Preinstalled Windows: A MAJOR Hassle!

[jadison]

"If a PC shipped with Windows preinstalled, can you remove the OS and install Linux instead? Well, no, according to Microsoft. A somewhat obscure Microsoft site aimed at helping schools deal with donated computers flatly states: "It is a legal requirement that pre-installed operating systems remain with a machine for the life of the machine."

Check out this article over at The Register. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/25085.html)

Post your comments Here.

[Mntsnow]

Well the closest I can find on the Microsoft site that the "register" (the most reliable news source site..:rolleyes: )

If you feel it is in the best interest of your school to accept the donated PCs, make sure you know the licensing guidelines. For instance, if the hardware donation is an original equipment manufacturer machine, the pre-installed operating system license is only valid when used on the original machine for which it was first installed, so it's beneficial to leave it intact.

[caddmannq]

"It is a legal requirement that pre-installed operating systems remain with a machine for the life of the machine." Whatta buncha hooie! That's like saying that if you bought a car with Goodyear tires, that you can only replace them with Goodyear tires: totally unenforcable. And what about multi-boot machines? After all, you're licencing the O/S, but you own the hardware!the pre-installed operating system license is only valid when used on the original machine for which it was first installedThis probably is enforcable, since you don't own the O/S; but it beggs the question "What constitutes 'the original machine'?" If you change the HDD, video & CPU, is it still the same PC? The life of a machine with replacable componants is undefined. You might say that my '73 Chevy or '47 Plymouth are obsolete, but they live on!

It's these kind of shady smoke-screen tactics that make people hate MicroSoft more by the minute.