I have an iMac and a Macbook Air and want to install Windows 8 on bootcamp of both, does this mean I would need two Windows licenses to do it?
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Bootcamp and Windows 8 License
- Thread starter MarkieMark92
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Yep
How many Computers Can You Install One License On?
If you purchase one (1) retail Windows edition, you may install and activate just one (1) installation at a time. You will need to buy a second license/key to activate a second Windows installation at the same time.
Well, in spite of (I'm assuming) Microsoft's answer completely ignoring the question asked, the real answer is that yes, you can only install Windows to one physical computer.
However, there are instances where Windows can be activated twice on the same machine. I have done so many times for both BootCamp and VM installations of Windows by using telephone activation and honestly answering the question "How many computers have you installed Windows to?" as "one".
How does my reply "completely ignore the question asked" ?
Yes, you can activate the same licence on several machines if you use the telephone activation. However you are breaking the licence terms.
Firstly, I never accused you of replying at all. I assumed you were copy/pasting Microsoft legalese and said as much. Note the "Microsoft's answer" in my reply.
It ignores the question in that a "computer" and an "installation" are entirely separate concepts. The question was computers.
The recording at Microsoft's activation center asks, and I quote, "How many computers have you installed this product to?" I answered "one", which is the truth, and it was activated.
I am not talking about installing one license to multiple computers which I am well aware (and wrote in my initial reply
) is not supported. I am talking about installing BootCamp and a VM (virtual machine, ala Parallels/Fusion) on the same Mac.
Firstly, I never accused you of replying at all. I assumed you were copy/pasting Microsoft legalese and said as much. Note the "Microsoft's answer" in my reply.
It ignores the question in that a "computer" and an "installation" are entirely separate concepts. The question was computers.
The recording at Microsoft's activation center asks, and I quote, "How many computers have you installed this product to?" I answered "one", which is the truth, and it was activated.
I am not talking about installing one license to multiple computers which I am well aware is not supported. I am talking about installing BootCamp and a VM on the same Mac.
OK, apologies, but......
From the MS Product Use Rights:
You may install one copy of the software on the licensed device.
A licensed device is formally defined in the PUR as
the single physical hardware system to which a license is assigned.
No problem.
Again, in the case of a single Mac with a BootCamp install and a VM in OS X, it is a single physical system.
You could run Windows as a Virtual Machine and just purchase the 1 license.
Or run Windows for free for 90 days as a trial:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/hh699156.aspx
Then when your trail expires sign up again and run another install for 90 days...
If you're using Fusion/Parallels to access your BootCamp, yes. However, in my case it is a separate installation on the same physical system.
If you have 2 installations on the same physical system, you need 2 licenses. It does not matter whether you run VM instances or not.
Microsoft do not grant licenses by virtue of questions and answers on their activation telephone line! The license grant that you sign up to is available on their website and it very clearly states that you are only allow 1 installation on 1 computer. If you have more than 1 installation, you need more than 1 license.
"Under our license, we grant you the right to install and run that one copy on one computer (the licensed computer), for use by one person at a time, but only if you comply with all the terms of this agreement. Typically, this means you can install one copy of the software on a personal computer and then you can use the software on that computer."
"Use in a virtualized environment. If you use virtualization software to create one or more virtual computers on a single computer hardware system, each virtual computer, and the physical computer, is considered a separate computer for purposes of this agreement. This license allows you to install only one copy of the software for use on one computer, whether that computer is physical or virtual. If you want to use the software on more than one virtual computer, you must obtain separate copies of the software and a separate license for each copy."
So you are in breach of the licensing requirement.
Well, actually, not.
I wrote "I have done so" and this is true. I will probably so in the future as well. Currently, however, I am running Windows 7 in BootCamp and Windows 8.1 in a Parallels VM.
Thanks for the fine print. It's a loophole and it's no wonder that many, many users are successfully using it in order to run their VM and BootCamp installs with one license. When you call the Microsoft robot, it does not mention this fine print and it does not ask about installations. it asks how many computers the product is being installed to.
This.
Umm, if you had posted this, I would have posted the same reply.
I think perhaps there is some wriggle-room with the word "install".
If you install Windows in a Bootcamp partition, then clearly that's 1 license. I *think* if you then run a VM session using Fusion or Parallels and you use the bootcamp installation as the VM boot image, then that's probably still 1 installation. You have only installed it once on 1 computer.
If however in the same situation you use say VirtualBox as your VM client, and you do a separate install into VirtualBox (as well as your Bootcamp install) then that's clearly 2 install on 1 computer = 2 licenses.
If you install Windows in a Bootcamp partition, then clearly that's 1 license. I *think* if you then run a VM session using Fusion or Parallels and you use the bootcamp installation as the VM boot image, then that's probably still 1 installation. You have only installed it once on 1 computer.
If however in the same situation you use say VirtualBox as your VM client, and you do a separate install into VirtualBox (as well as your Bootcamp install) then that's clearly 2 install on 1 computer = 2 licenses.