Windows XP Licensing FAQs and common misconceptions

[Lysander]

This is a real shame - I want to upgrade my mobo again but don't want to buy a new license.

Last time I upgraded the motherboard Windows asked me for a new product key before I could access its features. So I called up Microsoft and they gave me another key on the spot. Were they supposed to do that? Will it happen again?!

 

[Burnsy2023]

So I called up Microsoft and they gave me another key on the spot. Were they supposed to do that?

No, No they weren't. You are using unlicensed software.

Will it happen again?!

Most likely, even though it shouldn't.

Burnsy

 

[Slam62]

how the .... can he be using unlicensed software if ms gave him a key, they know from the code what he has changed, the person on the phone is acting on behalf of ms and hence has given him permission. Some people on here seem to take the license agreement more seriously than ms do

 

[Burnsy2023]

how the .... can he be using unlicensed software if ms gave him a key, they know from the code what he has changed, the person on the phone is acting on behalf of ms and hence has given him permission. Some people on here seem to take the license agreement more seriously than ms do

He can be doing it quite easily. He can be using unlicensed software even if it's not enforced. Just because MS activated it doesn't mean he is legal. If a company was that naive and got sued, it could cost them a hell of a lot of money.

Like I said in the FAQ, activation is a technological means to prevent piracy, it does not mean you are using legal and licensed software.

Burnsy

 

[Slam62]

'Just because MS activated it doesn't mean he is legal.'

umm of course it does dont be daft

 

[benjo plz.]

umm of course it does dont be daft

No it doesn't.

 

[stoofa]

'Just because MS activated it doesn't mean he is legal.'

umm of course it does dont be daft

It doesn't.
I could install the same OEM copy of Windows on 3-4 machines.
I could then phone up and attempt to activate each one and when asked I could simply say "Hard Drive Failure forced us to reinstall".
I expect I wouldn't be questioned any further on any of these installations.

There is only one way to actually be legal and that is to know you are legal.
That is why this thread was obviously created.
Just because I phone up MS and they activate something for me does not make me license legal.

Some of us do care - personally I will only use licensed software on any PC that lives in my home.
I'm also an IT Manager and there is no "borrowing of disks" from my department by anybody here at work.
I'm so anti-piracy you wouldn't believe.
So for that reason it is important this thread contains correct information.

 

[Slam62]

sorry but the person on the phone is the appointed legal representative of ms therefore if you dont lie and they give you permission, thats it, it doesnt matter what you say or think, you are not the appointed represented of ms, unless you know otherwise of course. :cool

On your little holier than thou rant

'Just because I phone up MS and they activate something for me does not make me license legal.'

What is the point of the phone line then?

you must have a guilty consience - he who ptotests innocence the loudest and all that.

 

[Slam62]

No it doesn't.

Oh so you dont trust ms to activate their own software then in that case you better double check your retail copy.

For some reason you seem to trust an online automatic activation and not the person on the phone. how strange.

 

[Energize]

Since under the eula it says your not allowed to transfer the copy to another motherboard it isnt legit.

Though wether its not legal is another matter, no ones proven the eula is actually legal.

 

[benjo plz.]

your retail copy.

*cough*erm what?*cough* .

 

[Slam62]

right o

 

[Burnsy2023]

sorry but the person on the phone is the appointed legal representative of ms

They most certainly are not. They are mearly there supply a means to activate your product. An activated copy of Windows does not mean a legal copy of Windows. They are also in no way a legal representative whatso ever.

therefore if you dont lie and they give you permission, thats it, it doesnt matter what you say or think, you are not the appointed represented of ms, unless you know otherwise of course. :cool

Fine, live in your own ignorance. But this thread is providing accurate information on Windows licensing. If you choose to use an illegal copy of Windows, keep it off the forums.

On your little holier than thou rant

'Just because I phone up MS and they activate something for me does not make me license legal.'

Again, this is not a rant, nor me saying that I am better then anyone else. I don't agree that a lot of the EULA is fair or good business sense, but the law dictates that unless I want to face court action I should abide by the rules that are set out under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, which includes the terms of license.

What is the point of the phone line then?

To allow a user not on the internet to be able to use their product. Such users do exist.

you must have a guilty consience - he who ptotests innocence the loudest and all that.

