[Question] - Transfer XP OEM license from dead PC to new PC

[infotime]

Question about staying legal with a Microsoft XP license transfer.

Here's the hypothetical situation: You have an old Dell PC and it needs some work. Rather than repair it you decide to buy a new $199 PC at Wal-Mart that does not include an operating system. You peel off the product key sticker from the Dell then open the hard drive and smash it's platters into tiny fragments.

Next, you open up your Wal-Mart PC and install Windows XP OEM version and use your old product key to activiate it.

Is this legitimate in Microsoft's eyes? I found this at http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_faq.mspx

Is it possible to transfer a license to another computer?

Consumers should refer to the terms of their license agreement to determine whether or not it is legal to transfer a license to another computer. But in those cases where it is allowed, the product must first be removed from the previous computer. Users may be required to complete the activation on the new computer by placing a call to the Microsoft Activation Center.

I looked at the End User License Agreement on my Media Center 2005 version of XP and found this language (which looked the same as what I found on a HP system that I was running a recovery install at the same time):

1.2 SOFTWARE as a Component of the COMPUTER - Transfer.

This license may not be shared, transferred to or used

concurrently on different computers. The SOFTWARE

is licensed with the COMPUTER as a single integrated

product and may only be used with the COMPUTER.

If the SOFTWARE is not accompanied by HARDWARE,

you may not use the SOFTWARE. You may permanently

transfer all of your rights under this EULA only

as part of a permanent sale or transfer of the

COMPUTER, provided you retain no copies of the

SOFTWARE. If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer

must also include all prior versions of the SOFTWARE.

This transfer must also include the Certificate of

Authenticity label. The transfer may not be an

indirect transfer, such as a consignment. Prior to the

transfer, the end user receiving the Software must

agree to all the EULA terms.

How is this generally interpreted? My understanding was that OEM versions of XP such as the one that comes on a Dell or HP cannot be moved to a different computer, that they're forever bonded to that machine.

I run into this situation occasionally. A customer's machine is either too old and / or needs too much work to repair. It would be cheaper to buy a new one. But, it would be nice to not have to pay for the XP license again. The old computer would be destroyed, parted out, or maybe brought back to life as a Linux box. It certainly wouldn't run the same product key'd XP.

[gdogg]

I heard its only legally, allowed to be installed on, the origional hard drive it was installed on.

[redxii]

I would say you can transfer a license from a OEM vendor once. Dell et. al. do not spend countless hours making sure each machine's install of Windows has a unique key, matching the key on the CoA. Instead a special cd key is used on all their media, and activation is locked to the BIOS. That means you can't use that key to activate on a non-(insert OEM here) BIOS (simply won't work). So when transferring, use the key on the CoA. After all, the key on the CoA never got used. It will activate (one computer) just fine.

Not like they are going to hunt you down.

Since you do it for customers, it is best to charge them for the cost of the license.

Edited January 29, 2006 by redxii

[Bezalel]

Here is a quote from a page on the MS OEM site:

A refurbished PC is a computer system that has had substantial hardware modifications that may require a new operating system license — because the modifications have essentially created a "new" PC.

Generally, you may upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on your customer's computer and the end user may maintain the license for the original Microsoft® OEM operating system software, with the exception of an upgrade or replacement of the motherboard.

An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a "new personal computer" to which Microsoft® OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created and the license of new operating system software is required.

Note that while Software Assurance can be transferred from one PC to another, the bootable operating system may not be transferred from one PC to another, regardless of whether the PC has Software Assurance.

If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do NOT need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC.

The reason for this licensing rule primarily relates to the end-user license agreement (EULA) and the support of the software covered by that EULA. The EULA 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 that individual PC. Understanding that end users, over time, upgrade their PC with different components, Microsoft needed to have one base component "left standing" that would still define that 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, therefore, can not be expected to support this new PC that they in effect, did not manufacture.

[Lazy8]

Hard drives may be replaced without purchasing a new license, though a new primary hard disk will require a phone call to Microsoft for authentication. Happened to me once when my hard drive was factory recalled, and I replaced CD drives in the interim.

[gdogg]

but since when did anyone read EALU's

haha

nvm

btw, I dont think M$ is after the poor man, misusing an OEM copy

rather, corperations, who, install 100 + copies they never paid for.

and that guy in china, selling vista beta 1

haha

Edited January 29, 2006 by gdogg

[Marsden]

There is no OEM transfer allowed. The XP OEM install lives and dies on the original hardware to which it is pre installed on. HDs can be replaced but the motherboards which are usually proprietary can't be easily swapped out . They want you to purchase a new system...

[gdogg]

there is nothing, in a regular oem cd (store bought)

that would stop your from installing it on different hardware.

[yaroz]

there is nothing, in a regular oem cd (store bought)

a store bought copy is a retail copy.. a oem copy is shipped with the hardware from the company you purchased it from (i.e. Dell or Gateway). I do not believe it is legal for the transfer from one pc to another. In the EULA, the transfer that they mention is from one person to another, via sale or gift.

[bledd]

can i install my xp mce oem copy on another machine? i bought it as an oem os from an online store for £80, realised my spec is high for an mce machine, so i'm swapping that kit for older stuff (diff motherboard, cpu, memory + ram) but will be formatting the old hard drive.

am i able to do this? by calling ms during installation?

[Bezalel]

According to the terms in the OEM EULA you can not reuse the licence. If you activated the first installation within the past 90 days you will probably have to activate by phone.

[Subcodec]

This is a good issue with a lot of gray areas. Recently, I repaired a Dell system and did a complete reinstall of XP. For PC repairs such as that, I keep one of them AIO XP DVDs so I can do a reinstall and then just use the product key normally found on that sticker on the case itself. In this case, I could not get the product key to work. I tried an OEM version, retail version, and even a volume version, but none of them would work. This was all due to the fact that many OEM distubutors don't send an actual "install disc" with the PC and either have restore discs or a hidden partition on the drive. Again, the person didn't have any kind of install discs, restore discs, and if their was a hidden partition, I took care of that

Anyways, I did what I thought was right and called for activation. I told them what I was trying to do and the only thing she asked was if this was the ONLY system this was installed on. She said it was no problem and then gave me that long number and it was activated.

In general, I believe, IMHO, Microsoft's main concern is that when you purchase an OS like XP (Home, Pro, OEM, Retail, etc.), it is only installed on ONE system. I think that if your system died or even a scenario where you made the system into a Linux box and built a new system, that a call to Microsoft and explaining that you are unable to activate and that it is the only system with that particular license, you should have no problem getting it activated.