Vista License change This is GREAT Vista News Discuss Vista License change This is GREAT in the Windows Vista forums; http://tech.msn.com/microsoft/articl...mentid=3360379 I've heard all kinds of horror stories about how the Windows Vista license will force users to buy another copy of ...

[Snuffy]

http://tech.msn.com/microsoft/articl...mentid=3360379

I've heard all kinds of horror stories about how the Windows Vista license will force users to buy another copy of the OS if they upgrade their PC. Are they true?
No. Initially, Microsoft imposed some pretty severe restrictions on Windows Vista usage following computer upgrades. But the company backed off after an outcry. Windows Vista licensing is now identical to Windows XP licensing: You can transfer your license to a new or rebuilt PC as often as you like, as long as you uninstall it on your old machine first.

Now this is More like it ...

[Znod]

That is good news Snuffy (not that I am even close to upgrading my mobo). Thanks much for being such a good newsman. You are posting some really interesting, and good to know, info. I am hoping that your excerpt really does apply to OEM--as seems implied. AFAIK, this link gives the original OEM computer-upgrade rules: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2087792,00.asp. Do you know the date of the article you linked?

[Snuffy]

Pressure Forces Microsoft to Change Vista Licensing
Microsoft removes limit on how often you can reinstall the OS on a new device.
Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service
Thursday, November 02, 2006 11:00 AM PST


Reference goes back to this post...

Microsoft said today it has changed the retail license terms for Vista so that customers now may uninstall the OS from one machine and install it on another as many times as they want. The new terms do away with limitations on the number of new devices to which the license can be transferred.

However, to continue the discouragement of piracy, Microsoft has worded the license so that it is clear that users cannot "share this license between devices." ---snip---

According to Shanen Boettcher, a Windows general manager at Microsoft, the company thinks it has come up with an answer to placate those users without encouraging software piracy, which the original change was designed to thwart.

more on OEM: PreInstalled gets the shaft..

The change in policy will not affect consumers who purchase their Windows license preinstalled on a PC from a hardware manufacturer. No license transfers are allowed in those cases.

Information about license changes for any Microsoft product is available on Microsoft's site, though Vista details may not be available right away.

My son w/ 5 kids is using Win 2000 and I want to give him my XP Home Retail copy.. legally ..., So I'm sure If I give him the Disk, SN, License since I have not used Home XP in ages and my lnew Laptop has Home OEM and a different SN ... I also upgraded that OEM to Home Vista.. for $50.00.. So I'm sure I can give him the Retail Copy of Home...with License and all. Love these RSS Feeds.

[Znod]

Thanks Snuffy. But, I was talking about "OEM" as sold on newegg.com to system builders, etc., not "OEM" as a software type as supplied by a computer manufacturer.

[Snuffy]

1. XP Home Retail
2. XP Home OEM (Preinstalled)
3. XP Pro Free Beta Tester w/ SP1 and SP2 MS Special Disk's
4. XP Corp
5. Vista Upgrade (Signature Edition)
6. Vista Home Premium Online Purchase via MS
7. Vista Home Premium Online Purchase via MS
8. XP Upgrade from Windows ME.
9. Win2000 Retail

Gads that is a LOT... I missed the FREE Vista