¿System locked preinstallation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Locked_Preinstallation

I'd like to know if the Windows Vista OEM packed with the new "HP Compaq Business Notebooks" (6710s and above), is locked to each computer sold or if it can be used as a free OEM version and be installed in all computers.

Thank you.

 

The one installed on the computer is a generic, preactivated one that can't be used anymore outside of the computer itself. The code on the bottom is an unactivated code, meaning that you'll have to call Microsoft if you reformat and use that code.

 

ALL OEM versions are locked to their respective computers.

Also, each license of Windows can only be on a single PC. So it cannot be installed on all computers like it sounds like you are wanting.

 

One OEM license installed in one computer, but I'd like to know if i can choose wich one. That is.

 

Does HP lock its Windows Vista to be only installed in the laptop is sold with, or not? Can you install your Vista OEM packed HP laptop in another computer?

I'm not asking if it is legal, but if it is physically possible.

 

No one got a Vista OEM?

 

See, since we can't and won't talk about illegal stuff on this forum, you're gonna have to go elsewheres. But I'm pretty sure the pre-loaded Vista has the same key for all consumer class HP's and won't work on any other computer. Microsoft is smarter than you. You will have to pay if you want to use Vista.

 

It's not illegal.

1st- Shops sell OEM versions alone (Free OEM versions not locked to any computer). That's legal. Shops also sell OEM hardware. Legal too.

2nd- I'm just asking: Is the HP version of Vista packed with its laptops locked or not?

3rd- If it's not locked, it's just an OEM version like the ones you can buy. So you can use the license in one computer, the one you choose. You paid for it.

4rd- You think too much about piracy because that's just what you would do (installing the same OEM version in lots of computers). But I don't.

 

It is illegal to transfer the OEM licence to another computer. The sticker underneath your notebook means that your computer is already licensed for that specific ID, even though you effectively get 2 licences with each computer since the pre-installed edition is a generic VLK activated copy.

To answer your specific question, you will not be able to automatically activate Vista using the licence underneath your notebook (all activations have been disabled for fear that users like you would use it for another PC). The loophole here is that you can still call up Microsoft to manually activate it.

 

Software: It is legal to use your OEM license in the computer you choose. It is not legal to use the same license more than one computer.

Hardware: It is legal to use your OEM hardware in the computer you choose. It is not possible to use the same hardware in more than one computer at the same time.

Maybe laws about OEM products are different in each country, but I can remove the RAM from a HP laptop and use it in a Fujitu. And I can format my Vista preinstalled laptop to install Linux or XP Retail I already own, and usethe OEM license in the computer I want to.

Remember: Shops sell OEM versions of Windows. You save 66% from the Retail version. Shops sell OEM versions of hardware. You save a fortune not paying for just a nice box.

 

Legally, OEM licences can only be used on ONE computer ever. It cannot be transferred from one device to another. The attached sticker on your notebook means the licence is intended for that hardware, so you would have stepped over the bounds of the EULA by using that licence on another computer, regardless of whether you have ever used it on the notebook.

Practically, nobody cares what you do with that licence in the end.