How to install on more than 1 PC

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Guest

I currently have 2 computers both with different operating systems (XP Home
and XP Pro). I am planning on buying a third that would inevitably be on
Vista. My network is having trouble as it is with the differing systems so
this will only make it worse. Therefore, how do I obtain a license that would
allow me to install my new Vista (or XP Professional - if the bank balance
says so!) on all 3 machines?

Thanks,
Dan
 
The minimum for volume licencing is 5 licences. As you only have 3 machines
you are not going to be able to benefit from volume licencing. The
alternative is to buy three copies of the relevant version of Windows you
require. If you are going for Vista, you will already have one copy
installed on your new PC in which case you will only require to purchase 2
further copies.

OEM copies are cheaper but i would not recommend them. The licence is far
more restrictive and the OEM copy will be tied to the machine you install it
on, so you can't install it on another machine should the original machine
break down. Full retail copies are more expensive but worth it because you
don't have the limitations imposed on OEM copies.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
 
You can buy license only in the US. Don't know about other areas. They are
$10-30 less expensive than those with the DVD. Try Amazon.com
 
Therefore, how do I obtain a license that would
allow me to install my new Vista (or XP Professional - if the bank balance
says so!) on all 3 machines?
Click to expand...

To be kosher, you would have to buy two upgrade Vista Licences. You
could get them at your local retailer. You might save a little money
by getting Home edition premium. The features you get with the more
expensive editions probably you would never use.

This is not necessarily a hot idea. Vista is uses way more memory and
CPU cycles than XP. So your other machines would turn into dogs if you
did not upgrade them to 2 gig.

You might want to try out the interconnect to see just how awful it is
before you give up. You might find to your amazement that Vista-XP is
smoother than Vista-Vista because XP not so paranoid.
 
Thanks everyone.

Things seem clearer now. Just keeping my options open, where can I get a
volume license from and how much might I pay? I say this as I am building my
own machine so I would need to buy an OS anyway.

Dan
 
Dan

Your network should have no problems with differing systems. If you can sort
whatever problems you do have first, getting one Vista will be considerably
cheaper.

You might want to tell us what network problems you have presently..


Dan said:
I currently have 2 computers both with different operating systems (XP Home
and XP Pro). I am planning on buying a third that would inevitably be on
Vista. My network is having trouble as it is with the differing systems so
this will only make it worse. Therefore, how do I obtain a license that
would
allow me to install my new Vista (or XP Professional - if the bank balance
says so!) on all 3 machines?

Thanks,
Dan
Click to expand...

--


Mike Hall
MS MVP Windows Shell/User
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/
 
The network problems are partly due to my provider (Sky Broadband, I'm in the
UK). This is because the router they provide has fixed settings, in other
words there is no way of changing the security settings etc. This isn't a
problem on XP Pro, it just asks for the key and in you go. But on XP Home the
key must conform to a certain security type (I forget which), but needless to
say it isn't the one set by the router. So I have had to use a wireless USB
pen and some Belkin software that allows me to choose the security setting.
This software is terrible! Even when I set static IP addresses it decides to
change them and therefore on occasion conflicting with the other machine.
Aside from this neither machine can connect to each other, basically there is
no network, they just share an internet connection. I changed to this
provider about 6 months ago and before this there were no problems. Before I
decided to get a new PC I was planning on reinstalling windows on the XP Pro
machine (to clear all the previous network settings and start again) and
getting a cheap copy of XP Pro for the XP Home machine. But now I am thinking
Vista maybe the way forward.

Thanks,
Dan
 
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