Swapping licenses

[Jamie Furlong]

As briefly as I can:
Have PC with OEM WinXP Home installed (over one year ago)
Have laptop with "full" (ie: not upgrade) version of XP Pro (bought
seperately, installed over 1 year ago)
Laptop now beyond repair.
Need Pro on PC now, not possible to wipe PC clean.
Would like Home on a new laptop, if I bought one (without OS).

So, if I install Pro version over OEM, obviously the Pro license number
would replace the Home version, but if I then installed Home on any other
laptop, is that going to cause problems?
In fact, is installing Pro (full) over Home (OEM) going to cause probs?
It's not that I don't actually have the data backed up, but it's taken
months of tweaks and updates and configs etc to get all the graphics cards,
tablet, capture card etc etc working the way I want, and I so don't want to
spend literally days doing all this again!

 

[Yves Leclerc]

If you upgrade to Pro, both the original Home license and the Pro Upgrade
license will be joined.

OEM licences are not transferrable as per Microsoft's End-User Licence
Agreement, officially.

 

[Tom Porterfield]

As briefly as I can:
Have PC with OEM WinXP Home installed (over one year ago)
Have laptop with "full" (ie: not upgrade) version of XP Pro (bought
seperately, installed over 1 year ago)
Laptop now beyond repair.
Need Pro on PC now, not possible to wipe PC clean.
Would like Home on a new laptop, if I bought one (without OS).

So, if I install Pro version over OEM, obviously the Pro license number
would replace the Home version, but if I then installed Home on any other
laptop, is that going to cause problems?
In fact, is installing Pro (full) over Home (OEM) going to cause probs?
It's not that I don't actually have the data backed up, but it's taken
months of tweaks and updates and configs etc to get all the graphics cards,
tablet, capture card etc etc working the way I want, and I so don't want to
spend literally days doing all this again!

Pro over home shouldn't be a problem. Folks will bash me for saying
this, but you would be violating the OEM license for your XP Home
install if you attempted to install it on another laptop. Outside of
that though there is a good chance that won't work anyway. Laptop
installs tend to be the most customized and chances are good that an XP
install that is customized for laptop brand X won't work for a brand Y
laptop. For the new laptop your best bet would be to go ahead and
purchase one that came with XP already installed and configured for that
brand laptop.
--
Tom Porterfield
MS-MVP Windows
http://support.telop.org

Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup only.

 

[Jamie Furlong]

If you upgrade to Pro, both the original Home license and the Pro Upgrade
license will be joined.

OEM licences are not transferrable as per Microsoft's End-User Licence
Agreement, officially.

Oh Good Lord! How ridiculous! So you pay for two things, but in fact you can
only use one of them? Tsk....

Pro over home shouldn't be a problem. Folks will bash me for saying this,
but you would be violating the OEM license for your XP Home install if you
attempted to install it on another laptop. Outside of that though there
is a good chance that won't work anyway. Laptop installs tend to be the
most customized and chances are good that an XP install that is customized
for laptop brand X won't work for a brand Y laptop.

Ah, what I was trying to make clear was that the XP I had on the laptop was
completely standalone, ie: XP in a box, which I then installed on the laptop
and it worked fine with the downloaded laptop drivers.
However, I can see that installing a customised OEM home pc install on a
laptop might cause grief.

To be honest, the whole point of this is that Avid Free DV specified XP Pro
as a minimum requirement, however, I just went there now and that
requirement has been removed, but the very similar Avid Xpress says:
"Minimum Specifications for PC Workstations and Notebooks
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 or 2"

I wonder just what the difference is as far as applications are concerned?
In so far as everything else is working perfectly, and only one app used to
require it, I'm beginning to wonder if I should actually risk it. Avid Free
DOES work, but it locks up from time to time. I think I've just crossed over
into the boundary of using the forum for the app concerned!

