oem and full retail

[RoS]

Is it better to buy the full retail version? What exactly is the difference
between the full retail and oem versions of XP?

Regards,

RoS

 

[Ted Zieglar]

They are identical. OEM versions will only install (legally) on a computer
made by the OEM. OEM software sometimes includes customizations unique to
the OEM. OEM software cannot be used to upgrade existing software. And
finally, OEM software comes with no support.

Ted Zieglar

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Is it better to buy the full retail version? What exactly is the
difference between the full retail and oem versions of XP?

Unless modified by the OEM, the OEM and Full Retail are the same excluding:

OEM Versions:
-- cannot upgrade over an existing Windows installation
-- must be installed on a "clean" drive
-- cannot be transferred to a new or different computer in the future
-- are not eligible for any free technical support from Microsoft
-- are cheaper because of these limitations

 

[Jim Macklin]

To clarify the answer...
There are two kinds of OEM
1. Software provided by Microsoft, which is identical to
retail software, except for the license, and
2. Software, licensed by Microsoft, and modified by a
computer manufacturer so that it is at least branded with
changes in logos and perhaps some actual software changes or
deletions;
All OEM software is licensed to be installed only on the
computer it is first installed on, a MS this is done by
license. A maker may install code that will allow the
software to only install on their brand, perhaps even same
model.

The OEM software is only supported by the computer maker,
which could be HP or you if you build your own machine from
parts. Microsoft only provides support for the retail
software it sells.

The OEM software costs less, but cannot be moved from
computer to computer. But if you buy/build a new computer,
you will likely want a new, latest version of the software.
If you build a new computer every few months, buy a retail
OS and applications, because you will be able to uninstall
and reinstall it to new machines as often as you want, this
will be less expensive over a year or two period.
On the other hand if you will replace your computer only
every couple of years or want to keep the old computer
running, OEM software bought from a dealer who got it from
MS, is less expensive.

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.



| They are identical. OEM versions will only install
(legally) on a computer
| made by the OEM. OEM software sometimes includes
customizations unique to
| the OEM. OEM software cannot be used to upgrade existing
software. And
| finally, OEM software comes with no support.
|
| Ted Zieglar
|
| | > Is it better to buy the full retail version? What
exactly is the
| > difference
| > between the full retail and oem versions of XP?
| >
| > Regards,
| >
| > RoS
| >
| >
|

 

[Ron Martell]

Is it better to buy the full retail version? What exactly is the difference
between the full retail and oem versions of XP?

Regards,

RoS

See http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/oem_software for information about OEM
software

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Is it better to buy the full retail version? What exactly is the difference
between the full retail and oem versions of XP?

Regards,

RoS

There are some very important reasons that an OEM license costs so
much less than a retail license. OEM licenses are very limited:

1) OEM versions must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally
a motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC, although Microsoft
has greatly relaxed the hardware criteria for WinXP) and are
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which they are installed. An
OEM license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another
computer under any circumstances. This is the main reason some people
avoid OEM versions; if the PC dies or is otherwise disposed of (even
stolen), you cannot re-use your OEM license on a new PC. The only
legitimate way to transfer the ownership of an OEM license is to
transfer ownership of the entire PC.

2) Microsoft provides no free support for OEM versions. If you
have any problems that require outside assistance, your only recourse
is to contact the manufacturer/builder of the PC or the vendor of the
OEM license. This would include such issues as lost a Product Key or
replacing damaged installation media. (Microsoft does make allowances
for those instances when you can prove that the OEM has gone out of
business.) This doesn't mean that you can't download patches and
service packs from Microsoft -- just no free telephone or email
support for problems with the OS.

3) An OEM CD cannot be used to perform an upgrade of an earlier
OS, as it was designed to be installed _only_ upon an empty hard
drive. It can still be used to perform a repair installation (a.k.a.
an in-place upgrade) of an existing WinXP installation.

4) If the OEM CD was designed by a specific manufacturer, such as
eMachines, Sony, Dell, Gateway, etc., it will most likely only install
on the same brand of PC, as an additional anti-piracy feature.
Further, such CDs are severely customized to contain only the minimum
of device drivers, and a lot of extra nonsense, that the manufacturer
feels necessary for the specific model of PC for which the CD was
designed. (To be honest, such CDs should _not_ be available on the
open market; but, if you're shopping someplace on-line like eBay, swap
meets, or computer fairs, there's often no telling what you're buying
until it's too late.) The "generic" OEM CDs, such as are manufactured
by Microsoft and sold to small systems builders, don't have this
particular problem, though, and are pretty much the same as their
retail counterparts, apart from the licensing, support, and upgrading
restrictions.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Pop]

....
|
| 4) If the OEM CD was designed by a specific manufacturer,
such as
| eMachines, Sony, Dell, Gateway, etc., it will most likely only
install
| on the same brand of PC, as an additional anti-piracy feature.
| Further, such CDs are severely customized to contain only the
minimum
| of device drivers, and a lot of extra nonsense, that the
manufacturer
| feels necessary for the specific model of PC for which the CD
was
| designed. (To be honest, such CDs should _not_ be available on
the
| open market; but, if you're shopping someplace on-line like
eBay, swap
| meets, or computer fairs, there's often no telling what you're
buying
| until it's too late.) The "generic" OEM CDs, such as are
manufactured
| by Microsoft and sold to small systems builders, don't have
this
| particular problem, though, and are pretty much the same as
their
| retail counterparts, apart from the licensing, support, and
upgrading
| restrictions.
....
| Bruce Chambers
....

