software license, help!!

[felix726]

Well this is kind of a follow up to my earlier post "trying to save my software"
http://www.sysopt.com/forum/Forum2/HTML/003655.html

I have a couple of new questions but mostly I just want to clear a couple of things up.
I felt as if a few people who posted to that thread felt as if I was asking for help in stealing the software. This is absolutely in no way what I am trying to do. I payed for all the software discused in that post and own the end-user license for all of it. I'm not sure why but for some reason some of the software was only available on loaner cd's and that is why I am in this situation, and that is why I asked for advice. I must say that certain comments in my first thread were very accusitory, and I take that very personally. I stated in the post very clearly that I in no way wanted to do anything illegal, and by doing so I was infact making my problem that much more difficult to solve. If anyone questions that such an arrangement with my university ever existed I suggest you go here.
http://www.osu.edu/bookstore/buckeyebundle/

I am only trying to clear my name here. I feel as if my integrity has come into question and that disturbs me. I think I am a very honorable person an I would hate for anyone to think otherwise.

OK now that I've got that out of the way http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif here are my questions.

**When I was reading through the FAQ page for this software bundle I came across this
http://140.254.243.12/faq/19.htm

which basically says that the registration wizard will only let you install the software twice. Could this be true? I already have the software installed on the PC I have now, and I'm planning on getting a new PC in January so I will install on that one as well. That will be my two installs right there, what if I have a hard drive crash and have to reinstall everything am I SOL? Keep in mind that this is not retail software, it has "NOT FOR RETAIL OR OEM DISTRIBUTION" plastered across the front of the cd's.

**Because I own the license agreement for the software that was on the loaner cd's don't I have the right to get the cd's and install the software on my new computer after I get it? This whole licensing thing is confusing the hell out of me. Thanks for listening to me ramble and for any insight you can provide.
-felix

[grandslammer]

First, if your programs are on cd's, then you don't have to worry, you can put them on a thousand machines, if you were so inclined. As far as "being able to" goes.

Looking at you r previous post, get a copy burned for you. Writeable cd's are dirt cheap. Just borrow the cd's again, go to a friend's whose got a burner, and do the deed!

Like a few people already said, if it's MS, sooner or later you'll need the disks, even if you never get a new machine.

H*ll, it would be worth going out and buying a cd r/w (new? or used!) to copy them yourself.

Good Luck In Whatever You End Up Doing...

Mike P.

[Steve R Jones]

Yes, it is possible to restrict the number of installs. Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS use to have this restriction. If your hdd crashed, the user had to send disk #one back for a replacement.

[Pantion]

First of all you stated that the software you are using is from college (as I).

Microsoft agreed that the software could be installed by any number of students as long as they were studing on the college were the agreement was set. So this means you can install the software as many times as you NEED not wish.

Besides the software is on CD and it doesn't restricts you to a certain amounts of install unless it hiddes some file on your computer for such thing.

[Dave_H]

Felix,
That thought never occured to me because you
stated how you would not "Burn a CD".

I had a real silly idea for you, and I didn't post it, but it does meet your criteria of: not burning a cd, or using an image.

Please don't laugh. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

How about getting and installing a second hard drive for the computer you are using right now and copy the disks on to it.
Remove this "archive drive" and save it till you get your new computer. Later you can install this as a second drive again and run the setups to install the software onto your new computer. Then you could copy the win98se
folder onto it and remove the drive.

This drive could be kept for future crashes
and put back in if you ever need to re-format. I know this would cost you the price of an extra drive, but it would be cheeper than purching the software again, and extra drives do come in handy.

No burning of a CD
No conflicts on your new system.

Dave

[UncaDanno]

Felix,
The registration wizard is what keeps tabs on the registered users of the software. If you have registered the product once, MS already has a record of you in their legit users database. There is no real need for you to register it again, as far as I can see. You have already let MS know where that specific product serial# is.

[felix726]

Thanks for all the help eveeryone.
-felix

[CMonster]

Wellllllll,

When I am a little older and a little balder, all this current stuff will look like Win3.1 or something and I will get it all for next to nothing at the second hand stores - and if Micro$uck prevents that I will get it from garage sales.

And I vow that if I ever begin programming I will contribute one limited freeware version for every for-sale full-version I write. And dont give me any of that "you-have-no-idea-how-much-work-it-is-to-write-programs" guff; I have worked the skin off my fingers in back breaking, filthy. greasy mechanical work, and time and time again I have given away my labor when it seemed like the other guy really needed a hand... I am perhaps rare, but I am no alone.

"Information should be free"

It's time we progress as a species - and quit trying to charge each other for every little thing we can think of -

Oh yeah, and here comes the Internet sales tax.....

Long live open source,

Got Linux?

StarOffice 5.1 - free for personal use, full-featured as M$ Office 2000, and runs on Windows as well as Linux. www.sun.com/products/staroffice/get.cgi (http://www.sun.com/products/staroffice/get.cgi)

Or order the $9.95 CDROM

[felix726]

thanks WW, looks like you can chalk up a few more innocent victims for the Microsoft monster. Looks like I may just have to break down and buy the academic priced software before I graduate. thanks again.
-felix

[stylin19]

interesting....doesnt this FAQ say you can keep the software ?

http://140.254.243.12/faq/24.htm

All the student license requires is for you you be a student at the time of purchase. There doesnt appear to be anything about surrendering the software. you are just precluded from keeping the loaner CD's and are ineligible for upgrades.

So, Felix726's original question appears to be valid.

Is the software worth keeping without any of the upgrades ? If so, Dave_H's idea appears to be golden.

pretty crappy that you also have to take pre-law to figure out the EULA http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

good luck.

[welsh wizard]

Felix 726
I just went into the microsoft license agreement re your software, bad news you are only licensed to use the software as long as you are a student, the moment you leave or grad and leave its over, and you have to purchase an upgrade to keep using the software. SORRY FOR THE BAD NEWS http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif

check it out at http://140.254.243.12/license/student.pdf

its in the very first part of the agreement.
it's another case of buyer beware, alwats read the license if you don't like return the product and demand money back as you don't agree with terms of license, if you use it you except the conditions of the license.
WW