how many times can you upgrade

Hey Ethan,

Fire Wizard said:
Retail - OEM - Upgrade:

Retail:

Retail versions are normally your average boxed copies that you see on store shelves. The Retail version includes the box (:p), 32 and 64-bit edition DVDs (Note - This only applies if your going to be purchasing Windows Vista Ultimate. Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium and Business Retail only include the 32-bit edition disc, so if you would like the 64-bit edition disc and have purchased or are thinking about purchasing one of the above you will have to order it from the Microsoft website. More information about this can be obtained here) Manuals and any other goodies that Microsoft has so kindly thrown in.

With the Retail version you will be able to install it on as many systems as you like so long as you first remove the copy of Windows XP on the currently installed machine.

OEM:

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and these versions usually come with pre-built systems or can be ordered from most online retailers. They are much cheaper than their Retail cousins since they are limited in some respects. The operating system itself is exactly the same as the retail version but the difference being is the licensing terms. Once Vista is installed, it is then linked to that particular system so if you install it on any other system you will be violating the EULA. You can upgrade any system component apart from your motherboard and your license will still be intact. If you change the motherboard in your system im afraid you will have to purchase a new copy of Windows Vista.

The only exception to this rule is if your motherboard becomes faulty, if this happens and you can not get the exact same motherboard replacement due to various reasons you are still legal to install and activate your current copy of Windows Vista when your new motherboard arrives due to this being no fault of your own. If and when this happens, you will have to ring up Microsoft for them to re-activate your copy of Windows Vista (They will have no problem re-activating your copy of Windows for you due to the circumstances) for you since online activation will fail.

Upgrade:

The Upgrade versions are just that, you upgrade your current operating system to Windows Vista. Upgrade only versions will require you to have an older operating system already installed on your machine providing it is within the upgrade path. Information about this can be found here.
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***The Official Microsoft Windows Vista Reference Thread***

Hope that has answered your question for you. :)
 
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I had wondered about the motherboard situation but unfortunately motherboards do not last forever. I would hope they would be more flexible about this and consider themselves fortunate that an individual with this kind of a problem has at least purchased a licensed product as opposed to just simply going out and collecting a pirated one. What they ought to have done is link the oS to an individual via their credit card details as it stands to reason that a person will not be prepared to share these details with anyone else.
 
ethan said:
I had wondered about the motherboard situation but unfortunately motherboards do not last forever. I would hope they would be more flexible about this and consider themselves fortunate that an individual with this kind of a problem has at least purchased a licensed product as opposed to just simply going out and collecting a pirated one. What they ought to have done is link the oS to an individual via their credit card details as it stands to reason that a person will not be prepared to share these details with anyone else.
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I can see what you're saying but i'm afraid the rules are the rules here. You might not like it, but despite the fact you have paid, if you break the licence agreement by transferring it to another computer then Microsoft are under no obligation to activate it for you.

If you want to transfer it you'll need to pay the extra for the Retail licence. Yes it sucks, but that's why OEM is cheaper! :)
 
The Devil is in the detail and I suppose it is down to what you consider another system? I do feel that Microsoft serves to alienate its own customer base here and so by tieing it to the individual you would make it fairer and much more beneficial in the long term. No fair use policy here though. I do however wonder if they would met the consumer half way and allow the price paid for the oEM to be deducted from the cost of purchasing the retail.
 
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Yes but you can tie it to the individual - by buying a Retail licence.

The OEM licence costs less than the Retail one because you can't carry it over to completely new system builds.

Microsoft have been more than crystal clear by simply stating that the motherboard change is the event which triggers the expiration of the licence.
 
The main thing about the motherboard clause is the intent. If you upgrade then you are not licensed, however, if you are replacing the motherboard as part of a warrenty scheme, then your licence is still valid.

At the end of the day, the OEM licence is meant for system builders who sell their products on to the end user, and so it's unusual to have to replace the motherboard for any other reason then a fault.

Burnsy
 
ethan said:
I had wondered about the motherboard situation but unfortunately motherboards do not last forever. I would hope they would be more flexible about this and consider themselves fortunate that an individual with this kind of a problem has at least purchased a licensed product as opposed to just simply going out and collecting a pirated one. What they ought to have done is link the oS to an individual via their credit card details as it stands to reason that a person will not be prepared to share these details with anyone else.
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And this is where the Retail license comes in.

