Parting out a computer. What part can Windows XP Pro go with?

[Guest]

I have a computer I built a few years ago that I no longer need. I want to
sell the components (motherboard, video card, CPU, RAM, hard drive, etc) on
ebay to cover part of the cost of a new computer. I bought the components
from newegg.com including a non-branded OEM version of Windows XP
Professional. Since I no longer need this copy of XP can I sell it on ebay?
Do I need to sell it with a particular component it was originally purchased
with? How can it be activated on its new computer? Or am I just out of
luck? Thanks!

 

[kurttrail]

I have a computer I built a few years ago that I no longer need. I
want to sell the components (motherboard, video card, CPU, RAM, hard
drive, etc) on ebay to cover part of the cost of a new computer. I
bought the components from newegg.com including a non-branded OEM
version of Windows XP Professional. Since I no longer need this copy
of XP can I sell it on ebay? Do I need to sell it with a particular
component it was originally purchased with? How can it be activated
on its new computer? Or am I just out of luck? Thanks!

Read the EULA:

1.2 SOFTWARE as a Component of the COMPUTER -
Transfer. This license may not be shared,
transferred to or used concurrently on
different computers. The SOFTWARE is licensed
with the COMPUTER as a single integrated
product and may only be used with the
COMPUTER. If the SOFTWARE is not accompanied
by HARDWARE, you may not use the SOFTWARE.
You may permanently transfer all of your
rights under this EULA only as part of a
permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER,
provided you retain no copies of the SOFTWARE.
If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer
must also include all prior versions of the
SOFTWARE. This transfer must also include the
Certificate of Authenticity label. The
transfer may not be an indirect transfer,
such as a consignment. Prior to the transfer,
the end user receiving the Software must
agree to all the EULA terms.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[ANONYMOUS]

Read the EULA:

1.2 SOFTWARE as a Component of the COMPUTER -
Transfer. This license may not be shared,
transferred to or used concurrently on
different computers. The SOFTWARE is licensed
with the COMPUTER as a single integrated
product and may only be used with the
COMPUTER. If the SOFTWARE is not accompanied
by HARDWARE, you may not use the SOFTWARE.
You may permanently transfer all of your
rights under this EULA only as part of a
permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER,
provided you retain no copies of the SOFTWARE.
If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer
must also include all prior versions of the
SOFTWARE. This transfer must also include the
Certificate of Authenticity label. The
transfer may not be an indirect transfer,
such as a consignment. Prior to the transfer,
the end user receiving the Software must
agree to all the EULA terms.

I don't believe that kurttrail has actually read the EULA and advising
people to do the same!! If everybody follows this then we may not need
activation technology which was brought in because people never read
EULAs properly!!

 

[Guest]

I have a computer I built a few years ago that I no longer need. I
want to sell the components (motherboard, video card, CPU, RAM, hard
drive, etc) on ebay to cover part of the cost of a new computer. I
bought the components from newegg.com including a non-branded OEM
version of Windows XP Professional. Since I no longer need this copy
of XP can I sell it on ebay? Do I need to sell it with a particular
component it was originally purchased with? How can it be activated

Read the EULA:

1.2 SOFTWARE as a Component of the COMPUTER -
Transfer. This license may not be shared,
transferred to or used concurrently on
different computers. The SOFTWARE is licensed
with the COMPUTER as a single integrated
product and may only be used with the
COMPUTER. If the SOFTWARE is not accompanied
by HARDWARE, you may not use the SOFTWARE.
You may permanently transfer all of your
rights under this EULA only as part of a
permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER,
provided you retain no copies of the SOFTWARE.
If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer
must also include all prior versions of the
SOFTWARE. This transfer must also include the
Certificate of Authenticity label. The
transfer may not be an indirect transfer,
such as a consignment. Prior to the transfer,
the end user receiving the Software must
agree to all the EULA terms.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

Sounds like your answer is yes, sort of. The EULA states "You may
permanently transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as part of a
permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER, provided you retain no copies of
the SOFTWARE."

