Question about OEM licensing

[Jeremy Gillow]

If I buy a copy of Windows XP Pro OEM from a local PC store I understand
that it must be purchased with a piece of hardware like a mouse, keyboard,
video card, mobo, etc. My question is that if I purchase the OEM copy with
a movable item like a mouse, will the license be tied to that piece of
hardware or to the entire system in which the hardware is eventually used.
My goal would be to have a license that can be moved to a different machine
in the future--I could easily move the original piece of hardware but WPA
has no idea which device the license was purchased with, so if it sees a new
mobo, cpu, hdd, ram, MAC it's going to complain. I'm pretty sure I'm going
to have to pay for a Retail copy but I was just wondering if there was some
loophole there.

Second part of the question: I have a Dell laptop that shipped with XP Home
OEM. If I buy a copy of XP Pro Retail upgrade will that upgrade become tied
to that installation or will it be transferable, granted that the new
machine has a qualified predecessor to Windows XP?

Thanks,

Jeremy

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Jeremy

Nice try.. no, it is not tied to the mouse.. and the way mice last these
days, it wouldn't be tied to a whole hell of a lot for long..

 

[Shenan Stanley]

If I buy a copy of Windows XP Pro OEM from a local PC store I
understand that it must be purchased with a piece of hardware like a
mouse, keyboard, video card, mobo, etc. My question is that if I
purchase the OEM copy with a movable item like a mouse, will the
license be tied to that piece of hardware or to the entire system in
which the hardware is eventually used. My goal would be to have a
license that can be moved to a different machine in the future--I
could easily move the original piece of hardware but WPA has no idea
which device the license was purchased with, so if it sees a new
mobo, cpu, hdd, ram, MAC it's going to complain. I'm pretty sure I'm
going to have to pay for a Retail copy but I was just wondering if
there was some loophole there.

Second part of the question: I have a Dell laptop that shipped with
XP Home OEM. If I buy a copy of XP Pro Retail upgrade will that
upgrade become tied to that installation or will it be transferable,
granted that the new machine has a qualified predecessor to Windows
XP?

First question - tied to the first machine installed on - no matter the
hardware you purchased it with.

Second question - if you format the Dell and reinstall the original Windows
XP Home edition before using the retail Windows XP Professional edition on
another computer - then you can do what you want with that upgrade CD again.