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[Jarulf]

Microsoft owns Windows XP. 

I think this terminology that confuses many. They hold the copyright to it, or owns the copyright. That does not mean they own individual copies of it since that is unrelated to copyright. Typically they would initially own most of such copies though since they are the only ones allowed to create new copies (although exceptions exists, such as a backup copy). You, as well as many others confuses these two ownerships, of the copyright to the work and of individual copies of the work.

Microsoft is under no legal obligation to grant you an unlimited use of their product, period.

Of course not, they can keep it completely to themselves, never sell it or tell anyone about it, that is however quite pointless.

Therefore, Microsoft sells you Windows,

I thought your position was that they could not sell (or at least that I could not buy it). Make up your mind.

and grants you a license to use it under very specific terms and conditions.

They already sold it, no need to grant anything additional right of using.

You may choose to purchase that license and then use it as stipulated, or you can choose not to use it at all.

Or if I have a legally acquired copy, I can use it without any need to buy such a license and be fine with it. You seem to want to imply I am thus infringing their copyright. Please tell me how and what part of the copyright law (or contract law for that matter, but assuming I for example was given a copy by a friend who might have bought it , just as example of not being sold directly by Microsoft) I am not bound by any such contract since I have not entered anyone.

Except it's not wrong, because you stubbornly refuse to accept that a copyright holder can impose terms on what you may or may not do with their work as part of the terms of sale.
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I refuses to accept that it has ANYTHING at all to do with copyright law until you tell me were in the copyright law it says the copyright holder has an exclusive right to USE a work.

You can switch topic and discuss sales/contract laws and what applies there, but then, please leave out copyright since it has nothing to do with it. I am very fond of that area of laws too. One problem there is of course that (consumer)sales laws and contract laws differs a LOT more between countries than copyright law do. Just make your choice, but don't mix them up! And don’t claim one of the laws is dictating what is really dictated by another law!


The end. Phew!