No it is not.
You may use it as many times as you like, but you have a certain number of
activations. With retail version of Vista, you may activate about five times
over the Internet. If you need to activate more times, you must use a
telephone and when asked, produce a proof of purchase.

However, if you do some evaluation work, you may use your Vista disk and
install Vista without supplying a key and without activating. Your Vista
will run in grace period of 30 days. When the initial grace period expires,
you may open command prompt with "run as administrator" and issue command:
slmgr.vbs -rearm
After that you will have another 30 days grace period. You can continue
rearming until you spend 120 days evaluating. If you still need to evaluate
beyond this period, your Vista will have a black desktop, you will get
regular warnings that your Vista is not genuine, Aero will not work and you
will not be able to download some content from the Microsoft's web site.
Apart from that, your Vista will be functional.


"Vadados" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:275283271a2492c8ac953161df1e61ed@nntp-gateway.com...[color=blue]
>
> Is it illegal to use the same Vista Disk on the same computer 2 times?
>
>
> --
> Vadados[/color]

On Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:41:34 +0200, "Dusko Savatovic"
<nospam.savatovic******.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> No it is not.
> You may use it as many times as you like, but you have a certain number of
> activations.[/color]


No, this is not correct. You can activate as many times as you want
to.

[color=blue]
> With retail version of Vista, you may activate about five times
> over the Internet. If you need to activate more times, you must use a
> telephone and when asked, produce a proof of purchase.[/color]


It's not a matter of the number of times; it's a matter of hardware
changes or too many times within 120 days. And the *only* issue there
is that if that occurs, activation over the internet gets replaced by
activation by a quick and easy telephone call to an 800 number; but
note that that telephone call is *still* activation. No proof of
purchase is required for telephone activation.

Read here: [url]http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.php[/url]


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

In line ...

"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
news:0hbo35d3rd78cfpthlrmkgi3iijgpp5d9f@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:41:34 +0200, "Dusko Savatovic"
> <nospam.savatovic******.com> wrote:
>[color=green]
>> No it is not.
>> You may use it as many times as you like, but you have a certain number
>> of
>> activations.[/color]
>
>
> No, this is not correct. You can activate as many times as you want
> to.[/color]

Just theoretically speaking. I'm working for a Certified Partner for
Learning Solutions (CPLS). We were issued keys for activating VM's that were
used in Microsoft Official Courses (MOC). Some of those keys accumulated too
large count of activations and we were issued additional keys. It is fair to
say that the issue was recognized, Microsoft reacted and no business
suffered in conesequence to this issue.
[color=blue]
>
>[color=green]
>> With retail version of Vista, you may activate about five times
>> over the Internet. If you need to activate more times, you must use a
>> telephone and when asked, produce a proof of purchase.[/color]
>
>
> It's not a matter of the number of times; it's a matter of hardware
> changes or too many times within 120 days.[/color]

Nope. I checked this with a VAMT tool.
1. I checked the number of remaining activations of my MAK key.
2. Installed and activated Vista. Number of remaining activations is
decremented.
3. Run sysprep. Take the image.
4. Apply the image on the same computer. Vista is now unactivated.
5. Activated Vista again on the same hardware. The count of remaining
activations is decremented.
[color=blue]
> And the *only* issue there
> is that if that occurs, activation over the internet gets replaced by
> activation by a quick and easy telephone call to an 800 number; but
> note that that telephone call is *still* activation. No proof of
> purchase is required for telephone activation.[/color]

A simple phone call once took me more than half an hour of listening to a
soothing musac (see urbandictionary.com for the definition of musac). I also
once acted dummy trying to activate with a key that already had 12
activations. I was asked for a proof of purchase and explanation why I'm
activating so many times. My coleague was asked to photograph and send
photos of COA stickers of the computers. In my country telephone activation
does not work over the weekend.

For the record. I'm not complaining about this procedure and having learned
the rules, I plan accordingly when, in the line of my work, I expect to
perform multiple activations.
[color=blue]
>
> Read here: [url]http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.php[/url]
>
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup[/color]

Hi, Vadados

I tend to think like you, that it is legal do do the 'evaluation' thing and
the 'rearm' thing. But I don't see anything in the license to allow it, and
lots of words that seem to DISallow it. My OEM disc has a separate folder
containing a different license file for each Vista version that can be
installed from the disc, from Basic to Ultimate, US and European versions.
I have not read them all, but I skimmed the Vista Ultimate license. Only
one key came with the disc, and I assume that this key will only be valid
for the permanent installation of Vista Ultimate that I purchased. My gut
feeling that the availability of 'evaluation' installation implies its
legality, since it would have been so easy to not allow installing it this
way (without typing in the key).

Do you have a Microsoft URL that talks about the legaligy of this
'evaluation' use? Or maybe a direct quote from the license that talks about
'evaluation' use?

