Microsoft Licencing policy for Win XP 64 Bit OEM pack

This is old but still a valid question. Carey's answer below only needs a
bit of modification:

1. The Product Key for the 64-bit version of Windows XP
is only valid with the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
It cannot be used to install a 32-bit version of Windows XP.
If one wishes to "downgrade" to a 32-bit version, then
he'll need to purchase a "Full Version" of the 32-bit version
of Windows XP and perform a "clean install".

Note: Not exactly. No purchase is necessary for a downgrade. You can call
Microsoft licensing at 888-352-7140, give them the 64-bit key and they will
in turn give you a 32-bit key because you are downgrading. You will need the
media to complete your install.


2. The Product Key for the 32-bit version of Windows XP
is only valid with the 32-bit version of Windows XP.
It cannot be used to install a 64-bit version of Windows XP.

Note: This is true the way it is stated. Neither key is valid for the other
operating system. The correct answer is, you can “downgrade” as in number 1,
but you cannot “upgrade” from 32-bit to 64-bit by calling in.

John Thompson
Microsoft Partner

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com

"Satyajit Roy" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Can anyone help me to understand the exact licencing policy for MS XP Pro 64
> bit OS OEM Pack in the below scenario.
>
> 1. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 64Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for downgrading
> the same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 32 bit and load the same?
>
> 2. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 32Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for upgrading the
> same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 64 bit and load the same?
> --
> Regards,
> Satyajit

Are you able to obtain the downgrade key from Microsoft for an OEM version? .
Regards,
chris

"JOWATH" wrote:

> This is old but still a valid question. Carey's answer below only needs a
> bit of modification:
>
> 1. The Product Key for the 64-bit version of Windows XP
> is only valid with the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
> It cannot be used to install a 32-bit version of Windows XP.
> If one wishes to "downgrade" to a 32-bit version, then
> he'll need to purchase a "Full Version" of the 32-bit version
> of Windows XP and perform a "clean install".
>
> Note: Not exactly. No purchase is necessary for a downgrade. You can call
> Microsoft licensing at 888-352-7140, give them the 64-bit key and they will
> in turn give you a 32-bit key because you are downgrading. You will need the
> media to complete your install.
>
>
> 2. The Product Key for the 32-bit version of Windows XP
> is only valid with the 32-bit version of Windows XP.
> It cannot be used to install a 64-bit version of Windows XP.
>
> Note: This is true the way it is stated. Neither key is valid for the other
> operating system. The correct answer is, you can “downgrade” as in number 1,
> but you cannot “upgrade” from 32-bit to 64-bit by calling in.
>
> John Thompson
> Microsoft Partner
>
> --
> Carey Frisch
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows - Shell/User
> Microsoft Community Newsgroups
> news://msnews.microsoft.com
>
> "Satyajit Roy" wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Can anyone help me to understand the exact licencing policy for MS XP Pro 64
> > bit OS OEM Pack in the below scenario.
> >
> > 1. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 64Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for downgrading
> > the same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 32 bit and load the same?
> >
> > 2. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 32Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for upgrading the
> > same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 64 bit and load the same?
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Satyajit

Greeting,
First of all I know that I dug up an old question however it is a valid one
in my situation.

My Question: Can you still contact Microsoft to legally downgrade an XP
64bit Pro license key to a 32bit XP Pro? I seem to be unable to find anything
about it on the microsoft websites, except for this forum thread.
Is there a difference between the licensing policy for the U.S.A. compare to
Europe (Belgium)?

I'd appreciate any input!

A bit of background:
I bought 2 Windows XP 64bit Pro licenses, when they first came out, at that
moment it looked to me as a wise decision together with 2 workstation with
Pentium D (first dual cpu/cores I believe). However some software especially
designed for the branch I work in doesn't work with the 64bit version, not
even in compatibility mode, and as it turns out few years later it never
will.

I focused these programs on one machine with normal XP professional however
due to company expansion, I need to install them on other pc's as well, and
as I payed for the 64bit licenses I don't want to waste them.

