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Well I have no idea of the exact details from Microsoft on the Office
Licensing but with Windows OEM Licensing the Software is tied to the Original Hardware it is installed on.
Now depending on which Corporate Legal Person you speak to that could mean that a SATA Data Lead Failing means that you need to buy new Software Licenses or according to Microsoft when 7 was released that meant that it was tied to the CPU, M'Board and RAM but did not mean that if a Repair was done that it voided the License. At the other end according to the XP License Agreement it could be used on 2 CPU's so according to at least 1 QC here who specializes in Corporate Law that meant that you could use the 1 License of 2 distinct single CPU computers as it was licensed to allow that.
So what was done was that it was possible to increase RAM or change the CPU to a faster one that was supported by the M'Board and the product could be reactivated. As things stood at the time if you changed 3 items inside the case of the Computer Tower you got a Reactivation Notification and 30 days to do it. After the 30 Day Time Limit the OS simply didn't open and you where taken directly to a Activation Page to fill in the necessary details and then Reactivate.
However after saying that there where other things that where allowed. If the M'Board failed you could replace it along with the CPU and RAM if your old M'Board had been superseded BUT you had to move to the Next speed CPU so if you have a Pentium 200 MMX and you needed to rebuild the system today you could replace the M'Board with a Socket 1155 and a CPU from the low end of the Performance Range and it would be considered as a Repair and it was then legal to Activate the OS on the Repaired Computer. You could not chose to replace the 200 MMX M'Board with a Socket 2011 and the Top of the Range Intel i7-3970X Core i7 Extreme CPU as well as the rest of the Associated Components.
However if you chose to Upgrade your existing computer that was working perfectly well to the same specifications as above then Legally you had to buy new Licenses as you had a new Computer.
Also if your system was stolen or otherwise damaged and a Police Report and or Insurance Claim was made the Insurance Company would pay for replacement hardware but not any Microsoft Licensed Software so you had to reuse the Old Licenses that was on the Hardware Destroyed/Stolen or whatever.
Over the years I have done several Replacements of Stolen Systems and some that had been damaged in a Fire/Flood and according to the Head of M$ Legal here it was perfectly acceptable to reuse the Old Licenses Provided that I had the Product Keys. M$ would not issue new Product Keys but if you had them in any form it was perfectly acceptable to reuse that Software License.
I have done this to both computers from Domestic Users who had them stolen and business who have suffered Flood/Fire Damage and in one instance a Massive Voltage Overload which destroyed every electrical device connected to the mains when the event occurred.
Reactivation has not been an issue on any of these occasions but with the Insurance Companies I have always insisted that they get Written Permission from Microsoft before I proceed. As I have the Head of M$ Legals Phone Number I also speak to them whenever I have the slightest query as personally I don't see any value in upsetting them so I get direction direct from them and I have supporting Paperwork to cover me should any complaints be made.
I always speak to the Legals Head Person as you can ring them 5 minutes apart speak to different people and get Different Interpretations. So I find it better to speak to the person in charge so if there is a complaint the Head of Legal has the finial say.
I would suspect that the Office Licensing will be treated in the same manner.
Col
Now depending on which Corporate Legal Person you speak to that could mean that a SATA Data Lead Failing means that you need to buy new Software Licenses or according to Microsoft when 7 was released that meant that it was tied to the CPU, M'Board and RAM but did not mean that if a Repair was done that it voided the License. At the other end according to the XP License Agreement it could be used on 2 CPU's so according to at least 1 QC here who specializes in Corporate Law that meant that you could use the 1 License of 2 distinct single CPU computers as it was licensed to allow that.
So what was done was that it was possible to increase RAM or change the CPU to a faster one that was supported by the M'Board and the product could be reactivated. As things stood at the time if you changed 3 items inside the case of the Computer Tower you got a Reactivation Notification and 30 days to do it. After the 30 Day Time Limit the OS simply didn't open and you where taken directly to a Activation Page to fill in the necessary details and then Reactivate.
However after saying that there where other things that where allowed. If the M'Board failed you could replace it along with the CPU and RAM if your old M'Board had been superseded BUT you had to move to the Next speed CPU so if you have a Pentium 200 MMX and you needed to rebuild the system today you could replace the M'Board with a Socket 1155 and a CPU from the low end of the Performance Range and it would be considered as a Repair and it was then legal to Activate the OS on the Repaired Computer. You could not chose to replace the 200 MMX M'Board with a Socket 2011 and the Top of the Range Intel i7-3970X Core i7 Extreme CPU as well as the rest of the Associated Components.
However if you chose to Upgrade your existing computer that was working perfectly well to the same specifications as above then Legally you had to buy new Licenses as you had a new Computer.
Also if your system was stolen or otherwise damaged and a Police Report and or Insurance Claim was made the Insurance Company would pay for replacement hardware but not any Microsoft Licensed Software so you had to reuse the Old Licenses that was on the Hardware Destroyed/Stolen or whatever.
Over the years I have done several Replacements of Stolen Systems and some that had been damaged in a Fire/Flood and according to the Head of M$ Legal here it was perfectly acceptable to reuse the Old Licenses Provided that I had the Product Keys. M$ would not issue new Product Keys but if you had them in any form it was perfectly acceptable to reuse that Software License.
I have done this to both computers from Domestic Users who had them stolen and business who have suffered Flood/Fire Damage and in one instance a Massive Voltage Overload which destroyed every electrical device connected to the mains when the event occurred.
Reactivation has not been an issue on any of these occasions but with the Insurance Companies I have always insisted that they get Written Permission from Microsoft before I proceed. As I have the Head of M$ Legals Phone Number I also speak to them whenever I have the slightest query as personally I don't see any value in upsetting them so I get direction direct from them and I have supporting Paperwork to cover me should any complaints be made.
I always speak to the Legals Head Person as you can ring them 5 minutes apart speak to different people and get Different Interpretations. So I find it better to speak to the person in charge so if there is a complaint the Head of Legal has the finial say.
I would suspect that the Office Licensing will be treated in the same manner.
Col
Moderator Posted by HAL 9000
Updated - 1st Mar
