I am interested in Vista Ultimate. If I buy it retail and install it
on one computer then later replace that computer with another one, am
I OK as long as I use it on one computer at a time?
When I install a retail copy, do I have to go through the phone
registration steps?
I wish I had chosen to upgrade to Ultimate when I purchased my last
system.
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:18:05 -0500, Journey <usenet@merr.com> wrote:
>I am interested in Vista Ultimate. If I buy it retail and install it
>on one computer then later replace that computer with another one, am
>I OK as long as I use it on one computer at a time?
>
>When I install a retail copy, do I have to go through the phone
>registration steps?
>
>I wish I had chosen to upgrade to Ultimate when I purchased my last
>system.
I hate to say this but I thought Tom Scales said the OS is tied to the
pc / laptop???? But since I'm still getting confused reading all the
related posts, "don't take my word for it". I'd be the last guy I'd
listen to about this stuff <grin>. Hopefully others can tell you
better.
On 14 Aug, 07:16, RnR <rnrte...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:18:05 -0500, Journey <use...@merr.com> wrote:
> >I am interested in Vista Ultimate. If I buy it retail and install it
> >on one computer then later replace that computer with another one, am
> >I OK as long as I use it on one computer at a time?
>
> >When I install a retail copy, do I have to go through the phone
> >registration steps?
>
> >I wish I had chosen to upgrade to Ultimate when I purchased my last
> >system.
>
> I hate to say this but I thought Tom Scales said the OS is tied to the
> pc / laptop???? But since I'm still getting confused reading all the
> related posts, "don't take my word for it". I'd be the last guy I'd
> listen to about this stuff <grin>. Hopefully others can tell you
> better.
OEM copies are tied to the hardware. AFAUI retail copies are
registered when you install them, and can be re-registered a limited
number of times for upgrade purposes. In the "Beta" of the licence
you could not do this, and there was an outcry so conditions were
relaxed, but I have lost track of how much they were relaxed.
I have set up two Vista machines for people, and will not be spending
any of my own money on it.
<robertharvey@my-deja.com> wrote:
> <rnrte...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Journey <use...@merr.com> wrote:
>> >I am interested in Vista Ultimate. If I buy it retail and install it
>> >on one computer then later replace that computer with another one,
>> >am I OK as long as I use it on one computer at a time?
>>
>> >When I install a retail copy, do I have to go through the phone
>> >registration steps?
>>
>> >I wish I had chosen to upgrade to Ultimate when I purchased my
>> >last system.
>>
>> I hate to say this but I thought Tom Scales said the OS is tied to
>> the pc / laptop???? But since I'm still getting confused reading
>> all the related posts, "don't take my word for it". I'd be the last
>> guy I'd listen to about this stuff <grin>. Hopefully others can
>> tell you better.
>
> OEM copies are tied to the hardware....
The consistent theme and consensus in this newsgroup has been
that the OEM copies of Windows are tied to the BIOS, i.e. the
firmware in the ROM. That makes sense because Dell uses
costumized BIOSes - which could easily identify the ROM's
firmware as an OEM product by Dell - and Dell's OEM Windows
version could look for that at startup.
Legally, a RETAIL copy can be moved from one PC to another (it must be
removed from the first PC ... it can only be on one PC at any given
time). This is not true of an OEM copy, which cannot legally be moved
to a new PC, ever.
However, the enforcement of this by Product Activation (PA), WGA and SPP
is somewhat questionable, and you MIGHT have to do activation in person
over the phone, and you might get a lot of hassle, particularly if you
move the OS to a new computer less than 120 days from the time it was
activated, or if there are a large number of moves.
The retail price of Vista Ultimate Upgrade version is $259. Both
Circuit City and Best Buy have had it on sale for $50 off, but it's not
on sale at the moment.
Journey wrote:
> I am interested in Vista Ultimate. If I buy it retail and install it
> on one computer then later replace that computer with another one, am
> I OK as long as I use it on one computer at a time?
>
> When I install a retail copy, do I have to go through the phone
> registration steps?
>
> I wish I had chosen to upgrade to Ultimate when I purchased my last
> system.
The copies that come with a PC from a major manufacturer (Dell, Toshiba,
Gateway, Lenovo, Sony ......) CAN be tied to the BIOS, and almost always
are (almost always, but not absolutely always .... it's up to the OEM
and may vary by model). Even when tied to the BIOS, they can be
installed on non-OEM machines, but they will require manual activation
which will usually fail if they had ever been previously activated.
