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03-30-2008, 02:16 AM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Commander SMod Autobot  Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In Trotter's crawl space
Posts: 11,872
|  Differences between OEM and Retail Just to stop a lot of these questions as well i will answer this in regards to XP and Vista. OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. This is the software that is used by Dell, Hp and the rest and comes pre-installed on your pre-built machines. If you buy it from any online vendor it does not come with any boxes or instructions. It will be just the disc. NewEgg, TigerDirect, Amazon are just examples of the places you can use. Retail = what you buy at stores like Office Max or Wal-Mart. There are other Retailers you can get them from. Office Max and Wal-Mart are just examples. Windows XP OEM This can be used to activate on 3 machines. Windows XP Retail This can be used to activate on 3 machines. Windows Vista OEM This can be used to activate 1 machine. Windows Vista Retail This can be used to activate 3 machines. Now what i mean by that is you can install the OS and activate it by the Internet on that number of machines. This can only be done 1 machine at a time. You can only have 1 copy activated and operating on the Internet at any given time to be within the EULA and terms of the license agreement to be fully legal. That should solve your questions about the difference. Yes buying a OEM from a site like NewEgg is completely legal and can be used. The software can be reinstalled on the same machine a infinite number of times without using more than 1 activation. It doesn't matter which you buy. The software can be used on any machine just like a regular OS. Being OEM just means that it is bought by System Builds are a discounted rate. Nothing more. It will act just like a regular version of XP or Vista without any extra software needed. It will install and load up just like any other OS. As for any questions regarding if you can use your current XP OEM on a new build they can not and will not be answered. They are considered against forum rules since it is technically illegal to do such a thing.
__________________ If I have helped you, consider making a donation to help me build a better PC.    Last edited by Mak213; 05-31-2008 at 06:11 PM. |
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03-30-2008, 02:19 AM
| #2 (permalink) | |
| Retired.  Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 8,148
 | Re: Differences between OEM and Retail Doesn't OEM mean "Original Equipment Manufacture"? That's what it says on Wikipedia.
__________________  My computer uses 1.5A-load, .8A-idle, .65A-standby, .05A-turned off on 125V. "The spaces between your fingers were created so that another's could fill them in." Quote:
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03-30-2008, 02:22 AM
| #3 (permalink) |
| Commander SMod Autobot Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In Trotter's crawl space
Posts: 11,872
| Re: Differences between OEM and Retail Meh. I switched a word around. Fixed now. 
__________________ If I have helped you, consider making a donation to help me build a better PC. |
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03-30-2008, 03:23 AM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Master Techie  Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,104
 | Re: Differences between OEM and Retail yeah there has been a few Q's about retail and OEM lately...
__________________ Infernodeals | My NWN2 Module Project | Recommended PC Component's CPU:Q6600 RAM:2gb Crucial Ballisitx Mobo:Asus P5K GPU:9600gt ssc and then some Case:NZXT Lexablackline Monitor:226bw 2ms, and acer 17" secondary PSU: Corsair 620HX | Water cooling coming soon Crazy person: AMD is a third-world based company who use child labor extensively in their third world sweatshops |
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03-30-2008, 04:10 AM
| #5 (permalink) |
| Monster Techie  Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,276
| Re: Differences between OEM and Retail Any place you go people ask questions about this. Many people buy OEM disks and ask those precise questions about upgrading and having more then one system onhand. This is a good time to take notes. |
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03-31-2008, 06:44 PM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Hard Core Techie Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 10,399
| Re: Differences between OEM and Retail media center is more forgiving on activations on the same hardware
__________________ The Ultimate Hard Drive Utility PowerMax 4.23. (It now has the ability to clean a Boot Sector virus on the quick erase option.) The best browser Netscape 8 Have you accidently delete something? Look here (trial. the better one) and here(free)  |
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04-01-2008, 12:54 AM
| #7 (permalink) |
| Monster Techie Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,276
| Re: Differences between OEM and Retail Intially if you had to reinstall Windows a few times within a narrow time frame it was... oops! time to call MS in order to get XP reactivated with no hardware changes at all. Since Vista's release and having to reinstall XP on different occasions the activation was done instantly. And lately that was seen when moving both XP and Vista around between drives too. |
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