Using a Vista upgrade key on multiple machines

[argetni]

I have two PCs at home with Vista Home Premium. I bought one Vista Ultimate upgrade. Will it let me install and activate it on both machines? I know it is aganist the EULA, but will it work?

 

[LordOfLA]

Yes it will. It's not against EULA and its not illegal.

 

[fitz]

well, wouldn't it be against the EULA if he tried to activate/install it on both machines at the same time?

 

[madmatt]

Okay, now I am confused because I've read his/her question again.

Are you attempting to install Vista Home Premium twice or are you attempting to install Vista Ultimate UPGRADE on the second computer?

You are in violation of the EULA if you install Vista Home Premium twice. You are also in violation of the EULA if you install Vista Ultimate UPGRADE without having a previous version of Windows that is eligible.

 

[fitz]

from my interpretation, he has two (probably OEM) licenses of Vista Home Premium and bought a single copy of the Ultimate upgrade license and wants to install the one license on both copies of Home Premium.

 

[ming]

from my interpretation, he has two (probably OEM) licenses of Vista Home Premium and bought a single copy of the Ultimate upgrade license and wants to install the one license on both copies of Home Premium.

Thinking same thing.... he wants to install 1 licence of Ultimate Upgrade on to the two pre-installed Home Premium versions. I'm pretty sure that's against EULA and IS illegal, LoA.

 

[Sazar]

Thinking same thing.... he wants to install 1 licence of Ultimate Upgrade on to the two pre-installed Home Premium versions. I'm pretty sure that's against EULA and IS illegal, LoA.

That's my understanding.

To the OP, it will likely work but you should not be able to register it.

Fwiw, unless you are using the ultimate extra's (i.e. playing poker or using dreamscenes) or have a dual processor (as opposed to multi-core proc) you should be just fine with Home Premium.

Slap the upgrade on one system and you'll see the difference (or lack thereof).

Hope that helps buddy.

 

[LordOfLA]

All Microsoft activation keys will activate 1 machine 5 times or 5 machines once before you have to call MS. It is not illegal and not against the EULA.

If it was I would have left the thread locked 🙂

 

[madmatt]

I did have the thread locked. As far as I know you can have a retail copy of Windows installed on ONE computer at any given time. Yes, you can uninstall it from that computer and install it on another.

 

[j79zlr]

From the FAQ:

Q. Can an operating system be transferred from an existing PC to a new PC?
A. It depends on the type of Windows software installed on your computer. Full-packaged retail versions of Windows software are generally transferable from one PC to another as long as the software is no longer installed on the original PC. An OEM software licence, however, may not be transferred or installed on another PC because it's tied to the original computer system on which it was installed, even if the PC is no longer in use.



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You cannot install one copy of windows on more than one PC, period.You can have Office installed on a laptop and desktop IIRC though.

 

[NetRyder]

All Microsoft activation keys will activate 1 machine 5 times or 5 machines once before you have to call MS. It is not illegal and not against the EULA.

What's your source for this information?

The Vista EULA makes it quite clear that a retail license is tied to a single machine at a time:

• License Model. The software is licensed on a per copy per device basis.
• Before you use the software under a license, you must assign that license to one device (physical hardware system). That device is the “licensed device.” A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a separate device.
  a. Licensed Device. You may install one copy of the software on the licensed device. You may use the software on up to two processors on that device at one time. Except as provided in the Storage and Network Use (Ultimate edition) sections below, you may not use the software on any other device.
• REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE - a. Software Other than Windows Anytime Upgrade. You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices.
• TRANSFER TO A THIRD PARTY - a. Software Other Than Windows Anytime Upgrade. The first user of the software may make a one time transfer of the software, and this agreement, directly to a third party. The first user must uninstall the software before transferring it separately from the device. The first user may not retain any copies.

 

[LordOfLA]

Microsoft Partner licensing is my source. This is what we have been told at work when recieving action pack and retail software from Microsoft.

 

[NetRyder]

Microsoft Partner licensing is my source. This is what we have been told at work when recieving action pack and retail software from Microsoft.

It's true for the Action Pack subscription (as well as MSDN and TechNet), but I think there was some miscommunication regarding the retail licensing terms. Verify this with them again. It's always been a per-machine licensing model for retail copies of Windows, as far as I'm aware.

How do the product keys work with my Action Pack Subscription?

The Microsoft Action Pack Subscription provides you with 10 licenses for all desktop software, along with one license and 10 client access licenses (CALs) for all server software shipped with your one-year subscription.

The full-version desktop software in the Action Pack Subscription provides 10 licenses for each title. The desktop product keys can be found on individual cards inside your kit or on the back of the software's CD sleeve. Depending on your region, you could have one product key label (good for 10 activations) or 10 labels (good for one activation each).

https://partner.microsoft.com/global/program/managemembership/actionpack/mapsfaq

 

[ming]

All Microsoft activation keys will activate 1 machine 5 times or 5 machines once before you have to call MS. It is not illegal and not against the EULA.

If it was I would have left the thread locked 🙂

If that were true, I'd buy 1 copy and install it on all 4 PCs I've got.
But as 99% of us know, it's 1 licence per machine - not 1 licence for 5 machines. 🙂

 

[madmatt]

Action Pack licensing is far different than retail and OEM licensing.

 

[LordOfLA]

Never had any issues activating a single OEM XP key on 5 machines. One had to be re-installed. Called MS, told them it was on 5 machines, gave us a re-activation code.

This is why I'm inclined to believe the information from Partner licensing.