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To Vista or not to Vista that is the ?

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Darwin:
IWhat about component failure? Bad enough to have a system go down without MS looking for a pound of flesh!
--- End quote ---

No doubt there will be loopholes/exceptions made in such circumstances, but your other point, about not paying for a Windows licence just to install a CPU upgrade is spot on. If M$ is serious about this, they are asking for an end-user backlash... I haven't really been serious about Linux but it is looking increasingly like a route for me to consider. Of course, by the time I get there M$ will no doubt have castrated Linux through legal channels.

EDIT: Of course, I'm very happy with XP Pro and am not considering upgrading, anyway. It *sort* of looks as though M$ is in cahoots with the computer manufacturers because, unless they've changed things since XP, OEM installs on desktops and notebooks are "auto-activated" and tied to the BIOS. This would make good business sense (in a strictly profit driven, no other consideration world) in that it would force people to keep upgrading as once a computer is obsolescent/irreparably broken the licence doesn't allow them to shift the OS onto a new machine, which is what I would like to do with XP Pro.

Hirudin:
This is something I already have some experience with... MS tech people aren't any different than other tech support people. They have a pretty good understanding of how their product works, and a very good understanding of what they're suppose to say.** Also, the official story is usually more consistent and faster. "You'll have to buy a new copy" is a lot quicker than "well, sometimes you can, but you have to call, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work, blah blah". Here's another thread on another forum where I was given untrue information from a MS CSR...

First thing's first, are you using an OEM install zridling? If that's the case, the official story is that it is non-transferable. Meaning, once it's activated it is tied to the computer that it is activated on, changing machines means changing licenses. Keep in mind, this is also the official story with XP OEM, and as I'm sure a lot of us are aware: as long as you're willing to spend 6 minutes on the phone they'll pretty much activate any XP key.

But, people have said MS is going to clamp-down on this, so what happens in the future is unknown.

I actually bought an already activated copy of Vista Home Premium OEM on eBay (for $35 including shipping by the way). Installed it on a friend's computer, internet activation didn't work but phone activation did (took 6 minutes, 21 seconds if I remember right). Now he has a full activated copy of Vista Premium for $45. Not bad at all! And it's running on a (formally absolute top-of-the-line) Alienware computer that's probably about 2.5 - 3.5 years old...).

Retail keys are different, they're transferable, or should I say: officially transferable. I think you're limited to 3 (or is it 10?) transfers per year... officially. I'm sure if you're willing to make the phone call you can transfer as much as you want...

The 3rd scenario is what MS calls "Supreme OEMs" (or something like that). In order to avoid processing... whatever, 5 million activation requests they allow the very large OEMs (Dell, HP, Sony, Toshiba, etc.) to install Vista without activating. Since I don't care about prebuilt computers I haven't done the research, but if you're going to do a hardware change on an prebuilt computer you have to find your supreme OEM activation file thing and run it again or something after your hardware mod/computer swap/switch from 32 bit to 64 bit.

** I'm not trying to put them down exactly, I've been in the situation where I have to choose between towing the company line (for which I get paid) and telling the truth (which only gives me a sense of righteousness). I've usually chosen the route that keeps the pay checks coming.

zridling:
Hirudin — YES, I did buy a cheap OEM "System Builder" copy of Vista Business. My other two Vista licenses are retail versions of Home Premium and Ultimate. Oddly, during that entire phone, I was not asked which version it was. After giving my name, I wonder which [activated] license they were talking about. Must have been the OEM. Thanks.

f0dder:
The 3rd scenario is what MS calls "Supreme OEMs" (or something like that). In order to avoid processing... whatever, 5 million activation requests they allow the very large OEMs (Dell, HP, Sony, Toshiba, etc.) to install Vista without activating.
-Hirudin
--- End quote ---
Those are pretty interesting, actually.

It's a mix of storing some key material in the BIOS (iirc in the ACPI tables?), along with installing a matching crypto certificate in vista. This was exploited, first by modifying and re-flashing the BIOS (which could go wrong), then a "softmod bios" that used some pre-boot code, and then a pretty clean driver-only approach... result: easily activated vista on any computer. Except x64 versions, as those won't run unsigned drivers :)

It's funny to see just how much Microsoft has shot themselves in the foot with this activation method, considering how "secure" the OS is. Expect to see similarly efficient workarounds for all the other security in the OS, malware wise.

zridling:
Here's Scott Dunn's take:
"Over the last couple of newsletters, several ways to cheaply upgrade to Vista have been discussed. However, the best and cheapest way to 'upgrade' or 'buy' Vista is still the way my sister bought her Vista operating system. She bought it preinstalled on a computer, with the proper drivers already included. OEM licenses aren't legal for the average computer user to purchase and use to install on existing computers. Most of us can't legally buy or install this software on our computer systems because we aren't system builders. OEM software by definition is 'original equipment manufacturer' software and is licensed to system builders to install and bundle on, typically, new systems.

"You can read the EULA for the OEM software that I copied on my Web site. When you purchase OEM software, you are stating that you are a 'system builder' of computer devices, that is, you are a manufacturer of computer equipment. You also certify that you will provide all support for that system. And, you need to affix a Certificate of Authority to the system. The bottom line is that unless your name is Michael Dell, chances are most of us aren't system builders. Therefore, it's not legal for us to buy OEM software and use that license to install it on our systems.
________________________________________________
Guess I cheated. I bought my copy here from MicroCenter. It loaded and activated just fine, even though I bought each part separately online and assembled it all myself.

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