Legal to use OEM UPGRADE disk on another manufacture pc

[poin2]

It is now clear from that these manufacturers' Upgrade Kits that they can only be used on the machine they were intended to Upgrade, are locked to the Vista and mobo. I am clean installing (from boot) a number of these manufacturer's Upgrade Kits now so am familar with the process.

I don't believe that's 100% true.

In some cases, the manufacturer appears to have perhaps customized the disc more than others, and people do report things where it sounds like they're tied to at least the brand of computer.

In others, best I can tell (though I've only seen a couple), the disc is no different from what you could buy as a generic OEM / System Builder's thing in some stores. They've just simply physically labelled the disc differently. They wouldn't be locked on a software level to a motherboard or the manufacturer.

And as far as any written license goes, what it is for these free upgrade kits would be different from the generic OEM / System Builder's discs you buy separately elsewhere. There seem to be a lot of people missing that the original topic isn't about a separate purchase of the OS or about the generic OEM discs.

 

[blankojames]

Ok here goes. The disk is a ASUS upgrade disk it states on the disk "use with asus notebooks" It came with a separate driver disk. The disk are both ASUS blue with ASUS in bold on them. ASUS tech said it would work and run on any brand computer. Just not tested "said for warranty reasons of software" on another computer or even another brand. Now seeing that he said it wasn't illegal after all that and knowing it was a free upgrade shipment "told him" Would it be wrong to install it since he said "I dont know if they will want the disk back or not in the upgrade shipping department since they are on holiday" I didn't ask if i could go ahead but i thought he might get that from me asking if its legal

 

[Frostmourne]

Try it, buy the driver disk is most likely useless. Have you contacted Microsoft just to triple check?

 

[blankojames]

Emailed Microsoft told them what the retailer said and how things happen and if i could install on another computer even though i didnt have the one the upgrade disk was ordered for. they said "For things pertaining to OEM windows 7 upgrade disk please contact the OEM disk provider"

 

[Frostmourne]

Try it and ignore the driver disk.

 

[blankojames]

wouldnt that cause a problem if they wanted it back if i installed it and activated the oem disk key seeing how it will be locked to my computer if they tried to resend it to someone else they wouldnt be able to use it right?

 

[Frostmourne]

Right now its yours so install it.

 

[gregrocker]

As described to me by an Acer tech support manager today:

MS offered a program where manufacturers could buy cheap bulk OEM Win7 Upgrades to entice people to continue buying Vista computers in the months before Win7 was released.

They stipulated that the Upgrade disk must a be clean Win7 OS installation disk, but left the drivers/apps disk to the manufacturer's design.

Manufacturers used a fulfillment agency which was provided with MS software to scan the Win7 Upgrade DVD's MS-provided OEM key sticker into the manufacturer's S/N account and Vista OEM key, locking them together permanently in MS activation system.

I think what you have is an installer. MS does not allow loose OEM keys that can activate on any machine. Try it if you want, and good luck with that.

 

[blankojames]

Now this is strange. I contacted another computer manufacture and asked them if it would be illegal to see what they would say through email. And they said it was Illegal, where as the company i had the computer through said it wasn't. Then the company that i called just to ask "whom i do not have an upgrade disk through" Tried to tell me something about my system not being registered with them and asking for my address and name and # which i never gave them a system detail to come up with that.. hmmmmm maybe it is illegal

 

[bigmck]

Isn't any OEM tied to the mobo you install it on? If I decide to build a new i5 system I'll be getting an OEM x64 version of 7 Ultimate - one that isn't tied to any manufacturer.

That is correct. I purchsed an OEM for my custom built computer from a reputable distributor. It was not tied to anythng. It installed fine. I typed into the program the Key and Microsoft authenicated it. Now the OEM and my computer are tied together, but not before I installed it. == BTW, I was at a Microsoft seminar a couple months ago. I asked one of the Microsoft folks if I could buy an OEM for my custom built computer that presently had an XP OEM on it. His response was that since I qualifed for the XP OEM license, I would also qualify for the Win 7 OEM license.

 

[gregrocker]

Isn't any OEM tied to the mobo you install it on? If I decide to build a new i5 system I'll be getting an OEM x64 version of 7 Ultimate - one that isn't tied to any manufacturer.

That is correct. I purchsed an OEM for my custom built computer from a reputable distributor. It was not tied to anythng. It installed fine. I typed into the program the Key and Microsoft authenicated it. Now the OEM and my computer are tied together, but not before I installed it. == BTW, I was at a Microsoft seminar a couple months ago. I asked one of the Microsoft folks if I could buy an OEM for my custom built computer that presently had an XP OEM on it. His response was that since I qualifed for the XP OEM license, I would also qualify for the Win 7 OEM license.

You are referring to Builder's OEM which are different than Manufacturer's OEM, except that they both become locked to hardware.

