Top IT Professional Licensing FAQs – February 09
Q) Can I downgrade Microsoft Windows Vista Business or Ultimate purchased pre-installed on a new PC?
A) As an end user you have the right to downgrade as set out in your Software Licence Terms.
Example: You’re buying a new computer system and it needs to run the same operating system as your existing 10 systems — Windows XP Professional. Pre-installed Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate both include downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional.
You need to source your own media which should be a legally licensed version (bought as either boxed or pre-installed software, or through a Volume Licensing agreement). You don’t need to have one set of Windows XP Professional media for each PC you are downgrading because you have legitimate full operating system licences for Windows Vista Business/Ultimate, which gives you the right to downgrade. You can then run Windows XP Professional until you are ready to upgrade the system to Windows Vista Business/Ultimate—when you would already be licensed.
When you downgrade Windows Vista Business and Ultimate as set out in your Software Licence Terms and you use both Windows XP media and the associated product key that was previously activated you need to activate via the phone only, 0800 0188 354, Once confirmed that you have a valid Vista Business or Ultimate licence, the Customer Service Representative will help you activate your software.
Q) Can I use any version of Microsoft Office on my desktop if I am accessing Microsoft Office from a network device?
A) No. The edition of Microsoft Office that is installed on your desktop will need to be the same or higher than the version that is installed on the network. Please refer to the table in the appendix of the following document:
Licensing of Microsoft Desktop Application Software for Use with Windows Server Terminal Services
Q) Can I use Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008 CALs to access a Windows Small Business Server 2003 Server?
A) Yes. SBS 2008 CALs give you with the right to access SBS 2003.
For more information click here.
Q) Do I need to buy Microsoft® SQL Server™ when I buy Microsoft® System Center Essentials 2007?
A)No. Although System Center Essentials 2007 needs SQL Server 2005 SP1 or later to be able to support operational activities, it includes SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. For a larger deployment you might want to use SQL Server 2005 Standard. You have two choices:
· Buying SQL Server 2005 Standard separately
· Buying System Center Essentials 2007 with SQL Server 2005 Technology (this is a runtime version of SQL Server 2005 used only to support System Center Essentials 2007)
For more information click here.
Q) If I downgrade from Microsoft Windows Vista Business, purchased via Volume Licensing, can I install any prior version of Windows?
A)No. A Windows Vista Business upgrade licence can only be downgraded to the Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT® 4.0, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 98, or Windows 95 operating systems.
For more information click here.