Is there a way to make a backup copy of a license?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Steve
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S

Steve

In the case of a physical disaster...what precations are
suppossed to be made for a business regarding
licenses...do we register every license with an insurance
agent or can we make a legal backup copy of a license
somehow? Would a scan of the original be useful? I am
having trouble finding any definate answers to these
questions.
 
I'm not sure about backing up the license, but a business should have a
fireproof safe with cd's and licenses in there. That should protect stuff
against fire and theft and keep things safe, except for maybe a flood or
earthquake that brings the whole building down. The safes are pretty tough.
 
from the wonderful said:
All of them...I am talking about losing all original
copies of licenses, not our open licenses of course but
our OEM's and retail licenses.
Click to expand...

If you lose the computers the OEM licenses are lost too. Just ensure you
insured the value of the software as well as the hardware. For retail
licenses you can either do that, or take copies (even just a
computerised list would help), although you might need 'proof of
purchase' if the software vendor ever decided to audit you.

Frankly this is a non-problem, unless you have Million $ software
packages (in which case the vendor will know all about you and be very
helpful) - the hardware, data, setup-time, network, restore, etc. costs
will make the software costs insignificant, and unless you have great
data backup strategy (and maybe a hot backup facility) you'll be out of
business anyway before the question of the software cost arises. Last
time I looked it was something like 45% of the companies who lost their
computers/data centres failed to survive 1 year past the event. 8<,
 
Yes Yes, we have all that in place...it is the licensing
that is causing me such a headache. Sure we will have
backup CD's...but what good are they if we don't have a
valid license?
 
Steve said:
Yes Yes, we have all that in place...it is the licensing
that is causing me such a headache. Sure we will have
backup CD's...but what good are they if we don't have a
valid license?
Click to expand...

Well if the machines are destroyed then so are those OEM software that
came with that computer, as they are tied to the machine. As long as
your insurance covers your computers, you shouldn't have to worry about
the OEM software. As for your retail software, you should keep your
documentation in a safe deposit box if you want to keep them secure, and
check with your insurance agent about what you policy covers. No one
here can give you a definitive answer on that.

--
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Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
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"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"
 
Steve said:
In the case of a physical disaster...what precations are
suppossed to be made for a business regarding
licenses...do we register every license with an insurance
agent or can we make a legal backup copy of a license
somehow? Would a scan of the original be useful? I am
having trouble finding any definate answers to these
questions.
Click to expand...

The essential items are those that are necessary to reinstall.

In general this will mean the the original install medium (CD) and the
product key or serial number for that product.

If you are concerned you should have a list of the product keys, with
the machine that key is used on noted as well; plus a set of backup
CDs It is perfectly legitimate to make a copy of the original CD for
backup or archival purposes.

Good luck.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
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