One is retail sold to home computer builders to complete their builds. In the past, shops would sell them to someone who bought any other hardware item. Now they are pretty much sold like retail.

Manufacturer's OEM are sold in bulk to computer makers and have batch keys on their stickers which generate a unique key when locked to the mobo. You can detect this unique key by running Belarc Advisor, or else during a reinstall reactivation will be elevated to a robocall where you will trade a series of numbers which allow MS to sort out your unique key from the batch one.

 

[blankojames]

Ok called OEM whom the free oem upgrade disk came from. They said i could keep the disk even though i dont have the pc any more. And they said i could install on another pc. There would be no driver problems because its just an upgrade disk that comes with a separate driver disk. That it would work and that the key will activate on another motherboard. And they said it is legal. So now here we are win7 upgrade on my other pc Thanks for everyone's help on this subject. It was a hard one.




Win7 blows vista out of the water...........

 

[Zepher]

I just received my free Win 7 upgrade from Toshiba and it has both 32bit and 64bit on 1 DVD.

 

[gregrocker]

Did Toshiba provide a drivers/apps disk where you can pick which ones you want or do they try to force the bloatware back on you?

They told me on one Vista reinstall that I had to have the bloatware on recovery disk or it would void tech support (but not hardware) warranty.

Did a clean install of Vista anyway getting cam app/driver and other drivers off their product webpage, other needed apps elsewhere.

It's starting to look like MS forced these manufacturers to send clean copies of Win7 DVD, and somehow the apps/drivers disks (for Acer, gateway, HP so far) are unbloated menu disks.

Maybe this is why prices are going up on PC's since they aren't enforcing their sponsored bloatware which previously provided the profit margin.

 

[Zepher]

It is just 1 dvd in the case. I haven't checked what is on the DVD yet, and the laptop doesn't need it since I already put Win 7 Pro on in August.

 

[Frostmourne]

Hmmm, the disc should say wheter its x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit).

 

[gregrocker]

Toshiba may have slipstreamed in the drivers and apps then (with the bloatware??).

Can you explore the DVD to see if it is clean copy, or see if you can boot from it into a normal Win7 installer?

If they slipstreamed it btw then you should be able to remove bloatware in advance (before Ofc trial or Norton get their hooks in) using View attachment 39752, insert any favorite apps/drivers, then recreate ISO and burn to DVD using that great app.

To avoid having to download MS huge WAIK, install latest vLite version over earlier one.

 

[kronwhon]

Ok called OEM whom the free oem upgrade disk came from. They said i could keep the disk even though i dont have the pc any more. And they said i could install on another pc. There would be no driver problems because its just an upgrade disk that comes with a separate driver disk. That it would work and that the key will activate on another motherboard. And they said it is legal. So now here we are win7 upgrade on my other pc Thanks for everyone's help on this subject. It was a hard one.




Win7 blows vista out of the water...........

Hey guys, I work for MS Licensing. While I'm tempted to agree with Greg (he knows his stuff), this comes from the MS site:

If you can’t tell whether a PC or software program qualifies based on the package or associated marketing material, please consult your retailer or PC manufacturer to see if it is included in the program.

http://www.microsoft.com/canada/windows/buy/offers/upgrade-faq.aspx

If you called me, this is what I would tell you.

Most likely what will happen is the OEM will resell this PC as refurbished, and will not (or should not) offer the upgrade license to the new purchaser. In terms of licensing and legality, MS places the onus squarely on the OEM.

OP, my suggestion to you is to get the OEM's advice in writing, as phone call conversations (even if recorded) are not admissable exceptions to licensing policy.

In terms of technical installation, Greg's advice might prove true. Furthermore, if you have any problems installing, you will be referred to OEM for technical support. In other words, if you try a different manufacturer's MOBO for the new install, it may be technically legal, but the origianl OEM will be responsible for tech support, and will likely be reluctant to provide that support.

 

[Barman58]

There has been some, (unsubstantiated), reports of certain OEM's providing both x86 and x64 installs on a dual layer DVD.

It could be that Toshiba are one of those - It's an option that was mooted for Microsoft with the retail packs at one time - not followed up probably because a dual layer DVD is more than twice the cost of two single layer and not all DVD units will read dual layer. Newer Toshiba models will of course be dual layer drives

 

[gregrocker]

Ok called OEM whom the free oem upgrade disk came from. They said i could keep the disk even though i dont have the pc any more. And they said i could install on another pc. There would be no driver problems because its just an upgrade disk that comes with a separate driver disk. That it would work and that the key will activate on another motherboard. And they said it is legal. So now here we are win7 upgrade on my other pc Thanks for everyone's help on this subject. It was a hard one.




Win7 blows vista out of the water...........

Did it activate? Check Computer>Properties scroll-down. What does it say?