XP OEM of Retail

Simonnn · 15 Aug 2006 at 22:55

XP OEM or Retail?

Whats the difference? Retail seems double the price at most places so whats the difference?

Ascendancy · 15 Aug 2006 at 23:22

Retail package includes a box and a manual. OEM only gets you the CD and License. Also, I think the OEM license is slightly different in that you can only install it on the one hardware configuration or something.

unknowndomain · 16 Aug 2006 at 00:08

The main thing is that if you call microsoft for support, they will say call your computer manufacturer which is you. However if the person at microsoft is nice you may find they help you on a temporary base as they did once for me however theres no telling whether they would do this again for others or not. So if you wana take the chance that their is some thing on windows you can't fix then go OEM otherwise cough up the little extra for retail.

Also, I think the OEM license is slightly different in that you can only install it on the one hardware configuration or something.

Although this is true its also the same for retail you are only allowed to install the software on one system at a time and also once installed on that one system it may only be used on that system from the first install onwards. ie. you couldent install it to one system then format the system and install it on another dispite the fact that there is only one system with a working installation on it. (AFAIK)

Al Vallario · 16 Aug 2006 at 00:57

unknowndomain said:
Although this is true its also the same for retail you are only allowed to install the software on one system at a time and also once installed on that one system it may only be used on that system from the first install onwards. ie. you couldent install it to one system then format the system and install it on another dispite the fact that there is only one system with a working installation on it. (AFAIK)

I thought it was possible to transfer retail licenses from one system to another? Of course you cannot run it on two systems simultaneously, but I seem to remember this was one thing that riled OEM users.

Hades · 16 Aug 2006 at 01:35

Al Vallario said:
I thought it was possible to transfer retail licenses from one system to another? Of course you cannot run it on two systems simultaneously, but I seem to remember this was one thing that riled OEM users.

That's how I understand it too. retail can be uninstalled and re-installed on another machine but OEM can't. MS determine a machine by the motherboard. So in other words if you upgrade the mobo on an OEM install then it's probably hit and miss whether you can get it installed again.

PsiFox · 16 Aug 2006 at 09:00

The retail version is able to transfer the operating system to a new PC (if uninstalled first).

The OEM is for the system build only. Get a new PC buy another copy of XP.

Burnsy2023 · 16 Aug 2006 at 09:36

Quoted from the sticky, that nobody reads:

What are the differences between OEM and Retail editions?

With an OEM edition of Windows there are certain restrictions in the EULA which differentiate it from the full retail version.

Firstly, the OEM license is said to be ‘non-transferable’. This means that once the license has been attached to a particular PC, it cannot be moved to another, even if the OS has completely been removed from the first computer. The full retail version is slightly different. With the retail edition you are granted one concurrent license. This means that you can move the OS from one machine to another as long as you remove it from the first machine. It also means that you can change the hardware within the computer without it affecting the license validity.

Also, with the retail license you are entitled to free technical support from Microsoft. The OEM edition has support provided by the OEM itself and support may not be complete or free.

Burnsy