If a PC is delivered with a "lawful" Licenced Windows XP installed on
it and my client, rightly, does not want to be an on-going beta-tester
and guinea-pig to the Microsoft domain, can he load, for free, Win
2000 or Win 98? What is, In plain English, the rules as in force in
the UK?

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Request for Question Clarification by efn-ga on 05 Mar 2003 11:11 PST

Is the Windows XP the Home edition or the Professional edition?

---

Clarification of Question by oraccomp-ga on 05 Mar 2003 13:26 PST

Hi, Home Edition, but as a different scenario, if Professional Edition
would this make a significant change to the answer?

Hello oraccomp-ga,

I phoned up Microsoft directly and was transferred to someone who told
me that downgrade rights do not exist for anyone except for volume
license users.

I was directed to this page:
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/licensing/lsa/simplified.asp

If the user has an OEM version, then the version is tied to the
computer and cannot be transferred to another. If the version is
retail, only upgrade rights apply. If Volume Licensing is purchased
(usually a contract per company) the computer has rights to downgrade.

Having said that, you should be able to find cheap versions of older
Microsoft operating systems, especially on the internet (auction sites
like ebay). If you want to run an older operating system, this is the
best way you can get legal rights to run an older version, just be
careful that the seller is not selling you an OEM version or something
like that.

Honestly, Windows 98 still has more security holes and problems than
Windows XP currently has. Just make sure you keep up to date on your
service packs at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com As for Windows
2000, it really does not offer more, if any security or reliability
than Windows XP. Windows XP is built on top of the architecture of
Windows 2000...

If you are a seller of computers, you should still be able to get
licenses of Windows ME for your customers, probably at a lower price
than Windows XP home licenses.

If you believe that your situation warrents an exemption and would
like to discuss this further with Microsoft directly, here is their
contact information:
"We will be pleased to answer your questions about Microsoft
licensing. Call our licensing helpline on 0870 6010100 or email us at
Licensing@Microsoft-Contact.co.uk. Alternatively contact a Microsoft
reseller."

Let me know if you need any clarifications regarding this answer
oraccomp,

tisme-ga


Search Strategy:

Used http://www.microsoft.com/uk/ and read through licensing and
looked for contact information.

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Request for Answer Clarification by oraccomp-ga on 06 Mar 2003 11:43 PST

Thanks Tisme (Answer) and Efn (Comment)

OK. The simplest rephrasing, I hope, is lets use Dell as the PC,
bought mail-order by an england resident, with xp installed. Assume
its HOME Version ONLY. Should he PAY for a Win 98 or Win 2000 licence?
This really describes the situation that is now common at my shop. XP
is the worst software package we've worked with. The on-costs for
remedial work to a customer are an hours additional labour for every
problem!

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Clarification of Answer by tisme-ga on 06 Mar 2003 16:56 PST

Hello oraccomp,

Unfortunately the customer will have to purchase a license for Windows
98 if their computer came from Dell and shipped with Windows XP.
Another problem might be that Dell uses hardware where drivers are not
available for Windows. This is another reason that they currently
refuse to ship non-OS computers and in most cases older versions of
operating systems.

Having a dell computer myself, I double checked this by phoning Dell
and asking them if I could downgrade to Windows 98. They said that I
could, but that if the computer ever needed fixing the first thing
they would do is format the drive and install Windows XP on it again.
They also confirmed that in your scenario the user would need to have
obtained a license from elsewhere.

Sorry for the bad news,

tisme-ga

I accept the answer for the latest scenario as being THE answer and
thank Answerer and commenter(?).

Hi oraccomp,

In response to the question in your clarification, yes, which edition
of Windows XP your client has does make a difference to his or her
downgrade rights.

As an answer to a Frequently Asked Question, Microsoft says:

"Am I entitled to run old versions of software if I have the latest
version (downgrade rights)?

This depends on the type of product and the type of licence you have.

All licences bought through a volume licence programme can be
downgraded to a
prior version.

With pre-installed and Full Packaged Product, downgrade rights are not
common.
You should check your EULA for confirmation.

If you have bought your PC with Microsoft Windows XP Professional (not
Home edition) you are legally entitled to downgrade to the three
following OS:
1. Microsoft® Windows® 98 SE
2. Microsoft® Windows NT® Workstations
3. Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional
Note: Not to Microsoft Windows 95."

Source:

'Buying Software: how to get the most from your Microsoft software
investment' for non IT Managers, from the Microsoft UK Licensing web
site.

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/licensing/basics/downloads/9685_NonITMan_Guide_Web.pdf

Your client has a "pre-installed" kind of license, which is actually
an agreement with the computer dealer, not with Microsoft.  It is
possible that the
agreement authorizes downgrades, but it is not likely.

So it doesn't look like a researcher here can answer the question
conclusively without checking the client's particular End User License
Agreement.

The simplest approach would be to ask the company that sold the
computer to the client.  If you don't want to do that, if you identify
the company in a clarification here, some researcher may be able to
check their license terms and give you a conclusive answer.


Search strategy:

I happened to know that a Microsoft End User License Agreement is
often known by the acronym "EULA," so I searched for "microsoft UK
eula" (without the quotation marks).  This led me to the Microsoft UK
Licensing web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/licensing/

From there, I found my way to the PDF file quoted above.

I am not posting this as an answer because it is not conclusive, but
if you find it helpful and no one else steps up with a better answer,
please post a clarification or comment to that effect, and I will post
an answer and claim the price.

--efn

Hello efn, 

Apparently the article is a bit misleading, but not wrong.

It answers the question with "This depends on the type of product AND
the type of license you have."

Basically what it is saying is that a) you need a volume license, b)
if you purchased new computers (for your small business) with volume
licensing you would be able to downgrade one or more computers to one
of the three operating systems listed.

tisme-ga