Want to know what your Windows EULA looks like? Windows XP‘s EULA is stored in a file located here:

C:\Windows\System32\eula.txt

XP also has a help file associated with the EULA. The help file is located at:

C:\Windows\Help\license.chm

In Vista and Windows 7, one version of the EULA is stored in the following location:

C:\Windows\System32\license.rtf

But Vista and Win7 also store other EULAs on the system. For example, Win7‘s license library for the US-English version of the software is at this location:

C:\Windows\System32\en-US\Licenses

In fact, my test PC has 54 separate Win7 EULAs in that folder!

The date stamp on the EULA file in the machine’s System32 folder shows the file was updated the day you installed Windows. Most likely, the Windows installer grabbed the appropriate EULA, displayed that version on the “I agree” screen, and then saved that specific EULA in your PC’s System32 folder.

That may prove to Microsoft that you saw and agreed to the EULA. But what if the file has been changed?

Microsoft’s site is a grand repository of EULAs. But those versions of the licenses vary significantly from the EULAs stored on the hard disks of the PCs I tested.

To test this for yourself, hop over to Microsoft’s End User License Terms download page, choose your product, and compare the EULA stored on your PC with the latest corresponding version online.

Microsoft’s EULA-download site, however, doesn’t actually offer all Windows EULAs. For example, the original Windows XP Retail EULA isn’t there. To find it, you must visit a different page on Microsoft’s site.

Sound confusing? It is. Years ago, I installed a copy of Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 on a laptop that was subsequently upgraded to SP2 and then SP3. The EULA stored on the machine has the following line at the bottom of the document:

EULAID:XPSP1_RM.1_PRO_RTL_EN

Presumably, this translates to XP SP1 Revision 1 Professional Retail English. But when I go to the EULA download site, there’s no XP SP1 Professional Retail option. I can get the EULA for XP SP1 Professional OEM version or the original XP Professional Retail version, but those EULAs are significantly different from the license stored on my laptop.

Is Microsoft trying to hide something? That’s hard to say, but the company certainly hasn’t made it easy to find and compare the various Windows EULAs. Which EULA did you agree to? Who really knows?

I asked Microsoft for clarification on EULA prohibitions and enforceability, but a spokesman responded that the company had declined to comment.