Is my Windows XP license valid after upgrading to Vista?

[mattyglee]

I was thinking of installing Vista on one of my home PCs.
I currently have Windows XP on another PC.
I would like to buy an upgrade version of Vista and use my current
copy on XP to validate the upgrade.

Is the Windows XP license still valid after using it to upgrade to
Vista?

.... or, to put it another way, ...

Can I run Windows XP on one PC and an upgrade version of Vista on
another PC which is upgraded from the XP license on the first PC?

thanks

 

[Leythos]

I was thinking of installing Vista on one of my home PCs.
I currently have Windows XP on another PC.
I would like to buy an upgrade version of Vista and use my current
copy on XP to validate the upgrade.

Is the Windows XP license still valid after using it to upgrade to
Vista?

... or, to put it another way, ...

Can I run Windows XP on one PC and an upgrade version of Vista on
another PC which is upgraded from the XP license on the first PC?

The upgrade licenses is for the PC that you have licensed for XP, so,
under the license agreement, you can not take a computer that has no OS on
it and install Upgrade Vista using the media/files from another computer.

Upgrade means upgrade, not install new on computer that doesn't already
have a license.

 

[mattyglee]

The upgrade licenses is for the PC that you have licensed for XP, so,
under the license agreement, you can not take a computer that has no OS on
it and install Upgrade Vista using the media/files from another computer.

Upgrade means upgrade, not install new on computer that doesn't already
have a license.

Just to clarify, if I upgrade my Windows XP (full license) to Vista
(upgrade license), can I then use the Windows XP license on another
PC?
In theory, the original Windows XP licensee is no longer in use, so I
would think I could use it elsewhere.

(I guess I'm just looking for a loophole to avoid paying for a full
license for Vista.)

I appreciate your help Leythos.

 

[Leythos]

Just to clarify, if I upgrade my Windows XP (full license) to Vista
(upgrade license), can I then use the Windows XP license on another
PC?
In theory, the original Windows XP licensee is no longer in use, so I
would think I could use it elsewhere.

(I guess I'm just looking for a loophole to avoid paying for a full
license for Vista.)

I appreciate your help Leythos.

If you own a "retail" copy of XP (really any version) and use that XP
license as an upgrade path for Vista, then that XP licenses is still tied
to the computer that you Upgraded, as you can't do the upgrade WITHOUT the
XP license.

So, if you have XP and buy the Upgrade for Vista, you have 1 OS (vista)
and one box of XP sitting on the shelf no longer being used except to
validate the license for the Upgrade.

Now, what you actually do is up to you, but, according to the "rules", you
have ONE OS and that's it.

 

[mattyglee]

If you own a "retail" copy of XP (really any version) and use that XP
license as an upgrade path for Vista, then that XP licenses is still tied
to the computer that you Upgraded, as you can't do the upgrade WITHOUT the
XP license.

So, if you have XP and buy the Upgrade for Vista, you have 1 OS (vista)
and one box of XP sitting on the shelf no longer being used except to
validate the license for the Upgrade.

Now, what you actually do is up to you, but, according to the "rules", you
have ONE OS and that's it.

--
Leythos
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- Show quoted text -

Thanks Leythos, that's the information I was looking for.

cheers.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Is the Windows XP license still valid after using it to upgrade to
Vista?

... or, to put it another way, ...

Can I run Windows XP on one PC and an upgrade version of Vista on
another PC which is upgraded from the XP license on the first PC?

No. When you do an upgrade, the version you are upgrading from gets tied to
the license of the version you are you are upgrading it from.

Or to put it another way, when you do an upgrade, you end up with one
license, not two.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Just to clarify, if I upgrade my Windows XP (full license) to Vista
(upgrade license), can I then use the Windows XP license on another
PC?

No.


In theory, the original Windows XP licensee is no longer in use, so I
would think I could use it elsewhere.

That's wrong, as I just explained in another message.

(I guess I'm just looking for a loophole to avoid paying for a full
license for Vista.)

Sorry, but if you want two licenses, you have to pay for two. An upgrade
changes the single license you have; it doesn't add a second one.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I was thinking of installing Vista on one of my home PCs.
I currently have Windows XP on another PC.
I would like to buy an upgrade version of Vista and use my current
copy on XP to validate the upgrade.

Is the Windows XP license still valid after using it to upgrade to
Vista?

... or, to put it another way, ...

Can I run Windows XP on one PC and an upgrade version of Vista on
another PC which is upgraded from the XP license on the first PC?

No. Just as with the Upgrade licenses of earlier Microsoft operating
systems, if you use an Upgrade version of Vista, the license for the
earlier, qualifying OS will be subsumed (become an integral part of) by
the Vista Upgrade license. Basically, you have no license to use the
Upgrade without there first being an earlier, qualifying OS license
_permanently_ in place on the computer, and that qualifying license
cannot subsequently be used anywhere else.


--

Bruce Chambers

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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Just to clarify, if I upgrade my Windows XP (full license) to Vista
(upgrade license), can I then use the Windows XP license on another
PC?
No.


In theory, the original Windows XP licensee is no longer in use, so I
would think I could use it elsewhere.

Your "theory" is completely off-base, and bears no relationship with
reality. In point of fact, the older WinXP license is continually "in
use," validating your use of the Vista Upgrade license.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell