Microsoft confirms Windows 7 install trick is legal

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by ronjor, Oct 29, 2009.

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  1. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    Article
     
  2. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    That is an interesting report:
    Tin Hat firmly in place: why is MS playing nice with this ?? Why such a softly softly approach ??
    Is this a truly brilliant PR strategy/manipulation?
    Promote sales anyway they can !
    Effectively this is a 'paralegal' issue and could be interpreted as misuse of the license: unless somewhere in the tiny :rolleyes: EULA there is some loophole.
    If they wanted to, MS could prolly come down hard on licensing issues re 'upgrades'.?
    Very interesting that the article mentions XP license as being acceptable to use W7 upgrade/clean install:
    I had thought there was no 'upgrade' path from XP to W7 ?

    I'm not sure I'd be willing to do this to an existing XP install ??
    ? migration issues.
    -any body tried it?

    What happens when if MS applies some sort of retrospective restrictions ??

    What I do like is MS acknowledging that they better work with VMs than against them.
    Perfectly legal to make as many clones of standard install in a VM from OEM licenses afaics:
    There is still a lot of inertia to overcome for users to ditch XP any little bit helps.
    Waiting and watching ftm.
     
  3. Sully

    Sully Registered Member

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    Actually this is the way it used to be, all you needed was a valid media (cd or floppy) to show that you actually possessed a legitimate copy. I used to do that back in the day.

    Sul.
     
  4. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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  5. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

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    It's first time to read an article indicating that OEM install in a VM is not against EULA and it seems just writers opinion, not from MS. Very confusing. OEM licence is tied to your mobo. What when you delete your VM and create a brand new one?
     
  6. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    Clone baby clone.
    Make a VM, copy/clone, keep, recycle...:)
     
  7. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

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    Problem is that you are infact cloning your HD, VM is already gone. Am I true?
    MS needs to be much more clear and a bit liberal about VM licence issues.
     
  8. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    I think they are a little uncertain as to "how" : the realisation of such effective VMs at every level from home to smb to enterprise has opened up and rearranged the common concept of piracy, better to have sales of genuine MS OSes if possible. The article quoted was the best admission from MS about acceptance of utilisation of VMs on the desktop I have seen.
    LOL, previously there was some draconian bullsh** that meant nothing.

    aigle:
    we are getting a bit OT,but, when you clone the VM you are cloning the virtual HD.

    My interpretation of local deployment of VMs ( using VMWare ) is:

    Once the VM has been created and the MS OS installed and activated, that VM is yours: you have paid for it.
    IE, have to pay for a second OS install if you want to do this...legally.
    On the host machine, the VHD is just a file system: the guest, and can be cloned/copied , moved, and even saved outside the VM utility itself.
    Effectively you could make any number of copies of your original OEM installation VM as a clean system and keep them.
    ANy number of snapshots of any VM can be made any you can go 'back and forth'.

    I am not sure about using a converter to then have a cloned copy of your original HD installation, but that might not violate the EULA either.

    The VM is Not tied to the physical HD but isolated as a unique, portable virtual OS installation on a VHD.

    Creating a new ( ie different and separate) VM and using the -same- OEM install, even on the same host -might- violate the EULA.

    Porting a guest MS VM from the original host to another host -might- violate the EULA.
    ie in a multi desktop environment, one might have to purchase multiple licenses, which is where VM server steps in :)
    Which is not germane here.
    Heh heh: what's the virtual law in a virtual world ?

    If i wanted to create a new VM and clean install another OS, then I might need to get a new license for activation in that VM.

    I am not advocating bypassing any EULA, just using the software and your licensed MS install as you are entitled to.

    By comparison, I have 6 FDISR snapshots created from my original installation and boot back and forth/in and out as required.
    I have two archives snapshots
    This does not violate the EULA, just extends FDISR functions.
    The difference is each of those system installs is tied to the unique HD and system identifiers that MS uses to "score" legal use limits of Windows.
    Those bootable images are not transferable to another HW set-up.
    They are same system akin to system restore images.
    If I used those images to restore to a new HD then I would likely need to reactivate with MS just like a new installation ( never mind driver issues etc)

    Once you have wrapped your head ( makes you head spin :D ) around the concept of the VM, its' applications become legion. :)
    ANd you dont have to have expensive software to do it.
    I think the latest version of VMWAre Player can create snapshots ??
    There are free .vmx file makers all over the web.


    Lol, have I helped ? :blink:
    Here is a pic of a single install with multiple snapshot tree.
    Multiply as you like and all legal from single OEM install.
    So many edits: I hope I haven't prolly have made a total ass of myself.
    Apologies if I am trying to teach you what you already know :oops:
    You have raised some points worth clearing up and maybe a separate thread ?

    Regards
     

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    Last edited: Oct 30, 2009
  9. jonyjoe81

    jonyjoe81 Registered Member

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    It's called competition and "lameduck" all roll up into one. Linux and apple are right on Windows 7 rearview mirror. Microsoft is trying to flood the market with "product" that's why they have all these insane prices on windows 7 (3 for $150.00 family pack). They are trying to build market share to prove to the world that windows 7 is a contender and not a repeat of "vista". Years ago I would "bite" on all these enticements but I am more hesitant in the here and now. But many "newbies" will be hypnotize by the beauty of Windows 7 and will succumb to it's bell and whistles (at least until it's first BSOD).

    recent windows 7 news conference (reenactment)
    "Windows 7 is what we thought it was, if you want to crown it's a$$ go ahead but windows 7 is what we thought it was and we left it off the hook" slams microphone and storms out of room.
     
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