why bother with oem ???

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

Dicehunter

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Okay today my friend had to reinstall his vista after putting in a new mobo, but first he had to phone microsoft and talk to a monkey for 4 hours, after that he explained that if he changes one more piece of hardware (hdd or mobo) he'll have to pay for vista to be re-activated, isnt this better know as extortion, no wonder mr gates goes to sleep on a bed of money, on pillows of notes and blankets of benjamins.
 
Hey Dicehunter, if your friend had the OEM version of Windows Vista (Which I am guessing he has) then he would have just violated the EULA. This is because, the licensing terms state that if you purchase the OEM version, once you have installed Windows Vista onto a machine then it is linked to that particular system. If you change the motherboard in your system I am afraid you will have to purchase a new copy of Windows Vista otherwise, if you use your exsiting copy of Windows with the new motherboard, you will be breaking the EULA. (This does not apply if you have to replace your motherboard under the warranty) :)

Dicehunter said:
after that he explained that if he changes one more piece of hardware (hdd or mobo) he'll have to pay for vista to be re-activated
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That's not quite right. If you change your Hard Disk Drive then you still have the right to use Windows Vista and you are still licensed. You only have to purchase a new copy of Windows Vista if you change your motherboard for a performance upgrade. (This only applies to the OEM version, the licensing terms are slightly different with the Retail version) :)

(Edit) - Sorry Dicehunter, I didn't really answer your original question. A lot of people buy the OEM version of Windows because it is much cheaper than the Retail versions. That's really the main reason. Now if you upgrade your motherboard on a regular basis then it will be much better to purchase the Retail version of Windows. :)
 
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AcidHell2 said:
That's what an oem is, that's why it's so cheap.

should have just lied to MS tbh.
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..and thereby not only still not be legally licensed but will have done a reseller like OCUK out of money as well.. :rolleyes:

People need to remember there's a whole string of companies that make money out of the sale of the appropriate versions of Vista, including the company that uses some of the profits to host these forums that we enjoy for free.
 
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Dicehunter said:
Okay today my friend had to reinstall his vista after putting in a new mobo, but first he had to phone microsoft and talk to a monkey for 4 hours, after that he explained that if he changes one more piece of hardware (hdd or mobo) he'll have to pay for vista to be re-activated, isnt this better know as extortion, no wonder mr gates goes to sleep on a bed of money, on pillows of notes and blankets of benjamins.
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People bother with oem because it's less than 1/3 of the price of retail. Unless you are going to be upgrading the motherboard 4 times or more, there is no reason to bother with retail. Also you can run oem windows on 3 pc's for the price of 1 retail version.
 
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So if you are only going to change your HDD then its ok? If so then why didnt he just say it was because hes changed his HDD? MS cant check all this can they, so surley people can get away with this left right and centre and just state they have upgraded there HDD again?
 
Hey Bikerz, if you have purchased the OEM version of Windows Vista, you can change any system component in your system apart from the motherboard and you will still be licensed.

Now as for your other question, if you do this you will be violating the EULA, as simple as that really. Just becuase you can do something, does not make it right. Morals. :)
 
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OK. I was just wondering. Nice to know you can change anything bar mobo. I havent brought Vista yet for this reason that im always changing bits and I need to save for Retail version. But seeing as I just brought a Nice ASUS P5KC mobo which takes DDR3 etcc then maybe will be worth it just to get OEM for me now if I can change anything I like as many times as I like bar the mobo
 
I read an article, that said with vista there is a kind of points system regarding changing components, for Eg; an HDD might be worth 2 points, a graphics card 3, a mother board 10.
And if you hit 10 points (or whatever) it wont let you re-activate.

You can reactivate when changing a motherboard if you tell them the motherboard is broken. why else would you change a motherboard :p morals, shmorals.
 
