Charter

dahamsta

NO WAREZ!
NO HACKZ!
NO APPZ!
NO CRACKZ!
NO! NO! NO!

(In other words, we're here to discuss software you have a valid license for, not software a man in a mac in the pub gave you for a pint and a fondle.)

Questions about any Microsoft Operating System or program used under a Microsoft OS can be asked here, as long as it won't be better answered on another Boards.ie forum. For example, if you want to do obscure calculations in Excel, hack Messenger out of your system, or simply figure out why Windows is giving you gip lately, this is the place to ask. Conversely, if your CD drive is smoking, you can't figure out how to insert an image with Dreamweaver, or your ping is slowly fading into oblivion, there are far better places to ask your question (HW Tweaking, Webmaster and Nets / Comms respectively). You may also tell us your experiences with Windows, or link to interesting items of information you find on your travels on the Internet. If you're quoting from an article, just post the first one or two paragraphs, and be sure to include a link.

No Trolling: Trolling is a moderators job, you shouldn't play with that which you don't understand. Unless it's very, very funny.

No Flaming: See "No Trolling".

No Spam: If you post your message to more than one or two other boards, and it's better answered on one of the others, I'll move your thread to the Recycle Bin. If it's important, point to the master thread.

No Soliciting: This is not a place for your to pimp your wares, do it in For Sale unless it's absolutely on-topic. And it had better be damn good.

No Off-Topic Advocacy: When someone asks a question in relation to their current OS/browser/mailer/etc, either answer the question or don't post. If they want an alternative, they'll ask for it. Off-topic advocacy will be sent to the Recycle Bin and repeat offenders may be banned.

If you have a question about this forum and you don't want to post it here, you can PM me; if you need to email me, PM me for my address. But be warned: I won't answer technical questions off the forum. That's what the forum is for. And I'm not that brilliant with Windows anyway.

Play nice now boys and girls! And L1nuX r0x!

adam

Capt'n Midnight

Windows Licensing FAQ's

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/licensing/faq.mspx

Q. If my company enters into a Microsoft volume licence agreement (Open, Select, Enterprise, or Enterprise subscription), does that mean that we do not need to order Windows when we purchase a new computer?
A. No. Microsoft volume licence agreements only license a company for an upgrade of Windows. No volume licence, including campus and school agreements, covers the full Windows operating system.

Q. How do I acquire a licence for the full Windows operating system?
A. There are two ways to obtain this licence. One, acquire a new PC with pre-installed, genuine Windows software from your PC manufacturer - it's the most cost-effective way to get a genuine Windows licence on a new PC. Two, purchase a full-packaged retail version.

Q. Can an operating system be transferred from an existing PC to a new PC?
A. It depends on the type of Windows software installed on your computer. Full-packaged retail versions of Windows software are generally transferable from one PC to another as long as the software is no longer installed on the original PC. An OEM software licence, however, may not be transferred or installed on another PC because it's tied to the original computer system on which it was installed, even if the PC is no longer in use.

Capt'n Midnight

How many language versions of Windows XP are there?
Windows XP Home and Professional editions are released in 24 languages:
English, German, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, Brazilian, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish.

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/DrIntl/faqs/LIPFaq.mspx

Patches to change XP User interface - replaces English, you can't have both. They can be uninstalled to revert back to the English interface
Based on Windows XP, Spanish Edition = Basque,Catalan,Galician
Based on Windows XP, English Edition = Bulgarian
Croatian,Estonian ,Gujarati,Hindi ,Icelandic ,Indonesian ,Irish
Kazakh ,Latvian ,Lithuanian ,Macedonian ,Malay ,Marathi ,Romanian
Serbian Cyrillic ,Serbian Latin ,Tamil ,Thai ,Ukrainian ,Vietnamese , Welsh
Based on Windows XP, Czech Edition = Slovak
Based on Windows TabletPC, English Edition = Spanish for TabletPC


http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/DrIntl/faqs/MUIFaq.mspx

What is Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI)?
Multilingual User Interface Pack is a set of language specific resource files that can be added to the English version of Windows Professional. When installed on the English version of Windows, MUI allows the user interface language of the operating system to be changed according to the preferences of individual users to one of the 33 supported languages.

How can I acquire Windows MUI?
The Windows XP/2000 MUI is sold only through Volume Licensing programs such as the Microsoft Open License Program (MOLP / Open), Select, and Enterprise agreement (or with a new computer as an OEM version at customer request). It is not available through retail channels.

Can MUI be installed on Windows XP Home edition?
No. MUI is a feature that is available only on the Professional edition of Windows XP.

Capt'n Midnight

Microsoft Product Solution Center
http://support.microsoft.com/select/?target=assistance

Includes free resources and paid for ones too
Desktops and Apps about €72 per incident
Server €299+VAT, out of hours €598 + VAT

Microsoft contact details
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

OEM contact details - most are UK numbers
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/oemphone