Can I sell/transfer mt Dell Vista upgrade?

[Guest]

Recently bought a new dell which comes with a free upgrade to Vista Business.
I would like to get Vista Ultimate instead AND I don't want to wait until
shipment in April.

Question: Can i sell the upgrade or will it only work for a dell computer?
On only my dell? If I can I would guess an unopened upgrade could get close
to full value on ebay. that way I could buy at store now and get partial
funds back.

 

[Vanguard]

Recently bought a new dell which comes with a free upgrade to Vista
Business.
I would like to get Vista Ultimate instead AND I don't want to wait
until
shipment in April.

Question: Can i sell the upgrade or will it only work for a dell
computer?
On only my dell? If I can I would guess an unopened upgrade could get
close
to full value on ebay. that way I could buy at store now and get
partial
funds back.

You did not get a retail version; if it was, so you cannot remove it
without losing your license that you gave to someone else along with the
software (which means you have nothing legal against which to upgrade
later). You also did NOT get an upgrade version. You have an OEM
version which sticks with THAT computer on which it was installed (since
that was the qualifying hardware for the OEM version). You can't sell
off the OEM version unless it is accompanied with the qualifying
hardware, so you don't want the computer, either?

You did not get a free version of Vista. You got an OEM version that
was included in the cost of the prebuilt computer that you bought. The
sticker for the OEM version should be on the case. So, you think anyone
would accept an illegal copy of a used OEM version and without its
qualifying hardware which means the absence of the sticker that has the
product key needed to install, or would accept a use OEM copy with some
ratty looking sticker that was obviously scraped off the case? The OEM
*is* used. Why? Because it already came preinstalled on the prebuilt
Dell that you bought. Doesn't matter that the CD is still inside a
sealed envelope since obviously that is NOT what any jobber uses to fab
up a bunch of prebuilts.

Branded OEM versions need not be the same as Microsoft's generic OEM
version. That is, Dell, IBM (now Lenovo), or whomever can modify their
own OEM version can do with it what they want, like adding more fluff
software, altering what is included on the media or drive, and adding
BIOS locking to the OEM version (which means that particular OEM version
will only install on a Dell host and possibly also be restricted to a
particular model).

 

[Beck]

You did not get a retail version; if it was, so you cannot remove it
without losing your license that you gave to someone else along with the
software (which means you have nothing legal against which to upgrade
later). You also did NOT get an upgrade version. You have an OEM version
which sticks with THAT computer on which it was installed (since that was
the qualifying hardware for the OEM version). You can't sell off the OEM
version unless it is accompanied with the qualifying hardware, so you
don't want the computer, either?

He has not installed it yet, so it is yet to be tied to a PC.

 

[Dale]

I read just last night about a past lawsuit by Adobe against a guy who
bought a Dell in Texas bundled with some Adobe software. The guy never
installed the program and therefore never accepted the license agreement for
the Adobe software. The guy sold the Adobe software, for which he was
promptly sued. The US Court of Appeals for whatever district Texas is in
ruled in the consumer's favor. It was his right to sell the software.

In the same article, another case, another software vendor, another Court of
Appeals district, and in this case the user had installed the software and
had accepted the license agreement, that district found against the
consumer.

I am not an attorney. Before using this information, research these cases
yourself and seek the advice of an attorney. I would suggest avoiding any
attorneys who have admitted in here that they have stolen Vista but then
everyone knows that when you go to court the guy with the crookedest
attorney often wins.

Dale

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If it is an Express Uprgrade then it probably won't work on another type of
machine and may not work on any machine but yours. You need to ask Dell.
If for some reason you are afraid to ask Dell then you already have your
answer.

 

[BSchnur]

He has not installed it yet, so it is yet to be tied to a PC.

But I'd think that it is tied to a PC since it was a 'free' OEM upgrade
attached to the hardware he purchased. If he had purchased the Dell
with *no* Windows OS that would be different.

 

[William]

It may be tied to the bios, witch means it would install and run fine on a
number of Dell computers.

 

[Sean]

How is that done? I've heard about BIOS locked operating systems for a long
time, but am just curious how it is "locked" (since access to the BIOS is a
key punch at boot)... TIA

It may be tied to the bios, witch means it would install and run fine on a
number of Dell computers.

 

[BSchnur]

It may be tied to the bios, witch means it would install and run fine on a

number of Dell computers.

Could be, I was talking about the distinction regarding legal licensing
for 'sell/transfer' as well.

