Win98 oem cd and xp upgrade question

[Greg P Rozelle]

Sorry for the double posting, I didn't know which group to put this
in.

I was talking to a computer repair shop person.

I have windows 98se full install oem cd. If I get the xp upgrade
retail version. I know I could use that.

What I wanting to know is can I move win98se oem CD & the xp upgrade
version to another computer without any problems to another computer
down the road? The computer shop person said yes and that is not
illegal to move the operating systems to another computer.

I already have xp preinstalled. I just debating weather or not to get
XP upgrade or Xp full version in the future.


Greg P Rozelle

 

[Philip McCullum]

The only difference between the upgrade and the full
install(besides the obvious price difference ;-)) is the
upgrade needs a qualifying upgradeable OS either already
installed or a disc for one. If you get the upgrade and
your have a blank hard drive, when it asks for the
previous OS during setup just put the cd in for, in your
case, Windows 98 and you'll be qualified to continue to
install the upgrade. A drive where 98 (or, once again, a
qualifying upgradeable OS) is already installed the
upgrade would make the obvious choice.

Phil

 

[Richard Force]

Greg:

You can do the OEM Win 98 install on the other computer
but you may have trouble if the OEM CD was designed or
tweaked for the particular computer it came with.
The thing to do is try it. If Win98 installs at all and
gives you a desktop to work with, then Win XP should
install on top of it. You say you've done that. If the
computer it's going on is on the Hardware Compatibility
List provided by MS it's almost a sure thing.
The computer "down the road" will probably be OK too if
it's a different one you mentioned first in the same
sentence, especially if the road isn't too long, but if
you are buying it, it will likely have XP on it already.
If you are building it, it's a different story. In that
case make sure the mother board and other components are
on the HCL as well.
There isn't much use in buying the full version under
these circumstances. It will turn out to be a waste of
money, especially if MS brings out a new version.

Regards... Richard

 

[purplehaz]

If you want to follow the MS eula, an oem version cannot be transfered to
another computer. It is tied to the first computer it's installed on. So if
you follow the eula you can't install it on another computer.
If you use the oem cd to verify you have an existing win98 during an xp
upgrade install then the two licenses at that point get tied together. I
believe the oem part now transfers to the xp license and ties it to that
computer as if it was an oem install. So then the win98 and xp would be tied
to that computer and cannot be transfered to another computer at a later
time. (hope that makes sense)
If you don't care about the eula - go for it. It should work fine.

 

[Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x]]

That depends on what you mean by "move". If you mean, "Take the existing
hard drive out of one PC and put it into another" that will almost surely
mean disaster. If you mean, "Install the software on another PC later with
the software CDs" that may or may not work. The OEM CD may be tied to your
existing hardware (legally it is now, but it may be locked so it cannot
physically be installed on another PC) and the XP may not install without
it.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Sorry for the double posting, I didn't know which group to put this
in.

I was talking to a computer repair shop person.

I have windows 98se full install oem cd. If I get the xp upgrade
retail version. I know I could use that.

What I wanting to know is can I move win98se oem CD & the xp upgrade
version to another computer without any problems to another computer
down the road? The computer shop person said yes and that is not
illegal to move the operating systems to another computer.

The 98 OEM has a license, like all OEM versions, that is solely to the
machine where it was first installed. So in terms of the license it may
not be moved to a different machine, and may not serve as qualifying
product there for an XP upgrade. A side point is that the CD almost
certainly would not be recognised as evidence if doing a clean install
with the upgrade CD.

What you could do is pick up a cheap ME CD at a computer fair or
somewhere - they can still be obtained, though 98 ones are no longer on
official sale. Provided the XP was removed from one machine, before
installing on another using that as evidence, the license would be
covered