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Imaging and licensing concerns

C

Choder

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 14, 2000
Messages
1,276
Ok guys, question for you.

I want to use Norton Ghost to image some new desktops but am concerned about keycodes. Is M$ going to get pissed when they see 100+ machines with the same keycode? FYI the machines each came with an XP license.
 
Apparently you don't have a Volume licensed copy?

The problem you will run into is with Activation, not the fact that every system has the same key.
 
No volume licencing key. We buy Windows with our computers because it is supposedly cheaper. On the bright side, it is WinXP Corporate, and does not require activiation. This leads me to believe that I won't run into any problems, unless there is some other form of key tracking that MS does that I am not aware of. Maybe something like key valadation during Windows Update or something similar.
 
Choder said:
No volume licencing key. We buy Windows with our computers because it is supposedly cheaper. On the bright side, it is WinXP Corporate, and does not require activiation. This leads me to believe that I won't run into any problems, unless there is some other form of key tracking that MS does that I am not aware of. Maybe something like key valadation during Windows Update or something similar.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as XP Corporate, only Volume licensed editions and you cannot legally buy them preinstalled on any computer. Volume license agreements from Microsoft typically have one key that is used for all installations of an OS or Application.

From what your telling me , it sounds like the company is buying PCs with a so called "XP corporate" installed with different keys, which isn't legal and should be checked out ASAP.
 
Maybe I am confusing you. We are buying IBM Thinkcentre and Thinkpad computers directly from IBM with Windows pre-installed on them. I want to know if MS is going to take issue with me building a Ghost image, based off of one machine, and using that image to depoly the others. My preception is that all the machines will appear to MS as having the same product key.

We have used images in the past to deploy machines, and have not had to activate anything.
 
Choder said:
Maybe I am confusing you. We are buying IBM Thinkcentre and Thinkpad computers directly from IBM with Windows pre-installed on them. I want to know if MS is going to take issue with me building a Ghost image, based off of one machine, and using that image to depoly the others. My preception is that all the machines will appear to MS as having the same product key.

We have used images in the past to deploy machines, and have not had to activate anything.
Click to expand...

If your not activating the OS with Microsoft, then they are not going to "see" anything. However the legal implications of purchasing systems with OEM licenses, then using an image of what I am going to assume is a volume licensed copy, could land the company in trouble if they are audited.
 
So the machines all have individual XP licenses (the little stickers). Are the numbers on the stickers different?

If you really want to be safe, you can use sysprep & have it ask for the new licence code each time.
 
ameoba said:
So the machines all have individual XP licenses (the little stickers). Are the numbers on the stickers different?

If you really want to be safe, you can use sysprep & have it ask for the new licence code each time.
Click to expand...

Trying to avoid sysprep, but I think that is going to be the way I go with this.
Thanks for your input guys.
 
With 100+ machines, you're probably on a domain. If you -don't- use sysprep, the machines will shit all over you when trying to join the domain.
 
Sysprep is damned near a must for this scenario. Just remember, as long as you hold paper licenses for the software you installed your golden. It doesn't matter how it's deployed, as long as it's the correct software for the license (IE don't install XP Retail, when your license is XP OEM or VLA).
 
ameoba said:
With 100+ machines, you're probably on a domain. If you -don't- use sysprep, the machines will shit all over you when trying to join the domain.
Click to expand...


They are on a domain, and I haven't seen any shit come out of them yet :rolleyes:
 
Phoenix86 said:
Sysprep is damned near a must for this scenario. Just remember, as long as you hold paper licenses for the software you installed your golden. It doesn't matter how it's deployed, as long as it's the correct software for the license (IE don't install XP Retail, when your license is XP OEM or VLA).
Click to expand...

I agree, Sysprep is ideal book solution.
 
Choder said:
They are on a domain, and I haven't seen any shit come out of them yet :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I believe he meant if you Ghost all of them and don't use sysprep to generate a unique SID for each
 
LittleMe said:
I believe he meant if you Ghost all of them and don't use sysprep to generate a unique SID for each
Click to expand...

Yeah. I should have mentioned that our older machines, all of which were imaged from the same HD, and share keys and SIDs, haven't caused any problems (yet).
 
It's the paper that counts. A cd key isn't a license. As long as you have the paper to back up any questions that anyone might have about licensing, you should be in the clear.
 
atomd said:
It's the paper that counts. A cd key isn't a license. As long as you have the paper to back up any questions that anyone might have about licensing, you should be in the clear.
Click to expand...

Have you ever been involved in an audit by Microsoft or the BSA? If so, you'd know your statement doesn't hold true.

There is more to licensing than simply having that piece of paper.
 
atomd said:
It's the paper that counts. A cd key isn't a license. As long as you have the paper to back up any questions that anyone might have about licensing, you should be in the clear.
Click to expand...

^^^ He speaks the truth. As for any potential audits by MS or BSA. tell them to shut up and color and then close the door on them. Problem solved ;) If by some chance they should raise a stink about it and it ends up in front of a judge, bring in your receipts for the OSes and walk away with a great big grin. Been there, done that.
 
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