Kind Regards,
Wim Lenaerts

"Chris" wrote:

> Are you able to obtain the downgrade key from Microsoft for an OEM version? .
> Regards,
> chris
>
> "JOWATH" wrote:
>
> > This is old but still a valid question. Carey's answer below only needs a
> > bit of modification:
> >
> > 1. The Product Key for the 64-bit version of Windows XP
> > is only valid with the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
> > It cannot be used to install a 32-bit version of Windows XP.
> > If one wishes to "downgrade" to a 32-bit version, then
> > he'll need to purchase a "Full Version" of the 32-bit version
> > of Windows XP and perform a "clean install".
> >
> > Note: Not exactly. No purchase is necessary for a downgrade. You can call
> > Microsoft licensing at 888-352-7140, give them the 64-bit key and they will
> > in turn give you a 32-bit key because you are downgrading. You will need the
> > media to complete your install.
> >
> >
> > 2. The Product Key for the 32-bit version of Windows XP
> > is only valid with the 32-bit version of Windows XP.
> > It cannot be used to install a 64-bit version of Windows XP.
> >
> > Note: This is true the way it is stated. Neither key is valid for the other
> > operating system. The correct answer is, you can “downgrade” as in number 1,
> > but you cannot “upgrade” from 32-bit to 64-bit by calling in.
> >
> > John Thompson
> > Microsoft Partner
> >
> > --
> > Carey Frisch
> > Microsoft MVP
> > Windows - Shell/User
> > Microsoft Community Newsgroups
> > news://msnews.microsoft.com
> >
> > "Satyajit Roy" wrote:
> >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Can anyone help me to understand the exact licencing policy for MS XP Pro 64
> > > bit OS OEM Pack in the below scenario.
> > >
> > > 1. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 64Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> > > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for downgrading
> > > the same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 32 bit and load the same?
> > >
> > > 2. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 32Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> > > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for upgrading the
> > > same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 64 bit and load the same?
> > > --
> > > Regards,
> > > Satyajit

For that you would need to contact your local MS

"NotaBene" <NotaBene.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4592D530-92DF-4D67-8853-D359B79C20B8@microsoft.com...
> Greeting,
> First of all I know that I dug up an old question however it is a valid
> one
> in my situation.
>
> My Question: Can you still contact Microsoft to legally downgrade an XP
> 64bit Pro license key to a 32bit XP Pro? I seem to be unable to find
> anything
> about it on the microsoft websites, except for this forum thread.
> Is there a difference between the licensing policy for the U.S.A. compare
> to
> Europe (Belgium)?
>
> I'd appreciate any input!
>
> A bit of background:
> I bought 2 Windows XP 64bit Pro licenses, when they first came out, at
> that
> moment it looked to me as a wise decision together with 2 workstation with
> Pentium D (first dual cpu/cores I believe). However some software
> especially
> designed for the branch I work in doesn't work with the 64bit version, not
> even in compatibility mode, and as it turns out few years later it never
> will.
>
> I focused these programs on one machine with normal XP professional
> however
> due to company expansion, I need to install them on other pc's as well,
> and
> as I payed for the 64bit licenses I don't want to waste them.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Wim Lenaerts
>
> "Chris" wrote:
>
>> Are you able to obtain the downgrade key from Microsoft for an OEM
>> version? .
>> Regards,
>> chris
>>
>> "JOWATH" wrote:
>>
>> > This is old but still a valid question. Carey's answer below only
>> > needs a
>> > bit of modification:
>> >
>> > 1. The Product Key for the 64-bit version of Windows XP
>> > is only valid with the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
>> > It cannot be used to install a 32-bit version of Windows XP.
>> > If one wishes to "downgrade" to a 32-bit version, then
>> > he'll need to purchase a "Full Version" of the 32-bit version
>> > of Windows XP and perform a "clean install".
>> >
>> > Note: Not exactly. No purchase is necessary for a downgrade. You can
>> > call
>> > Microsoft licensing at 888-352-7140, give them the 64-bit key and they
>> > will
>> > in turn give you a 32-bit key because you are downgrading. You will
>> > need the
>> > media to complete your install.
>> >
>> >
>> > 2. The Product Key for the 32-bit version of Windows XP
>> > is only valid with the 32-bit version of Windows XP.
>> > It cannot be used to install a 64-bit version of Windows XP.
>> >
>> > Note: This is true the way it is stated. Neither key is valid for the
>> > other
>> > operating system. The correct answer is, you can "downgrade" as in
>> > number 1,
>> > but you cannot "upgrade" from 32-bit to 64-bit by calling in.
>> >
>> > John Thompson
>> > Microsoft Partner
>> >
>> > --
>> > Carey Frisch
>> > Microsoft MVP
>> > Windows - Shell/User
>> > Microsoft Community Newsgroups
>> > news://msnews.microsoft.com
>> >
>> > "Satyajit Roy" wrote:
>> >
>> > > Hi,
>> > >
>> > > Can anyone help me to understand the exact licencing policy for MS XP
>> > > Pro 64
>> > > bit OS OEM Pack in the below scenario.
>> > >
>> > > 1. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 64Bit OS OEM Pack
>> > > preloaded(Factory
>> > > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for
>> > > downgrading
>> > > the same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 32 bit and load
>> > > the same?
>> > >
>> > > 2. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 32Bit OS OEM Pack
>> > > preloaded(Factory
>> > > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for
>> > > upgrading the
>> > > same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 64 bit and load the
>> > > same?
>> > > --
>> > > Regards,
>> > > Satyajit

