oem or full retail

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RoS

Just what are the essential practical differences between the oem and full
versions and between the home and pro editions of XP.

The time has come to replace my old beige box and prices for high spec
systems seem too good to be true. I certainly couldn't build many of the
latest systems on offer for the same, let alone lower, cost. But without
exception every single one comes with XP home oem installed. Is it worth
upgrading?
Tia
RoS
 
The OEM versions do not come with waranty support so when
you call microsoft for support it would be a charge of
35.00$ to major credit card per issue. The retail
versions upgrade and full package(FPP) do come with
warranty. You can go to shop.microsoft.com for info on
both win xp home and win xp pro
 
RoS said:
Just what are the essential practical differences between the oem and full
versions and between the home and pro editions of XP.

The time has come to replace my old beige box and prices for high spec
systems seem too good to be true. I certainly couldn't build many of the
latest systems on offer for the same, let alone lower, cost. But without
exception every single one comes with XP home oem installed. Is it worth
upgrading?
Tia
RoS
Click to expand...

The main differences between an OEM version and a Retail version is that
the OEM version is only supported by the distributer and is not
supported by Microsoft. OEM versions will not perform an upgrade. Also
an OEM version is legally tied to the system it is first installed on
meaning you can't transfer it to another system. Some preinstalled OEM's
do not supply an XP CD but provide you with a Recovery Disk CD or have a
recovery image stored in a partition on the computer. You can't run
System File Checker nor can you run a Repair Installation with a
Recovery CD.

The differences between XP Home and XP Pro are found here
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
 
RoS said:
Just what are the essential practical differences between the oem and full
versions and between the home and pro editions of XP.

The time has come to replace my old beige box and prices for high spec
systems seem too good to be true. I certainly couldn't build many of the
latest systems on offer for the same, let alone lower, cost. But without
exception every single one comes with XP home oem installed.
Click to expand...

and frequently they don't provide MS Office just a load of junk programs and
games.

You might prefer going to a local store. Take along the spec for the machine
you want (in writing) and see if they will build you one with the S/W you
want on it.

If you really want the Retail version of the OS be very clear when you place
the order that you want the "original Retail version (not OEM) of the
Microsoft Windows XP/Office CD and Product ID to be provided with the
computer". This/these CDs should will have Microsoft logos and holograms on
them (eg they should not be CDRs!). Tell them you are prepared to pay for
this and see how much they quote.

Never assume that something will be provided. If it's not on the written
order you might not get it. If you want a warranty make sure the order says
that as wll.

Refuse to take delivery if the CDs and ID's are not provided. One advantage
of using a local shop is that you can go there to collect it in person. If
it's delivered to your home it's very hard to get the postman to wait while
you unpack a computer and check it's all there! Usually you are expected to
sign for it and have to sort out any problems later.
 
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 installed 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/model of PC, as an additional anti-piracy feature.
Further, such CDs are often 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, eastern European web sites, 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.

WinXP Home and WinXP Pro are _identical_ when it comes to
performance, stability, and device driver and software application
compatibility, but are intended to meet different functionality,
networking, security, and ease-of-use needs, in different
environments. The most significant differences are that WinXP Pro
allows for more granular file security control, up to 10 simultaneous
inbound network connections while WinXP Home only allows only 5, WinXP
Pro is designed to join a Microsoft domain while WinXP Home cannot,
and only WinXP Pro supports file encryption and IIS.

Windows XP Comparison Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Which Edition Is Right for You
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

"Which is better?" That depends entirely upon the uses to which
you put your computer, the network environment in which you'll operate
it, your specific security needs, and your level of computer
knowledge.


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
 
In
RoS said:
Just what are the essential practical differences between the oem and
full versions
Click to expand...


The OEM version can only legally be sold with hardware, although
these days, any piece of hardware, even a power cord, qualifies.
Although if you get a complete generic OEM version, it contains
the same software, it has the following disadvantages as compared
with the retail version:

1. Its license ties it permanently to the first computer it's
installed on. It can never legally be moved to another computer,
sold, or given away.

2. It can only do a clean installation, not an upgrade.

3. Microsoft provides no support for OEM versions. You can't call
them with a problem, but instead have to get any needed support
from your OEM; that support may range anywhere between good and
non-existent. Or you can get support elsewhere, such as in these
newsgroups.


and between the home and pro editions of XP.
Click to expand...


XP Professional and XP Home are exactly the same in all respects,
except that Professional has a few features (mostly related to
networking and security) missing from Home. For most (but not
all) home users, these features aren't needed, would never be
used, and buying Professional instead of Home is a waste of
money.

For details go to

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Also note that Professional allows ten concurrent network
connections, and Home only five.
 
Home only allows two user account-types - Administrator-
class and Limited-class. For a home with several children
of differing ages, Home and the lack of security options
that are implicit in the account-type limitations is not
acceptable. For a single home-user it is just fine.
 
Nelson said:
Home only allows two user account-types - Administrator-
class and Limited-class. For a home with several children
of differing ages, Home and the lack of security options
that are implicit in the account-type limitations is not
acceptable. For a single home-user it is just fine.
Click to expand...

Really ?
 
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