Legal Question

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Guest

My problem is a legal one : Am I allowed to install multiple copies of
Windows Vista on the SAME computer?for instance could i have one copy for the
childrens games and one for my wife.The intention of the copyright law seems
quite clear ie to prevent people copying windows onto ANOTHER
computer.However Wherever this comes up in discussion the adjudicator says
ONE copy,ONE computer.this cannot mean exactly what it says since there could
be no possible objection to having two separate copies on one computer.
Could we have some clarification on this and also whether one has different
rights under the OEM and the full version of Vista
 
yes you can do that as long as its on the same computer and stays there! but
why? just use several logins
 
I think outside of the legal question will be how you plan to install it. If
you install and activate the Kid's Vista on 1 hard drive, and install the
Wife's on a different hard drive, you'll get hit with a re-activation issue.
As people here who have upgraded their system disk learned.

Not if you had say a 300 GB drive and sliced it into 3 100GB partitions,
then you should avoid that issue. Since all the hardware would report the
same, for the same serial key,

If you want 3 installs on 3 Hard drives, then you can probably skip the
legal questions has I don't believe you'll be able to have the other 2
install activated.
 
What you are proposing would be more cumbersome than having a second log in
with passwrds. What a nightmare maintaining updates, multiples anti-virus
programs, multiple copies of all programs that the users want to install,
and the list goes on and on...

The users with a guest account and limitted rights would be much more
secure. The kids couldnt' scuttle your system so easy...
 
Thanks for your replies but it seems to me that multiple log-ins does not get
round the problem of viruses,spyware etc infecting the system whereas two
distinct hard drives does. On one you have internet access ,games , e-mail
etc and on the other you have a simplified version without internet access on
which you would keep your correspondance etc.Perhaps someone can suggest a
better solution but I dont think it is multiple log-ins. Also can someone
tell me what happens if your hard drive fails and I have to install a new
one. From what has been said so far it appears that I will run into
reactivation problemswhen I try to reinstall Windows
 
bill said:
Thanks for your replies but it seems to me that multiple log-ins does not get
round the problem of viruses,spyware etc infecting the system whereas two
distinct hard drives does. On one you have internet access ,games , e-mail
etc and on the other you have a simplified version without internet access on
which you would keep your correspondance etc.Perhaps someone can suggest a
better solution but I dont think it is multiple log-ins. Also can someone
tell me what happens if your hard drive fails and I have to install a new
one. From what has been said so far it appears that I will run into
reactivation problemswhen I try to reinstall Windows
Click to expand...


Have you considered Ubuntu Linux? No activation, one OS per computer or
virus/malware problems with that. Check it out at www.ubuntu.com/ It's free.

Alias
 
Hi,

To be in accordance with the license agreement, under section 2 regarding
installation it reads "You may install one copy of the software on the
licensed device". This very clearly means that you may only install one
instance of your copy. To my knowledge, it does not matter whether the
license is retail or OEM. Only a volume license allows for multiple
installations, regardless of whether it is multiple machines or multiple
installs on the same machine.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
It makes no difference whether you have multiple log-ins on the same hard
drive or multiple partitions on on the same hard drive. When you lose the
hard drive you lose. Each log-in may have its own e-mail, its own internet
access with a choice of browsers. Unless you set folders for sharing, your
data is just as secure from prying eyes as with your proposal. In fact, you
should set the childrens folders for sharing. It's being the good parent.
Reactivation is probably automatic if you only replace the hard drive. It
takes several changes before you must call Microsoft to reactivate.

Businesses use multiple log-ins as a matter of course. Shift workers, temp
employees, etc.

bill said:
Thanks for your replies but it seems to me that multiple log-ins does not
get
round the problem of viruses,spyware etc infecting the system whereas two
distinct hard drives does. On one you have internet access ,games , e-mail
etc and on the other you have a simplified version without internet access
on
which you would keep your correspondance etc.Perhaps someone can suggest a
better solution but I dont think it is multiple log-ins. Also can someone
tell me what happens if your hard drive fails and I have to install a new
one. From what has been said so far it appears that I will run into
reactivation problemswhen I try to reinstall Windows
Click to expand...
 
