vista registering question

GJ02 · 15 Aug 2008 at 20:07

im a little confused as what im to do
i recently upgraded mobo and chip.
i have a oem version of xp and an oem of vista 64, both of which have been installed on old asus mobo and 6000 x 2 chip.
when my computer was rebuilt last week a retail copy of xp pre sp1 was installed, all sp's were loaded via win update, but it ran like a sack of poop.
so last night i decied to see if my oem xp would work, i installed it ok, and had 30 days to register. after 2 hours the anticipation was too much so i pressed register / activate online, it worked :eek:

today i made a dual boot with vista 64, installed ok, 3 days to register / activate, pressed activate online but it said that it had already been installed on another system. i was given 3 options in vista screen
1 buy new oem code
2 use vista helper ( i think )
3 use automated telephone service to activate

i chose 3, entered 50 ( i think ) digits that were provided to me by vista into the telephone system and in turn i was given a 50 ( i think ) set of digits to enter. pressed ok and hey presto its activated.

my question is... how was this possible with both these oems ( im not complaining like )

and

will it work again ( vista activation ) as i now wast to reformat, loose the xp partition and just have vista installed

the comptuer now runs sooper fast with the fresh installs compared to the pre xp sp1 install

fergie128 · 15 Aug 2008 at 20:46

This is something I was anticipating, as I have OEM Vista Ultimate 64 and I am about to upgrade my whole system. Does this mean I will be able to use the same Vista copy on a whole new system even though it is OEM ?

GJ02 · 15 Aug 2008 at 20:49

well in theory no, but i seem to of proven that wrong, twice in one day with 2 different os's

Cobertizo · 15 Aug 2008 at 20:57

If you've upgraded your motherboard, then your OEM licences are invalid for use on your upgraded system. Whether or not it will activate is irrelevant...

dr. sarf · 15 Aug 2008 at 20:57

Technically your OEM licence lives and dies with your motherboard. This is what I was told when talking to Microsoft product activation.

However, on several occasions, they have just activated it for me - I think it depends what mood they're in when you call. :rolleyes:

GJ02 · 15 Aug 2008 at 21:10

Cobertizo said:
If you've upgraded your motherboard, then your OEM licences are invalid for use on your upgraded system. Whether or not it will activate is irrelevant...

well if thats the case why in the automated telephone system was i asked how may systems i had the product installed on 1 2 or 3
i said 1. and it activated
surely its still vaild as they have authorised it

fergie128 · 15 Aug 2008 at 21:11

Could you not pull the old 'my motherboard died and was replaced by the manufacturer' stunt ?

This sounds good to me anyway, I wasnt overly pleased about having to buy another Vista copy, especially as I already payed for one and could just as easily have pirated.

GJ02 · 15 Aug 2008 at 21:17

ive not lied in any way, i just tried to do it and it worked, and when asked how may systems i installed it on i said one, as i have only ever installed it one my previous mobo.

Cobertizo · 15 Aug 2008 at 21:24

mosleypup said:
surely its still vaild as they have authorised it

Activation is just a method by which they try to make enforcing the EULA easier. Doesn't mean that if they activate it then they are saying that you are definitely abiding by the licence. If you are interested in the wording of the EULA in this area, then do a search - there has been a lot of discussion around this recently. And Burnsy2023 seems to often be the one with the wisdom in this area.

EDIT: Try here, for a start: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=7368884&postcount=40

fergie128 said:
Could you not pull the old 'my motherboard died and was replaced by the manufacturer' stunt ?

This sounds good to me anyway, I wasnt overly pleased about having to buy another Vista copy, especially as I already payed for one and could just as easily have pirated.

You could, if that's true, as the manufacturer replacing your motherboard with an equivalent is covered by the EULA. If not, then you might as well have pirated it, as you are currently unlicensed. Incidentally, if you have the OEM version, then you have a cheaper product. The reason that it's cheaper is because it's got more limitations on it than the full retail version. Buying a cheaper version doesn't give you the right to the features of a more expensive one...