XP Professional Upgrade - licensing question

G

gocat2005

One of my customers has bought an XP Professional Upgrade (retail boxed CD)
to upgrade his PC which has OEM XP Home installed on it. OK.

Now he wants to upgrade his laptop (which also has XP Home on it) using the
same CD set and license key.

Is that legal and practical for activation under the terms of the Retail XP
Upgrade license or should he buy another copy?

Please advise
 
B

Big Al

gocat2005 said:
One of my customers has bought an XP Professional Upgrade (retail boxed CD)
to upgrade his PC which has OEM XP Home installed on it. OK.

Now he wants to upgrade his laptop (which also has XP Home on it) using the
same CD set and license key.

Is that legal and practical for activation under the terms of the Retail XP
Upgrade license or should he buy another copy?

Please advise
Your CD is good for one PC only at a time.
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

A second installation of Windows XP requires a second license.

Here’s the easiest way to get an additional license:
http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/editorial/22/promotions/wal/


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows System & Performance

---------------------------------------------------------------

:

One of my customers has bought an XP Professional Upgrade (retail boxed CD)
to upgrade his PC which has OEM XP Home installed on it. OK.

Now he wants to upgrade his laptop (which also has XP Home on it) using the
same CD set and license key.

Is that legal and practical for activation under the terms of the Retail XP
Upgrade license or should he buy another copy?

Please advise
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

The cd is good for as many uses as the owner wishes. It is the product key
that is limited to being installed on one machine at a time.
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

That requires a second product key. The number of times the cd is used to
install Windows is irrelevant.
 
B

Big Al

Colin said:
The cd is good for as many uses as the owner wishes. It is the product
key that is limited to being installed on one machine at a time.
Yes, you're right. I keep thinking of using the CD and the key as a
single item. But yes, I load both my PC's with my wife's SP2 CD. But
use my key on my machine. Proper, and it saves me the SP2 upgrade time.
Thanks for the correction.
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

You're welcome.

btw, with Vista it gets even simpler since all retail dvd's are the same
(one x86 and one x64). There are not even separate upgrade and standard
media like there is with XP.
 
M

M.I.5¾

Colin Barnhorst said:
You're welcome.

btw, with Vista it gets even simpler since all retail dvd's are the same
(one x86 and one x64). There are not even separate upgrade and standard
media like there is with XP.

What you mean: is that anyone wishing to install Vista has to pay the same
exhorbitant price regardless of whether they are installing on a new system
or up^h^hdowngrading an existing installation.
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

What are you talking about?

M.I.5¾ said:
What you mean: is that anyone wishing to install Vista has to pay the same
exhorbitant price regardless of whether they are installing on a new
system or up^h^hdowngrading an existing installation.
 
M

M.I.5¾

Colin Barnhorst said:
What are you talking about?

You said, "There are not even separate upgrade and standard media [for
Vista]".

The implication is that you have to pay the same (i.e. the full price)
whether you wish to install Vista on an otherwise bare machine or load it on
top of an existing XP installation.
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

No, that's not the implication at all. I said "media". I did not say
license. The license is what determines price. All retail x86 dvds are the
same and all retail x64 dvds are the same. Unlike XP which has different
media for upgrade and standard licensing, Vista does not. Vista licensing,
and the differences in cost, is in the product key only.

M.I.5¾ said:
Colin Barnhorst said:
What are you talking about?

You said, "There are not even separate upgrade and standard media [for
Vista]".

The implication is that you have to pay the same (i.e. the full price)
whether you wish to install Vista on an otherwise bare machine or load it
on top of an existing XP installation.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

gocat2005 said:
One of my customers has bought an XP Professional Upgrade (retail boxed CD)
to upgrade his PC which has OEM XP Home installed on it. OK.

Now he wants to upgrade his laptop (which also has XP Home on it) using the
same CD set and license key.

Is that legal and practical for activation under the terms of the Retail XP
Upgrade license or should he buy another copy?


He'll need to purchase a separate WinXP Pro Upgrade license for each
computer on which you install it. As long as you have multiple
identical licenses, it doesn't matter if you use the same CD for the
installations, as long as you use a different license (Product Key) on
each installation.

Just as it has *always* been with *all* Microsoft operating
systems, it's necessary (to be in compliance with both the EULA and U.S.
copyright law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/117.html), if not
technically) to purchase one WinXP license for each computer on which it
is installed. (Consult an attorney versed in copyright law to determine
final applicability in your locale.) The only way in which WinXP
licensing differs from that of earlier versions of Windows is that
Microsoft has finally added a copy protection and anti-theft mechanism,
Product Activation, to prevent (or at least make more difficult)
multiple installations using a single license.

One can buy additional licenses, assuming one already has a retail
license. Naturally, Microsoft cannot sell additional OEM licenses. Be
aware, however, that you'll probably pay more this way than you would if
you were to buy a second copy of WinXP from a discount retailer;
Microsoft will only offer you a 15% discount off their MSRP.

Additional Licenses for Windows XP Home Edition
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/addlic.asp

Additional Licenses for Windows XP Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/addlic.asp


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


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

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
M

M.I.5¾

Colin Barnhorst said:
No, that's not the implication at all. I said "media". I did not say
license. The license is what determines price. All retail x86 dvds are
the same and all retail x64 dvds are the same. Unlike XP which has
different media for upgrade and standard licensing, Vista does not. Vista
licensing, and the differences in cost, is in the product key only.

Gothcha!

M.I.5¾ said:
Colin Barnhorst said:
What are you talking about?

You said, "There are not even separate upgrade and standard media [for
Vista]".

The implication is that you have to pay the same (i.e. the full price)
whether you wish to install Vista on an otherwise bare machine or load it
on top of an existing XP installation.
You're welcome.

btw, with Vista it gets even simpler since all retail dvd's are the
same (one x86 and one x64). There are not even separate upgrade and
standard media like there is with XP.


What you mean: is that anyone wishing to install Vista has to pay the
same exhorbitant price regardless of whether they are installing on a
new system or up^h^hdowngrading an existing installation.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top