If you have a retail product then it is either an upgrade or a full copy. Add software assurance to it and you gain additional rights like downgrade rights and the right to transfer it to a new "machine" as your business requires. The definition of a "machine" as argued in the MS Partner newsgroups over the years is the motherboard. So if it is still the same motherboard you have the right to re-install with other changes of hardware and it is still the same "machine".
Windows activation will have problems in this situation, but if you are using corporate versions of Office and Vista Enterprise then that is not an issue. Keeping multiple versions of vista on one machine up-to-date might become a real problem and you might want to consider another angle. I know I would probably install the shared computer toolkit on the desktop so it gets wiped between sessions and then use a different data stick for each "system". You could also look at running a virtual machine on the machine in which case you can run multiple version at the same time all in the same license. So there are lots of physical ways of achieving the result and the usual problem is the licensing people understand a per user or per seat scenario, and if all else fails they advise on FPP based on the number of instances. The only FPP package I have actually sold in the last 5 years was for a copy of office for use on a desktop and laptop without SA. Mike -----Original Message----- From: Ben Scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 18 July 2008 06:37 To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: MSFT licensing: Multiple hard disks, single computer, single drive at once On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 6:53 PM, Michael Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If you have corporate license then you can transfer the license between > machines and at any one time you would only have one "machine" so a > single license would seem to fit. The MSFT rep's I've talked to so far quote chapter and verse from the Product Use Rights. I don't have the file in front of me, but they point to the clause that states you cannot make copies without licenses. Since these are installed instances on different drives, that's making copies. As they read things, anyway. Another thing the license documentation doesn't really cover one way or the other is that workstation OS volume licenses are "Upgrade Only". You're only permitted to use the license seat you're upgrading for one upgrade. So, from that point-of-view, for the OS, I need multiple FPP seats! > I would have no problems in recommending this sort of situation as being > appropriate for a corporate license. Part of my issue is that we'll be audited for compliance with regulations, and that can include demonstrating proof-of-license for any commercial software we're using. I also don't want to get stuck with a situation where Vista decides to turn itself off because it wants to be re-activated for whatever asinine reason. I've had enough hassles with activation in situations where I'm fully within what Microsoft says is legit that I don't want to take chances if they're already saying I won't be okay. Who knows, maybe some future "Genuine Advantage" update to Windows will decide that "different hard disk == re-activate". > One caveat would depend on the end users. If the drives are being > isolated as they belong to different companies ... All one company, just different government programs/projects. > You will probably struggle to get it in writing. That's the trouble. As they saying goes, verbal agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on. And the fact that one can get different answers depending on which rep you talk to doesn't exactly give me a warm fuzzy. > Hope this helps. Well, it at least feels good to hear others agreeing with my own interpretations. :) -- 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> ~
