  Access to Prior Product Versions – September 2012 Update -
Customers who have licensed software through a Microsoft Volume Licensing program are eligible to use prior versions of the software edition they have licensed. This is known as a "downgrade right." More information is provided in a Volume Licensing brief entitled, Downgrade Rights, as well as in the Product Use Rights and Product List documents. -
If you have legally-obtained physical media (CD/DVD) of older licensed Microsoft products which your organization is currently licensed to use through downgrade rights, you may use these prior software versions at your discretion. -
In general, the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) provides download access only to the current (N) and the last version (N-1) of products. Note: In addition to VLSC download software access, Volume Licensing customers can order physical media (CD/DVD) copies of their licensed software through VLSC. -
With the release of new product versions previously available products are removed from VLSC as they become N-2 versions. Support for physical media purchases of these N-2 products through Microsoft also ends at this time. -
As of December 2012, a limited set of N-2 and N-3 prior product versions remain available for download through VLSC: Note: In the event that Product Keys for N-2 versions that are listed above are not available from VLSC, please contact a Microsoft Product Activation Center. -
If your organization continues to require access to specific prior version products, we recommend you first contact your Microsoft reseller to determine if they have still have media inventory. If you have received past shipments of physical Volume Licensing media (comprehensive or subscription kits) or have purchased physical CD/DVD media, you may continue to use these discs to install prior version products that are no longer available from VLSC. Product Availability Information Microsoft releases new products and product updates for Volume Licensing customers each month. To find out what is newly available, view the following documents: Download Fulfillment for New Volume Licensing Customers Effective December 2010 Effective December 2010, new Open Value, Open Value Subscription, Campus Agreement, and School Agreement customers are provided download delivery subscription fulfillment by default. This change for new Enterprise Agreement and Select Agreement customers took effect in October 2010. Customers who wish to receive physical subscription media must submit a physical media request form through their channel partners. How to Get Updates for Microsoft Products For Volume Licensing customers, the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) is your key resource to manage your software licenses and access licensed software from Microsoft. For those customers unable to take advantage of downloading from VLSC, due to internet access limitations, regulatory policies, or other factors, Microsoft continues to support physical media shipments (CD/DVDs) as required. Product updates are available as follows: -
By Download: To download products from the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) site, sign in to VLSC, and then click Downloads. Note: To access VLSC, you must be a registered user on the site and have access to agreement data. If you need assistance accessing the site, visit the Help section to contact the Microsoft Support Center. -
As Software Product Disk Kits: Disk kits (CDs or DVDs) can be purchased from your Microsoft reseller. For more information: Microsoft Customer License Verification for Upgrade Installation Services for Microsoft Windows Operating System Software by Third Parties   | |
|