How does Microsoft define "COMPUTER"? If I sell it with the motherboard
will that cut it?

 

[kurttrail]

I don't believe that kurttrail has actually read the EULA and advising
people to do the same!! If everybody follows this then we may not
need activation technology which was brought in because people never
read EULAs properly!!

Bugger off. I've said plenty of times before that I believe the EULA is
a perfectly valid commerial use license.

What I don't agree with is that it is a valid private non-commercial use
license, as it tries to strip people of their "fair use" rights.

In this case, the OP wants to make a permanent commercial transfer of
OEM WinXP, so the EULA terms should apply. Although the SBL may
conflict slightly in this case, as MS is trying to make System Builders
out of End Users when it comes to generic OEM WinXP.

The OP may want to accept his System Builder status, and follow the
terms of distribution for system builders, and then the distribution
requirements are:

4. SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION.

4.1 We grant you a nonexclusive right to distribute an individual
software license only with a fully assembled computer system. A "fully
assembled computer system" means a computer system consisting of at
least a central processing unit, a motherboard, a hard drive, a power
supply, and a case.

4.2 Each individual software license must be distributed pursuant to the
end-user license agreement ("EULA") that accompanies the individual
software license. Under the terms of the EULA, you are the licensor.

5. HARDWARE DISTRIBUTION. If this package contains hardware units, we
grant you a nonexclusive right to distribute each hardware unit only
with either (a) a fully assembled computer system or (b) other
non-Microsoft computer hardware component. If you distribute a hardware
unit with a fully assembled computer system, you must preinstall the
associated software drivers and programs supplied in this package, if
any, on the fully assembled computer system's hard drive. Neither
Microsoft, its affiliates, nor its distributors or suppliers makes any
warranty regarding compliance of the hardware units with any federal,
state, provincial, or local laws or regulations, or the laws or
regulations of any non-U.S. jurisdiction, relating to computing devices
or items sold to the public. You have the sole responsibility to
assemble, test, and certify the hardware units in conjunction with other
equipment that you manufacture, distribute, or sell.

So get a lawyer and wait to get sued by MS, so that a judge can sort it
all out. It is never as simple as read the EULA!

And I'm quite the student of the EULA, and many of the changes MS has
made to it during this century.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[kurttrail]

Sounds like your answer is yes, sort of. The EULA states "You may
permanently transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as part
of a permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER, provided you retain
no copies of the SOFTWARE."

How does Microsoft define "COMPUTER"? If I sell it with the
motherboard will that cut it?

Again, read the EULA:

The term "COMPUTER" as used herein shall
mean the HARDWARE, if the HARDWARE is a
single computer system, or shall mean the
computer system with which the HARDWARE
operates, if the HARDWARE is a computer
system component.

And my answer is not to give you a legal opinion. I'm just giving you
information, from which you must ultimately decide what it right for
you.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[David Candy]

Then surely one should inquire when he bought it and apply the EULAs that applied at that time.

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

Sounds like your answer is yes, sort of. The EULA states "You may
permanently transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as part
of a permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER, provided you retain
no copies of the SOFTWARE."

How does Microsoft define "COMPUTER"? If I sell it with the
motherboard will that cut it?

That would probably be the safest way to go in regard to the purchaser being
able to activate without a hassle.
Sell or transfer XP to new computer.
#8 on the FAQ list.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#8
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[kurttrail]

Then surely one should inquire when he bought it and apply the EULAs
that applied at that time.

Well, I did tell him to read the EULA. If the OP is lazy enough to read
the most recent XP EULA that I've provided him/her, instead of the one
on his computer, then that is his/her own problem. ;-)

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Guest]

Bugger off. I've said plenty of times before that I believe the EULA is
a perfectly valid commerial use license.

What I don't agree with is that it is a valid private non-commercial use
license, as it tries to strip people of their "fair use" rights.

In this case, the OP wants to make a permanent commercial transfer of
OEM WinXP, so the EULA terms should apply. Although the SBL may
conflict slightly in this case, as MS is trying to make System Builders
out of End Users when it comes to generic OEM WinXP.

