License Agreement (EULA)
Provider: Steidl IT GmbH, Hervicusgasse 19/2/15, 1120 Wien, Austria
Last updated: November 10, 2026
This version may have been replaced by a newer one; the current version is available at www.setupfoundry.com/en/lizenzbedingungen. The version you accepted applies to you until a change under Sections 12.4 to 12.6 takes effect for you.
IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ BEFORE USE:
Setup Foundry creates installation media (e.g. USB flash drives) and automates the reinstallation of Windows systems. In doing so, it completely and irreversibly erases storage devices (hard disks, SSDs, USB drives, volumes). Please read in particular Section 6 (Data Loss and Backup Obligation).
1. Subject Matter and Scope
1.1. This End User Licence Agreement ("EULA") governs the use of the software Setup Foundry (the "Software"), including the accompanying documentation, scripts, templates and updates, unless otherwise agreed for updates.
1.2. The Software is offered in several editions (currently including Free, Home and Pro). The functional scope of each edition is set out in the product description. The Free edition is provided free of charge; for paid editions, the Provider's General Terms and Conditions apply in addition.
1.3. This EULA applies to consumers and business users. Provisions applying only to business users are marked accordingly. Mandatory consumer rights under the law of the consumer's habitual residence — including the rules implementing Directive (EU) 2019/770 on digital content — remain unaffected.
2. Licence Grant
2.1. The Provider grants the user a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to install and use the Software in the licensed edition as intended. A licence for the Home and Pro editions covers one person on up to two computers at the same time (for example a desktop PC and a notebook), including for their professional work and work for customers. If further persons use the Software, each needs their own licence. If the user replaces a computer, they can reset the activations in the customer account.
2.2. The Free edition may be used free of charge for private and business purposes. Anyone may pass on the published Free edition to others and offer it for download, free of charge, provided it remains unmodified, meaning the installation file as published by the Provider, together with this EULA and the licence notices; licence files and licence codes are not included. This does not apply to test versions: versions marked as beta in the program (for example in the title bar or in the "About" window), or provided only by invitation for testing, including in the Free edition, may be used only by the persons the Provider has invited to test them. They may not be passed on to others or offered for download unless the Provider expressly permits it.
2.3. Installation media created with the Software may be used within the licensed purpose (e.g. setting up customer PCs as an IT service provider). The Software itself must not be passed on to third parties unless the edition expressly permits this.
2.4. All rights not expressly granted remain with the Provider.
3. Restrictions
3.1. The user must not copy the Software (except for backup purposes), modify, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer it, except to the extent mandatorily permitted by applicable law (in particular the provisions implementing Articles 5 and 6 of Directive 2009/24/EC on the legal protection of computer programs).
3.2. The user must not circumvent protection mechanisms or edition/feature restrictions, remove proprietary notices (copyright notices, trademarks), or rent, lease or operate the Software as a service for third parties unless expressly permitted.
3.3. Scripts and compilations; no use for competing products.
(a) The Software contains scripts and compilations of settings, program lists and procedures (the "Compilations"). Notwithstanding section 3.1, you may read and examine the scripts and Compilations, use them for your own installations and those of your customers, and adapt them for that purpose. You may freely use profiles you create with the Software for this purpose.
(b) Your licence does not cover using the Software, its scripts or Compilations, or versions derived from them, to offer a product or service that competes with the Software.
(c) Nor does your licence cover publishing, passing on or selling the Compilations or substantial parts of them outside the Software.
(d) A product or service competes with the Software if it enables others to prepare, automate or set up Windows installations or installation media, as does any collection of settings, program lists or procedures for that purpose, even if it is offered free of charge or is based on a different technology. Anything marketed as a substitute for the Software competes with it in any event. Setting up devices for your customers with the Software (section 2.3) does not compete with it.
(e) The following remain free: independent development without recourse to the scripts and Compilations, the ideas and principles underlying the Software, and passing on the unmodified Free edition under section 2.2. This section does not limit your statutory rights, in particular under sections 40d, 40e, 42 and 76e of the Austrian Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz, UrhG).
3.4. Business customers only: The user shall ensure that its affiliated companies and any third parties it engages do not use the Software, its scripts or Compilations in a manner excluded under section 3.3 (b) or (c).
4. Microsoft Windows and Third-Party Content
4.1. The Software does not include any Windows licences. Setup Foundry is a tool for automating installation; obtaining valid licences for Microsoft Windows and for all installed software is solely the user's responsibility.
4.2. At the user's request, the Software can download Windows installation images and software packages from third-party servers (in particular Microsoft and winget sources). Such content is governed exclusively by the licence and usage terms of the respective third parties. The user is responsible for complying with those terms.
4.3. Microsoft, Windows and winget are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Provider is not affiliated with Microsoft; the Software is not a Microsoft product and is neither endorsed nor sponsored by Microsoft.
5. User Obligations and Intended Use
5.1. The Software is intended for users with basic PC deployment knowledge. Before use, the user must observe the documentation and carefully select the target devices/storage media.
5.2. The user shall use the Software only on systems the user is authorized to dispose of, or for which the authorized party (e.g. the user's customer) has given a corresponding order.
