Diff between WinXP OEM and boxed

[soulata]

I have WinXP Home OEM. When time comes I'll upgrade to whatever there will be (Vista whatever), let's say in 2007. Am I elegible for upgrade deals from OEM?

If not, that truly sucks.

k

[butter]

You should be able to buy an upgrade. MS offers upgrades for everything if it's boxed. Licensing is a different story but pretty much everything boxed is eligible for an upgrade.

http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/ ... ca8ec542d5

[Lord Snarebottom]

Your OEM WinXP should qualify for upgrade. I have never had a MS upgrade product that differentiated between an OEM version and a full box version.

[soulata]

thanks

k

[Stupid American Pig]

I think the only OEM restriction is that you cannot transfer the license to another machine. Boxed winders allows you to load it on a new machine if yer current machine were to die.

[butter]

I think the only OEM restriction is that you cannot transfer the license to another machine. Boxed winders allows you to load it on a new machine if yer current machine were to die.

That's correct. Even if the machine goes under you can't transfer it onto another computer.

Just to give everyone a heads up, you can buy OEM copies with anything that a computer needs to function. Whether it's a hard drive, memory, or whatever. I sell them with mice becuase a mouse is still a vital piece of hardware. If you see someone selling OEM copies without selling hardware with it they are doing so illegaly.

[soulata]

I think the only OEM restriction is that you cannot transfer the license to another machine. Boxed winders allows you to load it on a new machine if yer current machine were to die.

pretty lame

but what if:

mobo dies...
hdd dies...
is it still the same pc? do they check?

k

[Stupid American Pig]

I think the only OEM restriction is that you cannot transfer the license to another machine. Boxed winders allows you to load it on a new machine if yer current machine were to die.

pretty lame

but what if:

mobo dies...
hdd dies...
is it still the same pc? do they check?

k

Its a grey area- I would assume the activation system would be the first indication to MS. The HD is not really an issue, but if you replaced the motherboard you may need to use the exact same model.

[intel]

XP keeps a record of the hardware configuration. when enough key components have been changed, it will disable itself. so if your motherboard dies and you don't have to replace any other components, XP should still work. but if you replace the motherboard, cdrom, RAM and NIC chances are that XP will disable itself.

[rollasoc]

The main difference I found was about 150 quid. 150 quid just for a box.

[Programentalist]

XP keeps a record of the hardware configuration. when enough key components have been changed, it will disable itself. so if your motherboard dies and you don't have to replace any other components, XP should still work. but if you replace the motherboard, cdrom, RAM and NIC chances are that XP will disable itself.

That's what they said when it was released, I've never *EVER* heard of it happening though, I certainly have changed a lot of stuff in my computers without any problem at all. When you change key components you often reinstall anyway, and suddenly XP doesn't know you made any changes because it's seeing your system for the first time anyway.

There is no difference between OEM and Retail, the only difference lies in licensing, the software itself is identical. And while you're not allowed to transfer an OEM license, guess what, you can, just install it on the new computer and away you go. Now it's not legal, because the license doesn't allow it, but it's just a piece of software not an artificial intelligence so it's not gonna stop you either.

[deleted]

DELETED

[Stupid American Pig]

The main difference I found was about 150 quid. 150 quid just for a box.

And a transferable license

[deleted]

DELETED

[Stupid American Pig]

I didnt say it was right or wrong, but that is why its more expensive.