Carl G wrote:
Hi guys
If i buy a microsoft OEM version of XP Home ,can i transfer it from one pc
to another like i would be able to do with a upgrade copy.


No. OEM versions must be sold with a non-peripheral piece of hardware
(normally a motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC, although
Microsoft has greatly relaxed the hardware criteria for WinXP) and are
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which they are installed. An OEM
license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another computer
under any circumstances. This is the main reason some people avoid OEM
versions; if the PC dies or is otherwise disposed of (even stolen), you
cannot legitimately re-use your OEM license on a new PC.


I want to install xp on my daughters pc now but in the near future she wants
to build a new pc.


Then you best option would be to use the WinXP Upgrade license. Keep
in mind, though, that in order to later use the Upgrade license on a new
PC, you'll need to have an older, qualifying OS license for the new PC,
and you'll need to remove the Upgrade license from the first PC on which
you install it. (If there's a few hours' "over-lap" while you're
transferring files/data from the old computer to the new one, it
shouldn't be a big deal. Your intent is correct.)


So can we transfer the oem copy to the new home built pc.She has home built
pc now,wants a bigger one.


Will you also be transferring any of the hardware components (something
more significant than a case screw or power cord) from the old PC to the
new PC? If so, your actions could possibly be construed as a hardware
upgrade, rather than as a "new computer." Additionally, you'll have
entered a grey area in the OEM EULA.

According to the EULA, an OEM license may not be transferred from one
distinct PC to another PC. However, this most emphatically does not
prohibit one from repairing or upgrading the PC on which an OEM license
is installed.

Now, some people believe that the motherboard is the key component
that defines the "original computer," but the OEM EULA does not make any
such distinction. Others have said that one could successfully argue
that it's the PC's case that is the deciding component, as that is where
one is instructed to affix the OEM CoA label w/Product Key. Again, the
EULA does not specifically define any single component as the computer.

Microsoft has, to date, been very careful _not_ publicly to define
when an incrementally upgraded computer ceases to be the original
computer. The closest I've ever seen a Microsoft employee come to this
definition (in a public forum) is to tell the person making the inquiry
to consult the PC's manufacturer. As the OEM license's support is
solely the responsibility of said manufacturer, they should determine
what sort of hardware changes to allow before the warranty and support
agreements are voided. To paraphrase: An incrementally upgraded
computer ceases to be the original computer, as pertains to the OEM
EULA, only when the *OEM* says it's a different computer. If you've
built the system yourself, and used a generic OEM CD, then _you_ are the
"OEM," and _you_ get to decide when you'll no longer support your product."



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Bruce Chambers

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