be against copyright law.

Any views on this matter?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

No, and the EULA does not state that either.
One license on computer.

What you describe is available with most Retail versions of Microsoft
Office.

For your comparison, if you chose to install on the laptop, that is
OK///after removal from the Desktop.

Read the EULA you already agreed.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Brian;
One license, one computer, just as you thought.
Keep both licenses, if/when something happens and you need to
reinstall, you can use the correct key and eliminate the possibility
of problems later.

Read the EULA for details.

 

[CS]

On Sat, 7 Aug 2004 05:04:15 +0100, "choro-nik" <[email protected]>
wrote:

Windows can only be installed and activated on one machine according
to the MS EULA. You're thinking of MS Office - and then only the MS
boxed retail version is able to be installed and activated on more
than one machine.

The academic version of Office 2003 can be installed and activated on
three machines belonging to the same household. Rules for purchasing
and using the academic version apply.

 

[Alex Nichol]

i installed windows xp pro on one of my computers then
used the same software to install it on another computer.
I expected to have to use a different product key to
install it, but when i went to activate it, it went
through with the same product key. shouldn't i have had
to use a new key?

It is more than 120 days since you first activated, and the records of
that at Microsoft have been dropped. This is *not* however a permission
to use it on more than one computer and you must buy another copy

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

No, it's not. While _some_ Microsoft application licenses (retail
licenses only) permit such usage, the
one-desktop-and-one-portable-computer allowance has _never_ applied to
Microsoft's operating systems. Why not just read the EULA by which
you agreed to abide when you installed the OS?


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH

 

[Michael D. Alligood]

EULA:

13. SOFTWARE TRANSFER. Internal. You may move the Software
to a different Workstation Computer. ** After the transfer,
you must completely remove the Software from the former
Workstation Computer. ** Transfer to Third Party. The
initial user of the Software may make a one-time
permanent transfer of this EULA and Software to another
end user, provided the initial user retains no copies of
the Software. This transfer must include all of the
Software (including all component parts, the media and
printed materials, any upgrades, this EULA, and, if
applicable, the Certificate of Authenticity). The
transfer may not be an indirect transfer, such as a
consignment. Prior to the transfer, the end user
receiving the Software must agree to all the EULA terms.

--
Best of luck!

Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCP, CCNA, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW A, CIW CI

 

[hermes]

But isn't it legal to install a copy of windows on a second computer such as
a laptop (assuming that the original CD including licence etc) was bought
for one's home computer without one having to buy a second copy and a second
licence of the same software?

I thought the legal requirement was that the two computers would not be used
at the same time. Surely if one is entitled to use anything be it software
or something else one can use it anywhere. And if I chose to use it on my
desktop now and tomorrow on my laptop, this would NOT constitute any illegal
use.

Also my understanding is that one is fully entitled to make a copy of the
CD -- just in case anything should happen to the original -- as an insurance
against mishaps. This does NOT constitute a breach of the agreement or of
copyright. Of course, it would be different if one were then to sell the
original and keep the copy. That WOULD be against copyright law.

Any views on this matter?

None of it is "illegal". The EULA for XP states one license per
computer. It is a contract dispute, nothing more.

--
hermes
DRM sux! Treacherous Computing kills our virtual civil liberties!
http://protectfreedom.tripod.com/index.html
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html
http://anti-dmca.org/
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/unintended_consequences.php

Windows XP crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams

 

[Ken Blake]

In

One serial can be used multiple times; I don't know exactly how much,
I think on three occasions or so. So no, you didn't do anything
illegal.

Sorry, that's completely wrong. One key can be used *any* number
of times on the same computer, but to be in compliance with the
license agreement, you can use it on only a single computer.

The activation record is wiped out after 120 days, so that's
almost certainly reason he got away with this. And he *is* in
violation of the EULA.