Licensing of XP

[Chente]

If I bought a Dell Computer with XP pre installed (got the disk anyway) and
that machine is dead, can I install this XP in a new HP machine purchased
recently?

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

If I bought a Dell Computer with XP pre installed (got the disk anyway)
and
that machine is dead, can I install this XP in a new HP machine purchased
recently?

Sorry, you can't. OEM licences are married to the machine on which the
product was installed. Divorce is not possible.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

No.

 

[C]

Sorry, you can't. OEM licences are married to the machine on which the
product was installed. Divorce is not possible.

Correction: *branded* OEM versions are married to the machine, not
generic OEM versions; and, although the EULA of same prohibits it, it is
possible.

C

 

[Daave]

Correction: *branded* OEM versions are married to the machine, not
generic OEM versions; and, although the EULA of same prohibits it, it
is possible.

I suppose we could extend the metaphor and call that "cheating." ;-)

 

[C]

I suppose we could extend the metaphor and call that "cheating." ;-)

C

 

[Anteaus]

I take it the HP has Vista, and that is why...

Licence-wise you're not supposed to do that, but physically it will usually
work so long as:

It's a real XP CD, and not a 'recovery disk' (A real CD has an 'i386' folder
on it)

You have a valid COA key from the old computer, and this is not being used
elsewhere, and has not been re-activated recently.

You can download XP drivers for the HP. (Find out before you format)

BTW you will have to completely wipe the disk, Vista/7 partitions are not
suitable for XP.

Other option is to get a Win7 upgrade. Bear in mind though that many of the
problems with new computers are down-to crapware (unwanted preinstalled
software like Norton Internet Security) and if this is the problem only a
clean install of the OS will truly fix it.

For that matter, Vista works reasonably well from a crap-free install but
you again need a genuine disc to do this, the recovery discs put the crap
back.

 

[Tim Slattery]

I take it the HP has Vista, and that is why...

Licence-wise you're not supposed to do that, but physically it will usually
work so long as:

It's a real XP CD, and not a 'recovery disk' (A real CD has an 'i386' folder
on it)

You have a valid COA key from the old computer, and this is not being used
elsewhere, and has not been re-activated recently.

I don't think so. This is a Dell OEM version, and therefore is pretty
surely BIOS-locked to the Dell that it came with. It wouldn't work on
any other computer.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If I bought a Dell Computer with XP pre installed (got the disk anyway) and
that machine is dead, can I install this XP in a new HP machine purchased
recently?

There are two issues here--the "can I" issue, and the "may I" issue.

Taking the "may I" issue first, no, you may not. The biggest
disadvantage of OEM versions is that their license ties them
permanently to the first machine they are installed on and they may
never be installed on any other machine.

Regarding the "can I" issue, most OEM versions provided with OEM
computers are BIOS-locked to the particular computer and will not
install on a different one.

Almost certainly your Dell is BIOS Locked, so in your case, you *may*
not and you *can* not.

 

[VanguardLH]

Correction: *branded* OEM versions are married to the machine, not
generic OEM versions; and, although the EULA of same prohibits it, it
is possible.

Doesn't matter whether branded or not. An OEM version sticks to the
first host on which it is installed. That you buy the generic OEM
version doesn't alter that you then become the OEMer (system builder)
doing the install. If the host on which you install the OEM version
gets stolen, lost in a divorce settlement, burned up in a fire, smashed
under the tires of a car or hurled off a cliff, or impaled by a rhino,
you lose the OEM license if you lose the host on which it was installed.
However, the OEM license does not forbid you to upgrade or repair your
host (which can be extensive).

It really isn't that difficult to differentiate the license (which is a
contract to which you agreed) versus the software. You would be
violating the *license* if you installed the OEM version on a different
host. If you don't agree to the contract, don't use the software.

 

[C]

Doesn't matter whether branded or not. An OEM version sticks to the
first host on which it is installed. That you buy the generic OEM
version doesn't alter that you then become the OEMer (system builder)
doing the install. If the host on which you install the OEM version
gets stolen, lost in a divorce settlement, burned up in a fire, smashed
under the tires of a car or hurled off a cliff, or impaled by a rhino,
you lose the OEM license if you lose the host on which it was installed.
However, the OEM license does not forbid you to upgrade or repair your
host (which can be extensive).

It really isn't that difficult to differentiate the license (which is a
contract to which you agreed) versus the software. You would be
violating the *license* if you installed the OEM version on a different
host. If you don't agree to the contract, don't use the software.

Tell me something I don't know. Read my post again where I wrote:

"and, although the EULA of same prohibits it, it is possible." And,
indeed, if you are willing to go what many say is against the EULA, it
most certainly is.

Why you have to inject some kind of self imposed morality whether it is
acceptable or not to violate an EULA is not relevant to the matter at
hand, nor is your advice as to what one should thing when agreeing to a
contract or not.