The OP may want to accept his System Builder status, and follow the
terms of distribution for system builders, and then the distribution
requirements are:

4. SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION.

4.1 We grant you a nonexclusive right to distribute an individual
software license only with a fully assembled computer system. A "fully
assembled computer system" means a computer system consisting of at
least a central processing unit, a motherboard, a hard drive, a power
supply, and a case.

4.2 Each individual software license must be distributed pursuant to the
end-user license agreement ("EULA") that accompanies the individual
software license. Under the terms of the EULA, you are the licensor.

5. HARDWARE DISTRIBUTION. If this package contains hardware units, we
grant you a nonexclusive right to distribute each hardware unit only
with either (a) a fully assembled computer system or (b) other
non-Microsoft computer hardware component. If you distribute a hardware
unit with a fully assembled computer system, you must preinstall the
associated software drivers and programs supplied in this package, if
any, on the fully assembled computer system's hard drive. Neither
Microsoft, its affiliates, nor its distributors or suppliers makes any
warranty regarding compliance of the hardware units with any federal,
state, provincial, or local laws or regulations, or the laws or
regulations of any non-U.S. jurisdiction, relating to computing devices
or items sold to the public. You have the sole responsibility to
assemble, test, and certify the hardware units in conjunction with other
equipment that you manufacture, distribute, or sell.

So get a lawyer and wait to get sued by MS, so that a judge can sort it
all out. It is never as simple as read the EULA!

And I'm quite the student of the EULA, and many of the changes MS has
made to it during this century.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

Thanks Kurt. This answers my questions. I am trying to do the right thing.
Even though I am not a system builder this is the only place I have found
where it defines what a computer is (that is ..."fully assembled computer
system" means a computer system consisting of at least a central processing
unit, a motherboard, a hard drive, a power supply, and a case.") The $50 I
might make from this is not worth any legal hassle. Thanks, Dave

 

[kurttrail]

In

That would probably be the safest way to go in regard to the
purchaser being able to activate without a hassle.
Sell or transfer XP to new computer.
#8 on the FAQ list.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#8

Boy, is this the Bizzaro World or what?!

I'm the one giving the EULA answer, and you're the one giving the real
world answer! What a difference a couple of years make!

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[jonah]

I don't believe that kurttrail has actually read the EULA and advising
people to do the same!! If everybody follows this then we may not need
activation technology which was brought in because people never read
EULAs properly!!

I believe kurttrail has read it in great detail, I can't be arsed.

IMHO people just choose to ignore the EULA weather they read it or not
and mostly see only the cost of paying hundreds / thousands of bucks
for multiple copies of the same thing. Granted XP is a good OS but it
is still only a glorified Win2000 update and its price reflects the
current power of MS not reality.

If Windows was a reasonable price say $50-00 / copy then vastly more
people would be less inclined to cheat - hence Activation and the
truly horrible mess that is WGA would not be needed.

The price will have to come down eventually, the market always
corrects itself.

MS employees own blogs show how bad things actually are with Vista -
interesting reading - and barring miracles Vista is not going to save
the day whilst Linux, Mac, and maybe Google etc will begin to take
chunks out of MS as it declines.

http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2006/03/vista-2007-fire-leadership-now.html

Actiivation - lol - in another 10 years MS will be lucky to give
Windows away unless things change radically at Redmond.

Jonah

 

[kurttrail]

Thanks Kurt. This answers my questions. I am trying to do the right
thing. Even though I am not a system builder

According to MS, they may consider you a "System Builder." They changed
the generic OEM licensing last year to turn End Users into System
Builders.

this is the only place I
have found where it defines what a computer is (that is ..."fully
assembled computer system" means a computer system consisting of at
least a central processing unit, a motherboard, a hard drive, a power
supply, and a case.") The $50 I might make from this is not worth any
legal hassle. Thanks, Dave

Actually, the EULA does define what a "COMPUTER" is too.

