XP Home Full and XP Home OEM Help

[Gabriel Knight]

Hi, I need to buy Xp Home but I dont know what best to go for. The oem
version on ebay is going for AU $124.00 I would buy it but I need to know
what the difference is from full XP to oem XP, Is it a striped version if so
what is it missing?

Thanks
GK

 

[Gordon]

Hi, I need to buy Xp Home but I dont know what best to go for. The oem
version on ebay is going for AU $124.00 I would buy it but I need to know
what the difference is from full XP to oem XP, Is it a striped version if
so what is it missing?

Thanks
GK

A slight confusion here - You can buy RETAIL or OEM versions, of which the
Retail can either a FULL version or an UPGRADE version. (I don't think you
can buy an Upgrade OEM version). The Upgrade version needs proof of
ownership of a qualifying OS for the Upgrade, and can do either an in-situ
upgrade of the OS or a clean install. The Full version does not need proof
of a qualifying OS and can also do an in-situ upgrade or a clean install.
In addition, an OEM version can only do a clean install (AFAIK) and is for
ever tied to the first machine on which it is installed, so if you install
an OEM version and the machine is either scrapped or disposed of in some
way, the licence goes with it.

Hope that's as clear as mud!

BTW, there is no difference between an installation done with an Upgrade
version and a one done with a Full version.

 

[smlunatick]

XP Home Full and XP Home OEM are usually the same version of XP. OEM
just means that the software needs to be sold with a qualifibg piece of
hardware, techincal support provided by seller and is forever tied to
the first PC that this software is installed on. Also, some OEM
versions can be "tweaked" for a specific brand of PC.

BTW: I would be worried on buying OEM versions from eBay. There have
a lot of stories of "pirated" versions being sold thru them.

 

[Gordon]

XP Home Full and XP Home OEM are usually the same version of XP.

Misconception. There is XP Retail and XP OEM. The Retail version may come in
Full or Upgrade.

 

[smlunatick]

XP Home Full is full RETAIL. The full RETAIL version is the same as
the generic OEM version. The major differences are: OEM is supported
by the seller and the Retail version can also do upgrade installs.

 

[Gordon]

XP Home Full is full RETAIL. The full RETAIL version is the same as
the generic OEM version. The major differences are: OEM is supported
by the seller and the Retail version can also do upgrade installs.

I say again - there are TWO versions of XP. Retail and OEM. Retail has two
sub-sets: - Full and Upgrade. OEM just has one set.

 

[John John]

smlunatick wrote:




I say again - there are TWO versions of XP. Retail and OEM. Retail has two
sub-sets: - Full and Upgrade. OEM just has one set.

What are you arguing about? What does the message header read and what
did the original poster ask? smlunatic answered the question correctly.

John

 

[Gordon]

What are you arguing about? What does the message header read and what
did the original poster ask? smlunatic answered the question correctly.

John

No he didn't. I quote:

XP Home Full and XP Home OEM are usually the same version of XP<

the ACTUAL version is RETAIL full, not "home full" as Home comes in either
Retail Full or Upgrade or OEM.

 

[Tim Slattery]

I say again - there are TWO versions of XP. Retail and OEM. Retail has two
sub-sets: - Full and Upgrade. OEM just has one set.

Meaningless semantics. There are in fact three versions of XP: Home,
Professional, and Media Center. Each can be purchased as OEM, Upgrade,
or Full Retail licenses.

Whether that's three versions or nine or some other number depends on
how you define your terms.

 

[John John]

John John wrote:




No he didn't. I quote:



the ACTUAL version is RETAIL full, not "home full" as Home comes in either
Retail Full or Upgrade or OEM.

Talk about BS! Anyone who reads the post knows what was asked. The term
"Full" version only relates to retail versions, not to OEM's! The term
XP Home Full automatically entails that the version is a retail version,
OEM versions are not distiguished as "full" or "upgrade", because there
is no such thing as upgrade OEM's. OEM's are usually described as OEM
"Generic" or "BIOS Locked"...

John

 

[Rock]

Hi, I need to buy Xp Home but I dont know what best to go for. The oem
version on ebay is going for AU $124.00 I would buy it but I need to know
what the difference is from full XP to oem XP, Is it a striped version if
so what is it missing?

An OEM version has some restrictions. The most significant is that once
it's installed on a computer by the license agreement it's tied to that
computer and cannot be transferred or moved to another computer, unless the
computer is sold with it. So for a legitimate sale you have to know whether
that OEM copy has ever been installed on another computer. If yes, then it
can't be transferred unless you're also buying the computer it's installed
on.

OEM versions can only do a clean install, not an upgrade.

OEM versions come it two types, one is the "generic" OEM version, the other
is a branded version, customized by a PC maker such as DELL or HP, and only
good for use on their computers.

I would recommend against buying an OEM copy of XP on EBay. You don't know
the history of that copy, if it has ever been installed on a computer, and
if the key is legitimate.

