To obtain a more favorable and expanded set of use rights than provided by oem licenses, including downgrade rights, many customers supplement their oem windows professional licenses with purchases made through volume licensing programs, the two most prominent being the windows professional upgrade license and software assurance sa. Downgrade rights for microsoft volume licensing, oem, and fpp. New pcs powered by windows 8 pro can be downgraded to older editions. Downgrade rights for microsoft volume licensing, oem, and. As we have said, we are currently in the development stages for windows 7 and expect it will take approximately 3 years from windows vista consumer ga to develop. See the full text of the oem license terms for the specific downgrade rights. Microsoft extends windows xp downgrade rights cnet. The redmond company is pouring a consistent amount of effort into convincing customers to upgrade from. Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new pcs and utilize end user downgrade rights to windows xp or windows vista until they are ready to use windows 7. Microsoft will allow users of windows 8 pro to downgrade their new pcs to windows 7 or even vista, according to the operating systems licensing agreement. Sep 10, 2012 to obtain a more favorable and expanded set of use rights than provided by oem licenses, including downgrade rights, many customers supplement their oem windows professional licenses with purchases made through volume licensing programs, the two most prominent being the windows professional upgrade license and software assurance sa. Windows 8 downgrade rights are covered in windows 8 will not include right to downgrade to xp on page 19 of the oct.
Oem downgrade rights apply to windows 8 pro and allow downgrading for up to two prior versions n2 to windows 7 professional or windows vista business. Downgrades are key to license compliance directions on. Heres a link to the licensing brief that talks about downgrade rights. Windows vista ultimate contains the complete featureset of both the home and business combination of both home premium and enterprise. Nov 04, 2016 i wanted to downgrade it to windows 7 pro.
Please refer to the oem license terms for complete details. Windows 7 will allow downgrade to vista or xp for a. Microsoft license downgrade rights why you need to know. Downgrade rights for microsoft commercial licensing, oem. Were not making any new announcements about windows 7 availability at this time. Downgrade rights can be broken out into two categories based on whether you have a volume license agreement with microsoft or not. Sorry, but windows xp downgrades wont be available through. Microsoft will allow downgrades from windows 8 to windows.
Software assurance benefits for windows include a core set of technologies, services, and use rights to help improve productivity, streamline software deployments, and reduce costs in a variety of ways. Downgrade rights for microsoft commercial licensing, oem, and. Oem downgrade rights apply to windows 8 pro only and allow downgrades up to 2 previous versions. Development was completed on november 8, 2006, and over the following three months, it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers and retail channels. Software assurance is only available through a microsoft volume licensing agreement. Microsoft will allow downgrades from windows 8 to windows 7. Not surprisingly, users may not downgrade to the stillusedbutslatedforretirement windows xp. The product was released to manufacturing on august 1, 2012, and generally to retail on october 26, 2012 windows 8 introduced major changes to the operating systems platform and. Downgrade rights for microsoft volume licensing, oem licentia. Customers will continue to be allowed to attach software assurance to new devices purchased before july 1, 2014. When i put in my windows vista cd, my computer is unable to get important updates and says i will be able to download the updates after the download. Apr 03, 20 if you installed windows 8 by purchasing and installing windows 8 system builder yourself, there are no downgrade rights. Versions, editions and downgrades key to microsoft licensing. The company had planned to end the option with the shipping of windows 7 service pack 1, which entered beta on monday.
Microsoft will allow downgrades from windows 8 to windows 7, vista. Downgrade rights will be critical to windows 8s acceptance in the enterprise, but if theyre exercised by consumers, its a sign microsofts newest os has pulled a vista, analysts said today. Windows 7 professional and windows 7 ultimate customers have downgrade rights to windows vista business, windows vista ultimate, or windows xp. It includes access to windows 8 enterprise, new version rights, flexible use rights, and a. Downgrade rights will be critical to windows 8 s acceptance in the enterprise, but if theyre exercised by consumers, its a sign microsofts newest os has pulled a vista, analysts said today. Downgrade rights if im not ready to upgrade but i buy new laptops with the latest os i. How do i downgrade from windows 8 or 10 to windows 7. For the windows 8 enterprise with sa volume you can downgrade all the way to windows 95. If you have a vl agreement enterprise agreement or a select agreement with software assurance on windows, your downgrade rights are practically limitless. You would not, however, be able to downgrade to windows vista home basic or. Windows 8 is an operating system and the successor to windows 7 2009, that was produced by microsoft in the united states and canada and being released as part of the windows nt family of operating systems. Volume licensing reference guide windows 8 and windows rt. If youve purchased a license with software assurance and you want to step up from, say.
