Pro OEM vs Retail box

[Russ]

What am I gaining by purchasing a retail version of XP pro instead of
getting a OEM version on EBay for 1/2 the price?

Russ

 

[Chris Lanier]

Hi,
Buying anything off eBay is a risk. You don't really know if they have
already installed and activated it.

Should you purchase an OEM license version of XP?
http://www.tek-tips.com/gfaqs.cfm/pid/779/fid/4004

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

OEM versions of Windows XP:

-- cannot upgrade over an existing Windows installation
-- cannot be transferred to a different computer in the future
-- the license cannot be sold or transferred to another user
-- are not eligible for free Microsoft installation or technical support
-- must be purchased with some type of computer hardware
-- cost less than "retail versions" due to the above limitations


Should you purchase an OEM license version of XP?
http://www.tek-tips.com/gfaqs.cfm/pid/779/fid/4004

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| What am I gaining by purchasing a retail version of XP pro instead of
| getting a OEM version on EBay for 1/2 the price?
|
| Russ

 

[purplehaz]

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
-- must be sold with some type of computer hardware
-- cost less because of the above limitations

A retail, upgrade version of XP can be used to perform a "clean
installation"
if you have a Microsoft Windows 98/ME installation CD.

Windows XP Clean Install:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

If you want to be able to transfer XP to a new computer in the future,
then a "retail version" is your best choice.

 

[Guest]

Service from India by ken or China from Bob

 

[Ken Blake]

In

What am I gaining by purchasing a retail version of XP pro instead of
getting a OEM version on EBay for 1/2 the price?

The OEM version has the following disadvantages:

1. Its license ties it permanently to the first computer it's
installed on. It can never legally be moved to another computer,
sold, or given away.

2. It can only do a clean installation, not an upgrade.

3. Microsoft provides no support for OEM versions. You have to
get any needed support from your OEM, and that may range anywhere
between good and non-existent.

 

[kurttrail]

By the act of scrolling this post on your computer, and/or printing or
replying to this post, you agree that I am your everlasting Lord &
Saviour. Breach of this term will result in you burning in hell for
ever and ever! Amen!"

What am I gaining by purchasing a retail version of XP pro instead of
getting a OEM version on EBay for 1/2 the price?

Russ

Major advantages:

1.) More money left in your pocket.
2.) You never have to deal with MS's inept support techs.
3.) You can never screw up doing an upgrade.
4.) Did I mention mo' money left in your pocket?

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[Russ]

I've never had to put a operating system on a new machine myself...
it's always come with on when I buy it, so I don't see where I would
ever want to transfer it to a different computer in the future.

Upgrading over a previous OS never worked well for me and a clean
install always turned out better.

If I sell the machine - would that count as a transfer and they
couldn't register it in their name? Sounds like their problem.

Telephone MS support? Not much use for that.

It sounds like a go to me.

 

[Norm]

If Microsoft only keeps the activation info for 120 days why couldn't it be
moved to a new computer after that time frame?

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

If Microsoft only keeps the activation info for 120 days why couldn't it be
moved to a new computer after that time frame?

Because the OEM product is shipped with a "one time use" license.
It may not be moved to another machine once activated.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[duh]

But if the records of activation are gone after 120 days, who's to know.

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

But if the records of activation are gone after 120 days, who's to know.

I don't believe anyone has said that all information about an activation is
"deleted" in some way.
You may reactivate a Retail release of Windows XP over the Internet after
120 after the first activation.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Disadvantage

1)
Who do you contact if you really need help. Since Microsoft does not
directly support OEM and you do not have an OEM to call (????)

2)
Retail = portability. New PC can "legally" have Retail version "moved" to
it. OEM = You can not "leaglly".


Y.

 

[purplehaz]

Disadvantage

1)
Who do you contact if you really need help. Since Microsoft does not
directly support OEM and you do not have an OEM to call (????)

You call a real tech, down at the local computer store, or ask the teenager
down the street to help you. Most techs at the mom and pop computer store
are far more knowledgeable than any ms phone tech. These groups are always
helpful too. And the internet is full of info so you can help yourself. MS
tech support would always be a last resort and myself, I have never had to
call MS once and I've fixed thousands of computers.

2)
Retail = portability. New PC can "legally" have Retail version
"moved" to it. OEM = You can not "leaglly".

While I agree the oem copies should be limited to the first machine, there
is nothing illegal about it. There are no laws to break that reference
transfering oem software. It simply makes you in non-compliance with the ms
eula.

 

[kurttrail]

By the act of scrolling this post on your computer, and/or printing or
replying to this post, you agree that I am your everlasting Lord &
Saviour. Breach of this term will result in you burning in hell for
ever and ever! Amen!"

I don't believe anyone has said that all information about an
activation is "deleted" in some way.
You may reactivate a Retail release of Windows XP over the Internet
after 120 after the first activation.

Never-the-less, the activation hardware hash can't not be use to figured
out what hardware XP is installed on.

"The hardware hash value is a nonunique representation of the PC on
which the software was installed. It is called a hash value because it
has no direct correlation to the PC and cannot be backward-calculated to
the original value." -
http://www.microsoft.com/piracy/basics/activation/mpafaq.asp#details

"Every 120 days, the clock is reset and you can make an additional five
hardware changes." -
http://www.microsoft.com/philippines/windowsxp/article03.htm

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[kurttrail]

By the act of scrolling this post on your computer, and/or printing or
replying to this post, you agree that I am your everlasting Lord &
Saviour. Breach of this term will result in you burning in hell for
ever and ever! Amen!"

Disadvantage

1)
Who do you contact if you really need help. Since Microsoft does not
directly support OEM and you do not have an OEM to call (????)

I support myself, plus my office. If I need help, I find it myself.

2)
Retail = portability. New PC can "legally" have Retail version
"moved" to it. OEM = You can not "leaglly".

Legally, smegally. MS's interpretation of their EULA and post-EULA
policies, is not the definitive word when it comes to what is legal.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[Guest]

Yes it is.....they wrote the EULA and it is 100% legal.
Please do not misinform people with your trash talk.

 

[kurttrail]

"By the act of scrolling this post on your computer, and/or printing or
replying to this post, you agree that I am your everlasting Lord &
Saviour. Breach of this term will result in you burning in hell for
ever and ever! Amen!"

Yes it is.....

Yes what is?

they wrote the EULA and it is 100% legal.

Prove it. Just because a contract is agree to, doesn't mean it's
legally enforceable by a court of law. Or don't you know that only a
real court can rule that a contract is legal or not?

Please do not misinform people with your trash talk.

I don't.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

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 best reason to 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 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

--
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having both at once. -- RAH

 

[xfile]

Does that apply to OS only or Office and other applications as well?

I recently upgraded my Dell notebook and purchased OEM version of Office
2003 Professional.

So that means, I cannot use it as an upgrade to one additional system, as
Office retail version is allowed?

I cannot install in another system even if I removed from Dell?

Are those all true?

Thanks!!!