[randyvlewis]

I'm wondering about the legality of installing software on a Vista and XP dual boot system. I have Office 2007 ultimate on the way, and I'm currently putting together a system that I plan on making dual boot. What I'm not sure about is if it's legal to have Office installed on both parts of the dual boot? Since they would be on one hard drive, and I would only be able to access one of them at a time (hense it'd be impossible to use both at once). But, even with them being on the same hard drive and in the same computer, would having Office installed on both portions violate copyright and fair use laws and regulations? I'd appreciate any help.

[AuroraDizon]

I'm not sure, but I installed Office and registered the serial numbers on 2 different computers and it worked. The one I had was 2005 I think it had 5 comupters you could put it on, I'm not really sure though. There are other applications you can use such asOpen Office incase you can't use Office on both.

[techie4fun]

I won't be able to answer your question about legal terms but I may be able to suggest a few things about product activation which I believe Microsoft has enforced. If that be the case and you are running Office 2007, the activation on the internet may be required to fully use the product. I don't know if you would be able to use Office on 2 different active running platforms at the same time due to 1 license running on 2 machines.

[D2TDragon]

Office 2007 shouldnt be that much different from office 2003, or any other version that requires activation. You can install a single copy on two machines, and they will both validate. Thier licencing allow installationon a backup system, so you should have no problem installing on both OS platforms.

[smax013]

randyvlewis said:

I'm wondering about the legality of installing software on a Vista and XP dual boot system. I have Office 2007 ultimate on the way, and I'm currently putting together a system that I plan on making dual boot. What I'm not sure about is if it's legal to have Office installed on both parts of the dual boot? Since they would be on one hard drive, and I would only be able to access one of them at a time (hense it'd be impossible to use both at once). But, even with them being on the same hard drive and in the same computer, would having Office installed on both portions violate copyright and fair use laws and regulations? I'd appreciate any help.

As I see it, there are two issues...the actual legality and the practicality/ability (whether legal or not).



In terms of the legality, from a technical point of view, it will largely depend on the wording of the license. Some licenses only permit installation on one computer, period. Other licenses permit installation on as many computers as you want as long as you are only actively using it on one computer at a time. Some licenses permit you to install it on a primary computer and also on a "backup" computer. Technically, you could argue that you would not be violating any of those licenses terms. In terms of the installation on only one computer, as you noted, you are only installing in one computer and you phyically/actually cannot use both installations at the same time. Some would argue, however, that in such a case you are violating the license. Personally, I believe that your type of installtion is not violating a license or even the intent behind a license, but I will not advice you to do. That is purely a choice that only you can make as there is a slight change Micro$oft could construe it as a license violation and go after you (generally, it is much less likely for an individual...companies on the other hand need to be VERY careful with license stuff).



As to the practicality side of things, as others have pointed out, there is the issue of activation. You might face some challenges of actually installing and activating it twice. For the installation on the second partition, you might conceivably have to call in to "manually" activate it...which require some sort of explanation of why you need it.