Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (
More info?)
Kevin wrote:
> I'm going to be building a new system as my 4 year old system is showing
> signs of old age. Can I use my old OEM XP install disk to install XP on my
> soon to be built new system? The old machine will be junked, the hard drive
> formatted and given to a local school. No working parts of the old PC,
> other than that formatted old hard drive will survive.
>
>
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.
(Licensed Microsoft Systems Builders, who are allowed to distribute
OEM licenses with computers they sell, are contractually obligated to
"define" the computer as the motherboard, but this limitation/definition
can't be applied to the end user until the EULA is re-written.)
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.
--
Bruce Chambers
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