Paul,
The terms of the OEM license are very simple. For a supplier to supply an
OS with a complete system that OS is only licensed for use on that system
When that system is dead the license to use the OS dies with it.
The OEM pays a fractions of the Retail or even the 'retail' OEM cost for the
OS and they pass these savings on to you.
The cost you pay for the PC and in part the cost of the OS is reflected in
the terms of the license agreement.
For your 2 new systems you are required to purchase 2 new licenses for
Windows XP.
If you choose to purchase OEM licenses for these PCs then you should be
aware of the restrictions the OEM product, such as can only be installed to
a bare hard drive , no support from Microsoft (this is provided by the OEM),
AND the fact that again once the OEM copy is installed to a PC then it may
not be moved at a later date to another machine.
Your continued use of the Pack Bell software is a breach of the licensing
terms and to remain properly licensed you need to purchase 2 licenses for
Windows XP - one for each machine.
--
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
-----Original Message-----
I now have (well I will have when I finish building it)
two computers at home , one for me and one for the kids.
One of the computers has the hard drive from my old
packard bell with xp pre-installed and four PB back up
discs. If I buy the OEM version of XP Home, can I install
this into both computers? The pre-installed version is
full of stuff that only refers to Packard Bell and my old
system make-up, this has now radically changed as the
mobo went pop and took the processor with it. It is in a
protected partitioned area of the HD. Can I install XP
onto this hard drive and get rid of the oe version while
still keeping the rest of my stored progs/data?
I am obviously trying to keep costs down while financing
the build of another pc system - I am building it myself.
I know from reading the faq`s that I am really supposed
to buy the full version, but the difference between £65
and £165 doesn`t take much mental arithmetic.
We are all at heart skinflints, aren`t we?
.
OK You`re right. I have just contacted pack bells
helpline who say I havn`t a leg to stand on.
Surely a little bit of common sense should now prevail.
I use this computer at the moment mostly for internet
access and the kids use it for their games. I am building
another sytem just for the kids to use, so as not to use
up my memory/and stop crashing the damn thing. I am not a
commercial enterprise of any description, but a home
user/builder.
When I booted up this new system, I was asked for a key
code which was obtained from your helpline number. The
operator asked for the registration key which obviously I
still have, as it is stuck to the side of the case. The
system then booted up Windows no problem.
I have now been told that the operating system backup
disks I was given when I purchased the original computer
are now useless. Fine. I now know that if Windows does
crash or becomes corrupt that Iwill have to buy a new OS.
I am obviously going to have to buy a new version if XP
to install on my new pc when i get it built.
So my reasoning is - can I install the new version of XP
on both computers, in which case I will only have to buy
one version of the full disc.
Or, do I buy two OEM versions which can only be
installed on one computer?
Is it any wonder that people pirate copies of your OS
when they have to face injustice like this!
I did not deliberately blow up the motherboard to try
and cheat Microsoft.
I have no qualms about spending good money on good
products. I have used and shall continue to use Microsoft
products. But surely the customer is always right - or
are they? Without the customer and his support, there
would be no Microsoft!
So, as long as this computer stays healthy, I will
continue to use it as is. As far as I am concerned, I
paid Packard Bell for product that has obviously failed
on their part. So why should I be persecuted for their (
or Microstars ) faulty product.
