Windows Vista, OEM or Retail?

:lol: XP

OEM you don't get a box, and you don't get support, IIRC. Since you're supposed to be the manufacturer, you're supposed to provide the support.

Microsoft might be more restrictive about transferring to another machine so check the license. If you're building a Vista class machine that shouldn't be a problem for several years so go for the OEM and save some money.

Who here has ever called Microsoft for support? There is plenty of great Windows support on the net.

--- CHAS

chuckyHDDTV said:

Hey gents, me again.

Want to install Windows Vista on a new build. Question, what is the difference between OEM and retail?

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One hundred dollars, more or less

HIPAR said:

Who here has ever called Microsoft for support?

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Perhaps anyone who has ever tried to use the Windows website?

I like Retail. OEM is the same but the support isn't there. Microsoft has more options to me.

OEM licenses are supposed to be non transferable to another machine.

harsh said:

Perhaps anyone who has ever tried to use the Windows website?

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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Support.microsoft.com has become impossible... I rely on my technet support site and Google in general... most problems solveable there and then there is always dbstalk!

kevinwmsn said:

OEM licenses are supposed to be non transferable to another machine.

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There's no limit on transfers.

Google is my first line of attack. Google places Expert's Exchange solutions pretty highly, so I've created an account there. Lockergnome has also been quite helpful with stupid policy-type issues.

Sites other than Microsoft generally do a much better job of explaining the problem and the possible side effects of the solution. The truly heinous thing about Microsoft support is that it always seems to put tons of solutions for server products in when you ask for desktop Windows help. It is no wonder that they've pretty much failed in the search engine business if they can't get a Windows knowledge base to cough up relevant answers.

Mike728 said:

There's no limit on transfers.

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With the OEM, yes there is supposed to be no transfers. That's not to say you can't get around it and not to say they really enforce it, but as Kevinwmsn said, it is "supposed" to be achored to the first machine it is associated with and that's it. If that machine dies, so does(or supposed to) the license.

Chuck W said:

With the OEM, yes there is supposed to be no transfers. That's not to say you can't get around it and not to say they really enforce it, but as Kevinwmsn said, it is "supposed" to be achored to the first machine it is associated with and that's it. If that machine dies, so does(or supposed to) the license.

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I stand corrected. However, MS has never given me a hard time when transferring from say, an old dead Dell, to a freshly built system. I've done this on several occasions.

From MS's FAQ:
OEM software is licensed for use only on the computer system on which it was installed originally. However, retail software may be transferred, in its entirety, to a different computer system as long as the person transferring the software deletes all copies of the software from his personal computer. Another difference is the identity of the licensor; for retail software, the license agreement is between Microsoft and the end customer. For OEM software, the license agreement is between the PC manufacturer and the end customer.

I get it now. OEM is basically what I have been dealing with then. MS support? I have never dealt with MS for anything. Like most of you, I google or get on forums like this one to get the answers. Thanks for your input.

If you're buying Vista Ultimate then you only get one version (32 bit or 64 bit) iwth the OEM version while the retail version comes with both in the box.

Mike728 said:

From MS's FAQ:
OEM software is licensed for use only on the computer system on which it was installed originally. However, retail software may be transferred, in its entirety, to a different computer system as long as the person transferring the software deletes all copies of the software from his personal computer. Another difference is the identity of the licensor; for retail software, the license agreement is between Microsoft and the end customer. For OEM software, the license agreement is between the PC manufacturer and the end customer.

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In other words, the license agreement is between the PC manufacturer (yourself) and the end customer (yourself)?

Check out microsoft's education software program to get a copy of it. http://www.microsoft.com/education/howtobuystudents.mspx

If you qualify (in fact, only need kids in K-12 or university and school district participates in the MS program), you can order a full copy of Vista Ultimate online from the designated MS education software vendor for about $98 and Vista Business for about $82. It's a retail version but without the fancy box.

Chuck W said:

With the OEM, yes there is supposed to be no transfers. That's not to say you can't get around it and not to say they really enforce it, but as Kevinwmsn said, it is "supposed" to be achored to the first machine it is associated with and that's it. If that machine dies, so does(or supposed to) the license.

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Every 120 days or so (on a rolling basis) the activation computer is reset, so if you reinstall after 120 days, it doesn't know it's not the same PC. OEM disks that come from the IHVs (independent hardware vendors; Dell, Gateway, HP etc) can be locked to the BIOS of the PC, so it's not quite as easy.

CoriBright said:

OEM disks that come from the IHVs (independent hardware vendors; Dell, Gateway, HP etc) can be locked to the BIOS of the PC, so it's not quite as easy.

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^Yep.
You just need a copy of a standard MS OS (same version) and the "key" off of the old computer. I just did this again last night. A friend had an old dead E-machine that came with XP Home. I built her new computer from scratch, loaded the same OS and inserted her old key. Saved her around $100 and is legal, since it was her E-machine to begin with.