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Windows XP: Lending XP Home disk and Product Code?
Lending XP Home disk and Product Code?
by seafox13 - 5/8/06 10:50 PMAlthough I have advised a friend that it is morally wrong to do so, he would like to know the actual repercussions of lending his XP Home installation disk and Product Code to a relative for her to install the OS on a recently acquired PC.
He has, to his credit, demurred, but she claims to be aware of friends frequently doing this, and that they have a work-around for the activation procedure.
Comments appreciated, please.
It is called piracy and...
by Edward ODaniel - 5/8/06 10:56 PM In reply to: Lending XP Home disk and Product Code? by seafox13the activation can't be "got around".
Repercussions? $10,000.00 for each instance plus all legal fees and court costs.
Tell him to tell her to start bidding on eBay or looking for sales.
Actual repercussions...
by rquesada - 5/9/06 6:57 AM In reply to: Lending XP Home disk and Product Code? by seafox13Are likely to be none, but there is always the potential for penalties like described by the other poster. I think there's also the possibility of some prison time. Up to five years if I'm not mistaken. And the entertainment industry has been buying up Congressional support on the left and the right to try and shove through increasingly draconian legislation which would apply to software.
The most likely scenario you'll run into, is the copy won't activate, or it will but then your friend will need to reactivate his copy for some reason and won't be able to.
There are ways around activation, but pretty much all the activation "cracks" you might find are loaded down with some sort of nasty hidden payload in the form of a virus or trojan.
Ultimately, it's just better to save your money and buy a copy. Retail copies of XP Home go for $100, and OEM copies can go on ebay for close to half of that. Or it might be a good time to give Linux a try instead. You might even consider just getting a Mac, saving yourself a lot of the hassle related with Windows like virus scanners and malware, even if only for a time.
I purchased win XP through Best Buy
by seabee69m - 5/12/06 8:28 AM In reply to: Actual repercussions... by rquesadaI have one unit with Win me on it and another with 98se
why am I unable to use it on both. The 98se is a legal regis. version. my comp. are in my home for personal use?
OEM copies on ebay have to be purchased with its hardware
by ackmondual - 5/12/06 9:30 AM In reply to: Actual repercussions... by rquesadahttp://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/oem.html
states that purchase of OEM software must be accompanied with the hardware it was bundled with. Unless you're willing to buy a whole PC as well, you may be going against ebay's policy there.
Most OEM on Ebay...
by techbrute - 5/12/06 10:17 AM In reply to: OEM copies on ebay have to be purchased with its hardware by ackmondualMost OEM software on Ebay will include an obsolete hard drive or motherboard in the package to satisfy the obligation to purchase hardware. This has been my experience in the past.
as a buyer or a seller?
by ackmondual - 5/12/06 11:46 AM In reply to: Most OEM on Ebay... by techbruteEither way... kick-ass!! An elegant loophole if I do say so myself 
Here's Microsoft's policy
by linkit - 5/12/06 10:52 AM In reply to: OEM copies on ebay have to be purchased with its hardware by ackmondualhttp://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2005/06/06/425681.aspx
Any hardware
by konwiddak - 5/12/06 11:55 AM In reply to: OEM copies on ebay have to be purchased with its hardware by ackmondualActually you will find that the law states it must be purchased with a piece of computer hardware and so does the ebay system. This means any piece of computer hardware, so if you do buy oem software of ebay you get the most unusual bits and pieces from odd pretty much useless cables to chips that have been ripped off ancient motherboards.
that changed in 2005
by linkit - 5/12/06 2:37 PM In reply to: Any hardware by konwiddakAs of 01-SEP-2005, the license states that you need a complete system:
http://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2005/06/06/425681.aspx
Typical MSN want it all their own way
by daveboxley - 5/15/06 5:40 AM In reply to: that changed in 2005 by linkitMaybe we should hold a poll to see whether MSN should be found guilty of abusing their monopoly - antitrust status or whatever they call it in the US and should be smashed into smitherines or at least split in two like the baby bells
(NT) It's Microsoft NOT MSN (MicroSoft Networks)
by Themisive - 5/15/06 7:22 AM In reply to: Typical MSN want it all their own way by daveboxleyHere's a unique idea
by darrenforster99 - 5/20/06 12:55 AM In reply to: that changed in 2005 by linkit1. Get a relation or friend to buy your computer system
2. Get your friend or relation to purchase an illegal OEM copy of Windows XP (the ones from ebay with a piece of hardware), but don't install it on the system
3. Get your friend or relation to sell you your computer system back to you, with the Windows XP OEM.
4. Install Windows XP OEM on your system
5. You're friend hasn't broke the law 'cos if you buy XP OEM with just a piece of hardware it just means that you can't use it (and they haven't), and you haven't broke the law either 'cos you've bought Windows XP with a complete system, and can now proceed to install it!
Unique indeed...
by John.Wilkinson
- 5/20/06 9:34 AM
In reply to: Here's a unique idea by darrenforster99
If the copy of Windows XP is illegal (ie pirated), then a tangled mess of transfers of the system and copy of Windows will not make it legal. The friend will still have bought a pirated OS, and the user will still be running a pirated OS. The reason is that the friend cannot give you a legitimate license to the OS is he does not possess the legitimate license in the first place.
If the copy of Windows XP is illegal (ie OEM version sold by itself), then the transfer of the computer and copy of Windows still wouldn't change anything. According to the updated EULA, an OEM copy may be sold ''only with a fully assembled computer system.'' Thus, while the user's repurchase of the computer, not including the OEM OS, would be covered, the friend's purchase of the copy of Windows would not. So, like above, it doesn't make much of a difference. If you're going to do it, just do it yourself instead of involving others in it too.
John
microsoft
by abhi_jais - 5/12/06 2:25 PM In reply to: Actual repercussions... by rquesadaAnd you can get windows xp, and most other Micro$oft products (as a student at a univerity) for incredibly cheap. I used to use pirated versions of windows etc... but I ended up buying the student versions of windows and office for 30 dollars. And the chance of you getting caught is next to nothing, as long as you aren't a moron and make it obvious to the feds that you are stealing software. I don't have to worry about it because I have LEGAL copies of M$ products, but even if they did catch you, they probably wouldn't do anything. They just say crap to scare people.
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