Where do I stand?

[dyarwood]

Where would I stand on this.

I've bought a very expensive piece of software which I have installed on my computer.

I am considering getting a new computer and would get rid of the old one. Would I be allowed to reinstall the software on the new computer if I uninstalled it from the old one? (Would not have a second copy on any other machine)

dyarwood

 

[jrbarnett]

I would check the license agreement to see if this is permitted. In most cases you should be fine, but it is worth reading the small print just to be sure.

John

 

[dyarwood]

Cheers jrbarnett. Will have a look at that.

 

[dilettante]

Restriction to the original machine is typically only true of OEM editions of software products. These can be operating systems or almost anything else. I have some older machines with an OEM version of Corel Suite on them that isn't transferable for example.

The answer comes down to "reading the fine print" of course, but in general I find most retail-package software can be transferred as you describe. You might not be so lucky in this case, because checking two more expensive non-consumer products here I find that neither can be transferred, even though they aren't OEM editions.

 

[dyarwood]

The software is Visual Basic .Net. If I can't transfer it, it won't be too much a problem. Just means I will have a bit more space on my desk being taken up.

Cheers dilettante for that.

dyarwood

 

[jsteph]

Typically with MS stuff, you have to call them and explain the situation, usually they will be OK. This is true for the new versions of their stuff, ie. XP, Office XP, and .Net, since they do the registration by checking different hardware serial #'s, such as chip id, HD serial #, etc.

Once you register, and try to reinstall, the process finds that this software has been installed on another machine, and requires a phone call to MS. I had this with Office XP, which I bought, then had computer problems, so got a new motherboard, chip and Harddrive. When installing Office, I got that message. I called, explained, and they cleared whatever 'already installed' flag they had and I was able to continue.

It would be very unreasonable for a company to force you to never upgrade any component of your hardware in order to keep a piece of software you legally purchased. But looking from the vendor's side, they really don't know for sure if that machine is truly a replacement or simply your neighbors or co-workers.
--Jsteph