For the new laptop your best bet would be to go ahead and purchase one
that came with XP already installed and configured for that brand laptop.

The idea of buying yet another copy of Windows makes me all twitchy, so as
the laptop is really only email and browsing on the move, I think a copy of
Linux might go on it.

But it's good to get an idea of what I can and can't do with my spare copy
of XP in the future!

 

[Bob I]

And you paid 1/2 price for each to make a "whole one".

 

[D.Currie]

You paid almost nothing for the oem version that came with the laptop, which
is why you can't turn it into what you get with a retail or even a generic
oem cd.

It is kind of a waste to use a full version as an upgrade, so I'm with you
on that. Buy an upgrade for that computer, and use the full one on the new
one. However, it's probably going to be hard to buy a new laptop with no OS.

Also -- you mention "tablet" -- if this is a tablet PC, you already have Pro
if you have the Tablet PC OS. By installing a retail pro over the tablet OS,
you'd be losing features. If it's some other tablet you're referring to,
then never mind.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Oh Good Lord! How ridiculous! So you pay for two things, but in
fact
you can only use one of them? Tsk....

No, you didn't pay for two licenses. You paid for one Windows XP
Home license, and for one ability to upgrade it to Windows XP
Professional. That's what an upgrade is; it's *not* a separate
license, and that's why it's cheaper than the Full version. If
you want two licenses, then that's what you should buy.

It's like buying a suit, gaining weight and paying a tailor to
alter it to your new larger size. Do you complain that you only
end up with one suit?

 

[Ron Martell]

As briefly as I can:
Have PC with OEM WinXP Home installed (over one year ago)
Have laptop with "full" (ie: not upgrade) version of XP Pro (bought
seperately, installed over 1 year ago)
Laptop now beyond repair.
Need Pro on PC now, not possible to wipe PC clean.
Would like Home on a new laptop, if I bought one (without OS).

So, if I install Pro version over OEM, obviously the Pro license number
would replace the Home version, but if I then installed Home on any other
laptop, is that going to cause problems?
In fact, is installing Pro (full) over Home (OEM) going to cause probs?
It's not that I don't actually have the data backed up, but it's taken
months of tweaks and updates and configs etc to get all the graphics cards,
tablet, capture card etc etc working the way I want, and I so don't want to
spend literally days doing all this again!

According to the terms of the OEM license your old Laptop and the OEM
XP Home license that came with it were a "package deal" that cannot be
separated. So when the laptop died the license for the OEM XP Home
died with it.

Hope this clarifies the situation.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

As briefly as I can:
Have PC with OEM WinXP Home installed (over one year ago)
Have laptop with "full" (ie: not upgrade) version of XP Pro (bought
seperately, installed over 1 year ago)
Laptop now beyond repair.
Need Pro on PC now, not possible to wipe PC clean.

As your license for WinXP Pro seems, from your description, to be a
retail license, you can remove it (a moot point, really, with the laptop
"dead;" consider it removed) from the original computer and use it to
upgrade the desktop.

Would like Home on a new laptop, if I bought one (without OS).

How would you do that without buying the OS?

So, if I install Pro version over OEM, obviously the Pro license number
would replace the Home version, but if I then installed Home on any other
laptop, is that going to cause problems?

Ah! Now the statement above becomes clear. But this you cannot do.
The desktop's WinXP Home license is OEM, which means that it is not
legitimately transferable to any other computer, ever. An OEM license
lives and dies with the first computer on which it's installed. That's
one of the reasons an OEM license is so much cheaper than a retail license.

In fact, is installing Pro (full) over Home (OEM) going to cause probs?

Not under normal circumstances.

WinXP is designed to install and upgrade the existing operating
system while simultaneously preserving your applications and data, and
translating as many personalized settings as possible. The process is
designed to be, and normally is, quite painless. That said, things
can go wrong, in a small number of cases. If your data is at all
important to you, back it up before proceeding.

