XP upgrade clean install and win98 OEM

C

Cat Malone

When the store where I purchased my PC from built and sold
me my machine many years ago, they supplied me with an OEM
version of Windows 98.

I'm in the process of building a new machine and upgrading
to Windows XP Professional.

Can a clean install upgrade be done using the Win98 OEM CD
as the verification disc or do I have to shell out extra
money and buy the full version of XP Pro?

Thanks,

Cat
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Cat said:
When the store where I purchased my PC from built and sold
me my machine many years ago, they supplied me with an OEM
version of Windows 98.

I'm in the process of building a new machine and upgrading
to Windows XP Professional.

Can a clean install upgrade be done using the Win98 OEM CD
as the verification disc or do I have to shell out extra
money and buy the full version of XP Pro?

Thanks,

Cat


It might work, technically, if you have a true installation CD and
not an OEM recovery disk for Win98. However, legally, you cannot use
the OEM Win98 license in such a manner.

OEM versions must be sold with a non-peripheral 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 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.

This means that you may not legitimately transfer the OEM Win98
license to the new computer in order to qualify for the upgrade
license. This leaves you two options, if you wish to act with
integrity and abide by the OEM EULA, to which you've agreed:

1) Purchase a full WinXP license for the new PC. An OEM license
would cost less than a retail license, but would be under the same
restrictions as the OEM Win98 license you now have.

2) Purchase a second-hand retail license for Win98 to use as a
"qualifier" for the WinXP upgrade license on the new machine. This
option may well cost less than the first.

--

Bruce Chambers

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