Vista OEM activation an license with new mobo's

[AtreuS]

This part of MS' policy does require them to trust the system builder. If you lie then that's up to you and you can justify that to yourself however you wish, but you won't be correctly licensed. Only you'll know that and it won't affect the ability to use the software; the only recompense is your own conscience.

Burnsy

Thats my point. You arent lying you are however processing your warranty. They leave you to decide how you process your warranty, you are perfectly entitled to replace any part you see fit to solve any problem you encounter.

For example where i used to work if the machine was under 6months old we usually just gave them a new one from stock and stipped down the return and reused the parts for machines we sold to a calatogue company.

The fact that under "my" warranty i dont have to actually test the motherboard as being faulty to replace it is no concern of microsoft under what they have stated. Thats what im getting at.

So if i get even one blue screen, i can say to myself ( being the warranty supplier ) "this pc is faulty please check it and fix it" and i can reply to myself "of course" and then simply replace it all - all under warranty. Microsoft do not stipulate that the motherboard has to be non working or even faulty, just that it had been replaced UNDER WARRANTY - which it has.

My whole point is that microsoft have ( in my opinion ) intentionally left the wording a bit open to cover this as they dont actually care enough to try and stop such a small percentage from reusing the license.

To say that "you wont be correctly licenced" is wrong in this case. You will be correctly licensed, the board has been replaced under warranty. Thats all they demand of you to be still licenced. The fact that the board may or may not be at fault becomes irrelevant if its replaced under warranty by the warranty issuer. Microsoft would have to change the wording to say something like "if the mainboard itself becomes faulty and is tested as faulty and then replaced under warranty...." etc etc.

The fact that they dont stipulate this leads me to think as i said above, they they dont really care enough about the whole thing to make it watertight in regards to interpretation.

I agree that yes, its lying to yourself wether or not your board is faulty. However according to the terms of the agreement the conditions have actually been met ( the board has been replaced under warranty ) Just because the board wasnt tested and was just replaced and then used as a doopstop is neither here or there. Because microsoft dont stipulate how the warranty muct be processed then its upto the warranty issuer to do as they think fit. Or am i wrong?

Because the terms of the mainboard swap out simply require that it was done "under warranty" and not for upgrade reasons then the actual terms have been adhered to and so the license is surely still valid.

The only sure fire way to stop all this is for microsoft to BAN all sales of oem software to end users.

 

[Tute]

The only sure fire way to stop all this is for microsoft to BAN all sales of oem software to end users.

I think that's how it will end up.

Think about it - in the grand scheme, are the retail versions really that much more expensive given how much you actually *use* an operating system?

Seems a bargain to me. It pretty much makes your PC work. Sure, you can use Linux, but if you want to play all the games designed to run on Windows, then it's a small price to pay.

 

[stoofa]

I'm not quite sure where people are getting the idea they are "System Builders" all of a sudden and thus are covered by the Systems Builder License.
If anyone is, then maybe you really should read the license agreement for software before you do anything.

As some people are aware the System Builder License is different from both the OEM and Retail license.
There is a rather important part in the System Builder License that I think should be reproduced:

To distribute the Software or Hardware in this Pack, you must be a
System Builder and accept this license. “System Builder” means an original equipment manufacturer, an assembler, a refurbisher, or a software pre-installer that sells the Customer System(s) to a third party.

You see the important part here - sells to a third party.
If you are building your own machine then the System Builder License does not come into play.
Instead you are covered by the standard OEM license which, has been pointed out by numerous people, shows that once the motherboard is replaced for any reason other than a warranty swap the license is no longer valid.

There is no option to build your own machine, use the System Builders License yourself and then claim that "Your Warranty" says that a motherboard is always swapped out every year when the machine comes in for its 12-month check-up and it's not your fault if the original motherboard no logner exists and you have to upgrade everything.

At the end of the day there is nothing to stop anyone physically doing anything.
You have a choice with your PC - go for legal or go for illegal, there really is no middle ground.
As I've grown past the point where I feel the world owes me a living I make sure all of my software is legal.
I only buy Retail versions of an OS as I then know it can be moved from machine to machine and will be legal for the lifetime of the OS.
Well worth the extra money spent - all it takes is a couple of rebuilds and the need to buy a new OEM license each time and you are soon actually better off with Retail.

If however you decide to go the unlicensed route - not bother actually sticking to the license agreement then so be it.
But why bother spending cash on the OEM version.
You aren't legal so just don't bother spending anything on it.
Borrow your mates OEM copy, install it - there is a good chance it will activate without a single problem.

