Licensing

[Rick Stephens]

My company and I are looking for the least expensive way to purchase XP Pro
licenses. I've seen plenty of places advertising $40-50 for an OEM copy of
windows. I've read in some places that you aren't able to download SP1 if
you have one of these copies. If we were to use one of these types of
licenses, would we be able to use windows update without a problem? This is
a quote from one of those
sites(http://store.yahoo.com/computersystems2go/sfo-winxppl.html):


OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) software is distributed to computer
builders, like C2G and is typically significantly cheaper than its retail
versions. OEM software contains exactly the same programs as the retail
version and its functionality is exactly the same. The difference between
OEM and retail software amounts to the following:
a.. OEM versions do not come with a fancy box and usually come only with
an electronic manual or with a small getting-started manual;
b.. Software manufacturer does not provide any technical support for OEM
software.

 

[Steve C. Ray]

You can download SP1 and updates to a OEM XP installation, but no other
support from MS. Also OEM versions can't be used to upgrade, they are clean
install only, and are licensed to only the first computer they are installed
on. OEM can't be used on another computer, even if the computer it was first
installed on is disabled, destroyed, sold, whatever.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

How to Acquire Microsoft Product Licenses Through Microsoft's Volume Licensing Programs
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/howtoacquire.asp

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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| My company and I are looking for the least expensive way to purchase XP Pro
| licenses. I've seen plenty of places advertising $40-50 for an OEM copy of
| windows. I've read in some places that you aren't able to download SP1 if
| you have one of these copies. If we were to use one of these types of
| licenses, would we be able to use windows update without a problem? This is
| a quote from one of those
| sites(http://store.yahoo.com/computersystems2go/sfo-winxppl.html):
|
|
| OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) software is distributed to computer
| builders, like C2G and is typically significantly cheaper than its retail
| versions. OEM software contains exactly the same programs as the retail
| version and its functionality is exactly the same. The difference between
| OEM and retail software amounts to the following:
| a.. OEM versions do not come with a fancy box and usually come only with
| an electronic manual or with a small getting-started manual;
| b.. Software manufacturer does not provide any technical support for OEM
| software.
|
|