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EES Volume licensing and replacement PCs

mrbios

By mrbios
in Licensing Questions

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mrbios

mrbios

Posted
Posted

Only recently our supplier of hardware has started telling us that we need to buy a windows license for every PC regardless of whether it's replacing an already licensed PC or not.

 

What I can't understand is that we don't pay per PC, we pay per FTE.....so if someone came in and asked to see details on our licensing how on earth would they ever know if we had sufficient licensing or not? Seems very strange but hopefully someone here can explain it to me?

chazzy2501

chazzy2501

Posted
Posted
You pay per FTE this covers the whole schools PCs, its an honour thing but you'd be liable if anyone questioned it. The Windows licence is an upgrade license so the PCs in question have to have an existing licence on it (any version for education).
simpsonj

simpsonj

Posted
Posted

As far as I'm aware, each PC you buy needs to have a windows licence, whether it's XP, Vista, 7, or 8, of whatever variety of wondows (Home, Pro, Ultimate) which you can then upgrade or downgrade to the version of Windows your school is using and you'll be licenced via the EES. I don't believe you can "trade" licences anymore.

 

However, how anyone is going to audit your licencing (and I don't know who does this?) I do not have a clue. As long as you can prove you've got an EES agreement with the correct Full Time Employee number, I would imagine that would cover any audit, unless they are going to inspect each machine and its purchase history to ensure they had a copy of windows preinstalled...

CamelMan

CamelMan

Posted
Posted

You need some sort of Windows Lic on the machine itself - the EES allows you to upgrade to the latest version and covers you for CALS and Office etc (assuming that is the option you picked).

 

Some suppliers have told me you just need any windows lic - others that you must have a lic with an upgrade path to the version you want. I tend to play it safe and get an upgradable one to Win 7 just in case!

chazzy2501

chazzy2501

Posted
Posted
upgrade paths are for business customers, schools can upgrade from even the starter edition of Windows 7 for example. (You may find that your KMS server disagrees:)
CamelMan

CamelMan

Posted
Posted
upgrade paths are for business customers, schools can upgrade from even the starter edition of Windows 7 for example. (You may find that your KMS server disagrees:)

 

Thats probably why we're getting conflicting information - however with the mess we were in license wise when I started I might still use the old "and any windows lic that we can upgrade to Win 7 under EES" in my emails to suppliers!

 

For the OP - There is a "get legal" scheme that you can do where you do a bulk buy of licenses if you are a little short......

MikeGilbert

MikeGilbert

Posted
Posted

OEMs MUST put a Windows OEM licence on a PC if it's going to run Windows. As someone said above, this can be the lowest available, and you can then use OVS-ES to upgrade to whichever pro version you want to use. Over the years, quite a few suppliers of hardware have won business because they were cheaper than their competition, and the reason they were cheaper was that they weren't paying for licences or were giving schools the "you don't need a licnece on the box, you can get a school licence" line. Cornwall had a huge problem with an outfit called Potential some years ago over this very issue, which Microsoft and the LA managed to resolve very nicely and at not too much loss to the schools.

That's the problem: YOU are responsible for your establishment's licensing, and ignorance is no excuse in law. So, if the boxes don't have a licence sticker (or the mark left where some little toerag has peeled it off), then assume they are not licensed.

As far as the "get legal" scheme goes, it helps your case if you bust the company that supplied the tin.

FN-GM

FN-GM

Posted
Posted
OEMs MUST put a Windows OEM licence on a PC if it's going to run Windows. As someone said above, this can be the lowest available, and you can then use OVS-ES to upgrade to whichever pro version you want to use. Over the years, quite a few suppliers of hardware have won business because they were cheaper than their competition, and the reason they were cheaper was that they weren't paying for licences or were giving schools the "you don't need a licnece on the box, you can get a school licence" line. Cornwall had a huge problem with an outfit called Potential some years ago over this very issue, which Microsoft and the LA managed to resolve very nicely and at not too much loss to the schools.