Many people in this thread would class the fact it activated as proof what you're doing is legal - good luck to them.

 

[Slam62]

Hi there,

Do you usually just make "smart" comments or do you like to make a comment and then actually bother to back it up with something?

It is not my fault that you do not understand how licensing works.
That is why I am an IT Manager on a good wage and you aren't.

I'm all ears though - if you'd like to back up your statement with anything at all I'm happy to listen and counter.

Wow an IT Manager OMFG you are important

oh and I don't believe you have any idea what I do. But don't let that stop you.

 

[Tuvoc]

Many people in this thread would class the fact it activated as proof what you're doing is legal - good luck to them.

Yes I'm perfectly comfortable that I'm 100% legal. I paid good money for my copy of Vista (and that is a far cry from someone who just downloads illegally and pays nothing) and a little over 12 months later Microsoft accepted the re-activation, clearly knowing there had been a motherboard change. My conscience is clear.

 

[AtreuS]

Instead you are covered by the standard OEM license which, has been pointed out by numerous people, shows that once the motherboard is replaced for any reason other than a warranty swap the license is no longer valid.

As i explain above it HAS been replaced UNDER WARRANTY. Or are you now saying that systems built by someone using an oem license can have no warranty at all? I didnt in fact mention the sytem builders license as im talking about the standard oem terms which you describe above.

EDIT: ok lets try this another way

I pay for and build a pc using parts i buy from several different shops. I build the pc and test it using mem check and so on. Microsoft are not involved as of yet so no problems so far.

I then go out and buy an OEM copy of vista. As a member of public i am allowed to do this ( apparently ) and i come home and put it on my pc. The fact i built the pc is irrelevant now in regards the oem license i am about to agree to, the disc wasnt bought with the parts and wasnt installed at the time of building so im not a system builder as im not selling to a 3rd party and in any case the software wasnt installed at the time of the build.

I now install it on the pc and accept the oem license and activate it. All good so far.

Move forward 11 months ( just an arbritary time scale could be anything really )

I get some blue screen crashes in windows or some other faults that may or may not be hardware errors.

Now we stop and have a think. To whom do i turn to for my warranty support to solve the issues im having? microsoft?- no
The several shops i bought the parts from- possibly but only if i can determine which part is faulty. I do not have spare parts and i cant take the whole machine as some parts are not from the same supplier. - so no unless im prepared to pay testing fees and whatnot

So i am left with the warranty i give myself when i built the pc. I was the builder of the pc, before microsoft was even in the frame, and so i am entitled to offer myself this warranty and also to determine the conditions of it. Anyone who says otherwise can they please say exactly why this is not the case.

So i decide that the pc has a fault that needs sorting, i as the warranty provider am now in a position to look at the pc and fix it an ANY MANNER i deem suitable. if this is not the case then please expain why.

So i could now buy new parts to fix the problem and one such part could well be a motherboard.

The oem license states that the mainboard can be replaced under warranty ( it has been ). So everything is still licenced correctly as the oem terms have been strictly adhered to yes?

The sticking point is who actually defines and determines what form the warranty takes and who the warranty is with?

But like you have said this discussion can go on and on forever. The terms of the oem license being so open ended in regards interpretation makes it impossible to categorically prove one point of view being correct and the other not, until its been fought over in a court i suppose.

Im just annoyed at the people who always post about this issue from a view point that its a cut and dry case and that anyone who doesnt buy a new copy is unlicenced. This is simply not true and you do yourself a disservice by making statements of fact when the issue is far from clear cut.

As i said before this issue all comes about purely from the fact that OEM software like this was never intended to be used by end customers to use and install on their own machines. The fact that its now commonplace to do so will mean this particular issue will always be hotly debated.

 

[Tuvoc]

More to the point - are we saying here that you buy a machine from your corner PC shop and of course it has OEM windows. After 18 months the motherboard fails and it is *OUT* of warranty. The shop replaces it with a different motherboard, because the original is no longer manufactured, charges you say £150 or whatever, and then you have to buy a new windows licence as well ??

 

[Burnsy2023]

More to the point - are we saying here that you buy a machine from your corner PC shop and of course it has OEM windows. After 18 months the motherboard fails and it is *OUT* of warranty. The shop replaces it with a different motherboard, because the original is no longer manufactured, charges you say £150 or whatever, and then you have to buy a new windows licence as well ??

No, becuase the warranty is honoured by the OEM vendor.

Burnsy