As June 30th approaches, are you stocking up on Windows XP licenses?

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft

As June 30th approaches, are you stocking up on Windows XP licenses?

by Brad Linder Jun 5th 2008

Microsoft may be cutting off Windows XP sales on June 30th, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to walk into a store and pick up a PC running the venerable operating system over the July 4th holiday weekend. That's because there are a whole bunch of loopholes in the cutoff date. PC World has a rundown, but here's an overview:

If you're a PC maker with a bunch of Windows XP licenses lying around, nobody's going to stop you from putting them on any computers you sell from now to eternity
If you're a PC maker selling computers with Windows Vista Business or Ultimate, you can offer customers a "downgrade" option
Microsoft has made an exception through 2010 for PC makers selling low cost desktops and laptops meeting strict requirements (the hard drives can't be too large, the processor's can't be too fast, etc.)

On the other hand, if you want to buy a retail copy of Windows XP, it looks like your time is running out. If you think you might need a usable copy of Windows XP in the future, now might be a good time to buy a copy.

But we're going to assume that a whole lot of people aren't paying much attention to the deadline and will wind up downloading bootleg copies of Windows XP if they need to reinstall their PC operating system sometime this fall.

Tags: microsoft, operating-systems, windows, windows-xp

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lane said 4:39PM on 6-05-2008

I'm not. Vista works just fine. I've never had it crash since I got it.

Eli Gundry said 4:58PM on 6-05-2008

My question is: Will Newegg have to stop selling the system builder's pack? If not, I'm not really gonna freak.

bradwjensen said 5:13PM on 6-05-2008

People can always happily and legally move to GNU/Linux for free. :)

westudi said 7:28PM on 6-05-2008

Not happily. I've tried the switch three times now, and always work my way back to Windows.

alienvenom said 5:13PM on 6-05-2008

It is not necessary to "stock up" on XP licenses as Microsoft's EULA states that users have downgrade privileges. Simply buying a Vista equivalent to XP Pro (Vista Business or greater) you can downgrade to XP by using the same license. This has always been the case with Microsoft products.

From (page 3): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4f4b3cfd-7f4e-46cb-8117-8275f7683d3f&DisplayLang=en

Q: If I have Windows Vista Enterprise, what can I downgrade to?
A: Downgrade rights in the Volume Licensing programs provide customers with the right to downgrade to any prior version of the same product. Windows Vista Enterprise is a new type of product and does not have a prior version. However, customers licensed for use of Windows Vista Enterprise are licensed for Windows Vista Business, and it can be downgraded to the Windows XP Professional...

alienvenom said 5:17PM on 6-05-2008

Actually, to amend my previous comment, the downgrade rights may only apply to Volume License and/or Select/Enterprise agreement licenses. I am not sure if the same rules apply to retail licenses as obtained by Newegg (as mentioned in comment #2.

Anyway, people are making a big fuss about not being able to buy XP Pro for no reason. While I absolutely will not touch Vista with a 10 foot pole, I am not worried because I will continue to use XP until 2014 or whenever Microsoft will stop supporting it.

velocitySTRIKE said 5:25PM on 6-05-2008

Oh noes! June 30th is my birthday! I guess I'll just have to get Vista...

kingkool68 said 9:35PM on 6-05-2008

Wow that OEM version of XP I got with a custom laptop 5 years ago sure has come in handy.

James said 10:59AM on 6-06-2008

This is why I like that my laptops all have XP license stickers physically attached to them -- even if I go to Vista, I can always go back.

dhowse said 12:40PM on 6-06-2008

As a PC user from the beginning (DOS 2.0) my answer to the Vista/XP situation is to go OS X.

I bought a new, full power, Thinkpad X61 Tablet in January W/Vista Business. Pretty yes, but too many limitations/problems. "Downgraded" to XP. Now I'm down to just the normal XP problems.

After seeing the "Vision" for Windows 7 I'm ready to jump ship. Apple MacBook here I come.

I just want a computer that works without a lot of hassle.

conor said 2:58PM on 6-06-2008

vistas fine on a modern pc

suckithard said 3:10PM on 6-06-2008

Vista works fine. Why would anybody stock up on an os?

Steve G said 4:34PM on 6-06-2008

I agree Vista is fine on a new PC, given that you need a faster CPU and more memory for the same performance as XP.
On the other hand, if you've got XP, there aren't really any compelling reasons to upgrade to Vista.

Jim said 2:23PM on 6-10-2008

Ah, yes. Downgrade rights. One of the biggest farces out there.

Yes, you can "downgrade" to XP Pro from Vista. So you source yourself an XP Pro CD to install from. Then you are asked for your product key. And then you are stopped. Because unless you have a valid product key for the version of XP you are using, you can't install it. And no, the install key for Vista won't work.

Downgrade rights are not the same as "Microsoft will provide me with a working XP install CD and key to use instead of Vista."

The same issues apply to Windows Server 2008 downgrading to 2003.

So while you may not need to "stock up" on XP media and licenses, you might want to get at least one.

Shamunda said 3:10PM on 6-10-2008

Stick with Vista. No need to go back to XP, no need to go forward with Linux unless of course you want to use Linux, but not because you HAVE to.

OS X? Is that even an OS :P

Simply stick with Vista.

Not saying anything about one being better than the other, but it's not going to change, and certainly MS is not going to say f the billions we spent making Vista let's go back to XP.

Not happening now, not happening later..

Stick with Vista.

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