October 13th, 2006
Transferring Your License on Vista? One-Time Only, Says Microsoft … Maybe
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
Read the fine print carefully … the license language for Vista differs quite a bit from that of XP. You can transfer the license from one PC to another … but only once, for Vista, as opposed to an unlimited number of times in XP.
“The first user of the software may reassign the license to another device one time. If you reassign the license, that other device becomes the “licensed device,” reads the license for Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, and Business. In other words, once a retail copy of Vista is installed on a PC, it can be moved to another system only once.
The new policy is narrower than Windows XP’s. In the same section, the license for Windows XP Home states: “You may move the Software to a different Workstation Computer. After the transfer, you must completely remove the Software from the former Workstation Computer.” There is no limit to the number of times users can make this move. Windows XP Professional’s license is identical. Source: TechWeb
We Say: It’s kind of vague. You could interpret it like this: the new device becomes the “licensed device”. If you want to transfer to yet another device, since this is now the “licensed device”, you can do it. Or I could be completely wrong and TechWeb could be right. I look to Microsoft to give some clarity to this in the near future 
NASAdude says:
I think I’d have to agree with M. Santo on this one. With the information provided, there is nothing to precluded the new machine becoming the “licensed device”, and the cycle starts again.
That’s what I was thinking before reading the added comment, so I guess it’s not that hard to figure out.
Why do we all have to think like attorneys these days?
October 14th, 2006 at 5:12 am
Nivoxz says:
I will move to mac, every time microsoft does something it looks that you must ask permission to use their software when we are buying their programs… What happens when one day everyone gets tired like me?
October 14th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
BundyGil says:
Time someone came up with a viable alternative to windows
October 15th, 2006 at 4:04 am
Mark T says:
The Fedora 5 install was pretty painless it cost 25$ for the book on amazon and I got CD’s and it saw my mp3 player and cameraphone with no hassles.
October 15th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Bob says:
I’ve been running Linux for a couple of years. My only problem is what to do for games. Might buy the PS3.
October 15th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
Kevin K. says:
The harder and more annoying they make it for regular users, the more they alienate us.
Back in the day, a computer cost upwards of $3000+ and the OS cost $100 (I know you can go all out and get a machine well over $4000 but that’s beside the point). Nowadays you can get a damned fine machine for $500 and they expect us to pay $200+ for the OS? AND make it harder for us to upgrade later?
I am glad I am getting older and less interested in the hobby of computing as it’s getting less and less fun to play in that arena what with all the controls from the software companies and entertainment industry….
October 16th, 2006 at 7:31 am
Kevin K. says:
Look at this little tid bit a bit earlier in the document:
***************
Licensed Device. You may install one copy of the software on the licensed device. You may
use the software on up to two processors on that device at one time. Except as provided in the
Storage and Network Use (Ultimate edition) sections below, you may not use the software on any
other device.
*****************
Meaning we are unable to use the OS on any possible quad core CPUs that come out in the near future? Is this a standard restriction or does it just mean you have to use a server edition for multi processor machines?
Interesting……
October 16th, 2006 at 7:37 am
nivoxz says:
mmm… quite interesting, i bet that it’s done on purpose, they already know that quad core pcs are just comming, so we buy first our copy of vista and later if we upgrade to quadcore pc we should be buying more expensive server version… and that sounds expensive
October 16th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Microsoft Backtracks On Vista Licensing Rules ~ Windows Fanatics says:
[…] First Microsoft said you could only transfer Vista to one other PC. There was quite an outcry over that, and now, two weeks later, there’s been a course correction. […]
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:09 pm