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mattyfez said:
I read an article, that said with vista there is a kind of points system regarding changing components, for Eg; an HDD might be worth 2 points, a graphics card 3, a mother board 10.
And if you hit 10 points (or whatever) it wont let you re-activate.
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That's true to a point, in effect you can only change so much and have an automatic re activation. If you change enough items you will have to call the support number for a new code. Unless you have updated your motherboard to a new model it won't be a problem though, you could in effect upgrade 5 hdd, the CPU 10 times and anything else you like with no problem. The limitation however is that the only time you can get a genuine reactivation code with OEM edition when replacing a motherboard is if you replace it under warranty like for like due to a fault.

It's a limitation but not a massive one if you consider the difference in cost between OEM and retail version which has no restrictions of being tied to a single machine for upgrades (although obviously you can only have it installed one one PC at a time).

mattyfez said:
You can reactivate when changing a motherboard if you tell them the motherboard is broken. why else would you change a motherboard :p morals, shmorals.
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:(
 
AcidHell2 said:
and the problem with that is?

Might want to come down from your soap box. it's not a good stance.
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Why not?
Do you think that everyone in the world is a lier and a thief?
Sorry but I will happily stand on this soap box that you indicate because I'm not thieving scum.
In our home we have 3 PC's and a laptop and all of them are running 100% license legal software.
Why?
Because lying or hacking or thieving software would be easy...
Because I actually have some morals - sorry you obviously don't feel the same way.
 
Dicehunter said:
Okay today my friend had to reinstall his vista after putting in a new mobo, but first he had to phone microsoft and talk to a monkey for 4 hours, after that he explained that if he changes one more piece of hardware (hdd or mobo) he'll have to pay for vista to be re-activated, isnt this better know as extortion, no wonder mr gates goes to sleep on a bed of money, on pillows of notes and blankets of benjamins.
Click to expand...

Your friend should have taken the time to understand what an OEM license actually is.
It's not Microsoft's fault that somebody has just decided to purchase something without first making sure what he has purchased will be up for the job.
OEM software is cheaper than retail.
Why?
Because it is good for installation onto one single machine - that machine is dictated by the motherboard, once this item is replaced then the license is no longer valid.
There is no extortion going on at all - this is the license agreement you/he clicked "OK/Accept" on when it was displayed on screen.
If your friend had paid that little bit more and bought a retail license he would now be licensed for ever to use Vista.
No matter how many upgrades he made, no matter how many new PC's he built, so long as the OS was installed on only one machine he would have been license legal.

Don't blame Microsoft for your friends mistake.
 
stoofa said:
Why not?
Do you think that everyone in the world is a lier and a thief?
Sorry but I will happily stand on this soap box that you indicate because I'm not thieving scum.
In our home we have 3 PC's and a laptop and all of them are running 100% license legal software.
Why?
Because lying or hacking or thieving software would be easy...
Because I actually have some morals - sorry you obviously don't feel the same way.
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Totally agree with you there :cool:

Maybe a 'Man of Honour' is not such a Man of Honour after all!
 
Fire Wizard said:
Hey Bikerz, if you have purchased the OEM version of Windows Vista, you can change any system component in your system apart from the motherboard and you will still be licensed.

Now as for your other question, if you do this you will be violating the EULA, as simple as that really. Just becuase you can do something, does not make it right. Morals. :)
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Firewiazrd, you seem to know a lot about the ins and outs of vista licensing and seem to always answer every single vista related question. Just to feed my curiosity, do you work for MS or do you generally have a major interest in Vista? I ask because your post are always extremely well constructed, almost as if picked out of some massive pre written guide? Not a jab at you btw just curious :p
 
AcidHell2 said:
there's a difference between stealing software and telling a little white lie. I bet you don't have fully legal licensed software,. Have you read the EULA? I bet you have broken a few of the rules.
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Firstly, it's not a white lie. Secondly, just because don't run legal software doesn't mean you can say that to everyone else, saying so is bordering on insulting. And finally, I can say that all my machines are properly licensed, yes I know the EULA back to front and no I havn't broken any of the rules.

Burnsy
 
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