XP "OEM" questions??

Thanks again jenjen.

However, being the impatient person that I am, I already ordered earlier this morning. :D

I ended up getting it for 98.04 and the hardware they made me get with it was 1.95, it was a Cd-rom/Cdrw Audio Cable or something like that. lol

Should get here by Tuesday. At any rate, I'm happy. Thanks again all for replying.

:D

.dublix

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Originally posted here by SmokeyDragon
i have an oem and i have it installed on multiple computers and it works fine
it should not matter unless like u install it on a few hundred commputers

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I hope your right on that one.
Source: http://www.bootdisk.com/bootlist/074.htm


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 reuse your OEM license on a new 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 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 live or email support for problems with the OS.


3) An OEM CD cannot perform an upgrade, as it was designed to be installed _only_ upon an empty hard drive.

I've reused my OEM license though imitation rust.

I deleted the OS on one computer and put XP on another called M$ up told them that I had reinstalled and just needed to get re-activated. They did it.

btw dublix I buy form http://tcwo.com

I pay $94 for XP home and $137 for XP pro.

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An OEM license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another computer under any circumstances.

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Wait a minute, does that mean I can't keep reinstalling it on the first pc or does that just mean it places something in the BIOS or what not that allows it to "see" that it has been moved to a different pc? Cause if you couldn't keep reinstalling then that would be very crappy... really wouldn't make much sense either. Perhaps I have asked a stupid question here though... :p

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btw dublix I buy form http://tcwo.com

I pay $94 for XP home and $137 for XP pro.

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Thanks for sharing. Man, that's a great deal for pro. Like 20 or so under the best I have seen yet.

Are those guys very reliable Cheyenne? I have been using tigerdirect for a long time and they have yet to screw me, so. However, I'm not reluctant to try something new.

.dublix

lol

see tigerdirect screwed me over once, so I quit using them.

So far I've ordered parts form them to build 6 computers, and have never had a problem with them.

If you want to install XP on another machine, go ahead and install it using your license key, then when you need to reactivate it, just call microsoft. They'll ask you if you have it installed on any other computers, just say no, they'll give you a activation code, and your set :D

Thanks for the info. I just might give them a try real soon. :D

.dublix