Special Promo

Buy a Northern Micro PC, get the OS you need now and the license you’ll need later.

Save the cost of upgrading from Windows XP Pro to Windows Vista!  That’s right.  Upgrading to Vista (when you are ready) will cost you ZERO dollars on your Northern Micro PCs.  Why? You wonder?  Because Northern Micro takes the initiative to inform you about the Microsoft Downgrade Rights licensing option and Northern Micro, as a Canadian based Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is better equipped to adapt to opportunities affecting its enterprise level customers.

The Downgrade Rights is the right granted by Microsoft to sell the latest license (i.e. Windows Vista Business) with the purchase of a new PC and to ship the PC with the previous version of the Operating System (in this case, XP Pro).  Northern Micro has been doing this with its enterprise level customers for years (with XP Pro and a downgrade right to Windows 2000).  We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and Northern Micro are continuing this great option with Windows Vista Business and XP Pro.

If you have any questions about this great value offered by Microsoft and Northern Micro, please don’t hesitate to call your sales representative.  If you don’t know who that is, please contact us at sales@nmicro.ca, or info@nmicro.ca. 

This sounds too good to be true?  Don’t take our word for it.  Check out the details on Microsoft’s own web site (or go to the Microsoft download center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Search.aspx?displaylang=en and search for the phrase “Downgrade Rights”).  The same document is also included below for your convenience:

Federal customers, if your purchasing authorities still have questions, please put them in touch with us and we can arrange for them to communicate with the authorities at PWGSC. PWGSC resources can also be found at the Computer Acquisition Guide (CAG) and the Software Acquisition Resource Centre

This initiative is another good example of how Northern Micro, through its innovation and flexibility is able to save you money.  Take advantage of this initiative.

Brief
Microsoft Select License, Open License, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) License, and Full-Packaged Product (FPP) License Downgrade Rights

December 2006

Corporate Government and Academic • Select License • Open Business, Value, and Volume Licenses • Enterprise Agreement (EA) • Campus Agreement • All Academic Programs

Downgrade rights grant the right to use prior versions of Microsoft software. Microsoft Volume Licensing programs include specific downgrade rights. The chart below compares volume licensing downgrade rights with those provided under OEM and FPP licenses.

Downgrade Rights for Software Acquired Through Select License, Open License, OEM, and FPP, by Product Pool

Note: The information above contains the downgrade rights for the most commonly acquired systems License Terms. For downgrade provisions for other systems licenses, please consult the License Terms for the software in question.

Q&A

Q. I have Microsoft Office XP, but only Microsoft Office 2003 Edition licenses are on the price list. My business currently has machines that have Office XP installed. What license do I need to buy to be able to run Office XP on new machines I will be purchasing?

A. If you buy the Microsoft Office 2003 Edition license through a Microsoft Volume Licensing program, you may use any prior version of the software in place of the version you order, including Office XP.

Q. We are currently using Microsoft SQL Server 7.0. We need to allow Internet access to our Microsoft SQL Server computer, and the Microsoft SQL Internet Connector is no longer available. What do we do?

A. Acquire SQL Server 2000 per-processor license(s) for the server machine that will be accessed over the Internet. When you do that, you are governed by the applicable Product Use Rights for that product. These use rights will continue to be applicable to your use, even if you choose to downgrade to a previous version of Microsoft SQL Server. What this means for you is that the rights associated with the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 per-processor license that allow anyone, from anywhere, at any time, to access your Microsoft SQL Server data on that server would still be applicable even if you are using downgraded SQL Server 7.0 software bits on the server machine. Even though this option did not exist with SQL Server 7.0, by licensing the current product and using the current Product Use Rights and the applicable downgrade rights, you can run SQL Server 7.0 in this manner. This holds true for any new product acquired under the current Product Use Rights and downgrade rights associated with Microsoft Volume License agreements.

Q. Can I downgrade my OEM version of Microsoft Windows Vista Business to Windows XP Professional?

A. Yes. OEM Downgrade Rights for desktop operating systems apply to Windows Vista Business & Vista Ultimate as stated in the License Terms.  Please note, OEM downgrade versions of Windows Vista Business and Vista Ultimate are limited to Microsoft Windows XP Professional (including Tablet PC Edition & x64 Edition).  End users can use the following media for their downgrade: Volume Licensing media (provided the end user has a Volume Licensing agreement), Retail (FPP), or System Builder hologram CD (provided the software is acquired in accordance with the Microsoft OEM System Builder License). Use of the downgraded operating system is governed by the Windows Vista Business License Terms, and the end user cannot use both the downgrade operating system and Windows Vista Business.  There are no downgrade rights granted for Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium.

Q. If I have Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003, what can I downgrade to?

A. Downgrade rights in the Volume Licensing programs provide customers with the right to downgrade to any prior version of the same product. Therefore, Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise 2003 can be downgraded to the Microsoft Office XP, 2000, 97, 95, or 4.3 versions. You would not, however, be able to downgrade to Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003 as that is a different product and not considered a previous version of Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003.

Q. Which editions of Microsoft Office 2007 suites are eligible to downgrade to Office 2003 suites?

A.  Customers who have licensed Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 are eligible to downgrade to Office Professional Enterprise 2003 and all previous versions as described above.  Customers who have licensed Microsoft Office Standard 2007 are eligible to downgrade to Office Standard Edition 2003 and all previous versions of Office Standard Edition. 

Q. Office Enterprise 2007 contains several additional components that were not available in any Office 2003 suite.  If I have a license for Office Enterprise 2007, then what can I downgrade to?

A.  Customers who are licensed for Office Enterprise 2007 can downgrade to Office Professional Plus 2003 + Office OneNote 2003.  Additionally, Office Enterprise 2007 licensees who had licensed Groove 3.1 and held Groove maintenance that was active on July 1, 2006, may also use Groove 3.1 as a downgraded component.  Customers choosing to downgrade and use these components must use them on the same device in the same manner they would use the components in the version of the suite for which they acquired a license.

Q.  If I have Microsoft Vista Enterprise , what can I downgrade to?

A.  Downgrade rights in the Volume Licensing programs provide customers with the right to downgrade to any prior version of the same product.  Microsoft Vista Enterprise is a new type of product and does not have a prior version.  However, customers licensed for use of Windows Vista Enterprise are licensed for Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Business can be downgraded to the Microsoft Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000 Pro, Windows NT 4.0 or 3.51, Windows 98, or Windows 95 versions.  You would not, however, be able to downgrade to Microsoft Home Basic or Home Premium, Microsoft XP Home Edition, or Microsoft Millennium as that is a different product and not considered a previous version of Microsoft Vista Business.

Q. Since I can no longer purchase MUI for Windows outside of Software Assurance, can I downgrade and use MUI versions of the Windows operating system under my Vista Business Software Assurance if I downgrade my PC to XP Pro?

A.  Yes, customers that acquire rights to MUI on their new Vista PCs through Vista Enterprise in Software Assurance are permitted to use prior MUI-version of the Windows operating system.

Note: This Microsoft Volume Licensing Brief is provided for general informational purposes only. For the terms and conditions governing your use of Microsoft software, please refer to the applicable license agreement.

Copyright © 2005 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.  Microsoft, and other Microsoft products are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.