Robert Katz

Bruce Chambers wrote:
> Robert Katz wrote:
>> I see OEM versions advertised. If I build my own PC and install an
>> OEM version, will I have a valid activated system?
>
> Yes.
>
>> What does the Full Version allow me to do that the OEM won't?
>>
>
> 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) 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 DVD 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 DVD 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 DVDs 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 DVD was designed.
> To be honest, such DVDs 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 DVDs, 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.

Thanks Bruce,

Here's the precise scenario:

I have a Hard Disk that has a legitimate installed version of Vista
Ultimate 64. It was installed by a Vista Ultimate Upgrade. That
version was activated. The machine on which it boots no longer exits,
although the disk does. I'm going to build my own PC (different
architecture), but I'd like to keep the disk as is. I want a
legitimate version.

a) Can I buy a Vista Upgrade and Upgrade Ultimate to Ultimate? and
keep everything in place?
b) If not, and I do a clean install, can I at least keep the data?
c) If I buy my own OEM version from a software vendor on the Web, can
I do an clean install and keep my data?
d) Say I have a PC running an activated copy of Vista, and I want to
get rid of that machine and build another. What mechanism allows me
to use the full version DVD to install a new machine, but disallows
the OEM DVD to to the same? That is how is the OEM version
permanently bound? And what does it mean to "transfer ownership of the
entire pc?"

--
Regards,

---Robert