This is also true if you upgrade to windows 8 pro on a pc that was sold to you with the downgrade preinstalled. How the new windows 8 license terms affect you zdnet. Oem downgrade rights will be available for 6 months post windows 7 general availability aka launch. Downgrade rights in commercial licensing agreements provide you with the right to downgrade to any prior version of the same product.
Windows xp downgrade licensing the realm of the verbal. Customers that acquire rights to mui on their new windows vista pcs through windows vista enterprise in software assurance are permitted to use prior mui versions of the windows operating system. It is important, though, to read through the eula or oem license terms document that ships with the product to understand the specific downgrade rights offered. Volume license customers who purchase software assurance contracts from microsoft will continue to have downgrade rights on systems they purchase that. With the release of windows 8, microsoft is offering a simple upgrade license, a departure from the. Because the multilingual user interface mui is included with windows 8. For those who totally fed up with windows vista and just want windows xp, or prefer a clean installation of os has only this option to rely on. Windows 8 enterprise which comes with software assurance may be downgraded to windows 7. How to downgrade windows vista to windows xp tech journey. Licenses bought through fpp and oem can be activated via the internet or. Oct 16, 2007 according to ms vista downgrade rights, downgrade rights are an enduser right and are documented in the product license terms or enduser license agreement eula and refer to the ability of your customers to acquire the most recent version of microsofta operating system software but continue to run a previous version until they are ready. Assurance, are allowed to downgrade from any version of windows to any.
Software assurance sa through volume licensing provides the greatest downgrade rights, allowing for downgrades to additional prior versions and editions, including notably, windows 7. Downgrade rights for windows 10 licensing howto windows. The downgrade rights from windows vista to windows xp are a hot subject over at microsoft. Jul 12, 2010 microsoft extends windows xp downgrade rights. Microsoft will allow users of windows 8 pro to downgrade their new pcs to.
Only the professional versions of windows desktop operating systems include downgrade rights, and the easy rule of thumb is that they can be downgraded to the pro version of the previous two major releases. As it appears now based on the mga results windows xp was installed with a now geo blocked vlk. Software assurance provides access to enterprise offerings and unique use rights to extend the windows experience across your organization. This is governed by the personaluse microsoft software license terms for the product. Otherwise, the right to use windows vista ultimate expires upon the expiration of rights under the windows license for which software assurance coverage was acquired. Sep 03, 2012 microsoft will allow users of windows 8 pro to downgrade their new pcs to windows 7 or even vista, according to the operating systems licensing agreement. The oem end user license agreement for windows vista business eulaid. What versions are eligible to use downgrade rights, and what versions can they downgrade to. Downgrade to vista from windows 7 hello, i am trying downgrade from windows 7 to windows vista. With windows software assurance per user licensing, all of the users devices receive the same downgrade rights as they would if they were covered by windows software assurance per device.
An understanding of both your microsoft windows downgrade rights. Steps for an end user to downgrade windows software. Jun 21, 2007 the downgrade rights from windows vista to windows xp are a hot subject over at microsoft. Vista downgrade rights are inherent with microsofts software assurance license, as well as with the licenses for the operating system distributed by original equipment manufacturers. Oem downgrade rights apply to only windows 8 pro and allow for downgrades for up to two earlier versions to windows 7 professional and to windows vista business. I recognize win 8 let people downgrade, but it didnt sound like a seamless thing to do and its not a guarantee in future versions. New benefits are provided for devices covered by software assurance for windows embedded 8. For devices that do not qualify for windows software assurance such as thin clients, you can access windows software assurance benefits by purchasing the windows vda subscription. Windows vista business is specifically designed for small and mediumsized enterprises, while windows vista enterprise is only available to customers participating in microsofts software assurance program. Oem downgrade rights will be available for 6 months post windows 7 general availability aka launch were not making any new announcements about windows 7 availability at this time. Sorry, but windows xp downgrades wont be available. The license agreement is simple and no different to the previous downgrade rights you have. Downgrade rights in volume licensing agreements provide you with the right to downgrade to any prior version of the same product.