My intent is to set up a multiboot system to allow booting up every Vista
version available to be installed from my OEM disc, so that I can kind of do
a 'side by side' comparison of the various versions. rebooting to particular
versions to verify what I think I know. The disc has a separate folder
containing a different license file for each Vista version that can be
installed from the disc.

-Paul Randall

"Dusko Savatovic" <nospam.savatovic******.com> wrote in message
news:u8Vob8S8JHA.3556@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> No it is not.
> You may use it as many times as you like, but you have a certain number of
> activations. With retail version of Vista, you may activate about five
> times over the Internet. If you need to activate more times, you must use
> a telephone and when asked, produce a proof of purchase.
>
> However, if you do some evaluation work, you may use your Vista disk and
> install Vista without supplying a key and without activating. Your Vista
> will run in grace period of 30 days. When the initial grace period
> expires, you may open command prompt with "run as administrator" and issue
> command:
> slmgr.vbs -rearm
> After that you will have another 30 days grace period. You can continue
> rearming until you spend 120 days evaluating. If you still need to
> evaluate beyond this period, your Vista will have a black desktop, you
> will get regular warnings that your Vista is not genuine, Aero will not
> work and you will not be able to download some content from the
> Microsoft's web site. Apart from that, your Vista will be functional.
>
>
> "Vadados" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
> news:275283271a2492c8ac953161df1e61ed@nntp-gateway.com...[color=green]
>>
>> Is it illegal to use the same Vista Disk on the same computer 2 times?
>>
>>
>> --
>> Vadados[/color]
>[/color]

Hi Paul,

I guess you are refering to my response to Vadados who posted original
question from the title. BTW the question is at the bottom.
I was not refering to the 'evaluation' thing and the 'rearm' thing. I was
refering to real evaluation and rearming needs that exist in legitimate
businesses. For example when you evaluate how a piece of software will
behave on a live system, when you prepare presentation and lab for a
conference etc.

<quote>
Do you have a Microsoft URL that talks about the legaligy of this
'evaluation' use? Or maybe a direct quote from the license that talks
about
'evaluation' use?
</quote>

Sure Paul,
The link is here
[url]http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc304369.aspx[/url]

Here is the direct quote from the document.
The information is about Volume activation, but the article mentions Retail,
OEM and Volume License channels.

<quote>
Activation Grace Periods and Re-arms
All grace periods for all editions and channels (Retail, OEM/System Builder
and Volume License) of Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Vista RTM are 30 days.
All editions of Windows Vista can be re-armed up to three times with the
exception of Windows Vista Enterprise SP1 which can be re-armed up to five
times.
</quote>

Regards,
Dusko Savatovic




"Paul Randall" <paulr901@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:utix2kc8JHA.5040@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Hi, Vadados
>
> I tend to think like you, that it is legal do do the 'evaluation' thing
> and the 'rearm' thing. But I don't see anything in the license to allow
> it, and lots of words that seem to DISallow it. My OEM disc has a
> separate folder containing a different license file for each Vista version
> that can be installed from the disc, from Basic to Ultimate, US and
> European versions. I have not read them all, but I skimmed the Vista
> Ultimate license. Only one key came with the disc, and I assume that this
> key will only be valid for the permanent installation of Vista Ultimate
> that I purchased. My gut feeling that the availability of 'evaluation'
> installation implies its legality, since it would have been so easy to not
> allow installing it this way (without typing in the key).
>
> Do you have a Microsoft URL that talks about the legaligy of this
> 'evaluation' use? Or maybe a direct quote from the license that talks
> about 'evaluation' use?
>
> My intent is to set up a multiboot system to allow booting up every Vista
> version available to be installed from my OEM disc, so that I can kind of
> do a 'side by side' comparison of the various versions. rebooting to
> particular versions to verify what I think I know. The disc has a
> separate folder containing a different license file for each Vista version
> that can be installed from the disc.
>
> -Paul Randall
>
> "Dusko Savatovic" <nospam.savatovic******.com> wrote in message
> news:u8Vob8S8JHA.3556@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=green]
>> No it is not.
>> You may use it as many times as you like, but you have a certain number
>> of activations. With retail version of Vista, you may activate about five
>> times over the Internet. If you need to activate more times, you must use
>> a telephone and when asked, produce a proof of purchase.
>>
>> However, if you do some evaluation work, you may use your Vista disk and
>> install Vista without supplying a key and without activating. Your Vista
>> will run in grace period of 30 days. When the initial grace period
>> expires, you may open command prompt with "run as administrator" and
>> issue command:
>> slmgr.vbs -rearm
>> After that you will have another 30 days grace period. You can continue
>> rearming until you spend 120 days evaluating. If you still need to
>> evaluate beyond this period, your Vista will have a black desktop, you
>> will get regular warnings that your Vista is not genuine, Aero will not
>> work and you will not be able to download some content from the
>> Microsoft's web site. Apart from that, your Vista will be functional.
>>
>>
>> "Vadados" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
>> news:275283271a2492c8ac953161df1e61ed@nntp-gateway.com...[color=darkred]
>>>
>>> Is it illegal to use the same Vista Disk on the same computer 2 times?
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Vadados[/color]
>>[/color]
>
>[/color]

Thank you. Your links provided exactly the information I have been looking
for.

