Vista Retail vs OEM

Is there any difference in the setup of the OEM and retail versions of Vista,
i.e., customize and setting up a dual boot configuration? Also, does the OEM
version allow reinstall on the same computer in the event of system recovery
and/or other problems? Thanks.
RickC

You cannot perform an UPGRADE using OEM.
Only a clean install....

You can reinstall an OEM version infinite times as long as its on the same
PC


"leoram" <> wrote in message
news:FE229045-912A-425D-8D25-...
> Is there any difference in the setup of the OEM and retail versions of
> Vista,
> i.e., customize and setting up a dual boot configuration? Also, does the
> OEM
> version allow reinstall on the same computer in the event of system
> recovery
> and/or other problems? Thanks.
> RickC

leoram wrote:
> Is there any difference in the setup of the OEM and retail versions of Vista,
> i.e., customize and setting up a dual boot configuration? Also, does the OEM
> version allow reinstall on the same computer in the event of system recovery
> and/or other problems? Thanks.

1. OEM is separated into two versions: 32-bit or 64-bit.
You can't have both, per Retail version.
(not sure about Home Basic)

2. OEM must come with a *BOOTABLE PC*. You are not supposed to
buy it alone, via maybe Amazon (the so-called System Builders
version).

3. You need an invoice to prove this so as to make the OEM
license effective. The invoice must list the version and grade
of the Vi$ta, and the components of the bootable PC

4. Above are information I collected from Micro$oft Hong KOng.
Your country may be different.

Good luck!

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
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Man-wai Chang ToDie wrote:
> leoram wrote:
>> Is there any difference in the setup of the OEM and retail versions of
>> Vista, i.e., customize and setting up a dual boot configuration?
>> Also, does the OEM version allow reinstall on the same computer in the
>> event of system recovery and/or other problems? Thanks.
>
> 1. OEM is separated into two versions: 32-bit or 64-bit.
> You can't have both, per Retail version.
> (not sure about Home Basic)
>
> 2. OEM must come with a *BOOTABLE PC*. You are not supposed to
> buy it alone, via maybe Amazon (the so-called System Builders
> version).
>
> 3. You need an invoice to prove this so as to make the OEM
> license effective. The invoice must list the version and grade
> of the Vi$ta, and the components of the bootable PC
>
> 4. Above are information I collected from Micro$oft Hong KOng.
> Your country may be different.
>
> Good luck!
>

5. The OEM license expires when the PC that bundled it dies,
unlike the Retail version.

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 7.04) Linux 2.6.23.1
^ ^ 19:44:01 up 5 days 11 min 0 users load average: 0.00 0.05 0.01
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leoram;500492 Wrote:
> Is there any difference in the setup of the OEM and retail versions of
> Vista, i.e., customize and setting up a dual boot configuration? Also,
> does the OEM version allow reinstall on the same computer in the event
> of system recovery and/or other problems? Thanks.
> RickC

You can re-install either retail or OEM versions as many times as you
need to, provided that it is on the same computer. Another critical
issue to consider is that Microsoft does not provide product support for
the OEM version, the supplier where you bought it is responsible for
that. (-I never could figure that one out, but thats how it works-).

If you have the retail version, you can concievably install it onto
another PC (i.e. New Hardware), but I believe that this can only be done
once.

It is possible to use the same OEM media on different hardware and to
re-activate windows with the same product key, but you'll need to be a
system builder like me to do that.


--
dzomlija

____________________________________
Peter Alexander Dzomlija
Do you hear, huh? The Alpha and The Omega? Death and Rebirth? And as
you die, so shall I be Reborn...

- ASUS A8N32-SLi-Deluxe
- AMD Atlon 64 Dual-Core 4800+
- 4GB DDR400
- ASUS nVidia 6600
- Thermaltake Tai-Chi Watercooled Chassis
- 1207GB Total Formatted Storage
- Vista Ultimate x64
- CodeGear Delphi 2007

Man-wai Chang ToDie wrote:
> Man-wai Chang ToDie wrote:
>> leoram wrote:
>>> Is there any difference in the setup of the OEM and retail versions
>>> of Vista, i.e., customize and setting up a dual boot configuration?
>>> Also, does the OEM version allow reinstall on the same computer in
>>> the event of system recovery and/or other problems? Thanks.
>>
>> 1. OEM is separated into two versions: 32-bit or 64-bit.
>> You can't have both, per Retail version.
>> (not sure about Home Basic)
>>
>> 2. OEM must come with a *BOOTABLE PC*. You are not supposed to
>> buy it alone, via maybe Amazon (the so-called System Builders
>> version).
>>
>> 3. You need an invoice to prove this so as to make the OEM
>> license effective. The invoice must list the version and grade
>> of the Vi$ta, and the components of the bootable PC
>>
>> 4. Above are information I collected from Micro$oft Hong KOng.
>> Your country may be different.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>
> 5. The OEM license expires when the PC that bundled it dies,
> unlike the Retail version.
>

6. When (5) happens, everything that's based on the OEM license
would collapse like cascading delete. If you bought an Window$
Upgrade for that OEM license, the Upgrade would no longer
usable until it find a new root.

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 7.04) Linux 2.6.23.1
^ ^ 19:56:01 up 5 days 23 min 0 users load average: 0.13 0.03 0.01
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> It is possible to use the same OEM media on different hardware and to
> re-activate windows with the same product key, but you'll need to be a
> system builder like me to do that.

How does Micro$oft define "System Builder"?

A valid company name in the US government?

What about other countries?

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 7.04) Linux 2.6.23.1
^ ^ 20:06:01 up 5 days 33 min 0 users load average: 0.00 0.00 0.00
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>
> 2. OEM must come with a *BOOTABLE PC*. You are not supposed to
> buy it alone, via maybe Amazon (the so-called System Builders
> version).
>

That's not true. At least not in the US. The
details are here:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070130-8730.html

It's perfectly OK to buy OEM Windows in the US.
The difference is that it's licensed to a PC rather than
a person, so it's can't be transfered later to a second
PC.
Of course, it may not be legally binding to
restrict a license for intellectual property to an inanimate
piece of metal that hasn't been demonstrated to have human
consciousness, but Product Activation will enforce the
license whether it's legal or not.

> Of course, it may not be legally binding to
> restrict a license for intellectual property to an inanimate
> piece of metal that hasn't been demonstrated to have human
> consciousness, but Product Activation will enforce the
> license whether it's legal or not.

But you are *NOT* supposed to buy the OEM Vi$ta for a dead PC and put it
in another living one. That Vi$ta must go with the PC listed in the
invoice (aka Honesty, Your Honor).

--
@~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
/ v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
/( _ )\ (Xubuntu 7.04) Linux 2.6.23.1
^ ^ 20:22:01 up 5 days 49 min 0 users load average: 0.00 0.01 0.00
news://news.3home.net news://news.hkpcug.org news://news.newsgroup.com.hk

Many thanks to all for the info and links; very helpful. A great day to all!
RickC

"Man-wai Chang ToDie" wrote:

> > It is possible to use the same OEM media on different hardware and to
> > re-activate windows with the same product key, but you'll need to be a
> > system builder like me to do that.
>
> How does Micro$oft define "System Builder"?
>
> A valid company name in the US government?
>
> What about other countries?
>
> --
> @~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY.
> / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you!
> /( _ )\ (Xubuntu 7.04) Linux 2.6.23.1
> ^ ^ 20:06:01 up 5 days 33 min 0 users load average: 0.00 0.00 0.00
> news://news.3home.net news://news.hkpcug.org news://news.newsgroup.com.hk
>