The upgrade from WinXP Home to WinXP Pro, in particular, almost
always goes smoothly, as both operating systems use the same kernel.

It's not that I don't actually have the data backed up, but it's taken
months of tweaks and updates and configs etc to get all the graphics cards,
tablet, capture card etc etc working the way I want, and I so don't want to
spend literally days doing all this again!

--

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]

Folks will bash me for saying
this, .........

No one whose opinion matters, though, Tom.

but you would be violating the OEM license for your XP Home
install if you attempted to install it on another laptop. Outside of
that though there is a good chance that won't work anyway. Laptop
installs tend to be the most customized and chances are good that an XP
install that is customized for laptop brand X won't work for a brand Y
laptop.

Very true.

For the new laptop your best bet would be to go ahead and
purchase one that came with XP already installed and configured for that
brand laptop.

Sound advice.


--

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

 

[Jamie Furlong]

According to the terms of the OEM license your old Laptop and the OEM
XP Home license that came with it were a "package deal" that cannot be
separated. So when the laptop died the license for the OEM XP Home
died with it.

You paid almost nothing for the oem version that came with the laptop

Just for clarification (and I worked so hard to make it all clear in the
original!)...

Also -- you mention "tablet" -- if this is a tablet PC, you already have
Pro

Sorry...what I SHOULD have written was

I tend to assume other people will infer from the context, which is always a
dangerous assumption!

And you paid 1/2 price for each to make a "whole one".

Sorry, again for clarification, I SHOULD have typed:
In other words, I payed full price for one, so I'm not entirely sure how I
payed half price for both!

 

[Jamie Furlong]

Jamie Furlong wrote:

How would you do that without buying the OS?

Er, I'd tick the "I will provide my own OS" on the spec page! With the
exception of some notably awful companies (Time/Tiny which force you to buy
the OS, and have not surprisingly just gone bust in the UK), most reputable
manufacturers provide a "no OS" option in the UK. Is it different in the US?


Anyway, thanks for your (and other's) answer, especially for re-assuring me
that the upgrade to Pro *should* be OK (don't worry, won't hold you to it!).
So that's what I'm going to do - Pro onto home PC, forget about laptop for
now.

Thanks again, excellent responses, and quick too!

 

[Lil' Dave]

Legal or not, prior to XP, people have been using upgrade MS OS install CDs
on multiple PCs in their homes whether they understand the licensing or not.
98 to 98SE is a prime example. Not saying its right, but its commonplace.

 

[D.Currie]

Just for clarification (and I worked so hard to make it all clear in the
original!)...





Sorry...what I SHOULD have written was


I tend to assume other people will infer from the context, which is always
a dangerous assumption!



Sorry, again for clarification, I SHOULD have typed:

In other words, I payed full price for one, so I'm not entirely sure how I
payed half price for both!

As far as the tablet thing, I mentioned it because a lot of people
misunderstand what the Tablet PC OS is, and people call a lot of things by
different names, so when you said "tablet," without any other reference, I
just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing.

As far as half price for both, that's not what I said. I don't know if
anyone said it, but I'm not going to re-read this to find the correct
attribution, if that was the case.

What I said was that you paid very little for the OEM version that came with
the computer, so IMO the loss of that is not very significant, cost-wise.
People often get all upset because they paid for it, and in their eyes, they
should get to do whatever they want with it, thinking that they paid the
same as they would have for any other version of the OS. But in truth, they
paid very little for a version that gives you less functionality than any
other version that exists. It would be like going to McD's for a burger and
then walking into a restaurant and saying that you paid for beef, so you
want to trade the burger for a steak. Your manufacturer-specific oem version
of XP is worth about what that hamburger is, IMO, and there's no way to make
it into steak.

Your full retail version is still fully functional. You can use it as an
upgrade, if you want, but then you'd need a full version for the other
computer you mentioned. Thus my advice to buy an upgrade for the one you
want to upgrade, and use the full version on whatever "empty" computer you
have.