Microsoft offer a way of getting your OS at a "Discount".
There was rumour that OEM versions of Vista were not going to be available in the Retail channels at all, however they changed their mind and you can buy them.
However they are restricted because they are cheaper.
Buy a retail copy of Vista and it will last you forever, so long as it is only ever running on one PC at any time.

Although all of my computer software is licensed legitimately, on my main system it has been through a series of upgrades to old OS licenses dating back to Windows 3.
So with the release of Vista I decided it was time to start again and I bought Vista Ultimate Full Retail.
Yes it cost me £300.
However it is good for my main PC for life, I simply move it around as I replace my machine.
When the replacement for Vista is released I'll be able to buy the retail upgrade and that too will last me for the lifetime of that OS and so on.
Make one large investment on a retail OS once and then buy retail upgrades each time and you're laughing.
No license worries at all.
 
Tute said:
Yes but you can tie it to the individual - by buying a Retail licence.

The OEM licence costs less than the Retail one because you can't carry it over to completely new system builds.

Microsoft have been more than crystal clear by simply stating that the motherboard change is the event which triggers the expiration of the licence.
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My problem is this: My motherboard went down being only 6 months old. I have yet to rma it but to do so would simply leave me without a computer for however the long the rma takes. Not wanting to be without a system for this period, I simply walked in to the computer shop and immediately purchased a replacement. The new mobo is the later upgrade of the board that failed and I am now left wondering whether my copy of vista 64 oem will still work? I am unsure of the way in which the license rstriction actually ties itself to the mobo and am left wondering whether the new board will exactly tally with the old?
 
Burnsy2023 said:
Legally speaking, you should go back to the shop and get another copy of Vista OEM, you have invalidated your licence.

Burnsy
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Yes, unless you wait for the replacement motherboard to arrive, fit that and then install Vista/activate Vista, you will invalidate the licence.

I had an F-I90HD that failed (one of the RAM slots went up the creek) and I sent it back to get it replaced. I was told they didn't have any of the same motherboard in stock and that there was an unknown lead time.

I was offered another motherboard as a replacement. I took it, phoned Microsoft, and they reactivated it for me.

It was a sticky area, but I had no choice but to change models. Even to this day, that retailer *still* hasn't got the F-I90HD back into stock (it's a fair few months on now).

Burnsy has it down to a tee - it's all about intent.
 
The motherboard replacement must also be part of a 'warranty replacement scheme', which I will admit can be a grey area if you are a system builder.

Did you build the machine from scratch?

Burnsy
 
You really should have waited for the RMA, but as a system builder you can replace the motherboard with a similar model if your previous one is faulty.

You'll need to phone MS to activate, but explain the situation and you'll be fine.

Sorry for the confusion, I was under the impression that the machine was prebuilt :)

Burnsy
 
Burnsy2023 said:
You really should have waited for the RMA, but as a system builder you can replace the motherboard with a similar model if your previous one is faulty.

You'll need to phone MS to activate, but explain the situation and you'll be fine.

Sorry for the confusion, I was under the impression that the machine was prebuilt :)

Burnsy
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No probs. Thanks for the advice :)
 
As said it depends on the situation. I had my GA-K8NF-9 fail on me. Ordered a new one and it was a new revision, the machine was the same as far as the install was concerned and therefore didn't ask for a re-activation. If I had had to use a new board then from what others have said in the past MS will 99% of the time re-activate providing your honest.

- Pea0n
 
What might concern a lot of people is the fast transition in hardware development and for want of a better description, overly restrictive license practices.The move to pci-express 2 graphic cards would cause problems. If you wanted to use pci-express 2 to its full capability you would need to upgrade your motherboard as your existing one would unlikely support the new spec to its full potential: as far as I am aware, only the x38 supports pci express 2. If you are using an oem copy of vista then you will be up the creek without a paddle. You didn't have this problem with xp. I believe pcie-express 2 is compatible with versions 1.1 but not earlier.
 
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ethan said:
What might concern a lot of people is the fast transition in hardware development and for want of a better description, overly restrictive license practices.The move to pci-express 2 graphic cards would cause problems. If you wanted to use pci-express 2 to its full capability you would need to upgrade your motherboard as your existing one would unlikely support the new spec to its full potential: as far as I am aware, only the x38 supports pci express 2. If you are using an oem copy of vista then you will be up the creek without a paddle. You didn't have this problem with xp. I believe pcie-express 2 is compatible with versions 1.1 but not earlier.
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Windows XP has exactly the same license restriction with regards the OEM version.
It's legal for as many upgrades as you like until you replace the motherboard.
Once the motherboard is replaced you are no longer license legal.
 
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