I've already given you the transfer terms for OEM WinXP SP1/SP2, here
From pre-SP1 Windows XP Pro EULA:

"Software as a Component of the Computer - Transfer. THIS LICENSE MAY
NOT BE SHARED,TRANSFERRED TO OR USED CONCURRENTLY ON DIFFERENT
COMPUTERS. The SOFTWARE is licensed with the HARDWARE as a single
integrated product and may only be used with the HARDWARE. If the
SOFTWARE is not accompanied by new HARDWARE, you may not use the
SOFTWARE. You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this
EULA only as part of a permanent sale or transfer of the HARDWARE,
provided you retain no copies, if you transfer all of the SOFTWARE
(including all component parts, the media and printed materials, any
upgrades, this EULA and the Certificate of Authenticity), and the
recipient agrees to the terms of this EULA. If the SOFTWARE is an
upgrade, any transfer must also include all prior versions of the
SOFTWARE."

Pre-SP1 tied the SOFTWARE to the HARDWARE, not to the COMPUTER, "as a
single
integrated product."

So you need to read your EULA that came with your copy of XP, and then
decide what is right, or if you are still confused, contact a lawyer, or
just sell WinXP more privately than using eBay or any other online
auction site. If it has been more than 120 days since you last
activated it, the new owner should be able to activate it just like it
was brand-spanking new anyway, as after 120 days MS resets the
activation data stored on its activation servers.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a computer I built a few years ago that I no longer need. I want to
sell the components (motherboard, video card, CPU, RAM, hard drive, etc) on
ebay to cover part of the cost of a new computer. I bought the components
from newegg.com including a non-branded OEM version of Windows XP
Professional. Since I no longer need this copy of XP can I sell it on ebay?

Only if it's sold as part of the completely assembled computer on which
it was first installed. An OEM license, once installed, is not
transferable to another computer, under any circumstances. The only way
to legitimately transfer ownership of an installed OEM license is to
transfer ownership of the computer on which it is installed.

Do I need to sell it with a particular component it was originally purchased
with?

No, it can only be legitimately with the entire computer. If you break
the computer down into separate components and sell those components
separately, then you cannot legitimately sell the OEM Windows 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

 

[paulmd]

I have a computer I built a few years ago that I no longer need. I want to
sell the components (motherboard, video card, CPU, RAM, hard drive, etc) on
ebay to cover part of the cost of a new computer. I bought the components
from newegg.com including a non-branded OEM version of Windows XP
Professional. Since I no longer need this copy of XP can I sell it on ebay?
Do I need to sell it with a particular component it was originally purchased
with? How can it be activated on its new computer? Or am I just out of
luck? Thanks!

To be honest, MS doesn't persue the grey area one-off cases. They go
after the big ones, counterfeiters, ETC. If you're in the wrong, it's
not far enogh for MS to hassle you about. The worst they'll do is tell
you not to do it again!

As your licence is non branded, there is no requirement to bundle it
with anything. If it IS brandet, the part would be the motherboard.

Another thought is that the WHOLE computer may fetch more than the
components. Just ship the licence with that and there is no issue at
all with it.

PS WIPE THE HARD DRIVES before selling them.

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

Boy, is this the Bizzaro World or what?!

I'm the one giving the EULA answer, and you're the one giving the real
world answer! What a difference a couple of years make!

LOL, it is kind of weird.
The person buying the OS MB combo, would need to actually use the MB to
avoid any problems with activation.
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[kurttrail]

In

LOL, it is kind of weird.
The person buying the OS MB combo, would need to actually use the MB
to avoid any problems with activation.

The 120 day rule for resetting PA data does apply to generic OEM WinXP,
as it does to Retail.

--
Peace!
Kurt Kirsch
Self-anointed Moderator
http://microscum.com
"It'll soon shake your Windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'."

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

The 120 day rule for resetting PA data does apply to generic OEM
WinXP, as it does to Retail.

That is true, but I would still be reluctant to sell an OEM XP without the
complete computer as it was when first installed. You could be inviting
problems from a dissatisfied purchaser.
The link I included had more detailed info to that effect.

--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm