Legal question...

I recently bought myself a new laptop, the P-7811fx, which comes with Vista and I also have a desktop, the XPS Gen 4, which came with XP Professional. I do want to start the process of learning the new OS however there are a few work related applications that is not supported on Vista yet so I would like to know whether if it is legal to use the XP Professional CD, from the desktop, to install onto the laptop.

Thanks,
Phong.

 

Im afraid both of your computers came with an OEM licence, which cannot be transferred. Its tied down to that specific system.

You will need to purchase an XP retail version or a new OEM licence for that notebook.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

just in case... if it is Vista Ultimate or Vista Business, you can downgrade to XP within this license (even with OEM). please correct me someone if i'm wrong.

 

The Vista downgrade rights is only available for Business notebooks.

The Gateway P-7811fx is a mobile gaming notebook

 

sorry? wait, it has nothing to do with the "kind" of notebook, if it is "gaming" or "business", but the license! the downgrade right is connected with the "Business" or "Ultimate" edition of Vista, no mater which marketing label you use for a laptop. - well, at least here in Europe

 

Downgrade rights exist for all OEM copies of Vista Business and Ultimate, though you'd probably have to find your own XP disk since Gateway isn't obligated to provide you with one.

 

But I can't use the XP disk that came with my [old] DELL system right, I mean it will error out?

 

Just a quick note if you don't know this about Vista. It has a "compatibility mode" that seems to work extremely well. If you install an application that isn't Vista compatible, 9 times out of 10 if you right click it, go to properties, compatibility tab, and select "run this program in compatibility mode for XP SP2" the program will work as normal.

 

Didn't all windows have that option?
Correct me if I am wrong.

 

I don't know precisely how the downgrade installation would work, but in terms of getting a full copy-set of the XP files you need to do the installation, you might be able to get them off the _Dell XP CD. The difficulty on that end won't be legal but practical - if your CD is anything like the so-called "recovery" CDs I got with my old _Sony VAIO, the CD contains an obfuscated image of a factory-clean installation that has been integrated with all of the _Dell-specific bloatware _Dell originally stuck on there; so extricating the actual XP installation files might present a bit of a practical problem.

Legally, what matters is the license number you provide to the XP installation program - you cannot use your _Dell OEM license with your Gateway; however, provided you have the appropriate Gateway OEM license, you should be able to use that license number with any copy of the XP installation files wherever you got them from (provided, of course, that the files don't come from a cracked copy, in which case you're just asking for trouble with malware).

 

Technically, he's not permitted to install Windows with an OEM license unless he purchases certain hardware (not merely, say, a mouse) on the same receipt with the OEM copy. Or so I've read.

 

he already has purchased hardware, with oem vista, if i understand well. in case that this vista is the vista business or vista ultimate edition, he can use *any* oem xp medium for the downgrade, when it gets to the law. practically, there may be some issues as Shyster1 mentioned...
- if the vista is not any of the two editions mentioned above, the downgrade possibility is not included.

 

You're right, but is it relevant?

 

If you buy OEM from Newegg and nothing else they give you a cable or molex connector. The rules are very flexible.

 

If you keep looking behind you, you will eventually stumble or run into something. Why not look ahead, in front of you, and simply go with what you have, Vista?

 

What I recall reading is, you have to buy either a hard drive, or a motherboard and RAM together, or something like that. Of course, the person who made that statement may have been wrong. And if he was right, I've never heard of Microsoft enforcing that rule, so it's moot. But the subject of this thread is "Legal question..."

 

The rule isn't quite that strict, as one of the other posters stated. The requirement that an OEM copy of a WinOS be sold "with hardware" is typically satisfied by, e.g., including a cable, or a bit of cheap old RAM (presumably so long as it "works") or whatever else the vendor has on hand that isn't particularly expensive.

 

This is no longer the case. There is a new System builder agreement that basically allows anyone to purchase an OEM edition.

 

In regards to the XP downgrade CD it is possible for any machine purchased with Ultimate and Business. I had to get one for the missus because she couldn't bare Vista. When I called up they pretended not to know what I was talking about and when I provided more info like "it's on your website" and it is offered by Miscrosoft, they quickly changed their tune. So don't let them do the runabout with you. Will cost you though - here in Australia $80. And still installs the makers bloatware.