OEM vs Retail Upgrade

[John in VA]

Building a new P4 system that will have WIN XP Pro as the
OS. Is there a difference in the installation and
operation of XP Professional OS using the OEM version vs.
the retail upgrade package?

 

[Dan Seur]

I know that many OEM OS CDs are 'crippled' in that they include only the
necessary drivers and so forth for the hardware they are sold with,
particularly if proprietary hardware is involved; they are less
expensive because supposedly they can be used only with that hardware.
Retail OS CDs have the complete libraries as of the OS ship date.
Whether the same is true for upgrade CDs I can't say, but it might be
safer in the long run to go with retail.

 

[Jordan]

Actually, that is not true. OEMs are the EXACT setup aside from there not
being an "Upgrade" option during setup.

 

[Dan Seur]

If what you say is correct, then I have misinterpreted a great many
cautionary posts in these NGs over the last few years. Perhaps the devil
is in the details.