 

[Rock]

XP Home Full and XP Home OEM are usually the same version of XP. OEM
just means that the software needs to be sold with a qualifibg piece of
hardware,

This is no longer true. It does not have to be sold with hardware.

 

[Ron Martell]

XP Home Full is full RETAIL. The full RETAIL version is the same as
the generic OEM version. The major differences are: OEM is supported
by the seller and the Retail version can also do upgrade installs.

No they are not the same.

Difference number 1:
The Retail Full Install version of Windows XP Home, which comes in a
green Microsoft retail box and is labelled "for computers without
Windows or with Windows 95" or words to that effect; can also do an
upgrade from an installed version of Windows 98 or Windows Me. An OEM
version cannot do an upgrade.

Difference number 2:
The End User License Agreement (EULA) for an OEM version contains a
provision that permanently locks that license to the first computer
that it is installed on and it cannot be legitimately moved to another
computer under any circumstances, even if the first computer is lost,
stolen, scrapped or destroyed. The Retail versions contain no such
restriction, only that it can only ever be installed on one computer
at any given point in time and must be removed from that computer
before it can be installed onto another.

Difference number 3:
Retail licenses include some free technical support from Microsoft.
Support for OEM licenses is the responsibility of the OEM, which
usually means that there is none.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Ron Martell]

Meaningless semantics. There are in fact three versions of XP: Home,
Professional, and Media Center. Each can be purchased as OEM, Upgrade,
or Full Retail licenses.

Whether that's three versions or nine or some other number depends on
how you define your terms.

Semantics is fun.

XP Home, XP Pro, XP Media Center, and XP Tablet PC are actually
different *editions* of Windows XP not versions.

Versions are Retail Upgrade, Retail Full Install, OEM, Volume License,
Academic, and Value Pack (there may be others).

Not all editions of Windows XP are available in all versions. For
example, I have never seen Windows XP Media Center Edition in anything
but an OEM version, and Windows XP Pro is the only one that I have
seen in a Value Pack version.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi, I need to buy Xp Home but I dont know what best to go for. The
oem version on ebay is going for AU $124.00 I would buy it but I need
to know what the difference is from full XP to oem XP, Is it a
striped version if so what is it missing?

Nothing is missing, but it comes with certain restrictions:

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 can't call them with
a problem, but instead have to get any needed support from your OEM; that
support may range anywhere between good and non-existent. Or you can get
support elsewhere, such as in these newsgroups.

Those restrictions, especially the first one, make it a poor value to me.
Retail Upgrade copies usually cost only slightly more than OEM copies, and
are well worth that small additional cost, as far as I'm concerned. And if
you don't realize it, Upgrade copies *can* do clean installations, as long
as you have a CD of a previous qualifying version to insert as proof of
ownership when the installation prompts you to.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi, I need to buy Xp Home but I dont know what best to go for. The oem
version on ebay is going for AU $124.00 I would buy it but I need to know
what the difference is from full XP to oem XP, Is it a striped version if so
what is it missing?

Thanks
GK

Getting a legitimate license of any kind from eBay is something of
a crap shoot. One should be very careful buying any software on eBay,
as eBay makes no prior effort to ensure that such sales are legitimate.
The problems stem from two completely different sources, but have the
same results: the buyer gets ripped off. A great many people don't fully
understand the terms of the license they own, and don't understand that
they cannot legitimately resell it, and - worse still - there are a
great many sellers who do know that they're selling bogus licenses. eBay
reacts only when someone files a complaint, and then all that really
happens, especially in the case of the many deliberate fraudsters, is
the seller of the pirated software returns using a different alias, to
continue selling illegitimate licenses.

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 non-peripheral
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 main reason some people
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 on-line 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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[Gabriel Knight]

Excellent thanks all im convinced to get the full retail version and learnt
something, regards to all

GK

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Excellent thanks all im convinced to get the full retail version and
learnt something, regards to all

Why do you want the "Full" retail version instead of the Upgrade? The
Upgrade is far cheaper and has no disadvantages as compared to the Full
version, as long as you own a previous qualifying version. If you don't have
such a previous qualifying version, buy a used copy of Windows 98 on eBay.
the combination of that and the Upgrade will still be much cheaper than the
Full version.

 

[Rock]

Excellent thanks all im convinced to get the full retail version and
learnt something, regards to all

"Gabriel Knight" wrote

If you own a qualifying product for an upgrade, I would second Ken's
recommendation that you get the upgrade version of XP. It's just less
expensive than the full version, but can do either an upgrade or a clean
install. You just need to own the CD for a qualifying product.

 

[smlunatick]

PC/Computer/System Recovery CDs do not "normally" qualify as a
qualifying product. These are not "true" XP install CDs but a
"snap-shoot" image of the hard drive at the time the PC left the
factory. In order for these to be used as "qualifying media," these
must be used to install the "imaged" version of Windows and then
process the upgrade, from within Windows.