That's the problem: YOU are responsible for your establishment's licensing, and ignorance is no excuse in law. So, if the boxes don't have a licence sticker (or the mark left where some little toerag has peeled it off), then assume they are not licensed.

As far as the "get legal" scheme goes, it helps your case if you bust the company that supplied the tin.

@MikeGilbert if you have a MAC OS X licences on a machine you can also use that as a base, doesn't have to windows in that case. Thanks

chazzy2501

chazzy2501

Posted
Posted (edited)

It actually says "Apple Macintosh" so I don't know if that opens you up to more installs :)

 

EDIT: According to my 2009 Windows 7 upgrade doc.

Edited by chazzy2501
MikeGilbert

MikeGilbert

Posted
Posted
Probably to draw people away from OS X :)

 

Not something I was aware of, so I stand corrected, but I think you're probably right. Though not sure of the cost/benefit, being as Apple kit in the main costs more for the same tin than vanilla Windows kit...

mrbios

mrbios

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

 

That's interesting, 2 years ago we were told that windows 98 licenses would no longer cover us under the upgrade procedure, but this says different.

 

So what's the cheapest option available today? Windows 7 starter licenses? or getting XP ones?

 

Stupidly all the licenses we've had in the past, we've never stuck the sticker on our PCs to show the license for that one.

 

EDIT: So how does this work when it comes to replacing PCs entirely? We use OSD like everyone else, so anything already on the machine is obliterated before a user touches it regardless of what is already on it, if that machine was previously covered by a windows license, why should i have to buy another one simply for new hardware? That's like me buying a new windows license at home every time i upgrade my PC....

Edited by mrbios
chazzy2501

chazzy2501

Posted
Posted
Well, if you have the £150 home retail version of Windows you can transfer your licence to a new machine. BUT if you PC came with an OEM licence then it's valid for only that hardware and would have to be replaced when the computer was. The OEM license is usually 1/2 the price of a retail one.
localzuk

localzuk

Posted
Posted (edited)
Well, if you have the £150 home retail version of Windows you can transfer your licence to a new machine. BUT if you PC came with an OEM licence then it's valid for only that hardware and would have to be replaced when the computer was. The OEM license is usually 1/2 the price of a retail one.

 

Not strictly true - EU courts ruled that OEM licenses are transferable. This is a part of the whole ability to resell OEM licenses per the 1991 Computer Software Directive (ratified into UK law as 'The Copyright (Computer Programs) Regulations 1992'). Namely, it is part of the 'first sale doctrine', whereby Microsoft exhaust their control over who can do what with the software once they've sold it (excluding the fact that its a single copy, for example).

 

However, this specific case (moving the software from one machine to another) hasn't been tested as yet - but a number of copyright and EU law firms have commented to this effect.

Edited by localzuk
MikeGilbert

MikeGilbert

Posted
Posted

Stupidly all the licenses we've had in the past, we've never stuck the sticker on our PCs to show the license for that one.

 

The licence stickers come with the OEM licence from the manufacturer, unless you're building them yourself as an OEM, of course. And the retail version probably comes with a sticker too, but I've never bought it.

The bottom line (as far as Microsoft are concerned) is that if you're buying a Windows PC from someone, they must supply it with a licence. Currently, the price for Windows 8 Pro built onto a PC from the major vendor I deal with is £83 ex VAT RRP, and standard Windows 8 is £57. There is an emerging markets flavour at £43, but the UK doesn't qualify - we're not a third world country yet, despite the state of the roads... Windows 7 is only available as Pro for £88. (And Linux is £2 to cover the cost of the DVD, if Windows isn't your thing)

Where you end up in the smelly stuff is if you buy a PC with no licence and stick Windows on it using your Volume Licence, which is in breach of your licence terms.

 

As far as transferability of OEM licences and its legality goes, it's a minefield I don't want to cross myself...

mrbios

mrbios

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks chaps, i understand this now (bar the confusing transfer ability thing everyone else is confused about)

 

Guess I'd best start going round and checking how many licenses we need then :|

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