Windows XP RETAIL-UPGRADE-OEM

[Rod]

Other than price, what is the difference between Windows
XP RETAIL-UPGRADE-OEM? What can you do with each and not
the other? With the UPGRADE version is a NEW INSTALL the
same as a CLEAN INSTALL using the RETAIL version? Thank
you.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

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

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 technical support
-- must be purchased with some type of computer hardware
-- cost less than "retail versions" due to the above limitations


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

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


| Other than price, what is the difference between Windows
| XP RETAIL-UPGRADE-OEM? What can you do with each and not
| the other? With the UPGRADE version is a NEW INSTALL the
| same as a CLEAN INSTALL using the RETAIL version? Thank
| you.

 

[Frank Jelenko]

Here's my understanding:

Retail - Support from MS; can be installed on pc's different from the first
one it's installed and activated on. Of course, the OS is to be on only 1
pc at a time. You can sell/transfer the license.

Full - Does not require proof of ownship of earlier, qualifying version of
Windows.

Upgrade - Requires proof of ownership of earlier, qualifying version of
Windows.

OEM - NOT supported by MS. Supported by whomever you buy it from. In many
cases, this means you provide the support. It is tied to the first pc it is
installed and activated on. Even if the pc blows up, dies, etc, an OEM
version is not to be installed on another pc. You can not sell/transfer the
license.

 

[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 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.

An Upgrade license requires that there be a license for an
earlier, qualifying operating system for the target PC, although that
OS need not necessarily be installed. It's quite possible to perform
a clean installation using an Upgrade CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process.

Simply boot from the WinXP Upgrade CD. The Upgrade CD checks to
see if a qualifying OS is installed, and, if it finds none, it asks
you to insert the installation media (CD) of that OS. Unfortunately,
an OEM "Recovery/Restore" CD will not work for this purpose; you must
have a true installation CD, complete with the "\Win98" folder and
*.cab files, or the "\i386" folder of WinNT/2K.

Alternatively, or especially if all you have is an OEM Recovery CD
for the earlier OS, you can even start the upgrade from within the
current Win98/Me/NT/2K installation, and still elect to perform a
clean installation, to include formatting the drive. In this case,
there's no further request for the qualifying OS's installation CD,
because the installation routing "remembers" that you started from
within the qualifying OS. This process is more time-consuming, but
you get the same results: a clean installation of WinXP.


Bruce Chambers

--
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[Guest]

Just but a OEM, Change the setupp, re-burn. The support is
not worth a dime, cause they blame in on the hardware.

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
Here's my understanding:

Retail - Support from MS; can be installed on pc's different from the first
one it's installed and activated on. Of course, the OS is to be on only 1
pc at a time. You can sell/transfer the license.

Full - Does not require proof of ownship of earlier, qualifying version of
Windows.

Upgrade - Requires proof of ownership of earlier, qualifying version of
Windows.

OEM - NOT supported by MS. Supported by whomever you buy it from. In many
cases, this means you provide the support. It is tied to the first pc it is
installed and activated on. Even if the pc blows up, dies, etc, an OEM
version is not to be installed on another pc. You can not sell/transfer the
license.





.
Is N09-00048 a RETAIL or FULL version or are they one in

the same? This is the version I purchased. I want to
upgrade from WIN98se, but I want to upgrade not using any
of the WIN98se files. I want a clean and complete version
of Windows XP Home Edition. Should I return the RETAIL
version for a UPGRADE version? Or for a CLEAN and
COMPLETE version or Windows XP Home Edition should I do
the upgrade with the RETAIL version? Thank you.

 

[Donald McDaniel]

the same? This is the version I purchased. I want to
upgrade from WIN98se, but I want to upgrade not using any
of the WIN98se files. I want a clean and complete version
of Windows XP Home Edition. Should I return the RETAIL
version for a UPGRADE version? Or for a CLEAN and
COMPLETE version or Windows XP Home Edition should I do
the upgrade with the RETAIL version? Thank you.

A. There are 4 Retail versions of XP
1)Windows XP Professional ("Full", or "For installation on a computer
without a version of Windows")
2)Windows XP Professional ("Upgrade", or "For installation on a computer
with an existing version of Windows")
3)Windows XP Home ("Full", or "For installation on a computer without a
version of Windows")
4)Windows XP Home ("Upgrade", or "For installation on a computer with an
existiing version of Windows")

B. All Retail versions are boxed.

C. "N09-00048" is the "FULL" retail (boxed) version of XP Home.

D. An "UPGRADE" install will install the OS files over the old OS,
leaving all your files and data in place, and leave the previous OS
files on the HD so that you may downgrade (if you instruct the XP
install program to do this)

E. A "CLEAN" install will partition and format a portion (or all) of
your hard drive, then install the OS files on the newly formatted
partition.

F. The "FULL Retail" version (boxed) will do either an "UPGRADE"
install, or a "CLEAN" install. To install it, no previous version of
Windows 9x is needed.

G. The "UPGRADE Retail" version (boxed) will do either an "UPGRADE"
install or a "CLEAN" install (if you have a previous version of Windows
9x.)

H. If you have purchased a "Full" Retail version of XP Home, there is no
need to return it, unless you want to save some money ($100 or more),
and have a previous version of Windows 9x.

 

[Gary Tait]

the same? This is the version I purchased. I want to
upgrade from WIN98se, but I want to upgrade not using any
of the WIN98se files. I want a clean and complete version
of Windows XP Home Edition. Should I return the RETAIL
version for a UPGRADE version? Or for a CLEAN and
COMPLETE version or Windows XP Home Edition should I do
the upgrade with the RETAIL version? Thank you.

Both the Upgrade and the Full Retail vesrions work the exact same way,
except the Upgrade requires proof of ownsership of a previous version,
either in an allready operating installation of the qualifying OS, OR
the install media of the previous version when doing a clean install,
which the upgrade can do.