If you have a situation where malware has infected, say, drive C:,
there is nothing to prevent it from doing the equivalent of "Format D:".
How do separate drives make you more secure?

You will definitely have Vista activation problems with multiple drives.

Gary VanderMolen

bill said:
Thanks for your replies but it seems to me that multiple log-ins does not get
round the problem of viruses,spyware etc infecting the system whereas two
distinct hard drives does. On one you have internet access ,games , e-mail
etc and on the other you have a simplified version without internet access on
which you would keep your correspondance etc.Perhaps someone can suggest a
better solution but I dont think it is multiple log-ins. Also can someone
tell me what happens if your hard drive fails and I have to install a new
one. From what has been said so far it appears that I will run into
reactivation problemswhen I try to reinstall Windows
Click to expand...
 
bill said:
My problem is a legal one : Am I allowed to install multiple copies of
Windows Vista on the SAME computer?for instance could i have one copy for
the
childrens games and one for my wife.The intention of the copyright law
seems
quite clear ie to prevent people copying windows onto ANOTHER
computer.However Wherever this comes up in discussion the adjudicator says
ONE copy,ONE computer.this cannot mean exactly what it says since there
could
be no possible objection to having two separate copies on one computer.
Could we have some clarification on this and also whether one has
different
rights under the OEM and the full version of Vista
Click to expand...


I run two copies of Vista using Bootitng from Terrabyte. The second copy is
a clone of the first. To get the 2nd copy to work I had to show it the
installation disk to 'recover' it.

Both copies are on the same hard disk. One copy is always hidden from the
other. I use the Bootit menu to select which copy I want to run. I also have
various Linux systems. Both copies are activated and receive updates.
 
One way you could work around this is with Vista Ultimate and Microsoft
Virtual PC (which is free). You can install multiple "guest" versions of
Vista in a virtual PC environment running under a single master account.
That way even if something bad happened to one "virtual" pc it couldn't
affect the others. Also pretty easy to back up (just copy the virtual HD's
to the backup device of choice).

You'll have to check the EULA on this, but I believe only Ultimate and
Enterprise allow (by license) this.

Joe
 
Yes. Regardless of version, it's treated as if you were trying to make a
copying of the OS and move it to a different system.

One option you might consider,is if you buy the Ultimate edition, you can
get 2 Home Prem editions for like $50 a piece. I don't know the details, but
it would allow you to have a different install or two on different disks,
all on the same system. A bit over kill, but an option.
 
Maybe I'm missing something.

Wouldn't it be easier to set up a separate user account for both your wife
and kid? This way one activation and each can keep their separate files
private.
 
I'm guessing his main focus is if the kids somehow get a virus or malware
loaded, then it may spread on over to the system and causes problems across
the board.

If he creates of drives\installs and hides those drives\installs from the
kids install, then he'd have bit more protection. The other option is to buy
the kids their own little $400-500 PC.

Sam Crawford said:
Maybe I'm missing something.

Wouldn't it be easier to set up a separate user account for both your wife
and kid? This way one activation and each can keep their separate files
private.
Click to expand...
 
Yor logic is flawed. A virus can and will spread to HD to HD, partition to
partition. Use multiple logins, they all use the same security software. For
sensitive files such as family photos or financial records use an external
drive, use only when you need the files otherwise keep it turned off or
unconnected to the computer.

bill said:
Thanks for your replies but it seems to me that multiple log-ins does not get
round the problem of viruses,spyware etc infecting the system whereas two
distinct hard drives does. On one you have internet access ,games , e-mail
etc and on the other you have a simplified version without internet access on
which you would keep your correspondance etc.Perhaps someone can suggest a
better solution but I dont think it is multiple log-ins. Also can someone
tell me what happens if your hard drive fails and I have to install a new
one. From what has been said so far it appears that I will run into
reactivation problemswhen I try to reinstall Windows
Click to expand...
 
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