# Solved: OEM Vista On Parallels/Mac



## ferrija1 (Apr 11, 2006)

Hello,

I'm probably going to get my first Mac in a couple of weeks, a MacBook Pro )) , and I have a question about Windows on a Mac via Parallels or Boot Camp. I heard somewhere that OEM versions of Vista or XP do not work on Parallels or Boot Camp, I don't believe it (since there is nothing different with the discs) but I just wanted to double check.

Another question, I just read that only Vista Ultimate is legal to use on the Mac (at least for retail versions), does this apply to OEM versions of Vista?


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## ThreeDee912 (Feb 11, 2006)

It's only illegal to virtualize, what Parallels does. Running Vista in Boot Camp is not virtualization, and is legal to do.

I don't think the license agreement for the OEM versions of Vista are different, but I could be wrong.


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

All the answers shall be found in the EULA.

As far as Parallels goes, if one places a call to Microsoft, explains what one is doing, and that, though two initializations will technically take place it's all on one machine, they will provide the necessary approval to verify both copies. Assuming the original installation (via Boot Camp) is legitimate, that is. Again, for this, consult the EULA.


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## ferrija1 (Apr 11, 2006)

VegasACF said:


> All the answers shall be found in the EULA.
> 
> As far as Parallels goes, if one places a call to Microsoft, explains what one is doing, and that, though two initializations will technically take place it's all on one machine, they will provide the necessary approval to verify both copies. Assuming the original installation (via Boot Camp) is legitimate, that is. Again, for this, consult the EULA.


EULA, sounds like fun.....   :down:

I think you got the impression that I was going to use both Parallels and Boot Camp. I am just going to use one of them.


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## ferrija1 (Apr 11, 2006)

Ok, I found the EULAs after 10 minutes and it look like only Vista Ultimate can be virtualized and the XP EULA says nothing about virtualization.

So it looks like I can run either XP or Vista Ultimate on Parallels and anything on Boot Camp, since it is essentially dual booting.

Thanks for all your help. :up: Solved.


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

ferrija1 said:


> EULA, sounds like fun.....   :down:
> 
> I think you got the impression that I was going to use both Parallels and Boot Camp. I am just going to use one of them.


Why? Get the best of all three worlds. That's what I'm doing. Microsoft had no problem with giving me the code necessary to validate my copy of Windows XP for use with both native booting and Parallels.

You'll find that if you intend to do any Windows-based gaming you're going to want to use the Boot Camp method to natively boot into Windows. Parallels doesn't allow for 3D graphics acceleration.


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## ferrija1 (Apr 11, 2006)

VegasACF said:


> Why? Get the best of all three worlds. That's what I'm doing. Microsoft had no problem with giving me the code necessary to validate my copy of Windows XP for use with both native booting and Parallels.


Ok, good idea, Boot Camp for performance and Parallels for convenience.

Did you call them to validate XP on both?


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

Yes. Just explain to the person on the other end of the phone (and likely on the other end of the world) that you're using it with Boot Camp and Parallels and they'll give you the code to enter to validate both copies. 

Well, one copy will be self-validating (whichever one you use first). The other will ask you if you want to validate. It's been a while since I did it, but seems like the other will ask you if you want to validate online or on the phone. Select the phone option. It will give you a keycode that you read to the person on the other end of the phone/world, and that person will give you a proper response to enter to validate the installation.

The reason this is okay is that it's still the same installation on the same computer. It's just being accessed in two different ways.


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## ferrija1 (Apr 11, 2006)

Ok, thanks.


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