Even a home user might find it useful to install various editions of Vista
in order to evaluate whether it is worth purchasing for use on an older
computer. Now I know that it is OK to do it with my system builder OEM
Vista Ultimate.

-Paul Randall

"Dusko Savatovic" <nospam.savatovic******.com> wrote in message
news:OYHhWxe8JHA.1488@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Hi Paul,
>
> I guess you are refering to my response to Vadados who posted original
> question from the title. BTW the question is at the bottom.
> I was not refering to the 'evaluation' thing and the 'rearm' thing. I was
> refering to real evaluation and rearming needs that exist in legitimate
> businesses. For example when you evaluate how a piece of software will
> behave on a live system, when you prepare presentation and lab for a
> conference etc.
>
> <quote>
> Do you have a Microsoft URL that talks about the legaligy of this
> 'evaluation' use? Or maybe a direct quote from the license that talks
> about
> 'evaluation' use?
> </quote>
>
> Sure Paul,
> The link is here
> [url]http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc304369.aspx[/url]
>
> Here is the direct quote from the document.
> The information is about Volume activation, but the article mentions
> Retail, OEM and Volume License channels.
>
> <quote>
> Activation Grace Periods and Re-arms
> All grace periods for all editions and channels (Retail, OEM/System
> Builder and Volume License) of Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Vista RTM are
> 30 days. All editions of Windows Vista can be re-armed up to three times
> with the exception of Windows Vista Enterprise SP1 which can be re-armed
> up to five times.
> </quote>
>
> Regards,
> Dusko Savatovic
>
>
>
>
> "Paul Randall" <paulr901@cableone.net> wrote in message
> news:utix2kc8JHA.5040@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=green]
>> Hi, Vadados
>>
>> I tend to think like you, that it is legal do do the 'evaluation' thing
>> and the 'rearm' thing. But I don't see anything in the license to allow
>> it, and lots of words that seem to DISallow it. My OEM disc has a
>> separate folder containing a different license file for each Vista
>> version that can be installed from the disc, from Basic to Ultimate, US
>> and European versions. I have not read them all, but I skimmed the Vista
>> Ultimate license. Only one key came with the disc, and I assume that
>> this key will only be valid for the permanent installation of Vista
>> Ultimate that I purchased. My gut feeling that the availability of
>> 'evaluation' installation implies its legality, since it would have been
>> so easy to not allow installing it this way (without typing in the key).
>>
>> Do you have a Microsoft URL that talks about the legaligy of this
>> 'evaluation' use? Or maybe a direct quote from the license that talks
>> about 'evaluation' use?
>>
>> My intent is to set up a multiboot system to allow booting up every Vista
>> version available to be installed from my OEM disc, so that I can kind of
>> do a 'side by side' comparison of the various versions. rebooting to
>> particular versions to verify what I think I know. The disc has a
>> separate folder containing a different license file for each Vista
>> version that can be installed from the disc.
>>
>> -Paul Randall
>>
>> "Dusko Savatovic" <nospam.savatovic******.com> wrote in message
>> news:u8Vob8S8JHA.3556@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=darkred]
>>> No it is not.
>>> You may use it as many times as you like, but you have a certain number
>>> of activations. With retail version of Vista, you may activate about
>>> five times over the Internet. If you need to activate more times, you
>>> must use a telephone and when asked, produce a proof of purchase.
>>>
>>> However, if you do some evaluation work, you may use your Vista disk and
>>> install Vista without supplying a key and without activating. Your Vista
>>> will run in grace period of 30 days. When the initial grace period
>>> expires, you may open command prompt with "run as administrator" and
>>> issue command:
>>> slmgr.vbs -rearm
>>> After that you will have another 30 days grace period. You can continue
>>> rearming until you spend 120 days evaluating. If you still need to
>>> evaluate beyond this period, your Vista will have a black desktop, you
>>> will get regular warnings that your Vista is not genuine, Aero will not
>>> work and you will not be able to download some content from the
>>> Microsoft's web site. Apart from that, your Vista will be functional.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Vadados" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
>>> news:275283271a2492c8ac953161df1e61ed@nntp-gateway.com...
>>>>
>>>> Is it illegal to use the same Vista Disk on the same computer 2 times?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Vadados
>>>[/color]
>>
>>[/color]
>[/color]