Licensing Microsoft Windows Vista

Submitted by: June Campbell
Nightcats Multimedia Productiohs

Microsoft Windows Vista hit the shelves in late January, amid much fanfare.

One thing is sure: if you use a Windows computer, sooner or later, you will have Vista. It's as inevitable as taxes. Before that happens, you need to understand a few points about Microsoft's controversial licensing issues. For many of us, MS licensing terms, combined with its anti-piracy tool, are among those things you don't think about - at least, not until something goes wrong. Then they become vital, as I discovered last fall when I installed my legal version of XP Pro on a new computer. Many days later, and after much gnashing of teeth, the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) folks finally agreed to recognize my system as valid. And, as you know, proceeding without the Windows Genuine Advantage nod meant no patches, no updates, no IE7 and the joy of incessant nag screens. I guess I'm one of the "handful" of people that Microsoft says gets a false reading from the WGA anti-piracy tool.

Things are not going to be any simpler with Microsoft Windows Vista's controversial licensing terms. The controversy emerged in October of 2006 when MS released a confusing, fourteen-page document outlining the terms of their retail license agreement. Industry professionals struggled to understand the complex terms set out in the EULA (End User Licensing Agreement) - leading one blogger to wonder how the general public would be able to understand the terms if industry professionals couldn't agree on what was intended. Much debate ensued while Microsoft enthusiasts exploded in anger regarding licensing terms that they viewed as less than desirable. Surprisingly, the software company listened, and removed at least a few of the more contentious clauses.

As of this writing, the industry pros are describing the licensing terms as follows:

Microsoft Windows Vista OEM License The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) license refers to an operating system that is pre-installed or comes with a brand name computer such as Dell, or to OEM licensed software installed on custom built PCs. Under OEM licensing terms, Vista and earlier versions of MS operating systems are licensed for use on the original computer only. According to Microsoft, 95% of users purchase their computers this way and never reinstall. Should you fall into the 5% that want to remove the OS from that computer and install it on another machine, you must purchase a new license. Otherwise, you fail the WGA test, which for Vista, has morphed into a newer and tougher version called the Windows Software Protection Platform (WSPP).

But what if your hard drive crashes, and you want to install Microsoft Windows Vista on another disk? Or what if you decide to add new memory or a new video card to the original computer? In all likelihood, WSPP will not validate your system after you make the upgrades. Like the WGA tool, WSPP utilizes an algorithm to generate a complex Product Key based on numbers assigned to each major hardware component. The tool uses this key to validate or non-validate your system. If you have installed a new hard drive or other hardware component, the numbers differ and you may receive the dreaded message that your software is not genuine. At this point, all is not lost, although you are undoubtedly facing a few days of inconvenience. Microsoft tech support may provide you with a Windows Product Key Update Tool that generates a new product key recognizing your new hardware, provided you have not passed a threshold number and arrived at the point of no return. If this happens, you are considered to have a new computer and you will need to repurchase the OS's license. M icrosoft Windows Vista's WSPP tool uses a significantly different algorithm than WGA, giving the most weight to the hard drive and the motherboard.

Microsoft Windows Vista Retail Version This is the boxed copy of Vista that Microsoft sells separately, and at considerably higher price than the OEM version. In earlier versions of MS operating systems, legal owners of the retail version were entitled to install the system on one computer at a time - but could transfer the software to as many computers as they wanted provided they uninstalled from one before installing on another. Similarly, they could upgrade their existing machine without running afoul of the validation process.

When MS announced the retail licensing terms for Vista, they shocked the enthusiast community by restricting the lifetime transfer to one computer only, and this was buried deep within the licensing agreement. As industry professionals pointed out, how can one justify the much higher cost of the retail license over the OEM license if the former allows only one transfer? Happily, MS heard the message and modified the license terms to allow end users to transfer a retail license to another computer an unlimited number of times or to perform unlimited upgrades to their original computer. Should you attempt either one of these, you may have to validate over the telephone rather than from the Internet. If you install enough new hardware to pass the "threshold", the WSPP may decide you are using a new computer, and you will be required to reactivate Microsoft Windows Vista within thirty days.

In another coup for Windows enthusiasts, the software giant also modified their restrictive terms re running Microsoft Windows Vista on a virtual machine. A virtual machine is one in which a user runs multiple operating systems, or multiple versions of the same operating system. Software developers, security people and hobbyists often use virtual machines for analyses, system stability and security purposes.

Vista licensing terms permit any Windows version to be the primary operating system, but only MiVista Business and Vista Ultimate can run as secondary virtual systems. Industry experts believe that under the revised licensing agreement, you should be able to move a virtual copy of Microsoft Windows Vista to a new computer, provided you remove the virtual files from the old hardware first.

Microsoft Windows Vista Volume Licensing Customers purchasing volume licensing may encounter even greater confusion than the rest of us, thanks to Microsoft's new volume activation strategy known as Volume Activation 2.0. Volume Activation 2.0 applies to Vista Enterprise, Vista Business and Longhorn Server. This tool offers users a choice between the Multiple Activation Keys (MAK), intended for small businesses or networks, and the Key Management Service (KMS) for environments with twenty-five or more networked machines. I don't envy those who try to sort it out.