Bruce,

This is NOT an effort to be contrary, nor is it meant to say you
or anyone else has given out misinformation. There is however,
something I keep seeing over and over that is inconsistant with
my experiences with XP Pro/Home. Anyone reading this should NOT
take this to mean that YOUR situation is identical! Obviously,
ymmv. So, with all due respect:

I've seen that information over and over, and I suppose I might
have something "unique" somehow, no idea how, but ... Gateway
provided my P4 with XP Pro installed, the laptop with XP Home
installed, plus each came with a standard XP/SP1 Pro/Home CD.
Standard online system spec and purchase. The ONLY thing that
stops me from transferring the OS to another machine is the
"Activation" feature. In my case, only the "Activation" has any
tie to the hardware, CPU, etc. where it's installed.
The laptop went bust (fan/s and a card reader didn't work)
shortly after purchase and, while it was in for repair, I was
able to successfully migrate XP to another laptop, a slower one
and an HP, and I "Activated" it by phone call. Then, a month or
so later when the repaired machine came back, all I did was
reinstall my XP and call in to "Reactivate" it on that machine.
I made one call ahead of the switch, and one for each movement;
no problems at all. I never contacted Gatway about anything even
though apparently what was "installed" on my machine was
"modified", but the CD, though it came from Gateway and was
technically an OEM I suppose, is identical to my sister's CD,
right down to a few hash/CRC checkss I ran on a few ex_'s and
dl_'s after I started to figure out what the activation stuff
actually did.
Not being familiar with activation at that time, I asked MS if
I could have done the same with my desktop and they said yes, but
each time I'd have to make the phone calls; such activations
cannot normally be done online and the phone call is the only way
to do it. They did however mention that support MUST come from
Gateway, but the movement to another machine wasn't hindered.
I didn't know all the details at the time of course, but the
reason I chose Gateway over Dell, etc., was I abhor the so-called
"customization" those dummies do to an installation. With
Gateway, it's never complex nor customized much except for
features you may choose/remove at the time you spec your machine.

Each also had a "driver disk" and an "applications disk" that
contained the additional compnents I'd added to the machine, plus
some things like the Gateway Update link and auto-installed MSN,
etc. crapware. With Dell et al, it's often impossible to even
discern the os when you see the first booted screen after the
initial welcome hypes etc.. Dells are good machines, but they
work way too hard to hide the system; Gateway doesn't do that in
my experience. The OS disk is XP and only XP, but it's complete.
The drivers disk is for the Gateway specific stuff like the
answering machine, video control, etc. and a slew of other
things. The Apps disk had the Gateway specific things like Phone
Tools, a better fax, things tailored for the modem, video, sound,
and so on.
I got to verify most of this a few months back when, after
getting my first and completely successful full backup going, I
decided to test it and wiped out both drives, reformatted, set up
my partitions (PM8), and began the reinstall from scratch,
starting obviosly with XP/SP1. I now have what I consider to be
the closest to perfect PC I can manage to create, and it's
working like a charm since SP2 came along and fixed some of the
more mundane crapware that was left over. Second to be installed
was SP2. Everything worked perfectly and this is the most stable
machine I've ever had an experience with. It's very stable and
within reason never slows down unless I punish it, and to date
hasn't yet required a forced Restart or reboot, though I do them
now and then just for GPs, as in when I finish for the day I do a
Restart so I'll come back to the signon screen the next day. A
couple of Apps do crash, one of them being a Ulead product, the
other I can't recall right now, but they never pull the entire
machine down other than I'll occasionally have to wait a minute
or so for the page file to come back to size after an app crash,
but even that's not happening lately, maybe bedause I've become
more proficient at the programs and don't punish it so badly now,
as in jumping ahead, then back, then ahead in a file in gigabyte
sized chunks because I changed my mind about something or made a
mistake. Or, the rumored self-healing happened, but that's
another story entirely <g>.

All I'm trying to do is set a record straight. I won't debate
the issue here, and in particular won't be responding to flames,
which I know this will generate, but ... I will answer any
logical questions if asked. Like I said, I'm only here in an FYI
mode because my situation seems different, meaning I wonder if
Gateway might be doing something right and taking heat for not
doing it right. Them's my inflated two cents, anyway. And to
all others, remember, ymmv.

Regards,

Pop