 

[William]

When we got our two identical Gateway computers in October 2002, each came
with a Windows XP Home Edition CD. They work on both computers and install
Windows XP already activated. I also found a copy of XP Professional tossed
in the trash at my former job at the Boeing Computer tape library that was
branded for Dell Computers, and one of my computers is a P3-500 Dell that
was reclaimed from a dumpster. Just for kicks, I installed it on the old
Dell and it installed activated already.

Since these CDs are bios locked, I could install them any day I wanted to
and they would always install activated.. However, if I tried to install the
Dell disk on a Gateway computer, it will ask for a PK, and the same the
other way also.

Both the Gateway and Dell are BIOS locked and if installed on a computer by
that particular manufacturer, they do not require a PK or the user to
activate the copy.

How is that done? I've heard about BIOS locked operating systems for a
long time, but am just curious how it is "locked" (since access to the
BIOS is a key punch at boot)... TIA

 

[Dale]

Finding discs in the trash does not constitute a license to use them. I
throw away MSDN discs all the time. That doesn't give my garbage man the
right to use them.

Dale

When we got our two identical Gateway computers in October 2002, each came
with a Windows XP Home Edition CD. They work on both computers and install
Windows XP already activated. I also found a copy of XP Professional
tossed in the trash at my former job at the Boeing Computer tape library
that was branded for Dell Computers, and one of my computers is a P3-500
Dell that was reclaimed from a dumpster. Just for kicks, I installed it on
the old Dell and it installed activated already.

Since these CDs are bios locked, I could install them any day I wanted to
and they would always install activated.. However, if I tried to install
the Dell disk on a Gateway computer, it will ask for a PK, and the same
the other way also.

Both the Gateway and Dell are BIOS locked and if installed on a computer
by that particular manufacturer, they do not require a PK or the user to
activate the copy.

 

[William]

Did I state ANYTHING about a license??? Keep your self-righteous, 'Holier
than Joe' comments to yourself. I was referring to a procedure. You are
soooo like the Pharisee who bragged to God about his own righteousness.

 

[Dale]

No, you said you installed it.

Dale

Did I state ANYTHING about a license??? Keep your self-righteous, 'Holier
than Joe' comments to yourself. I was referring to a procedure. You are
soooo like the Pharisee who bragged to God about his own righteousness.

 

[William]

So what, I was testing it to see what it could do. I don't care if you get a
problem with it.

 

[Guest]

Well I just spoke with Dell and was told the following:

1. I am able to sell my updgrade
2. the upgrade itself is NOT an OEM version but rather a retail upgrade, no
different from what is sold in the store.

I asked again to be sure and the agent checked with her manager and
confirmed. Could this be true? If so, one can upgrade asap and sell them on
ebay when the upgrade finally arrives for probably 20 bucks less then you
have to pay, thus costing only 20 bucks to get it now vs wait into Dell gets
its act together and ships them.

Thoughts????

 

[Dale]

Like I said at the beginning. This has been ruled in court. It may not
have mattered no matter what Dell said. Nice of them to admit it though.

Dale

 

[Guest]

well the big question is despite that it is allowed, will there be a market
to sell it on ebay? perhaps ebay would block it? buyers skeptical?

 

[Dale]

I think the expectation of getting anywhere close to the market price is
silly.

You can't provide the full set of support for the sale, such as credit card
purchase, credit card refund, 8 to 5 phone support on the transaction
itself, or any thing else related to the actual sale, let alone supporting
the OS once installed.

I suggest finding a buddy with technical skills and dumping it for half of
market price. Short of that, I don't think you're going to sell it at all.

Dale

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply. If it is in fact a retail upgrade vs an OEM it should
have the support, no? I wouldn't even be in this silly position if it would
not take Dell so long to ship the disks out. maybe I will wait .

 

[Donald McDaniel]

well the big question is despite that it is allowed, will there be a
market
to sell it on ebay? perhaps ebay would block it? buyers skeptical?

Your Dell Vista upgrade will only install on another Dell computer.
I don't know whether this will be a Dell-modified OEM or an actual Microsoft
Upgrade product which can be used to install on any computer. (they tell us
that for the "purposes of this offer, it will be an upgrade". Whether this
means it will be an actual unmodified Retail Upgrade disk or not, I don't
know, since Dell is keeping tight-lipped about our coming upgrades.

By the way, I spoke with a Dell support supervisor last week, and he told me
the DVDs should be shipped within 2 weeks, not in April. He could have been
uninformed, bull-s***ting me, or he could have been giving me the real truth
on the matter. But don't get your hopes up because of me. I decided to go
ahead and purchase a System Builder Kit and install Vista, rather than leave
it up to Dell to fulfill it's promises anytime soon.