Reinstall OEM on Bootcamp partition

Hey folks.

I installed Vista on my bootcamp partition, but am kinda wishing I had installed XP, as I think it's more user friendly.

I have legal OEM system builder copies of both (meaning I purchased them from a store and have the serial #s and all that).

My question is this; If I uninstall my Vista in order to install XP in its place, what happens to my Vista serial # which I paid for? I've had it on my macbook more than 30 days, so the serial # is now registered. Can I then go ahead and reinstall my Vista on another system? Since they're OEM versions as opposed to regular retail versions I'm not sure how that works. I'm guessing it would be fine, but I'm not sure. I still paid for them so I don't want my money to go down the drain by losing the ability to use them again if I reinstall.

The OEM license agreement limits the install to one physical machine. Retail licenses can be moved to different machines. That's what's in the fine print.

So I'm screwed if I uninstall it? Can't reinstall with that serial # again? How about migrating it to a VM?

Mind you, I bought the software separately, so it wasn't specific to any machine when I installed it the first time. You're basically saying that now that it HAS been installed it won't allow me to change it to a new device? Sorry if I'm being obtuse. Just want to be clear.

Yes, that's what I'm saying - that's why OEM system builder discs are cheaper. You can put either of them on a VM on the same machine, though, no problem.

What I would do is install both in VM's on that machine, and if you need native hardware access, install XP in BC and (if you like) also in a VM, and then Vista in a VM. Or, install XP on a different one as you have not installed it yet.

Sorry for the bad news. I am not saying these won't work on another machine, just that it would violate the EULA, which we don't support here.

Cheers

And people violate EULA's all the time, I won't advise you to do that however.

SammySlim said:

What I would do is install both in VM's on that machine, and if you need native hardware access, install XP in BC and (if you like) also in a VM, and then Vista in a VM. Or, install XP on a different one as you have not installed it yet.

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Perhaps a dumb question, but what does BC mean? Hard to keep up with all the acronyms that come up. And thanks for the advice, Slim, if I may call you that.

Another related question to anyone who can answer; can I install VM's on a separate hard drive? My MB has 250G, but I reckon I'll be needing more space if I'm considering running a few other OS's off of it as well. Not sure if that's what Slim was getting at in the quoted comments or not, but seemed to be alluding to something along those lines.

BC = Boot Camp.

You can install VMs on other drives, as I understand it. Have not done that myself tho.

As my Dad used to say, you can call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner...

Oh right! Boot Camp. I knew that, but with all the acronyms flying around it's hard to keep them straight after a while.

janusoo said:

Oh right! Boot Camp. I knew that, but with all the acronyms flying around it's hard to keep them straight after a while.

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+1

Especially for us noob's