sonofsanta Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 So long story short, because I just want a quick answer: one of our Art teachers has had a Science laptop for a good long time, and Science asked for it back, she had a panic, blah blah blah. Science are now asking us to evaluate whether it's worth them just getting a new one. Not my money, not my problem. So laptop in question could be transferred permanently to staff member's ownership. Said laptop hasn't got Windows licencing sticker on it for some reason, don't know why, presumably came with licence anyway. Given that, if the staff member takes the laptop, do we have to wipe the school's installation of Windows off the HDD? Or because the school is formally signing it over, is it ok with the current install left on it?
localzuk Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Simple answer - yes. If you give the laptop to someone, and they now personally own it, all software licensed to the school must be removed. If there's no license sticker on the laptop, you are best putting them in touch with the manufacturer who could give details of what version of Windows the machine was licensed for, and then they can contact Microsoft to see if they can get hold of some replacement details. Leaving Windows on there using your volume license is not allowed. This is one of the reasons with DBAN all laptops that we get rid of when they leave the school. 1
witch Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 If it is OEM then the windows install goes with the machine, doesn't it?
sonofsanta Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 If it is OEM then the windows install goes with the machine, doesn't it? But OEM sticker with associated serial key is missing, alas :/
localzuk Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 If it is OEM then the windows install goes with the machine, doesn't it? Only the version that came with it. So most likely XP Home, and the laptop will, i'm guessing, be running XP Pro VL.
sonofsanta Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 Only the version that came with it. So most likely XP Home, and the laptop will, i'm guessing, be running XP Pro VL. Correct. And if it had the XP Home sticker on it, I'd just have reinstalled it with that anyway to be on the safe side. But with sticker (and thus key) missing it becomes infinitely more hassle. Might ask Science if they have the manuals and other assorted paperworks around, that might have the little certificate with it that would have the key on it...
witch Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 All our laptops came with XP pro so maybe you are lucky and yours did too. Or you can *presume* it did 1
localzuk Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 All our laptops came with XP pro so maybe you are lucky and yours did too. Or you can *presume* it did Even then, you still can't use a volume license key on a machine outside of your license agreement, as it has different checks and controls (ie. authorisation doesn't exist). It must be the OEM key used.
witch Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Even then, you still can't use a volume license key on a machine outside of your license agreement, as it has different checks and controls (ie. authorisation doesn't exist). It must be the OEM key used. Oh yes, suppose so...
localzuk Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Another thing to take into account is 'transfer of electronic waste' which the laptop could well be classed as. You need to make sure you keep paperwork saying that all responsibilities for disposal of the laptop at the end of its useful life fall to the new owner and not yourselves, otherwise it'd still end up being your responsibility to deal with!
sonofsanta Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 Another thing to take into account is 'transfer of electronic waste' which the laptop could well be classed as. You need to make sure you keep paperwork saying that all responsibilities for disposal of the laptop at the end of its useful life fall to the new owner and not yourselves, otherwise it'd still end up being your responsibility to deal with! Good thinking Batman - I'll make sure we get a quick one pager drafted up with words to that effect. Best hope we have the paperwork still lying around then, else the teacher is going to have to spend £70+ on a Windows 7 disc, that won't run particularly well anyway. Fun times! Cheers again.
Duke5A Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 You might want to go to HR and get the laptop back into the district's hands. This could set a precedence that allows staff to keep old hardware and you might find yourself responsible for wiping and setting up a stock load on every one that goes out the door. I work educational IT as well, and it is a standing policy that staff does not get to keep, or even buy old systems. We keep them for as long as their useful, then recycle them. In addition to that, before they go out to recycle the drives get pulled and I drill two holes in them.
Poco Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 just as a thought, i would also check into the data protection side of this. obviously secure data regarding pupils etc is allowed on work equipment but then once it is transferred to the staff member, in the eyes of the law wouldnt that be considered storing it on staff's personal equipment? further to that as you have no control of said item, they could innocently pass it on at some point without wiping it. i only raise this as we all know recovery software can get things from formatted HDD's with ease. I would imagine to keep in touch with that it would be a requirement to maybe replace the HDD in it? Please correct if am wrong. random passing thought when i was reading this
laserblazer Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 If the teacher is using it for educational purposes, why not get a new one for Science and let the teacher keep the one she has but with it remaining the schools property?
localzuk Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 If the teacher is using it for educational purposes, why not get a new one for Science and let the teacher keep the one she has but with it remaining the schools property? Main reason we don't do something like this is because of licensing. It'd be yet another device to license, asset manage, insure, support and maintain.
GrumbleDook Posted February 14, 2011 Posted February 14, 2011 Securely wipe, rebuild to factory defaults (mainly just load from the CDs is came with so that will put back on the OEM licence of Windows) and do a transfer of ownership with no liability.
sonofsanta Posted February 15, 2011 Author Posted February 15, 2011 As it happened it all became a bit of a non-issue - the reason Science wanted the laptop back was so that a returning staff member could have it as their workstation in an office, but we'd had a PC sitting in a cupboard since September waiting for them to say they wanted it putting in. So Science have an actual computer, Art teacher has the laptop still (as school equipment given to prepare material for lessons, i.e. Photoshop), and everyone is happy and still friends. Hopefully the question never comes up because no-one can find the original CD or paperwork for the laptop; it was bought for Science by the Community Liaison with the blessing of the Network Manager before the last NM. So as far as this laptop is concerned, it can never be given to a home user. Any other laptop that we have the CD for, I'd wipe it, fill the HDD with random junk a few times just to be safe and then re-install the OEM licence anyway. I only asked this time as the OEM key wasn't handy. And, of course, the sheet signing the equipment over would be written in size 32 Arial saying "THERE IS NO IT SUPPORT FOR THIS FROM THE SCHOOL, IF YOU BRING IT IN WITH A PROBLEM WE WILL LAUGH IN YOUR FACE" because you can apparently never state that clearly enough. Cheers to everyone for chipping in though, still!
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now