OEM vs Retail / Full vs Upgrade

[nikki]

Hi.
I purchased a Dell cpu sometime ago, and when I did so, I
was given the option of purchasing Win XP Home Edition
Upgrade, which I did. Hence it is an OEM version. Well
about 2 weeks I acquired a non-Dell cpu, running Windows
98SE. I want to put XP Home on it, but due to the fact
that my XP upgrade is an OEM, I was told I cannot purchase
an additional license. Here come the questions: a) Do I
buy just an Upgrade or do I buy Full version of Win XP
Home? b) Do I buy OEM or Retail version? (As an added
note, I may want to buy an additional license sometime in
the future, and am not sure if that needs to be taken into
account into deciding which version to purchase.) Can
someone explain to me what the advantages/disadvantages of
going one way or another with these 4 different versions
is? I need to purchase this ASAP as my XP activation on
that non-Dell cpu is running out. Thank you.

 

[Rich Barry]

Nikki, check here.
http://xtremods.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2044 Get the
full OEM Version at Newegg.com

 

[cimex]

-No need to purchase full retail version. OEM or Upgrade will work with
98SE. OEM can only clean-install, not upgrade-install.

-Never heard of an OEM Upgrade version. It's a contradiction in terms.
Upgrade versions are transferable to other machines.

-Don't worry about the license issue when you have only 2 machines. You
don't save that much money, if any, versus the alternatives.

-"my XP activation on that non-Dell cpu is running out..."
Go get the Upgrade version. Advantages: transferable, and you can do an
Upgrade Install. Only slightly more expensive than OEM.

-For the third machine, you may want to just get an OEM version, if you do
not plan to move the O/S to another machine.

 

[nikki]

So if I am understanding you correctly, you recommend just
purchasing XP Home Upgrade?
Why is it when I look online at various software stores,
some list their XP Home Upgrade as a Retail version, while
others say it is OEM? (And when listed as OEM Upgrade it
is at minimum $15.00 less.) When I ask these specific
companies they reply to me that it is an OEM version. Yet
it's product number is identical to that listed on
microsoft's for their Retail Upgrade. This is really
confusing me.
Thank you.

 

[Tim Slattery]

So if I am understanding you correctly, you recommend just
purchasing XP Home Upgrade?
Why is it when I look online at various software stores,
some list their XP Home Upgrade as a Retail version, while
others say it is OEM? (And when listed as OEM Upgrade it
is at minimum $15.00 less.) When I ask these specific
companies they reply to me that it is an OEM version. Yet
it's product number is identical to that listed on
microsoft's for their Retail Upgrade. This is really
confusing me.

There's no such thing as an OEM Upgrade version. The OEM version is
intended to be installed on a disk that does not already have an OS on
it. It will not upgrade an existing system. Assuming you have a
qualifying product (Win98, Win98SE, WinME, Win2000), you should get
the upgrade version.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I purchased a Dell cpu sometime ago, and when I did so, I
was given the option of purchasing Win XP Home Edition
Upgrade, which I did. Hence it is an OEM version. Well
about 2 weeks I acquired a non-Dell cpu, running Windows
98SE. I want to put XP Home on it, but due to the fact
that my XP upgrade is an OEM, I was told I cannot purchase
an additional license. Here come the questions: a) Do I
buy just an Upgrade or do I buy Full version of Win XP
Home? b) Do I buy OEM or Retail version?

Buy a retail upgrade. It will not be much different in price from an
OEM one, and will be capable of upgrading, or of doing a full install if
you can show it the 98 CD (I'd do an upgrade initially - you can then
come back to the clean install if you *have* to). There is no need for
retail full - the only difference being that that does not make the
check that you own a qualifying product.

An OEM one would not be transferable, and carries no benefits like
support or additional licenses. The discount for an additional license
is pretty small, and further retail upgrades from somewhere like Best
Buy will probably work out cheaper

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi.
I purchased a Dell cpu sometime ago, and when I did so, I
was given the option of purchasing Win XP Home Edition
Upgrade, which I did. Hence it is an OEM version. Well
about 2 weeks I acquired a non-Dell cpu, running Windows
98SE. I want to put XP Home on it, but due to the fact
that my XP upgrade is an OEM, I was told I cannot purchase
an additional license. Here come the questions: a) Do I
buy just an Upgrade or do I buy Full version of Win XP
Home? b) Do I buy OEM or Retail version? (As an added
note, I may want to buy an additional license sometime in
the future, and am not sure if that needs to be taken into
account into deciding which version to purchase.) Can
someone explain to me what the advantages/disadvantages of
going one way or another with these 4 different versions
is? I need to purchase this ASAP as my XP activation on
that non-Dell cpu is running out. Thank you.

You can use an Upgrade CD as long as you have a qualifying Windows product
to insert when the install asks for it. This will take the form of a
Windows 98, ME, or 2000 CD. If you can't supply this the upgrade install
will (or should) halt.

There is often little or no benefit to purchasing only a license rather than
a second complete copy - the savings are not great as the materials costs
are low. You may also find discounts that take the cost of physical copies
below that of the license by itself. Another advantage of having the
second copy is that you've got a backup of the CD.

HTH
-pk