upgrading using OEM disk

[Steve DP]

I bought a PC 13 months ago with Vista Ultimate. Motherboard died and I
decided to order a new PC to get back up and running while I try to fix the
old PC. Anyway,the new PC has one of the more basic versions of Vista. Is
it possible to use the OEM full version of Ultimate from the old PC to
upgrade the basic version on the new PC or do I need to buy a true upgrade
disk? The new PC hasn't shipped yet, so I'm wondering if I should just tell
them to load Ultimate. And, yes, I've decided i want Ultimate, so no
questions about what I need it for, please.

Thanks

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I bought a PC 13 months ago with Vista Ultimate. Motherboard died and I
decided to order a new PC to get back up and running while I try to fix the
old PC. Anyway,the new PC has one of the more basic versions of Vista. Is
it possible to use the OEM full version of Ultimate from the old PC to
upgrade the basic version on the new PC or do I need to buy a true upgrade
disk?

No, it is not possible. There are two reasons for this, one legal, and
one technical.

First of all, by your own admission, you have an OEM license for Vista
Ultimate. An OEM license 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.

To even attempt to do so would be the equivalent of your telling
the world that your given word and your signature on a contract are
completely without value, never to be trusted.

Secondly, an OEM CD cannot be used to perform an upgrade of an earlier
OS, as it was designed to be installed _only_ upon an empty hard drive.
Further, if the OEM CD was designed by a specific manufacturer, such
as eMachines, Sony, Dell, Gateway, etc., it will most likely be
"BIOS-locked" to install only on the same make/model PC for which it was
designed, as an anti-piracy feature.

The new PC hasn't shipped yet, so I'm wondering if I should just tell
them to load Ultimate. And, yes, I've decided i want Ultimate, so no
questions about what I need it for, please.

Thanks

If you want Vista Ultimate on the new PC, that is the way you should
order it.


--

Bruce Chambers

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

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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

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killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[John Barnett MVP]

No. The OEM copy is tied to your old PC

--
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

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