6. Data Loss and Backup Obligation (IMPORTANT)
6.1. Intended functions of the Software erase storage devices completely and irreversibly — in particular when creating boot/installation media (the USB drive used is erased) and during automated reinstallation (the target system's storage devices are partitioned and erased).
6.2. The user is obliged to create — or ensure the existence of — complete and functional backups of all affected systems before every use of the Software, including third-party data when working on behalf of others.
6.3. The Software displays warnings and requires explicit confirmation before destructive operations. The user must verify the displayed device selection in each individual case.
7. Warranty / Conformity
7.1. For consumers, the statutory conformity rules for digital content of the country of their habitual residence apply (implementing Directive (EU) 2019/770), including the obligation to provide updates necessary to maintain conformity for the relevant period.
7.2. For business users, the limitation period for defect claims is reduced to twelve months from provision; statutory inspection and notification duties remain unaffected. Claims for damages under Section 8.1 remain unaffected.
7.3. For the free-of-charge Free edition: the Free edition is provided without any promise of specific characteristics; mandatory consumer rights (including where the content is provided in exchange for personal data) remain unaffected. Liability is governed by Section 8.
7.4. No warranty is given for defects caused by improper use, modifications of the Software by the user, unsuitable system environments, or third-party content (e.g. defective Windows images, drivers or third-party software packages).
8. Liability
8.1. The Provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, and under applicable mandatory product liability law.
8.2. For slight negligence, the Provider is liable only for the breach of essential contractual obligations (obligations whose fulfilment is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the contract and on whose observance the user regularly relies), limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract. Any further liability for slight negligence is excluded to the extent permitted by the mandatory law applicable to the user.
8.3. Data loss: Except in the cases of Section 8.1, liability for loss of data is limited to the typical recovery effort that would have been incurred if the user had performed proper backups in accordance with Section 6.
8.4. The above limitations also apply in favour of the Provider's legal representatives and vicarious agents.
9. Online Features
9.1. At the user's request, the Software connects to third-party servers (e.g. Microsoft download services, winget package sources) to retrieve images, catalogs and software packages. The availability and content of these services are outside the Provider's control and do not form part of the contract.
9.2. Details on data processing are set out in the Privacy Policy for the Software.
9.3. The Provider issues and renews a licence you have bought through its licence server. At every program start the Software checks with the Provider whether a stored licence is still valid and whether a newer program version is available, and sends its program version in doing so. For the first 30 days after purchase the licence is issued for no more than five days at a time, after that until the end of the subscription. Without an internet connection the last confirmed licence remains valid until it expires; after that the Software continues as the Free edition.
10. Third-Party Software and Open-Source Components
The Software contains third-party components subject to their own licence terms (see the "THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES" file or the licence dialog within the Software). For the respective component, those licence terms prevail over this EULA to the extent they grant broader rights.
11. Term and Termination
11.1. This EULA applies for an indefinite period. The Provider may terminate the licence for good cause, in particular in the event of a material breach of Sections 2 to 4 despite a warning.
11.2. Upon termination, the user must cease using the Software and delete all copies; statutory retention rights remain unaffected.
11.3. The right to use a paid edition requires that it has been paid for. If the payment is charged back or cancelled by the user's payment service, the Provider may suspend the right to use the paid edition; the Software shows this at the next licence check, closes, and continues as the Free edition from the next start. If the payment is made good, or the chargeback was a mistake, the Provider restores the licence at no extra cost; the user may contact the Provider about this at any time. If the purchase is unwound, for instance after a withdrawal, the right to use the paid edition ends. The right to use the Free edition (Section 2.2) is not affected in any of these cases.
11.4. Where the Provider provides a licence for a paid edition free of charge, for example as thanks for taking part in a test, Sections 7.3 and 9.3 apply to it accordingly; the first and second sentences of Section 11.3 do not apply to it. Its term is set out in the notice with which the Provider issues it.
12. Final Provisions
12.1. This EULA is governed by the law of Austria, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and its conflict-of-law rules. For consumers habitually resident in another state, the mandatory protective provisions of that state remain unaffected (Art. 6 Rome I Regulation).
12.2. For business users, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is the Provider's registered seat.
12.3. Should individual provisions be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. This EULA is concluded in German; this English version is a translation provided for information, and in the event of any discrepancy the German version prevails. This does not affect the mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state in which the consumer is habitually resident (Art. 6 Rome I Regulation).
12.4. The Provider may change this EULA. It publishes the current version at www.setupfoundry.com/en/lizenzbedingungen.
12.5. For a licence for a paid edition, the version the user accepted applies until the contract for that licence ends. A renewal the user orders and a new purchase are concluded under the version current at that time; it is shown when the order is placed, and the user accepts it in doing so. For the Free edition, the version delivered with the installed program version applies; if the user installs a newer program version, the version delivered with it applies. The version delivered with a program version is available in the program under "Legal information and licenses".
12.6. Before the contract for a licence for a paid edition ends, a newer version applies to that licence only if the user expressly agrees to it.