VISTA OEM and Activation

[Jeff]

Question for the experts,

As a power user I constantly reformat and reinstall the operating syste,
test hard drives, videcards

If I buy Vista Ultimate OEM can I reformat and reinstall Vista forever as
well as change all components (EXCEPT the MOTHERBOARD) and still be able to
activate through MS online?

Also what would happen two years from now if my motherboard goes? Do I then
have to purchase a new copy?

Thanks

J

 

[Sly Dog]

As a power user, you are entitled to special priviledges - Such as making
6-minute phone calls to India to reactivate your legitimate copy of VISTA
everytime you make a minor hardware or driver change.

"Someone hand me another helping of Tandoori chicken, will ya..?"

Cheers!

 

[Richard Urban]

If you want unlimited installs and activation you should really get a retail
version of Vista, not OEM.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Rock]

Question for the experts,

As a power user I constantly reformat and reinstall the operating syste,
test hard drives, videcards

If I buy Vista Ultimate OEM can I reformat and reinstall Vista forever as
well as change all components (EXCEPT the MOTHERBOARD) and still be able
to activate through MS online?

Also what would happen two years from now if my motherboard goes? Do I
then have to purchase a new copy?

With an OEM copy you can change out components and reinstall as many times
as you want on the same computer. Whether it will activate online every
time, I don't know. I believe after a certain number of activations or
maybe a certain number within a certain time period, then it's phone
activation.

I have not seen the Vista OEM EULA. I believe that replacing a motherboard
that has died is fine. What the situation is for upgrading a motherboard, I
don't know.

 

[Conor]

With an OEM copy you can change out components and reinstall as many times
as you want on the same computer.

BWHAHAHA

 

[Conor]

Question for the experts,

As a power user I constantly reformat and reinstall the operating syste,
test hard drives, videcards

If I buy Vista Ultimate OEM can I reformat and reinstall Vista forever as
well as change all components (EXCEPT the MOTHERBOARD) and still be able to
activate through MS online?

Also what would happen two years from now if my motherboard goes? Do I then
have to purchase a new copy?

As a power user you'd have imaged a bare install.

As a power user you'd know that you can install Vista WITHOUT entering
a CD key and use the OS for 30 days without activating.

 

[Dale]

If you're really doing all that testing, you should have a separate text
box that is never activated. You can go 120 days on an install without
reactivation.

Dale

 

[Jeff]

I wish with a system to do this legitamely and all i wish to know is that
with an OEM copy of vista and the motherboard NEVER changing cani reformat
and swap to my heart's content without activation problems

 

[Alias]

If you want unlimited installs and activation you should really get a
retail version of Vista, not OEM.

Generic OEM versions limit installs and activations? How are they
different from a Retail version?

Alias

 

[Jeff]

I think OEM is tied only to the motherboard whereas Reatil isnt. I just
wanted to know if i can do unlimited Reinstalls and reformats with OEM

 

[Alias]

I think OEM is tied only to the motherboard whereas Reatil isnt. I just
wanted to know if i can do unlimited Reinstalls and reformats with OEM

I haven't seen the EULA for Vista but with XP, one can upgrade/replace
defective motherboards.

Alias

 

[Alan]

Is there anyone here who can give Jeff a direct answer to his direct
question?

I admit I don't know, but I won't try to cover up that fact by commenting on
the weather or other issues he hasn't asked about.

Alan

 

[Dale]

Well, since none of us, and in fact no one in the world or even in the
entire universe, has done what he is asking, and even that senior Microsoft
executives have been mistaken about Vista licensing, and that it turns out
that upgrade licensing is broken all to hell, and that you can upgrade a
trial to full Vista with an upgrade, there's really no way to know until
someone, or a few people, actually do it, is there? It doesn't matter at
all what Microsoft's licensing says when it comes to Vista.

Maybe Jeff can become the subject matter expert in this one and let us all
know how it turns out.

In the mean time, we're just offering him solutions to his problem not to
his question. There must have been a bunch of developers responding; we
tend to try to solve business problems rather than to just write the program
the end-user has envisioned.

Dale

 

[Kerry Brown]

As Vista has just been released no one outside of a few people at Microsoft
know the answer. At a guess I'd say you will be phoning for activation after
the first couple of times. If the EULA is the essentially same as XP then
you can activate as many times as you want but you may have to phone.

 

[Jeff]

Jeff will report his findings.
I'm picking up two Vista Ultimate OEM Dvd's tommorrow (Courtesy of my great
employer) and i will begin trouble shooting immediatly.
I'm testing on a copy of Vista (Final release) that was floating around the
office, but all the work systems will be using fully licensed versions.
Jeff

 

[Rock]

BWHAHAHA

You quoted just a part of my reply leaving out other parts that qualify what
is quoted here. So what's the funny part, care to share or you just like to
laugh to/at yourself?

 

[Rock]

I wish with a system to do this legitamely and all i wish to know is that
with an OEM copy of vista and the motherboard NEVER changing cani reformat
and swap to my heart's content without activation problems

Yes, that's what I said in my first reply, but at some point you will
probably have to phone activate. Vista hasn't been out long enough to know
specifically what will trigger phone activation. One source said they were
told by some MS source it was after a certain # of internet activations, I
recollect the number was 5. None of this has been confirmed.

 

[MICHAEL]

Your first paragraph is so spot on, I laughed.
It's surreal.

Take care,

Michael

 

[William]

If you re-install more than 3 times per year, then you might consider installing Vista without a PK. This will give you 30 days before activation. However, there is a command to rearm for another 30 days that can be done three times for a total of 120 days. Then you will have to backup your data and wipe your hard drive clean and re-install Vista and your programs and data, again without a PK and repeat the cycle.


Question for the experts,

As a power user I constantly reformat and reinstall the operating syste,
test hard drives, videcards

If I buy Vista Ultimate OEM can I reformat and reinstall Vista forever as
well as change all components (EXCEPT the MOTHERBOARD) and still be able to
activate through MS online?

Also what would happen two years from now if my motherboard goes? Do I then
have to purchase a new copy?

Thanks

J

 

[William]

and have up to 120 days by rearming three times.
As a power user you'd know that you can install Vista WITHOUT entering
a CD key and use the OS for 30 days without activating.