 

[Mike Mueller]

<snip>
": What I said was that you paid very little for the OEM
version that came with
: the computer, so IMO the loss of that is not very
significant, cost-wise.
: People often get all upset because they paid for it, and
in their eyes, they
: should get to do whatever they want with it, thinking that
they paid the
: same as they would have for any other version of the OS.
But in truth, they
: paid very little for a version that gives you less
functionality than any
: other version that exists. It would be like going to McD's
for a burger and
: then walking into a restaurant and saying that you paid
for beef, so you
: want to trade the burger for a steak. Your
manufacturer-specific oem version
: of XP is worth about what that hamburger is, IMO, and
there's no way to make
: it into steak.

What functionality does the Retail version have that my OEM
version does not?
AFAIK the only functionality that is different is not on the
PC, but in the support network

 

[D.Currie]

<snip>
": What I said was that you paid very little for the OEM
version that came with
: the computer, so IMO the loss of that is not very
significant, cost-wise.
: People often get all upset because they paid for it, and
in their eyes, they
: should get to do whatever they want with it, thinking that
they paid the
: same as they would have for any other version of the OS.
But in truth, they
: paid very little for a version that gives you less
functionality than any
: other version that exists. It would be like going to McD's
for a burger and
: then walking into a restaurant and saying that you paid
for beef, so you
: want to trade the burger for a steak. Your
manufacturer-specific oem version
: of XP is worth about what that hamburger is, IMO, and
there's no way to make
: it into steak.

What functionality does the Retail version have that my OEM
version does not?
AFAIK the only functionality that is different is not on the
PC, but in the support network

The ability to move it to another motherboard and have the disk actually
work to install or repair. Dell CDs used to work on other motherboards, but
I've heard that they no longer do. The crippling of the oem cd depends
entirely on the oem that has customized it. If you get one of the wonderful
"restore" cds, your only option may be to restore back to pristine factory
new condition. No chance to do a repair, create a slipstream CD, and a good
chance that if you start changing hardware, the CDs just not going to work.
Not to mention that some of the oems remove some of the features, like the
backup software. And the add all sorts of garbage to the install. And some
have crippled the help & support feature as well.

Generic oem cds are a different story entirely. And for a while, the Dell
cds were pretty close to being generic oem cds with some exceptions. Most of
the rest of them are best used as shiny coasters.

 

[Ron Martell]

What functionality does the Retail version have that my OEM
version does not?
AFAIK the only functionality that is different is not on the
PC, but in the support network

Depending on the specific OEM concerned, you may not have the ability
to:
- Run the Windows XP Recovery Console
- Do a Repair Install (also called an in-place upgrade)
- Create a "slipstream" install CD containing the latest Service Pack.

Additionally you may not, at least not without purchasing additional
hardware, be able to use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to
accumulate data on your old PC for transfer to the new one.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Mike Mueller]

But are these not limitations placed by the OEM as opposed
to limitations imposed by MS?

:
:
: >What functionality does the Retail version have that my
OEM
: >version does not?
: >AFAIK the only functionality that is different is not on
the
: >PC, but in the support network
: >
:
: Depending on the specific OEM concerned, you may not have
the ability
: to:
: - Run the Windows XP Recovery Console
: - Do a Repair Install (also called an in-place upgrade)
: - Create a "slipstream" install CD containing the latest
Service Pack.
:
: Additionally you may not, at least not without purchasing
additional
: hardware, be able to use the Files and Settings Transfer
Wizard to
: accumulate data on your old PC for transfer to the new
one.
:
: Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
: --
: Microsoft MVP
: On-Line Help Computer Service
: http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
:
: In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
: http://aumha.org/alex.htm

 

[Bob I]

Seems a big one was missed. OEM is clean install only.

 

[Alias]

Seems a big one was missed. OEM is clean install only.

And repair install.

Alias