Using a single copy of Windows 95 to upgrade

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Keith Sogge - 16 Sep 2003 14:27 GMT

My son attends a small Christian school. Recently the
school was donated several older PCs. These PCs had
their hard disks wiped clean, and came with several
copies of Windows 98 upgrade CDs.

Since the hard disks are blank, we would need to load
either Windows 3.X or Windows 95 first.

Is it ethical to use a single copy of Windows 95 to load
each machine prior to upgrading them to Windows 98?

The school wants to do the right thing

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Kay Archer - 16 Sep 2003 16:20 GMT

> My son attends a small Christian school. Recently the
> school was donated several older PCs. These PCs had
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> The school wants to do the right thing

I don't know about the ethical, but you don't have to do the install of
Windows 95. Just have the CD available when the 98 _upgrade_ asks for the
qualifying product.

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Lee - 18 Sep 2003 16:29 GMT

>> My son attends a small Christian school. Recently the
>> school was donated several older PCs. These PCs had
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>Windows 95. Just have the CD available when the 98 _upgrade_ asks for the
>qualifying product.

Ceratinly _unethical_ for a Christian school as the upgrade disks
assume that the "qualifying" product had been purchased (if not
installed) on the machines previously (perhaps true, perhaps not
true).

But no one really cares anymore as Win95/98 are no longer supported by
MSoft and Mr. Gates is certainly not going to go after a "small"
school for a few $100 worth of obsolete software.

Just opinions -
Lee

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Roger Hunt - 16 Sep 2003 23:09 GMT

>My son attends a small Christian school. Recently the
>school was donated several older PCs. These PCs had
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
>The school wants to do the right thing

I think it would be ethical if each machine was prepared fully, but one
at a time.
At no time would there be more than the single copy of Windows95 in use,
or installed as a stand-alone operating system.
Once the Win95 is upgraded to Win98, it effectively disappears - it is
no longer functional, it has ceased to be, it is an ex-operating system,
it is now Win98.
Once this is done, Win95 may be installed on Computer no2, upgraded to
Win98, and so on.
Naturally, each W98 CD may only be used once.

Pretty time consuming way of doing it, but I believe it is kosher.

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Roger Hunt

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Ron Martell - 17 Sep 2003 19:59 GMT

>I think it would be ethical if each machine was prepared fully, but one
>at a time.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
>Pretty time consuming way of doing it, but I believe it is kosher.

If you read the license agreement for the upgrade version you will
discover that the license for the qualifying product is automatically
merged into the upgrade license forming one consolidated license and
therefore that qualifying product cannot legitimately be used to
upgrade other machines.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

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Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

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Roger Hunt - 17 Sep 2003 20:48 GMT

>>I think it would be ethical if each machine was prepared fully, but one
>>at a time.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>therefore that qualifying product cannot legitimately be used to
>upgrade other machines.

Shame.
I think they ought to install Linux then.
(runs for cover)

Signature

Roger Hunt

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Jeff Richards - 16 Sep 2003 23:38 GMT

If you look at your licence for the W98 upgrades you will probably find that
you are required to have a licenced copy of an eligible product (eg, W3.x or
W95) for each machine which you are going to upgrade, so using a single copy
of W95 to qualify each of the upgrade CDs is not allowed.

Firstly, check whether the machines are already licenced for a full copy of
W98. Many machines are sold new as a hardware/software package, and the
licence stays with the machine forever. If they are licenced like this then
I would be surprised if anyone would be concerned about what process you use
to install the OS.

The best arrangement would be to buy an OEM copy of W98 for each machine.
They often appear on e-Bay, or you could approach local computer stores for
old stock. This is the cheapest way to get a valid W98 licence, and since
you are not upgrading an existing installation the usual restriction with
OEM versions - that they can only be installed to a blank hard disk -
doesn't create a problem.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP W95/W98

> My son attends a small Christian school. Recently the
> school was donated several older PCs. These PCs had
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> The school wants to do the right thing

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