However, there is another kind of "OEM" copy, that is the "generic" OEM
copy, the kind sold by Newegg and other computer parts dealers, and the
kind delivered with so called "white box" systems (mostly systems built
by small local system builders). These are NEVER locked to a BIOS.
Timothy Daniels wrote:
>
>
> The consistent theme and consensus in this newsgroup has been
> that the OEM copies of Windows are tied to the BIOS, i.e. the
> firmware in the ROM. That makes sense because Dell uses
> costumized BIOSes - which could easily identify the ROM's
> firmware as an OEM product by Dell - and Dell's OEM Windows
> version could look for that at startup.
>
> *TimDaniels*
>
>
On 14 Aug, 17:58, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOS...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> However, there is another kind of "OEM" copy, that is the "generic" OEM
> copy, the kind sold by Newegg and other computer parts dealers, and the
> kind delivered with so called "white box" systems (mostly systems built
> by small local system builders). These are NEVER locked to a BIOS.
No, but the EULA restricts you to using it with the hardware with
which it was sold. SOme UK vendors were prepared to ship it with
almost any bit of hardware, including a single microsoft mouse. That
tended to make it unenforceable. Imagine the outcry if people were
stopped from fitting a new mouse
Barry Watzman wrote:
> There are different kinds of "OEM" copies.
>
> The copies that come with a PC from a major manufacturer (Dell, Toshiba,
> Gateway, Lenovo, Sony ......) CAN be tied to the BIOS, and almost always
> are (almost always, but not absolutely always .... it's up to the OEM
> and may vary by model). Even when tied to the BIOS, they can be
> installed on non-OEM machines, but they will require manual activation
> which will usually fail if they had ever been previously activated.
>
> However, there is another kind of "OEM" copy, that is the "generic" OEM
> copy, the kind sold by Newegg and other computer parts dealers, and the
> kind delivered with so called "white box" systems (mostly systems built
> by small local system builders). These are NEVER locked to a BIOS.
As I understand the term, Dell's OS install disk is not "tied to the
BIOS", I have installed XP Pro on non Dell machines from the Dell CD.
However, it will not self activate on a non Dell box, not a problem here
because my ThinkPad came with XP Pro on it, so I have a valid COA. I
entered it when asked and the install completed without a hitch.
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:18:05 -0500, Journey <usenet@merr.com> wrote:
>I am interested in Vista Ultimate. If I buy it retail and install it
>on one computer then later replace that computer with another one, am
>I OK as long as I use it on one computer at a time?
>
>When I install a retail copy, do I have to go through the phone
>registration steps?
>
>I wish I had chosen to upgrade to Ultimate when I purchased my last
>system.
Thanks everyone for the info. I must admit it is more complicated
than I want to deal with.
I am going to see if there's a class I am interested in (either piano
or digital photography) so that I am a registered student. That way
Vista Ultimate will only cost me $89.
That is not correct. In fact, the requirement that such generic OEM
copies be sold with ANY hardware was eliminated almost 2 years ago. You
can buy it and put it on any computer that you want .... ANY computer.
But once you do that, it is (at least according to the terms of the
EULA) married to "that computer" FOREVER. However, there is no really
fixed definition of "that computer".
[I guess I need to qualify the statement in the previous paragraph ...
it should more correctly read "In the United States, the requirement
that such generic OEM copies be sold with ANY hardware was eliminated
almost 2 years ago" .... I can't speak for the situation in any other
country.]
robertharvey@my-deja.com wrote:
> On 14 Aug, 17:58, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOS...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>> However, there is another kind of "OEM" copy, that is the "generic" OEM
>> copy, the kind sold by Newegg and other computer parts dealers, and the
>> kind delivered with so called "white box" systems (mostly systems built
>> by small local system builders). These are NEVER locked to a BIOS.
>
> No, but the EULA restricts you to using it with the hardware with
> which it was sold. SOme UK vendors were prepared to ship it with
> almost any bit of hardware, including a single microsoft mouse. That
> tended to make it unenforceable. Imagine the outcry if people were
> stopped from fitting a new mouse
>
>
>
Vista Ultimate Purchase and Use 
Linear Mode
