Q: Windows Vista Upgrade, OEM and Full Versions

[FriskyD]

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Hi,

I'm looking at purchasing a full version of Windows Vista Ultimate to do a
clean install.

From what I'm reading the upgrade version of Windows Vista Ultimate
(~AUD$480) doesn't allow you to boot to a clean install as you must have
windows xp installed on a PC already. You therefore need to install it from
a windows desktop. This will be a pain as you'll need to install windows xp
and then windows vista.

I've found a brown box OEM version of Windows Vista Ultimate (~AUD$330) from
an online Australian retailer (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/) that can be
bought without a hardware purchase, however the retailer has advised that
this version only allows an install on one PC and cannot be reinstalled on
subsequent upgraded or new machines if the original validated PC is retired.

I tend to upgrade my pc every 1-2 years so an upgrade version will force me
to install windows xp and then windows vista, and the brown box oem version
may not work on new hardware.

The thought of paying AUD$700 for a full retail copy of Windows Vista
Ultimate is excessive even though it fulfils my requirements.

Has anyone got any advice?

Thanks

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

OEM copies are for installation on new computers and are not transferrable
to other computers. If the copy of XP presently running on your computer
was preinstalled then it also is OEM and may not be transferred to another
computer either. The reseller is correct.

If you want to avoid the two-tiered reinstallation either purchase the full
edition or use imaging software to ensure that you can recover to the point
just after you upgraded to Vista. There are hundreds of items in this
newsgroup covering this subject.