Comments for If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

Comment from Jethreeen on 2009-01-19

2009-01-20T01:31:40Z

Why shouldn't older OS'es like Windows '98 be free, since they're no longer "supported" by the company??? It's hardly fair ... I bought and paid for my copy of Windows '95 for $130 only to have it no longer supported after a few years .... People are being held hostage into buying later iterations of the OS just because Microsoft is too cheap to maintain the old ones, therefore they should be free, to be used at the owner's own risk, in my opinion .............

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

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Comment from Anonymous on 2009-01-19

2009-01-19T18:26:54Z

I think that Microsoft wrote the "laws" for its own profit motives and tried to screw the public into purchasing expensive software they can ill afford. Especially now.

I hope Obama liberates us all from these evil conglomerates.

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

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Comment from Jack on 2009-01-14

2009-01-14T12:14:01Z

If someone cannot afford windows , then they should not be pressurized in buying it. I am sure options like ubuntu which is free and really user friendly should be considered.
People forget that there exists a world outside windows!!!

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

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Comment from Jack Boyce on 2009-01-13

2009-01-14T00:38:15Z

Leo:

I am not in agreement with the majority of comments on the question of "can you transfer a copy of the Windows operating system to a new computer when the computer that the Windows operating system was part of is completely retired".

Many of the licensing agreements that I have read states that a given piece of software can be used only on one computer at a time. Some agreements do say that a license is associated with a specific computer. Exactly what this means when a computer is completely retired is not ever spell out (that I'm aware of).

The terminology used in the comments to your article did not include the word "licensing". What is being implied by the statements made, is that one purchased this "a copy of software" - not a "license". The terminology used in the agreements that I have read always refer to purchasing a license but this is not the terminology being used by your commenters. With such diversity in terminology being used in the comments, can any of the answers given in the posts to this article be a straightforward "yes" or "no"?

The point I'm making is that transfer of the function provided by a single Windows operating system disc cannot be answered in any simplistic way. Whether or not one has a "authentic bill of sale" is a moot point. In most cases the transfer of a authentic Windows operating system disc is going to be between two individuals or most likely the transfer will involve a single person discontinuing the use of one computer and putting the operating system on a new computer.

In these cases who is going to check for a bill of sale? If I transfer a copy of Windows from one of my computers to another computer belonging to me and I discontinue the use of Windows on the first computer the answer this question will be nobody.

Is this piracy? I think not. If we purchase and operating system, with a license to an operating system, isn't it reasonable to expect that we should be able to use the operating system If we go back to the idea of transferring software from a non-functioning computer to a functioning computer can be a very complicated issue". Use caution before labeling an activity as being "piracy".

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

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Comment from Kitty Ashenbrenner on 2009-01-13

2009-01-13T22:17:44Z

The installation disc or recovery disc provided with your computer is only specific to that computer. Why would you want to use the old one anyway? You'll get a new recovery disc or partition with the new computer.

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

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Comment from Roy Holland on 2009-01-13

2009-01-13T22:03:00Z

Just an addition to the above statement which is not totally correct! Yes, there IS an alternate to a non genuine copy! With proper paperwork, legitamate bill of sale from a business, Ebay, etc. You CAN get a genuine copy of XP from Microsoft!
As an Example: I, in good faith, bought a sealed box Windows XP Prof. OS on Ebay. When I tried to authenticate it, of course it failed! It was the professional copy type with the hologram disk etc. With a key that was no good!
When it didn't authenticate, I wrote the seller which did not answer any of my several request to correct the situation or refund my money.
Microsoft had a program (at that time, don't know if it is still active or not), to replace any legitimate buyer with a FREE copy of XP! I sent in the required info and a couple weeks my new Microsoft Windows XP Prof. arrived and I am using it mow!
Hopefully, they still have this program.

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

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Comment from Tony Starkey on 2009-01-13

2009-01-13T18:41:04Z

If you have a legal copy of Windows on your pc, installed by the pc manufacturer, are you free to use the installation disc they provide to install Windows onto a new pc which you may purchased to replace your original when it give up the ghost?

As I understand it, not always. You really need to check the license agreement, but many pre-installed OEM Windows are not transferrable to another machine. Some may be. Now, as to whether or not you do it anyway is a different matter, since it likely will work.

- Leo
14-Jan-2009

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A comment on: If my Windows XP is not genuine, can I download an older version for free?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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