Vista OEM license - non-peripheral hardware requirements

[dp_001]

this sounds really nasty what microsoft are doing. Really confusing as well.

So basically if i got OEM and installed it on my current system and 3 months down the line if I changed my motherboard (then it would mean it is a new pc) I will not be able to reinstall the oem on that meaning I would have to buy another copy of OEM?

Is this correct?

[wesleyaldred]

The best thing i can say is take a look at this:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid...e=expert&pid=4

Please be aware this thread is nothing to do with Scan, but one which a Technician here came across and is provided for your information only, how you interpret the contents are completely up to you.

[Jay]

I don't know if this has changed but you can move your OEM license to a new mother board etc. You have to phone Microsoft and first ask them to deactivate the license then reinstall and reactivate.

It is against the law to not allow you to do this.

[dp_001]

cheers Wes. Thats like bending the rules by doing that..if it works for people then all well. Would not that be known as fraud?

[wesleyaldred]

How can it be fraud, if Microsoft allow you to re-activate. All we can say at the end of the day is it's Microsoft's decision and as long as you answer the questions they ask you honestly and they allow you to re-activate.

[Jay]

Its not against the law to reactivate... Microsoft just don't openly admit that you can do it

[dp_001]

hmm sounds intresting now...may be worth considering gettin oem now

thanks guys

[mosherben]

I thought this would be related, as I'm sure others would want to know this question: what if we add a new componant (say a tv tuner) to a PC that has Vista installed? Would OEM allow this?

[wesleyaldred]

Of course you could add new peripherals.....

[Splash]

You should be able to do this fine, essentially think of it like the XP OEM (change too much hardware and you need to reactivate) so long as the underlying hardware (ie the motherboard) isn't changed all should be fine. I suppose the moral is that you should buy a decent motherboard that you think will last, rather than skimping if you're using OEM.

[mosherben]

excellent.. I just wanted to check with all this microsoft license junk they are throwing at consumers

[Splash]

I don't know if this has changed but you can move your OEM license to a new mother board etc. You have to phone Microsoft and first ask them to deactivate the license then reinstall and reactivate.

It is against the law to not allow you to do this.

Would be interesting to know the legal background to this claim... The software is licensed to you and the terms of the license state that (as far as I can tell) you CAN do this on the retail license, but only on the OEM in the case of failed hardware, so would need to be a similar board - eg a 939 board for a 939, not a spanking new C2D.

I may be wrong, but I'd like to see some hard facts.

[Mark@SCAN]

I would suggest it is very difficult for them to police, if your motherboard fails and the board you bought originally is EOL (End of life) as is the case with a lot of socket 939 motherboards now, are they going to tell you that you can't install it on another system of a different type i.e. socket 775 which would esentially be a new system?

They look at every case individually, remember you are going through to an Indian call centre i think if you make your point to them stronly enough they are not going to be able to deny you the right to re-activate your software.

[Splash]

I fully agree about it being difficult to police, however this then becomes a matter of whether Microsoft choose to enforce the license. If you buy OEM and then later upgrade your motherboard and they allow you to reactivate it all well and good, but you should expect that it will not be allowed to be activated, then pleasantly surprised if it does. My stance is purely about setting expectations, Microsoft release the software under the license and may or may not enforce that license - I just can't accept what jay_oasis states in that it wouldn't be legal for Microsoft to enforce their license without seeing hard fact.

Sadly with anything like this there will always be an amount of FUD, and I think so long as people understand that when they install the software they agree to the license associated with it then all is fine, just don't complain if Microsoft DO refuse to activate after you have splashed the cash on a new PC and expected the OS to be fine.

EDIT - Also with regards an EOL motherboard I believe somewhere further up the thread it was pointed out that the OEM license is for the lifetime OF THAT MACHINE. If the motherboard/chipset/socket/whatever is EOL wouldn't Microsoft be entitled to claim that the life of the machine was then over?

[dp_001]

if mobo did die then yeah it would mean it is end of life....

[redsky009]

It seems to me like its just an extra barrier to make it inconvenient, if you are likely to change hardware a lot they want you to buy the retail version, I don't see them saying 'no' as long as you have a legal copy and give a good reason for reactivating. Most people can't be bothered going through those kinds of hoops though, so MS hope they will shell out (or it could backfire and people will resent being inconvenienced after shelling out around 100 squids and just go for the less than legal route: see DRM and music downloads)