OEM Licence and PC upgrade?

[One too many]

I have an OEM XP Home licence on a PC, which I plan to upgrade. I'm also
thinking of doing a clean install following the upgrade.

I understand that the OEM licence is tied to the original PC, and cannot be
transferred to another PC of a different make.
1. What is the most that I can upgrade before the OEM licence will no longer
work?
(e.g. changing motherboard, CPU, memory, graphics card or harddrive).
2. Does this vary between different OEM manufacturers?
3. Do I have to use the CDs that came with the computer, or can I use any XP
Home CD for the install.

Thanks.

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

I have an OEM XP Home licence on a PC, which I plan to upgrade. I'm also
thinking of doing a clean install following the upgrade.

I understand that the OEM licence is tied to the original PC, and cannot be
transferred to another PC of a different make.
1. What is the most that I can upgrade before the OEM licence will no longer
work?
(e.g. changing motherboard, CPU, memory, graphics card or harddrive).
2. Does this vary between different OEM manufacturers?
3. Do I have to use the CDs that came with the computer, or can I use any XP
Home CD for the install.

You question 3 implies this Windows XP Home came with the PC you are
intending to upgrade.
In this case contact the OEM for details of at what point you no longer have
the device that they licensed the OS for use on and at that point your OEM
license is no longer available for use on that device.
In direct answer to Question 3 - you must use the OEM supplied media to
reinstall your OEM product.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Guest]

Just do it, you should be able to re-install it as many
times as you want. It will activate on-line every 120
days otherwise you have to use the automated activation.
After say two installs you'll talk to someone tell them
anything you want.

Info Here;

http://www.microscum.com\mmpafaq long live Kurt

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

It depends upon the specific type of OEM installation CD that you
have. If it's a BIOS-Locked version, the breaking point would most
likely be the motherboard. If all you have is an OEM Recovery CD, the
matter is less certain: I've even seen reports of installations using
these failing if the original RAM modules have been replaced. To be
certain, ask the PC's manufacturer.

Microsoft has, to date, been very careful _not_ publicly to define
when an incrementally upgraded computer ceases to be the original
computer. The closest I've ever seen a Microsoft employee come to
this definition is to tell the person making the inquiry to consult
the PC's manufacturer. As the OEM license's support is solely the
responsibility of said manufacturer, they should determine what sort
of hardware changes to allow before the warranty and support
agreements are voided. To paraphrase: An incrementally upgraded
computer ceases to be the original computer, as pertains to the OEM
EULA, only when the *OEM* says it's a different computer.


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

How does providing false information about WPA and then referring
the OP to a web site that openly advocates lying and software piracy
answer his technical questions?

Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Guest]

Here is the way your Windows Software licence works.
If you have one machine only(cannot install Windows to
more than one machine on one licence) you may install it
on any machine you want. The product activation will see
your changed hardware (Should be 8 devices difference that
it will ask you to verify) and ask for the 25 digit code
that came with your software to continue. If you call
customer service you will need to provide a 24 digit code
generated on the computer.
This is in no way illegal and you may verify this with MS
customer service.

 

[One too many]

Thanks all.

What I have discovered from these posts, and from telephoning the Microsoft
technical support is:

1. My OEM CD may not work in my rebuilt computer, especially if I have
changed the motherboard. This is because the OEM CD will come with a limited
number of drivers that relate to my original hardware, and is unlikely to
have drivers for other manufacturer's motherboards. This lead's back to
Bruce's comment of when is an OEM not an OEM.

2. The surprising info from the tech support is that the OEM licence key is
not manufacturer specific. I can use, say, an IBM OEM licence with a Dell
OEM CD. Therefore, if I can find a generic OEM CD, I can use my licence any
type of PC.

I think, correct me if I am wrong (and I probably am), that if I take my OEM
CD and rebuild it using WinISO plus the drivers from a retail CD, I can
create a generic XP cd that will take OEM licence keys.

 

[kurttrail]

Greetings --

How does providing false information about WPA and then referring
the OP to a web site that openly advocates lying and software piracy
answer his technical questions?

Who needs to lie, Douchebag?

"The only information required to activate is an installation ID (and,
for Office XP and Office XP family products such as Visio 2002, the name
of the country in which the product is being installed)." -
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/mpafaq.asp#details

And while we're at it, WHERE THE F*CK DO I ADVOCATE *SOFTWARE* *PIRACY*
ON MY WEB SITE?!

Who is the one that is really the liar, DOUCHEBAG?!

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[kurttrail]

Thanks all.

What I have discovered from these posts, and from telephoning the
Microsoft technical support is:

1. My OEM CD may not work in my rebuilt computer, especially if I have
changed the motherboard. This is because the OEM CD will come with a
limited number of drivers that relate to my original hardware, and is
unlikely to have drivers for other manufacturer's motherboards. This
lead's back to Bruce's comment of when is an OEM not an OEM.

2. The surprising info from the tech support is that the OEM licence
key is not manufacturer specific. I can use, say, an IBM OEM licence
with a Dell OEM CD. Therefore, if I can find a generic OEM CD, I can
use my licence any type of PC.

I think, correct me if I am wrong (and I probably am), that if I take
my OEM CD and rebuild it using WinISO plus the drivers from a retail
CD, I can create a generic XP cd that will take OEM licence keys.

Yep, it should work. Of course, I'm sure that MS doesn't want you to do
that, but what they don't know, they can't do sh*t about.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have an OEM XP Home licence on a PC, which I plan to upgrade. I'm also
thinking of doing a clean install following the upgrade.

I understand that the OEM licence is tied to the original PC, and cannot be
transferred to another PC of a different make.
Correct

1. What is the most that I can upgrade before the OEM licence will no longer
work?
(e.g. changing motherboard, CPU, memory, graphics card or harddrive).
2. Does this vary between different OEM manufacturers?

If it is one that is 'BIOS locked', as most of the ones from big makers
(eg Dell, Gateway) are, then you can change anything except the BIOS
(and hence the motherboard). For small makers, or systems where you
bought an 'OEM' copy with hardware, the point has not been well defined,
but I suggest you should think in terms of the number of changes that
would lead the system at boot to think 'this ain't Kansas any more'.
For the criteria for that see www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

3. Do I have to use the CDs that came with the computer, or can I use any XP
Home CD for the install.

A regular Home CD might or might not accept the Product Key on the label
on the computer. *Probably* not, but a wrong key gets thrown out early,
so it might be worth a try