Do I need to buy another OEM Windows?

rpstewart said:
Yes, it's the one you got in the first reply. You need a new copy of Windows, anything else is illegal.
Click to expand...

Deluxe1 said:
Technically it may be illegal but nothing will happen to you if you install your current oem win7 and ring and activate it.
Click to expand...

As far as I am aware while an EULA is a legal document it does not mean that everything written in it is neccessarily legal. I've not seen anything recently but weren't the European Union looking into this sort of licensing and coming down on the side of the consumer being allowed to do what they liked with their software after purchase?
 
Dano said:
As far as I am aware while an EULA is a legal document it does not mean that everything written in it is neccessarily legal. I've not seen anything recently but weren't the European Union looking into this sort of licensing and coming down on the side of the consumer being allowed to do what they liked with their software after purchase?
Click to expand...

No, not at all.
There is only an issue where the license is unfairly restrictive.
However Microsoft make it quite clear how restrictive the OEM license is and they sell a different product that is better suited to the home user - a far less restrictive license.
 
As I've said before - this is all about what you can physically do and what you can legally do.

Legally your OEM license is tied to the original motherboard - that motherboard is no longer used, the license dies with it.
What you can physically do is entirelly different.
But don't get it into your head that just because you've phoned up MS and had the product activated that you are all legal.
If you have moved the OEM license from one machine to another you are no more legal than somebody who has downloaded their OS from a warez site.

The OEM license discussion has been done to death.
However there are those that just cannot be convinced and will always buy as cheap as possible.
It's a waste of time doing this because downloading a warez copy is just as "legal" as moving an OEM license - and that costs you nothing.

The sensible choice is to buy retail.
The license ie valid forever and it can be moved around from one machine to another as often as you like.
It's less than two OEM licenses - so as soon as you move to a new motherboard once you've made your money back.
 
i spoke to a microsoft representative about this, and as long as the licence is on the case its legal, no matter what parts are interchanged, but it may however need to be re-activated if it is something as major as the motherboard and they are not however tied to the original motherboard, i agree a sensible choice, is to buy retail, but for it to be legal it has to have the product key licence sticker affixed only to the outside of the case, nowhere else, so moving it from pc to pc is a myth, and actually is illegal, all you are supposed to be allowed to do is keep it on one case and change the parts
 
pikey367 said:
i spoke to a microsoft representative about this, and as long as the licence is on the case its legal, no matter what parts are interchanged, but it may however need to be re-activated if it is something as major as the motherboard and they are not however tied to the original motherboard, i agree a sensible choice, is to buy retail, but for it to be legal it has to have the product key licence sticker affixed only to the outside of the case, nowhere else, so moving it from pc to pc is a myth, and actually is illegal, all you are supposed to be allowed to do is keep it on one case and change the parts
Click to expand...

LOL.
I don't know who you spoke with at Microsoft - but they should be fired!
What they have told you is complete and utter rubbish.
The license is tied to the motherboard - not the case.
What you are saying is that as long as you use the same case then the license remains - this is incorrect.
You can if you like swap the case aorund as much as you like, as you can every other component inside your machine.
However as soon as the motherboard is replaced, the OEM license dies with it.

This is not just a guess, this is not made up, this is fact.
As a company that buys a lot of Microsoft software licenses it is my job to know MS licensing and what I don't know I liase with Microsoft Gold Partners.
 
Chuggerboom said:
I remember buying an oem copy of Vista a few years ago. I upgraded my motherboard, cpu and ram and left the hard drive in. What is wrong with doing that?
Click to expand...

Physically - nothing, as you saw.
Legally - You broke the license agreement by moving your OEM license from one machine to another (as has been said x number of times already in this thread, the license is tied to your motherboard).
So right now your installation of Windows is no more legal than somebody who downloaded their pirated copy from a warez site - you are license illegal.
 
Dano said:
I'm sorry but breaking the EULA does not neccessarily make it illegal, they are two different things.
Click to expand...

If the EULA itself was illegal then you are quite correct - breaking it would not be deemed "wrong" in the eyes of any court.
Nobody has yet attempted to take any MS license to court - for the main reason that people know they wouldn't win.

Microsoft do not make their licenses over restrictive and where a restrictive license exists there is the option to buy a less restrictive one.
This alone would make it extremely difficult for any court to find an issue with the EULA.

There will always be people who feel they can do what they like with OEM - I guess you are one of them.
Just because that is what you want to believe doesn't automatically make it true.

All I can say is really, don't bother wasting your money on OEM products - just steal the software.
You are no less license legal by stealing it and you get to keep the £80 in your pocket.
 
stoofa said:
If the EULA itself was illegal then you are quite correct - breaking it would not be deemed "wrong" in the eyes of any court.
Nobody has yet attempted to take any MS license to court - for the main reason that people know they wouldn't win.
Click to expand...

And on the flip side we have the fact that Microsoft have never taken anybody to court for reactivating windows on a new motherboard, because they know they'd lose.

Microsoft do not make their licenses over restrictive and where a restrictive license exists there is the option to buy a less restrictive one.
This alone would make it extremely difficult for any court to find an issue with the EULA.
Click to expand...

It'd be just as hard to find one that would find an issue with a user using microsofts activation system without telling it any lies and still getting activated.

There will always be people who feel they can do what they like with OEM - I guess you are one of them.
Click to expand...

No, I'm just playing devils advocate here to be honest, I'd really like to see a case go to court as I'm not entirely sure what would happen.


Just because that is what you want to believe doesn't automatically make it true.
Click to expand...

Same line, back at you.

All I can say is really, don't bother wasting your money on OEM products - just steal the software.
Click to expand...

Again, something I think a court would see a difference between when coupled with microsofts own system allowing reactivation on new hardware.

You are no less license legal by stealing it and you get to keep the £80 in your pocket.
Click to expand...

And we carry on around again...
 
The short version of this really is, if you want to install it on different motherboards, buy retail. Simple as!

From the Microsoft Licensing FAQ:

Can a PC with an OEM Windows operating system have its motherboard upgraded and keep the same license? What if it was replaced because it was defective?

A. Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required. If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer's replacement/equivalent, as defined by the manufacturer's warranty.

The reason for this licensing rule primarily relates to the End User Software License Terms and the support of the software covered by that End User Software License Terms. The End User Software License Terms is a set of usage rights granted to the end user by the PC manufacturer and relates only to rights for that software as installed on that particular PC. The system builder is required to support the software on the original PC. Understanding that end users, over time, upgrade their PCs with different components, Microsoft needed to have one base component "left standing" that would still define the original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the "heart and soul" of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created. The original system builder did not manufacture this new PC, and therefore cannot be expected to support it.
Click to expand...

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/licensing_faq.aspx
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom