Swapping OSs between two Dells

The OS that ships with a PC is legally only licensed for the PC it was delivered with. 

 

Same way if you bought an OEM version of Windows, it is legally only licensed for one PC (the PC it was initially installed on).

My dear friend Knaufit, please check your PM (on very top) - you have mail....

What I stated was how it's licensed (and it's not just Dell, if you buy an HP, Gateway, Acer, or whoever the OEM versions are the same).

 

What you do is up to you.

So, long story short, Your OS can only legally be run on the PC that it was purchased with, and neither Dell nor Microsoft will let you reassign it.

 

One more question. If I'm combining parts from two old PCs (Both Dells), how much of the PC do I need to retain in order to retain the OEM. Motherboard, HD, etc?

Yep, I'm well aware of all of this. Let me give you a hypothetical situation.

 

Suppose that you had an old Dell and a new Dell, the new Dell is Vista, but the old Dell is XP. Could you hypothetically transfer the OEM of XP to the PC sold with Vista simply by transfering enough of the parts like the HD across and DVD-ROM over. Or does the OEM reside with a significant and non movable component like the motherboard or PSU?

 

I'm not used to the limitations of a consumer OEM, so I don't know what you can and can't do, and I don't want to do somethig that I'm not supposed to do.

 

I usualy work bulk business deals and retail installs.

Not sure what you mean, but the Dell supplied OS discs will only load on a system with a Dell BIOS, so you need a Dell motherboard.

Here is the skinny on this subject:

 

Microsoft defines the motherboard as the original computer for OEM purposes. Period.

 

Dell and others use a SLP installation and the code that tells the OS that it is legal is written in the ACPI Table in the BIOS Firmware on the motherboard with respect to the certificate on the OEM installation disk.

 

The motherboard that came with XP will NOT have the proper code to activate the Vista OS and vice versa as these codes are different for each OS. " Dell M07 for Vista " and " Dell M08 for XP " are the SLP codes.

 

There is no amount of manipulation that will make it conform to the license agreement.

 

pcgeek11

:smileyvery-happy:

 

Maybe I didn't word it correctly.. unless I'm missing something... Being the pessimist I can sometimes be, I said the tire wouldn't work, lol. 

In other words I was meaning to the o.p. to use his/her own good judgement as you're likely to get 5 different opinions from 5 different folks...

 

Gee...  Who would think that a flat tire I encountered 50 years ago would come up here in 2008..  

"it won't work"...

 

With all due respect; I am not trying to start a confrontation, but ...

 

It will not work " as is " legitimately due to the ACPI Table codes in the BIOS.

 

There are ways, but that will NOT make it legit and it will require illegal / unauthorized manipulation of the system. As stated earlier:

 

" There is no amount of manipulation that will make it conform to the license agreement. "

 

Any other answer ( regardless of how subtle ) is outside of the terms of use of this board, as I am sure you know this already.

 

I am not trying to police the board just stating the facts.

 

pcgeek11

 

Knauff... check your private messages....

 

I am removing a reply above; some things are better left unsaid or kept out of the public eye.

 

 

Knauff... check your private messages....

 

Removed for obvious reasons....:smileysurprised:

 

Have a glorious weekend, everyone... It's a dandy here in New England.

" I am removing a reply above; some things are better left unsaid or kept out of the public eye."

 

Yes this is true! :smileywink:

 

You have a great weekend also!

 

pcgeek11

PCGeek11

 

I think that we've all gotten the message. Full retail means that you can run 1 copy on any machine, but Dell OEM means that you can only run 1 copy which must be on the machine that it was sold with. This is not being disputed. Nobody has asked how to cheat and nobody is saying how to cheat. This is a puerly hypothetical situation as I don't deal with home OEMs and so don't have a home OEM of Vista in the first place, and I can't see why you would want to install Vista on an older PC in the first place. It would be dog slow.

 

I will have to mention, however, that you're a little bit off moterboard restrictions. I've seen a standard Dell OEM DVD (Originally from a 745 or a 755, I don't recall which) used to install Vista on a machine that was manufatured before Vista was released. It worked first time with no modifications or cheating of any sort (To be 100% clear this was done specifically as part of a demonstration about installing Vista onto older machines, by a company that already had a bulk OEM agreement in place).

 

Maybe some PCs have motherboard lockdown, but this one certainly wasn't.