stanglx302

I'll start from the beginning. I had 32 bit Retail Vista on my machine until mid November. At that time I ordered the 64 bit alternate media from Microsoft and formatted and did a fresh install. Everything has been working fine since then. A few days ago, I tried to re-install the USB drivers for my Garmin marine GPS unit. No luck. It would not work. It worked fine in 32 bit Vista. I then went to Garmin's website and even the latest driver desription said "No support for 64 bit operating systems" (Get with the times, Garmin!!!) I then had the brilliant idea to make a 30 gig partition and install Vista 32 bit on it and all of my GPS software. Everything is working with the GPS again. On my main partition, I still have Vista 64 bit.

Is it legal to have both 64 and 32 bit on the same computer using the same key? Keep in mind that it is still one machine and it's impossible to have them both running at the same time.

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System II: OC'd Acer 4520 Laptop

System III: 4.0Ghz Low Budget E5200 Rig

venom55520

yes, it's 1 rig.

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some people say i'm unmotivated, i say i'm just layed back
NOTICE: i am too poor to be a fanboy, and would go for different companies if they provided better performance for the cash. have a good day

procpuarie

no. to Microsoft, each partition is considered a different computer, unless you are using 7 then all the keys are generic and you can.

you sir, are very mistaken.

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ericeod

Doesn't the license say one PC per OS? Since you have the same OS installed (sure it is 2 copies) installed on the same "One" computer, it should be legal!

I know when I call up windows to activate my retail copy by phone (many hardware changes) they ask, "How many computers are installed with this version of Windows?" So if you said 1, then you are given the activation key.

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eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Rampage Formula Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z

dralb

hmm, this is a good one. I know that the key is what matters and they are only allowed to be on one PC at one time. Since MS defines the PC as the mobo and you are technically only using one key for one mobo, I think it is kosher.

Also, since the HW is the same, I don't see it triggering anything when updating etc.

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Antec 1000 Case Mod Worklog

3358 Windsor 3800

"[Vietnam] only made billionaires out of millionaires. Today's war is making trillionaires out of billionaires. Now I call that progress." -Kurt Vonnegut

procpuarie

nope read the license agreement. i read this in maximum pc once.

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dralb

MS defines the PC as the motherboard, not the hdd and not the partitions. That is why you are allowed to swap all pieces of HW except the mobo (barring warranties) before having to buy a new OS when using OEM. The difference between OEM and retail is that OEM is one PC ever and retail is one PC at one time.

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Antec 1000 Case Mod Worklog

3358 Windsor 3800

"[Vietnam] only made billionaires out of millionaires. Today's war is making trillionaires out of billionaires. Now I call that progress." -Kurt Vonnegut

glussier

It's not legal to have the 32bit version on 1 computer and the 64bit on another, but since it is installed on the same computer, I don't see a problem, and, I don't think Microsoft would make you any trouble with that.

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E5x00 - Overclocking Thread
E5200 @ 4.5ghz
The Blue CREW

GSingh

And of course, maximum pc knows all

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Havegooda

Lmao, a partition is a computer? No. The motherboard is what Microsoft defines as the computer.

~Gooda~

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