I am fully legal under the terms of my Uni's MSDNAA agreement. Software is a product like any other and should be treated as such.

If you have questions about licensing I'll be willing to tell you how to stay legal. Thats the point of this thread. For some people, it could have serious consequences if they use illegal software.

If you disagree with any point made in this thread show me proof to the contrary and i'll strive to make sure it's accurate. If you don't like what is law, tough, or start a legal battle with MS; you'll get no sympathy from me when you have to sell your house to pay for legal fees.

And you don't need to be from MS to know anything about licensing MS products.

Burnsy

 

[stoofa]

sorry but the person on the phone is the appointed legal representative of ms therefore if you dont lie and they give you permission, thats it, it doesnt matter what you say or think, you are not the appointed represented of ms, unless you know otherwise of course. :cool

Ummm....no, I'm afraid not.
The only legal representative of Microsoft are Microsoft's lawyers.
The phone line is mainly provided for people who don't have access to the net as they obviously cannot activate online.
Many a mistake is made by people in a call centre (which in effect is who you are talking to).
In fact the people you are talking to when you call up probably are not employee's of Microsoft at all.
They have a script to run through and as long as everything appears OK on the surface they probably won't dig any deeper.

On your little holier than thou rant

'Just because I phone up MS and they activate something for me does not make me license legal.'

What is the point of the phone line then?

you must have a guilty consience - he who ptotests innocence the loudest and all that.

The phone line is there for three reasons.

1. For those who don't have net access
2. For people who have exceeded the number of online activations
3. For those emergency times when the MS online activation servers are down and you've got the "You must now activate" message on screen.

I've certainly not got a guilty conscience - why should I?
As I said in my post I do not allow any PC to "live" in my house that isn't 100% license legal.
I currently have my main machine - WinXP/Vista, my fiancee's machine which is WinXP.
I have my laptop which is WinXP and my main "messing about" machine which is Server 2003 and Linux.

Every single piece of software on all of these machines is 100% legal, from the OS, through Office (handy having a fiancee who is a teacher as a single £150 copy of Office can go on 3 machines) to WinZip (3 copies of WinZip 8 purchased, free upgraded to 9 and recently I bought one upgrade to 10).
Yes - that is how "anal" I am with regards licenses.
The same goes for music and MP3's on the various machines - I either own the CD or it was bought from iTunes etc.

I'm sorry if you see this as a "holier than thou" post, well you did the last one.
However as I actually legally use all of my software and from your posts you don't care, think living in ignorance is a valid/legal defence and have more or less confirmed you don't use legal software.
At the end of the day this is your call - just don't try and convince anybody you know what you're talking about regarding licensing.
Part of my daily work as an IT Manager is knowing the in's and out's of MS licensing and I still learn things on a near daily basis.
Only recently finding out for example that SQL Server requires either Per Processor or per connection licensing and that it is NOT done on concurrent licensing but rather on any machine that has or will make a connection to the server.

 

[f00b4r]

Q. Is there an upper limit to the amount of times I can activate a licensed copy of Windows?
A. No, you can activate a licensed product as many times as you wish, albeit after the first few times automatic online activation will fail. If automatic activation fails phone up activation support on the phone number provided.

Or you could just do a proper low level format of your hard drive before you reinstall windows and then see if the online activation works

 

[Burnsy2023]

Or you could just do a proper low level format of your hard drive before you reinstall windows and then see if the online activation works

Wouldn't make a difference. The hardware hash is stored on MS servers when you activate.

Burnsy

 

[csmager]

Or you could just do a proper low level format of your hard drive before you reinstall windows and then see if the online activation works

How would that help? Unless you're doing a low level format of Microsoft's activation servers, they'll still know you've exceed the amount of times you're allowed to activate online.

 

[Otacon]

First 3 posts merged with the sticky, thanks a lot for your efforts burnsy

 

[FrankJH]

Personally I would say that as long as you have spoken to someone from MS - then MS wouldnt prosecute you, thats ona personal basis rather than if you are part of a company.

I have also heard that its only possible to have one pc active on the net with a singular activation code / licence number as soon as the 2nd one is activated the first stops working (unless its unconnected from the www of course) or you get bugged to re-activate

I have also looked at my edition of MCE 2005 and its remarkebly like XP Pro to me, certainly completely different from Home to how I remember it when I had it a few years ago