MSDNAA OS License Transfer

I have a copy of Windows Vista Business and Windows XP Professional that I got from my university MSDNAA that all CS students are eligible for.

Now I have both of them activated on one computer, but want to go back to Windows XP Home which came with the laptop. I was wondering if its possible to deactivate the license of Vista and XP Pro and use them on a different machine. Will Microsoft allow it or are the licenses like OEM, non-transferrable?

 

you can check it yourself whether XP is OEM - open i386/setupp.ini with the notepad and look at the ending of the third line. If it says OEM then it is... If just numbers then it is a retail version and you can use it on any laptop providing you've got the key.

 

They are not OEM versions. However, I believe they are I use only (meaning, 1 computer). At least mine are.

 

Here's some extracts from the EULA licence terms

from the MSDNAA faq

and from MSDNAA guidelines

So I think it is safe to say that your versions of OS are retail ones, which means they can be used on any brand of the laptop..

 

If you have retail versions you are free to move them to other machines. No "deactivation" is necessary, just remove them from the original machine and reinstall XP Home.

 

See, that's the thing. My MSDN AA has "Single-use"-licenses, meaning they can only be used on one computer. However, they are not OEM versions and are not bound to a certain manufacturer.

 

I found the supplemental AA EULA:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/bb250608.aspx

I recommend doing a little more research and reading all EULAs regarding AA versions to determine exactly what can and cannot be done. You might also want to talk to your university's IT department about the AA EULA - I'm certain they've been asked the question before and are probably in a great position to give you the right answer.

 

Retail licenses are not single-use, and can be installed on four computers simultaneously. In order to be in terms with MSDNAA, the only requirement is that all these computers must be your personal computers, and that nobody (not even your grandma) must be using them besides yourself.

 

I don't know about the UK version, but the US EULA for Vista Business states one license per device, up to two processors on that device. Microsoft has never allowed a retail license to be used on more than one device at a time.

 

I have had a similar problem with my Vista Business MSDNAA product key. On the first computer I installed it activated online. Then I got a new computer and installed it. Didnt activate. I called the hotline. They asked me if I had removed the OS from the old computer. I said Yes and also confirmed that the new computer was for personal/study use only. They said its all fine and activate it.

 

Maybe it needs a separate purchaise? The breakdown of licenses is here: http://www.microsoft.com/...licensingOptions.mspx


Edit: also here

 

Nah the above is not true I think ^^ It seems that those might only be Microsoft 'suggestions' as to which license to buy, but if you want more than one retail license you would have to buy more than one. even in Vista when they had the family discount thing going you'd still have to pay for additional licenses although much less...

anyway, the original question was whether it is 'possible to deactivate the license of Vista and XP Pro and use them on a different machine.' And this is surely possible