Microsoft changes OEM license, forcing new purchases after motherboard upgrade
Licensed archive · Attributed source reporting
411 Brief
Microsoft has recently made changes to the Windows license agreement, saying that, “An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a new personal computer to which Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer." This will force users who upgrade their motherboard, even via the OEM, to purchase a new license agreement. The only exception is a defect for which the OEM replaces the motherboard. Microsoft claims it needs to have "one base component left standing that would still define that origina
Microsoft has recently made changes to the Windows license agreement, saying that, “An upgrade of the motherboard is considered to result in a new personal computer to which Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred from another computer."
This will force users who upgrade their motherboard, even via the OEM, to purchase a new license agreement. The only exception is a defect for which the OEM replaces the motherboard.
Microsoft claims it needs to have "one base component left standing that would still define that original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the heart and soul of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created.”
Microsoft has asked its OEM partners to begin enforcing the new policy when they upgrade a client's computer.
Sources & reporting note
Licensed archive reporting by Wikinews contributors. Text: CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/). Original source date retained. 411 has not independently verified this archive report.
Read the source: Wikinews ↗Source published 21 Feb 2006, 05:30 am IST
