Windows 7 OEM

Relentless81 · 23 May 2010 at 09:53

I have an OEM copy of Windows 7 which I installed to my PC to get rid of Vista, that was a only a couple of months ago though and i'm in the process of building a new PC

Will I be able to use this copy on my new PC as my old PC will be stripped and sold off, you used to be able to do this, not sure if you can now but I hope so as I dont see the problem i'm only using one instance of it and it was/is expensive

Thanks

vanandjuanunited · 23 May 2010 at 09:55

Nope - you should have bought the retail version.

The OEM is tied to the motherboard

Relentless81 · 23 May 2010 at 10:14

Great, what a way to waste over £150, I suppose its my own fault for not getting a retail copy but it should be easier to tell the difference, all I saw was it was cheaper I just thought OEM meant no fancy packaging FFS this is an unexpected cost I didnt need

theheyes · 23 May 2010 at 12:45

I suppose you could try selling the old PC as a bundle with OEM copy (not much choice really) to try to recoup some money. But yeah, an expensive lesson to learn unfortunately.

Memphis · 23 May 2010 at 12:53

Relentless81 said:
Great, what a way to waste over £150, I suppose its my own fault for not getting a retail copy but it should be easier to tell the difference, all I saw was it was cheaper I just thought OEM meant no fancy packaging FFS this is an unexpected cost I didnt need

I can understand your frustration, but at the end of the day, when spending large amounts of money you really should be doing your research.

As you built the PC for yourself and not to sell on, you shouldn't have bought OEM anyway.

V F · 24 May 2010 at 02:45

I'm assuming this was Ultimate, as it's £150 for the OEM version here.

I once saw Ultimate retail for £148. If you know where to look you can get Ultimate 7 retail between £110 - £130. Plus the fact you get both discs, 32-bit and 64-bit.