Microsoft Puts Limits on Vista Virtualization

Anyone read the eula with Vista?

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5951

 

Hi Franklin

I know it's supposed to be clear - but is it ? Given it places the restriction on

..... that article now has a coda:-

So is it really just saying that after having installed this physically to a machine, you can't then re-install the same licence within a virtual environment ? Which is pretty much how we are now with XP home ......

 

Part 2: some additional research

There's a ton of stuff out there. First the happy quote that is used in a couple of places to back up the interpretation that you can install a Vista Home virtual machine. It is attributed to alessandro perilli:-

Then the not so happy reference that is used as a counter-argument. It comes from an interview with Ed Bott & Microsoft Director Scott Woodgate and in which you get this response in one of the Q&A's:-

Then real life; which is what the rest of us are doing while Ed Bott & Paul Thurrott continue to fight over the what the XP EULA actually meant........

As far as I know, reports from the field say there is no problem installing Vista home editions in a virtual environment, so it can be done - but will I guess, if successfully activated, be locked to the hardware config. The problem unless your a developer and paying the extra then, becomes one of portability.....

As to the problem of portability, as I understand it (see quote below), the Vista Eula has changed from the more draconian restrictions that only permitted a one-time only transfer of the Vista licence. So perhaps in reality, other than transferring a clone of a machine, the portability problem will be no more than that of the existing xp licence in which you can transfer the licence to another machine, on condition that it is fully removed from the preceding machine.

Some additional reasoning for the proposal that you can't install a Home version in a virtual machine

Eb Bott later goes on to come up with this thought under the heading of 'I think I finally understand the licence' :-

This actually makes a little bit of sense in terms of the overview - if this is the case then it explains why you are not supposed to install the home editions in a virtual environment without acknowledging the physical machine. As once you've installed it on the physical hardware - you obviously can't use the same licence twice & install and activate in a virtual environment. it's a catch 22 thing .......

Feel free to challenge any points - I'm only trying to work through the variations ....

 

Thanks for your concise and well reseached reply.

I do to MS as I do to any EULA.

Get stuffed!!!!

My PC and I'll do as I like!!!

 

So can anybody tell in simple words what we can do with XP and vista home while not breaching EULA?

Thanks.

 

On balance, based on everything I've read, the answer I believe is that if you have only paid for a retail/OEM Vista Home licence, then you are not licenced to use Vista Home within a virtual environment.

As said in my earlier post, this appears to be a EULA restriction rather than an actual impossibility.

One option that has been proposed, is to look past retail & OEM versions and obtain your copy through an MSDN subscription.

Check out this page - I haven't double-checked everything, but it appears useful

http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid94_gci1240559,00.html