I'm aware this was the case with XP and 2K, however it's been a couple of years since we purchased any as our clients decided to wait for Vista to mature and/or opted for the cheaper OEM XP licenses for new purchases during the interim. I've been given to understand that we can use the OEM license as a qualifying license to purchase the Vista upgrade VL but that when we retire the computer we would also have to retire the Vista VL attached to that system, including the SA for that license; the only way around this is to purchase XP retail licenses in conjunction with the Vista VL license. If that's the case, then I'll be recommending my clients retire their current XP OL/VL's and stick with OEM licensing for new and replacement desktops... I just hoped that MS would have changed their asinine OL/VL programs by now...
Thanks for the confirmations. Regards, Amer Karim Nautilis Information Systems -----Original Message----- From: Michael B. Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: March-25-08 5:42 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: VISTA open or volume license SKU's An upgrade license plus an OEM license is less than FPP. Much less. Regards, Michael B. Smith MCSE/Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com -----Original Message----- From: Ben Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 5:33 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: VISTA open or volume license SKU's On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 3:28 PM, Amer Karim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have a question for the licensing gurus on this list: does anyone know > the SKU for the full Vista open or volume licenses? Our licensing reps at > Ingram and TechData are telling us that the only VL's for Vista are all > upgrade licenses ... For Microsoft, *all* Volume Licenses for OSes are Upgrade only. This has been the case since at least Windows 2000. To quote Microsoft: "Volume License agreements-including Academic, Government, and Public Sector-never cover the initial full Windows Client operating system license. Volume License agreements cover only Windows Client upgrade licenses. Windows upgrades are designed to upgrade previously acquired qualifying desktop operating system licenses." -- http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/faq.mspx > for new orders we need to purchase an XP license and the Vista upgrade license? For new computers, you need to have either an OEM license or an FPP license. Period. OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) licenses are those bundled with a new computer by the computer builder -- the sticker-on-the-side-of-the-PC licenses. FPP (Full Packaged Product) licenses are the retail box kits. You cannot even purchase a Volume License for Windows XP and then upgrade it to Vista, as the XP license is also Upgrade only. (Well, you could purchase them, but you still won't have a valid license, and thus are just wasting your money.) Microsoft apparently just expects us to buy every license twice, or do without the advantages of VL. Welcome to the party! -- Ben ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~ ~ Upgrade to Next Generation Antispam/Antivirus with Ninja! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltMessagingNinja.cfm> ~
