Vista 64/XP 32 network & OEM couple of questions before buying

TheBigCheese

TheBigCheese

TheBigCheese

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Hi guys

I use a lot of memory heavy applications and am thinking of upgrading my XP 32 system, to Vista 64 and buying 8GB of RAM to help keep things moving along nicely, the system is beginning to wheeze on 2GB at the moment.

My questions are:
The other computers on the network are all on XP 32, will they be able to see a Vista 64 machine and will we be able to file and print share as we do now? We frequently copy 60GB+ across the network at once so having to keep backing it onto an external HDD and moving it that way would be a real pain.

Vista 64 OEM - I have heard that you can't upgrade your hardware with a Vista OEM version, I can't seem to find a definite answer on this...I am using a C2D config at the moment but will be looking at moving to quad core I7 at some point in the future...would this pose a problem?

Many thanks!

P.S. Sorry for asking questions that have probably been asked many times before, I searched the forums and didn't find any immediate answers and I need to get this purchased today.
 
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I can promise you that many of your questions have been answered before :)
The quick answers:

32bit & 64bit Windows machines will happily "network together".
Be that in a "Workgroup" or "Domain" environment.

OEM versions of the OS are tied to the motherboard that the OS was originally installed onto.
So, you can replace any or all of the hardware inside your PC with the exception of the motherboard.
As soon as you replace the motherboard you are no longer license legal and will require a new license.

Before anyone jumps in - what you casn physically do and what you can legally do are two entirely different things.
Physically you could replace the motherboard and the OS will either activate online or via a phone call.
However in such a situation you would be no more license legal than someone who had downloaded their copy of the OS - activation is in no way proof of a legal copy of the OS.
 
Hi

Many thanks for the quick reply, it's great to know that they will work well together!

Hmm...bit tricky with the license...so you say it will still activate online or over the phone (which I have had to do before now with an XP install after I had formatted a couple of times which was also an OEM version)...if I do have to phone up then, will Microsoft still allow it to be activated, but technically it's breaking the license agreement?
 
TheBigCheese said:
Hmm...bit tricky with the license...so you say it will still activate online or over the phone (which I have had to do before now with an XP install after I had formatted a couple of times which was also an OEM version)...if I do have to phone up then, will Microsoft still allow it to be activated, but technically it's breaking the license agreement?
Click to expand...
That's the gist.

I suggest you stop there and read some of the other heated threads about the issue rather than turning this into yet another one. What has been said is technically correct, and is Microsoft's own interpretation of the OEM license.
 
TheBigCheese said:
Hi

Many thanks for the quick reply, it's great to know that they will work well together!

Hmm...bit tricky with the license...so you say it will still activate online or over the phone (which I have had to do before now with an XP install after I had formatted a couple of times which was also an OEM version)...if I do have to phone up then, will Microsoft still allow it to be activated, but technically it's breaking the license agreement?
Click to expand...
What about installing Windows 7 for the time being or until you upgrade and then buying Win 7 or Vista, whichever you choose.
 
Many thanks for the posts guys, it's appreciated :)

I've just seen that there is only £22 difference between the OEM and retail versions...so am I correct in thinking that with the retail version I can use it as and when and install it on a completely new machine when I upgrade eventually?

If so I'll just bite the bullet and go for the retail version.

Windows 7 is a good idea but it's going on a business machine so it has to be rock solid stable all the time.
 
TheBigCheese said:
I've just seen that there is only £22 difference between the OEM and retail versions...so am I correct in thinking that with the retail version I can use it as and when and install it on a completely new machine when I upgrade eventually?
Click to expand...
You can do what you like with it, provided it is only on one machine at any one time.
 
Yes you can with retail. If you do buy OEM you can sell it on with the motherboard of the PC it was originally installed on, at a price of course. That way you could install RTM Win 7. It is rock stable on my laptop BTW it that is any help.
 
Thanks, ordering now along with a HDD to put it on :D

Many thanks for the help guys, it's been a hell of a day today (for several reasons), but you've all made the day a little easier!
 
That's about the best you will get.

I would suggest that unless you need all the features in Ultimate, Home Premium is fairly similar (and cheaper).

You will miss out on (mainly):

Remote Desktop Server (though replacement dll can bodge it)
Domain Capabilities
No inclusion of x64 disc in box (have to pay £6 to get one sent from MS after receiving it).
 
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