Window 7 8 pro enterprise 32bit 64bit software assurance. Rights to server software are granted in the oem license. Next, when it asks what kind of installation i want. Windows 7 will allow downgrade to vista or xp for a limited. This means windows 7 professional or vista business are allowed, but not xp professional. This microsoft volume licensing brief is provided for general informational purposes only. Windows 7 will allow downgrade to vista or xp for a limited time. Windows downgrade rights frequently asked questions. Version downgrade rights across most of microsoft products are discussed in the downgrade rights for microsoft volume licensing, oem, and fullpackage product licenses licensing brief at. The server products after 2003 typically do include downgrade rights, and the windows operating systems from windows vista through windows 10 professional do include downgrade rights. Jun 08, 2016 only the professional versions of windows desktop operating systems include downgrade rights, and the easy rule of thumb is that they can be downgraded to the pro version of the previous two major releases. How to downgrade your pc your oem will have the best information about how to downgrade your specific pc and in some cases may decide to send you installation media or a pc that has the operating system downgrade already installed. Software assurance customers with a perpetual license for windows vista business, will have a perpetual right to use windows vista ultimate on the sa covered device.
To downgrade to windows xp from windows vista, you have to basically delete the whole hard disk that installed with windows vista, and start anew with windows xp. Windows 8 will not include right to downgrade to xp. Downgrade rights are documented in the microsoft software license terms that customers accept upon first running windows and windows server software. Adding software assurance software assurance sa can be added to windows 8. Downgrade rights are granted for any license enrolled in. Windows 8 pro, windows 7 professional, windows 7 ultimate, windows vista business, and windows vista ultimate operating systems grant downgrade rights. Apr 03, 20 note if you want to upgrade back to windows 8 pro later and want full windows 8 pro functionalities, you must change the bios setting back to native uefi mode before you install windows 8 pro. If you want to downgrade to windows xp then you would have to add software assurance to the new windows 8 pro machines within 90 days to gain the volume licensings unlimited downgrade rights, he. Downgrades are key to microsoft license compliance directions.
Volume licensing reference guide for windows 8 and windows rt june 20 2 software assurance sa for windows software assurance provides the greatest flexibility how you use windows. Instead of using the software, you may use one of the following earlier versions microsoft windows xp. Microsoft license downgrade rights why you need to know them. Each edition of windows 8 includes all of the capabilities and features of the edition below it, and add additional features oriented. Mar 30, 2018 the server products after 2003 typically do include downgrade rights, and the windows operating systems from windows vista through windows 10 professional do include downgrade rights. Sa is an addon to perpetual licenses that offers version upgrade rights. Microsoft announced today about windows 7 downgrade rights.
My reason of downgrade is not due to the interface but because of certain programming software that i am using had yet to upgrade to windows 8. Perform the downgrade process to the eligible downgrade product using the mediakey from a genuine, previously licensed oem or retail product. Oem versions of microsoft windows licenses do grant downgrade rights. So for example, windows 10 pro can downgrade to windows 8. You may downgrade windows 10 enterprise to windows 8 8. Licenses enrolled in software assurance downgrade rights are granted in connection with all applications software licenses acquired through volume licensing, fpp, and oem and enrolled in software assurance coverage. When you purchase a windows 10 enterprise upgrade license through volume licensing, you can also acquire software assurance for that license.
Mar 14, 2017 downgrade rights are documented in the microsoft software license terms that customers accept upon first running windows and windows server software. Without software assurance coverage, vl has downgrade rights to prior versions of windows with the exception of enterprise. Thanks to downgrade rights, end users who have acquired a later version of the software such as windows 10 pro or windows server 2012 r2 standard can use an earlier version of the software until. Windows vista is an operating system that was produced by microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet pcs and media center pcs.
Software assurance through vl volume licensing provides the greatest flexibility, allowing for downgrades to all prior versions and editions besides windows 7 ultimate and vista ultimate editions. An understanding of both your microsoft windows downgrade. This article deals with microsofts position on downgrade rights for valid microsoft. Mui is only available for windows 7 in the windows 7 enterprise edition, which requires software assurance. Aug 23, 2007 vista downgrade rights are inherent with microsofts software assurance license, as well as with the licenses for the operating system distributed by original equipment manufacturers. Windows 8 is available in three different editions, of which the lowest version, branded simply as windows 8, and windows 8 pro, were sold at retail in most countries, and as preloaded software on new computers. Microsoft license downgrade rights software license audit. Downgrading from windows 10 professional to windows 8 enterprise is not an. We license our users with windows software assurance per user, do windows downgrade rights extend to all of the licensed users devices. Dec 20, 2012 oem downgrade rights apply to windows 8 pro only and allow downgrades up to 2 previous versions. You also have rights all the way back to windows 9598nt.
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