OS licence question

[Wigglyamps]

So, I am looking to upgrade from Windows XP on my desktop, my wife has a laptop running Windows Vista, my question is, could I use the licence and software disk from the laptop and upgrade my Dell E520 Desktop. From memory the laptop was bought in my name anyway.

Thanks for any input

Wigglyamps

[green granite]

Not legally.

[mixture]

No, no, no and NO ! :=

Although it was bought in your name, remember you are merely buying a license, you are not establishing ownership of Microsoft's Intellectual Property !

In brief, there are three main categories of Microsoft License :
- OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)
- FPP (Fully Packaged Product .... a.k.a. plastic wrapped box off-the-shelf)
- MVL (Volume License.... for businesses buying a minimum of 5 licenses)

Each license has different restrictions on transferability etc.

You are talking about OEM licenses. Microsoft's rules on these are quite clear, they are cheap because they live and die with the piece of hardware on which they were originally installed by the manufacturer. They are not transferrable to other devices under any circumstances whatsoever.

And before you ask, no, you are not eligible to buy yourself a new OEM license either. Go to your local PCWorld (or whatever) and buy yourself an FPP.

Plus licensing issues aside, you're a fool to consider the piece of junk that is Vista an "upgrade"..... you want Windows 7 (or 8 now I guess).... Vista is a waste of time !

For the pedants amongst us, yes, I know there are a few subtle changes in license naming conventions etc. in terms of Windows 8 era licensing, but I wanted to keep things simple.... ;-)

[vulcanised]

I certainly wouldn't regard a move from XP to Vista as an upgrade !

[Wigglyamps]

Thanks for all the replies, I get the message, Windows 7 was my preferred upgrade but I was just exploring other/cheaper avenues.

Wiggly

[Saab Dastard]

You will be able to buy a full upgrade version of Win 7 (or 8), assuming your XP license is valid. The upgrade version is significantly cheaper than the Full Retail version.

The OEM license issue has changed with Windows 8 - MS now explicitly state that you can build a PC for personal use and use an OEM "Personal Use" license on that PC. However, this is for Win 8 ONLY, and you cannot use an OEM license for any previous version of Windows, nor downgrade the Win 8 OEM to Win 7.

See Personal Use License (http://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/personal-use-license.aspx#fbid=O-OVmeP6V8Z)

How thoroughly this can or will be policed is another matter!

SD

[Saab Dastard]

Milo,
the Dell manuals say the max RAM for that machine is only 1GB
No, the maximum supported module size is 1GB - 4 slots means that 4GB is the maximum installable RAM.

I agree that the system is a bit long in the tooth now, and even the fastest Intel Core 2 Duo that it supports is a bit short of grunt - assuming that the OP has one of the better CPUs - to get the best out of Win7 or 8. If it's a single-core P4... :eek:

And I'm sure you are right about driver difficulties - it doesn't help that the Dell support site is a bit of a dog's breakfast.

SD