That said, you mentioned that upgrading is acceptable and can be
"extensive". With that logic, you can upgrade a screw from your old
computer and all other hardware could be new. In short, this part of
EULA is worthless because it does not state what a computer is or isn't
and probably is the reason MS has never taken anyone to court over it.

C

 

[Bruce Chambers]

If I bought a Dell Computer with XP pre installed (got the disk anyway) and
that machine is dead, can I install this XP in a new HP machine purchased
recently?

No. An OEM version must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally a
motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC) and is _permanently_
bound to the first PC on which it's installed. An OEM license, once
installed, is not legally transferable to another computer under _any_
circumstances. Further, OEM installation media are frequently "locked"
to the BIOS of ther computer with which they're sold, so you most likely
won't even be able to complete an installation using that Dell CD.

You'll need to purchase a new WinXP license for the new computer.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Roy Smith]

If I bought a Dell Computer with XP pre installed (got the disk anyway) and
that machine is dead, can I install this XP in a new HP machine purchased
recently?

No, because chances are that the disk is locked to the BIOS of the Dell
machine. Some OS restore disks from PC manufacturers check the hardware
to make sure that you're installing it on the right machine. If the
check fails then it refuses to install on the PC in question.

 

[Roy Smith]

For that matter, Vista works reasonably well from a crap-free install but
you again need a genuine disc to do this, the recovery discs put the crap
back.

Though that's not always the case. Some restore disks from PC
manufacturers won't put the crapware back on, instead they have it on a
second CD in case you want it there. That's what I got when I bought my
eMachine from Best Buy earlier this year.

I also had to replace the drive on my HP laptop, so I got a replacement
set of restore disks for HP. The set I got had just Windows XP Pro on
it, and a second disk with all the drivers and crapware. Thankfully I
can just select the drivers and skip installing the crapware....

 

[VanguardLH]

Tell me something I don't know. Read my post again where I wrote:

"and, although the EULA of same prohibits it, it is possible."

Which promotes piracy or implicates such.

That said, you mentioned that upgrading is acceptable and can be
"extensive".

Replacing a CPU that burned up is a repair. Replacing a dual-core with
one that unlocks the other 2 cores for a quad-core is an upgrade.
Replacing a defective mobo is a repair. Replacing a dead hard disk is a
repair. Adding more hard disks is an upgrade. Adding memory is an
upgrade. Replacing the video card is a repair or upgrade. Keeping a
screw and replacing everything around it all at once is not a repair or
upgrade. When you upgrade to better wipers, does your Suzuki Geo Metro
(http://tinyurl.com/yze7u33) suddenly turn into a $500K Porsche Carrera
GT (http://tinyurl.com/ylf5ygh)? Are there any *upgrades* that would
convert your Geo Metro to a Porsche Carrera?

A repaired or upgraded computer still has a remnant image of being the
old computer, not an entirely new one. Also, when you repair or upgrade
your computer, you don't miraculously end up with 2 computers. What is
obvious is that the OP wants *both* the old computer and new one. He
has or will have TWO separate computers. There is no issue regarding a
repair or upgrade to the old computer. The OP wants to install the OEM
from computer #1 (no longer in working order) onto computer #2. The OP
doesn't want to upgrade computer #1 so that it mutates into computer #2.
He is trying to rationalize an excuse to buy a whole NEW computer.
Please explain how you repair or upgrade 1 computer to end up with 2
computers. If you can build another working new computer out of the old
parts removed from upgrading your old computer, you've gone beyond
extensive upgrading of your old computer. You built a *new* computer
and your old computer still exists with its "parts" already assembled.
Upgrading, extensive or not, means you up end up with a better computer,
not another one.

If you buy a new computer, are you really trying to argue that moving a
screw from the first (old) computer to the second (new) computer
constitutes an /upgrade/ despite you now have TWO computers? Be careful
with extremist logic. That same extremist progression means hugging
your kid is pedophilia and murder is legal because your state does it to
convicted criminals.

That must've been some major damage to his old computer where it
couldn't be repaired for less than the cost of a whole new computer.
Since the OP doesn't have the wherewithall to replace the defective part
in his old computer, he'll be buying another pre-built computer which
means it'll come with a pre-installed OEM copy of Windows. He won't
need to be migrating his old OEM license. Maybe what he really wants to
know is how NOT to get Vista or Win7 on his whole new computer.

 

[VanguardLH]

No. An OEM version must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally a
motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC) and is _permanently_
bound to the first PC on which it's installed. An OEM license, once
installed, is not legally transferable to another computer under _any_
circumstances. Further, OEM installation media are frequently "locked"
to the BIOS of ther computer with which they're sold, so you most likely
won't even be able to complete an installation using that Dell CD.

You'll need to purchase a new WinXP license for the new computer.

Along with the restore image being designed for the hardware specific to
the BIOS-locked model will not match the hardware in the new HP
computer. Akin to trying push a square peg through a round hole.