Question

Is Microsoft OEM Licensing Upgradable?

Asked by: DVation191

I can't seem to find information on microsoft.com or in the EULA about whether or not an OEM license can be upgraded for either Windows or Office.

For example, if I bought a Dell with Vista on it, could I buy a Retail Upgrade license for Windows 7 and be legal?
What if the Dell had Office 2007 and I wanted to upgrade to Office 2010?

I'll need to see proof on microsoft's website or in a EULA that this is either legal or not legal. Thank you!

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Asked On
2009-10-30 at 12:42:10ID24859201
Topics

General Computer Systems

,

General Business & Productivity Software

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
4

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Answers

 

by: MidnightOnePosted on 2009-10-30 at 12:58:49ID: 25706305

According to this article (release just 14 hours ago) there's a legal workaround for OEM licensing of the OS from XP/Vista to Windows 7 - and it's confirmed legal by Microsoft: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproinstall/thread/492582e9-54bb-417c-bc53-d69d71f0ef2e

I haven't been able to find anything as absolute for Office versions as yet.

 

by: sparabPosted on 2009-10-31 at 01:24:31ID: 25708874

Your best, and cheapest option, would be to purchase a full version of Windows 7 which has no restrictions on moving to different computers and can perform any upgrade/clean install scenario. This is the option that would be guaranteed not to encounter any problems.

source

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/5e6c6405-5cf3-40cf-a230-733291d8978f

 

by: DVation191Posted on 2009-11-02 at 08:12:32ID: 25720663

Actually, it turns out if you were to buy a Volume License (VL), that VL's are upgrade-only and that an OEM license is upgradable.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/3/F/43F4B7C1-4C71-4F51-BFBF-0F6B3FCAA820/WindowsDesktopLicensing.pdf


 

by: DVation191Posted on 2009-11-11 at 05:40:56ID: 31648198

The "workaround" posted is in order to do a clean installation on top of OEM licensing which isn't really what I was after. I wanted to know if you could buy an upgrade license for OEM software.

"The best and cheapest option..." The 'Full' retail version of software is actually the highest price way to buy software there is.

I found an additional document that I posted that supports my claims. Thank you both.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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