Re: Windows XP For Trade??

Kurt Huhn wrote:
Briarroot wrote:
Bill wrote:
On Mar 2, 5:11 pm, Eric Melby <xeme...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

So, I basically have a legal copy (OEM) of Windows XP Home Edition,
with the hologram and unused serial number that I would like to dispose
of.

I was thinking that there might be someone out here who would be
willing to trade some tobacco or a pipe or both for this copy. This is
the 2002 SP2 version still in its shrink-wrapped condition. It's fully
legal.


No, it isn't.


It's not illegal. As long as the software has never been used (still in the shrink-wrap, etc) then it's ok to sell it to someone else. It would only violate the EULA if he used the disk to install the software on another system beforehand. OEM versions of Microsoft operating systems are legally sold at retail, and you can find them at many online vendors. For example, see the following link:

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=368&name=Operating-Systems



Once again, Microsoft changes the names to confuse the masses. The term "OEM license" has, apparently until very recently, meant a copy of Windows that was included with a computer from a manufacturer. That copy was never legal for resale, even if you removed it from the computer you bought, and installed another OS. Now it seems that MS is selling "OEM" licenses to people that build their own systems.

However, if you buy a Dell or HP (for example) and get a copy of Windows with it, check your EULA carefully - you may find that you cannot sell that copy of Windows or install it on any other computer. If they changed those stipulations, it has been extremely recently, and is news to me.


I don't know precisely when Microsoft began allowing retail sales of OEM versions of their operating systems, but it's been half a year, at least. I was able to find numerous establishments selling OEM disks when I upgraded from ME to XP last summer.

Selling or trading the re-install disk of the OS that comes pre-installed on a PC is not permitted since that copy is already in use. The purchaser has the right to use the OS on only one machine at a time and that right may not be passed on to anyone else. I think it's permissible to uninstall the OS and install it on another PC, provided that second PC is also owned by the original purchaser, but doing so will likely require a call to MS Support to activate the OS on the new machine.

In Eric's case, he purchased a legal copy of XP [1] but later decided not to install it. He's perfectly within his rights to trade it. Only if he had installed it and *then* changed his mind would he have violated the EULA.

[1] Presuming that eBay vendor was selling legal copies! ;-)

Regards,

Tim Parker ... Germain's Medium Flake in a basket bulldog

--
"Communists are people who read Marx and Lenin. Anti-Communists are
people who *understand* Marx and Lenin." - Ronald Reagan
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: installing WinXP
    ... The OEM license that comes with system builder copies purchased in places like NewEgg aren't for end-users. ... The license specifies that the purchaser may only install the software on a computer for sale to end users. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup)
  • Re: Windows XP Version
    ... He bought a Retail full install. ... OEM is for NEW PC's ... >>PC that has Windows Me as it operating system. ... > the other hand belongs to the purchaser and therefore can be moved ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Windows XP For Trade??
    ... So, I basically have a legal copy (OEM) of Windows XP Home Edition, ... that copy of Windows or install it on any other computer. ... versions of their operating systems, but it's been half a year, at least. ...
    (alt.smokers.pipes)
  • Re: Windows XP For Trade??
    ... So, I basically have a legal copy (OEM) of Windows XP Home Edition, ... that copy of Windows or install it on any other computer. ... versions of their operating systems, but it's been half a year, at least. ...
    (alt.smokers.pipes)
  • Re: HP computers and XP SP2
    ... > If you have a HP computer and intend to install XP SP2, ... > not available in retail version of Operating systems. ... > Operating system in general and not the OEM version thus installing the ... > service pack directly may affect the normal functioning of the PC.. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)