This information is a complete LIE. The number he gives for "Microsoft
Licensing" is only the product activation number. I tried this and they
refered me to a different number, they took my key and made me totally read
them this amazingly long URL to this post. They called the number themselves
and totally researched it out. After 60 minutes on the phone the eventually
made an exemption and gave me the key as it says in the post above, however
they said that it is NOT true and they will not do it again.

So to sum up, you CANNOT downgrade from 64bit XP to 32-bit, you must buy it
again.

"JOWATH" wrote:

> This is old but still a valid question. Carey's answer below only needs a
> bit of modification:
>
> 1. The Product Key for the 64-bit version of Windows XP
> is only valid with the 64-bit version of Windows XP.
> It cannot be used to install a 32-bit version of Windows XP.
> If one wishes to "downgrade" to a 32-bit version, then
> he'll need to purchase a "Full Version" of the 32-bit version
> of Windows XP and perform a "clean install".
>
> Note: Not exactly. No purchase is necessary for a downgrade. You can call
> Microsoft licensing at 888-352-7140, give them the 64-bit key and they will
> in turn give you a 32-bit key because you are downgrading. You will need the
> media to complete your install.
>
>
> 2. The Product Key for the 32-bit version of Windows XP
> is only valid with the 32-bit version of Windows XP.
> It cannot be used to install a 64-bit version of Windows XP.
>
> Note: This is true the way it is stated. Neither key is valid for the other
> operating system. The correct answer is, you can “downgrade” as in number 1,
> but you cannot “upgrade” from 32-bit to 64-bit by calling in.
>
> John Thompson
> Microsoft Partner
>
> --
> Carey Frisch
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows - Shell/User
> Microsoft Community Newsgroups
> news://msnews.microsoft.com
>
> "Satyajit Roy" wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Can anyone help me to understand the exact licencing policy for MS XP Pro 64
> > bit OS OEM Pack in the below scenario.
> >
> > 1. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 64Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for downgrading
> > the same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 32 bit and load the same?
> >
> > 2. If the user is buying Win Xp Pro 32Bit OS OEM Pack preloaded(Factory
> > installed) in the system, what will be the licencing policy for upgrading the
> > same to 32Bit ? Can the customer buy media for 64 bit and load the same?
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Satyajit