Diferent versions of XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Carl
  • Start date Start date
C

Carl

Hi Yall out there
I was looking at the prices of XP at a computer retailer on the net and
noticed a big diference in the prices on diferent versions of XP.
Like XP Pro upgrade is about $190. and XP Pro oem full is $159. and it said
XP Pro was $279.
What is the diference between The OEM version and XP Pro at $100. diference
in price.
Thanks alot
Carl
 
Greetings --

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 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 CD 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 CD 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 CDs 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 CD was
designed. (To be honest, such CDs should _not_ be available on the
open market; but, if you're shopping someplace like eBay, swap meets,
or computer fairs, there's often no telling what you're buying until
it's too late.) The "generic" OEM CDs, 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.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
Hi Carl,

The difference between XP Pro and XP Pro Upgrade, is the Upgrade version
requires you to have a previous operating system on your computer. The OEM
version, is the version you would receive without any of the
packaging/manuals. It's just the CD and CD Key.

Hope this helps!

Thx,
Nico Tomacelli
Microsoft Corp.
US - Windows Core:SOLID

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader
so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
 
Bruce said:
Greetings --

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 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 CD 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 CD 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 CDs 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 CD was
designed. (To be honest, such CDs should _not_ be available on the
open market; but, if you're shopping someplace like eBay, swap meets,
or computer fairs, there's often no telling what you're buying until
it's too late.) The "generic" OEM CDs, 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.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH




it said
Click to expand...

Great answers, Bruce. I learned a lot myself from your response.
 
Thank you verry much Bruce, I understant it all now i think,
If i am not particularly interested in Microsoft support i can get as much
out of an oem version that i buy with new hardware as the Retail version
then , is that about right ? I can probably get as good a support here on
the news group as i would get calling microsoft ,since all of YOU
knoledgeble people are out here on the news groups.
I learn a lot reading these news groups.
Thanks again Bruce
Carl
Bruce Chambers said:
Greetings --

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 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 CD 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 CD 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 CDs 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 CD was
designed. (To be honest, such CDs should _not_ be available on the
open market; but, if you're shopping someplace like eBay, swap meets,
or computer fairs, there's often no telling what you're buying until
it's too late.) The "generic" OEM CDs, 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.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
Click to expand...
 
Or qualifying media, i.e, win98, winME Cd's, etc

Nico Tomacelli said:
Hi Carl,

The difference between XP Pro and XP Pro Upgrade, is the Upgrade version
requires you to have a previous operating system on your computer. The OEM
version, is the version you would receive without any of the
packaging/manuals. It's just the CD and CD Key.

Hope this helps!

Thx,
Nico Tomacelli
Microsoft Corp.
US - Windows Core:SOLID

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader
so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
Click to expand...
 
For someone who claims to work for MS, that's a TERRIBLE answer, and not
wholly correct either! Upgrade version do NOT require you to have a
previous version on your computer, they only require you to either have it
on your computer, or have the original installation CD you can insert to
show you have a previous version... And the OEM is a LOT more than just a
CD and key, the license in the most important part...

Sheesh... you'd think an MS employee would know better... Try reading
Bruce's excellent reply to the OP...

Lorne

Nico Tomacelli said:
Hi Carl,

The difference between XP Pro and XP Pro Upgrade, is the Upgrade version
requires you to have a previous operating system on your computer. The OEM
version, is the version you would receive without any of the
packaging/manuals. It's just the CD and CD Key.

Hope this helps!

Thx,
Nico Tomacelli
Microsoft Corp.
US - Windows Core:SOLID

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader
so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
Click to expand...
 
Carl said:
Thank you verry much Bruce, I understant it all now i think,
If i am not particularly interested in Microsoft support i can get as
much out of an oem version that i buy with new hardware as the Retail
version then , is that about right ? I can probably get as good a
support here on the news group as i would get calling microsoft
,since all of YOU knoledgeble people are out here on the news groups.
I learn a lot reading these news groups.
Thanks again Bruce
Carl
Click to expand...



Yes, as you seem to understand the limitations and will use the OEM on new
hardware [i.e. motherboard]. When purchasing OEM for old obsolete
motherboards, the OEM is not really a bargain.
Click on or copy and paste the link below into your web browser address box.
OEM clarification.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/oemeula.htm
--

Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm
 
Greetings --

You're welcome.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
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