Microsoft confirms Windows 7 install trick is legal

I don't know about The U.S., but here in Germany OEMs are also sold separately from hardware. You can install the OEM on any PC you want, and if you sell that PC, the OEM OS doesn't have to go with it. Which lets you install the OEM software on another PC of your choice. Microsoft lost the OEM battle in a German court back in the 90s. Here you can sell and resell OEMs with no connection to hardware as you wish.

I agree with Paul that Microsoft needed to come out with this information sooner. And I also find it nice that Microsoft went this route with upgrading of the Windows 7 OS.

By no means, do I feel this was an "accident" by Microsoft. This installation method was designed this way on purpose and Microsoft clearly intended their customers to fully utilize it. This gets them a sale, plain and simple. People who might have otherwise pirated the copy if they had to pay the full install price, might be willing to pay for the upgrade. Even if they only persuade 20% to take them up on this, that's 20%.

Microsoft can and will sell this at any price to anybody. You got OEM, retail, upgrade, student, MSDN subs, Technet...all have wildly different pricing for the exact same thing. They take the money however they can get it.

Knew that was a hack soon as I saw him messing with the registry. I think the bigger problem for Msoft is over in China where they make complete copy's of 7 then sell them as original.

Without Paul's hack there would be so many PO'ed customers it would have sank Msoft and the 7 launch. He saved them with that hack which is why they aren't complaning too much about it.

They also may have been saving that hack for people who called in after realizing there upgrade CD wasn't working right. Paul probably saved Msoft from getting millions of calls from angry customers. They may end up selling more of the upgrade CD's now that everyone knows about the hack.

Msoft should have been more upfront about how to upgrade from the CD before it was released. So many people were speculating about how the process will play out and most of them were incorrect.

Zen00 said:

Also the cool factor of having "hacked" Windows to install it.

(Though I'm not really endorsing doing this)

Actually it is NOT a "HACK". It is very well documented in the MANUAL which Microsoft sends with the "UPGRADE Versions".
I have posted the scan of the manual so many times, and fully explained how to, and its legality ages ago....

Simular methods were also effective for Win-95 as mentioned earlier. NOT A HACK, either.

chevy65 said:

They also may have been saving that hack for people who called in after realizing there upgrade CD wasn't working right. Paul probably saved Msoft from getting millions of calls from angry customers. They may end up selling more of the upgrade CD's now that everyone knows about the hack

.
Come now, this information has been around since Vista. (XP was slightly different-way but still the same-MS make it easier in Vista is all.)
How can it save MS from getting millions of calls from people who can not READ. This info is in the BOOK it also is on the MS site.

They may end up selling more of the upgrade CD's now that everyone knows about the hack.

Its a known FACT, not a HACK.

PS: If this info was a HACK you would be BANNED for talking about it..

Hey Snuffy, I remember you talking and telling everyone about that, months ago. so you were right.

If you have a legit copy of Vista, and a legit copy of W7 upgrade, what the hell's the problem? What, you should actually install Vista and then install W7 straight over it? That's plain dumb.

One of Microsoft's fine representatives is welcome to visit me anytime and inspect my legitimate copy of Vista 64 (with valid key), and the legitimate upgrade copy of Seven (with valid key) that replaced it.

And then, he or she can listen to a little lecture on how unimpressed I was that I had to fiddle with my registry to install it. Y'know, so I could do a clean install without standing on my head and holding my tongue just so.