Advice pls. I haz to install Windows on a machine becuz I need it for one program.

[struggle4progress]

Ain't so all-fired happy, neither, cuz me never like Windows much

Gotta be at least 2000 or later. What version should I buy?

[RoyGBiv]

1. Well that sucks ...

You can still get XP Pro for system builders. Here are the basic terms of that license:

Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings.

It's $133 at NewEgg. XP Home is $90. And I think you have to get some bit of hardware. Last time I did that, the hardware I bought was a USB stick, so it doesn't have to be anything elaborate.

Note the "cannot be transferred" bit.

If you want the retail version with a bit more liberal license, you'll have to get some version of Vista.

What's the software you have to use, btw?

[struggle4progress]

2. I prefer not to identify the software exactly, since it isn't a commercial product but a research

product, though it is freely available for download. The problem is that the authors, to make it user-friendly, appear to have committed to a Windows-dependent interface

[Occulus]

6. Everyone I've ever known completely ignores that "non-transferable" bit

Given that the OS itself allows for it to be reinstalled on a new machine, I just don't see how that's even enforceable. XP think it's in a new machine if/when you put in a new motherboard or do any other "significant" hardware change.

I myself have been using an OEM copy of XP, recently built a whole new machine, nuked the old drive, reinstalled XP in my new machine, and it validated the OEM license just fine.

This part:

This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed.

That's the bullshit part. As the builder of my own machine, I don't know what "end user support for the Windows software" means. The "cannot be transferred" part? That's just there to scare you. There's no way for Micro$oft to know, and in any case, as I said, the OS itself already provides for the capability of doing so, in direct violation of those little blurbs above.

So, their OS violates their own license (I'm assuming those blurbs are from some sort of EULA) right out of the box. Nice.

I'd advise getting an OEM copy and throwing all those stupid little "rules" into the winds. Almost all computer shops that sell parts also sell OEM copies that aren't yet installed, and I'm certain Micro$oft knows this quite well. They can't know what your "allowable" system specs are, and I doubt it's going to get installed on multiple machines in sequence, so I really doubt those warnings above even apply to this situation. I'm guessing they only apply to those who build and sell computers.

As long as it's only installed on one machine at a time, I can't see them coming after anyone claiming they're violating the license. Legit copy, single machine = no problem for Micro$oft.

[RoyGBiv]

7. The knowing is in the registration ...

The "activation" of the license takes place after the install. As long as nothing major changes (based on a system of points) you don't notice this, but when something major (like a CPU) changes, you notice, unless they've eased up on this lately, which I rather doubt.

I had one of my legal keys disabled because I installed it three times in a weekend and made the unfortunate error of activating all three times ... well, two times. On the third, the registration failed, and I had to call and talk to the guy, and the guy put me through the ringer, and my key was never activated again.

It was only ever on one machine at a time. I was building a system for a particular purpose and changed CPUs and motherboards around until I found the combo I wanted.

Lesson learned, but it was quite annoying.

I agree it's bullshit, FWIW, and it is there *mostly* to scare you, but it is a real part of the license that can be implemented at any time.

I've simply chosen other routes after that experience.

[hunter]

3. Hunter's Rule: Hunter will not use anything Microsoft unless you pay him.

Furthermore, Hunter does not and will not spend his own money on anything Microsoft.

If your program won't run under Wine I'll bet there is an old unused machine hiding in a closet somewhere that has Windows 2000 or later already installed. Or maybe you can find one in a dumpster or a Thrift Store. Or maybe an XP installation disk is just sitting in a desk somewhere, never used.

If someone else is paying for Microsoft Windows the safest thing to do is to buy some spanking brand new machine from DELL or Office Depot or the Campus Bookstore, etc., and then play dumb. Otherwise someone who is too embarrassed to admit they've spent hours and hours looking for Clippy in Microsoft Word is eventually going to give you a whole lot of shit you don't need.

[struggle4progress]

4. I should say I generally subscribe to this rule. Unfortunately, whether or not the program

can be forced to run under some other OS, I will not be able to reach the conclusions I need defensibly unless I run the program as those who developed it specify

[hunter]

8. If it's that critical, always use a dedicated machine.

Playing games and surfing the internet on machines that control the nuclear reactors or run the medical lab equipment is always a bad idea.

I have an old friend who, in the age of the first Pentiums, had to find a reliable 10Mhz 80286 in a hurry to get a multi-million dollar piece of equipment up and running again. Unfortunately the device drivers were all dos, and the synchronization of the entire mess depended upon the processor's clock speed. The computer's hard drive was still good, but the mother board was fried and he was working in a country where it was nearly impossible to get a computer across the border quickly or inexpensively.

By some black magic a computer identical to the one that had failed simply appeared out of nowhere, and nobody ever noticed the swap, or asked any questions.

I'd be looking to do a similar sort of conjuring of an XP machine.

I don't know why people lock their programs to a specific piece of hardware or operating system. It always causes trouble in the long run. On Slashdot someone once posted their nightmare of Jordi La Forge trying to work his way through some ancient Microsoft '86 code with the Enterprise under attack and the weapons system BSOD.

[paparush]

5. Bittorrent. Xp Pro.

[BlueJazz]

9. I've got a version of Windows 7 you can use.