Vista OEM

rockabilly_spike

As has been pointed out, OEM has to be sold with hardware, we got told with VISTA its new Hard Disk or Motherboard ONLY.
Vista is a nightmare. we've had numerous branded PCs in for repair running Vista that Currys/Comet are sticking out and their guarantee doesnt cover software problems and incompatibility with Vista.

Don't bother upgrading YET, wait till its more stable.
If XP does the job, stick with it.

Also If your PC has no restore CD but an XP license you only need a copy of the same version as your PC runs (home or pro) not a new new license.
its the product license key that matters.
For each PC or laptop you'll need a seperate license key for XP or Vista unless you buy Vista business edition with a volume license.

if you buy an OEM disc and a stick of Ram for each machine isnt that gonna be MORE than you'd pay for XP?

if you have XP licenses and need the CDs, ask your local PC shop to make system restore discs for each one, cos we do it at Mega PCs.

banger9365

OEM VISTA is for system builder's and you do not need to buy hardware any more,
ive had vista for a few day (monday ) and it's just a stable if not more stable than xp put a lot of drivers are still beta , it is faster than xp put i am using 64bite and a ready speed usb stick .
antivirus software is a little thin put again it's because i am using vista 64 not 32,apart from big icons which you can change and the digital signingfor drivers that will not allow you to install nowt that not for vista it's very good (in my opion a lot better than xp/xp pro)
one thing i will say if your system will only run vista home keep with xp home/pro and if you can run vista get vista ultimate for all the extras.
bye the way i still have not activated it yet

rockabilly_spike

i personally found it a very easy first install but after that things started going wrong and it kept blocking the motherboards own sound drivers, even tho the asrock board in the machine i was working on is vista premium compatible.

it'll settle down but i think its too young of an OS for people to be upgrading so soon.

try linux ubuntu.
its pretty darn good and FREE!

h4nym

Maisiegirl

OEM will not install as an upgrade. It will insist that it is allowed to trash whatever's there - after all, it doesn't expect anything to be there on a new machine.

If you want to preserve settings / programs etc, you're going to need to either do a serious amount of backing up or buy an upgrade version.

Be aware, tho, that if you buy an upgrade version and you want to reinstall it at a later stage, then you'll need to install XP first, and then do the upgrade.

Sorry to be the bearer of discouraging news, but that's the reality...

On the "why bother" front, I haven't - and I get mine through my company and have had it available since November. It's pretty poo on stability and resource hunger, as well as being a real pain on security - almost everything you do produces an "Are you sure" prompt! So I'm waiting until there's at least one service pack out before I upgrade my XP.

Anyway - hope all this helps!

H

wakandem

you do not have to buy any other piece of hardware when buying oem version. The licenec does however stipulate
This package must only be distributed with a fully assembled computer.
This license is only valid if installed on the hard disk drive of the fully assembled computer.
Microsoft will not provide direct support for this product.

Thats it.

You will need a copy for each one.

I certainly agree with some of the above posts that there is no hurry to upgrade. get the ram maxed out 1st. If its not broke then dont try to fix it

rockabilly_spike

wakandem wrote:

you do not have to buy any other piece of hardware when buying oem version. The licenec does however stipulate
This package must only be distributed with a fully assembled computer.
This license is only valid if installed on the hard disk drive of the fully assembled computer.
Microsoft will not provide direct support for this product.

Thats it.

You will need a copy for each one.

I certainly agree with some of the above posts that there is no hurry to upgrade. get the ram maxed out 1st. If its not broke then dont try to fix it

Our firm is a Microsoft partner and we were told by them that an OEM copy can be sold with ONLY a new PC, a new Hard Disk or new Motherboard.
I'm not sure about anyone else but Overclockers.co.uk got into trouble for shipping Vista before its release date.
So MS are keeping a very close eye on it...tho they never bothered to send us any promo material!!!!

Its all very confusing, but like you said, if it aint broke....

banger9365

strange i got a copy of vista oem on monday and did not buy anything else form a well nown retailer

superscaper

banger9365 wrote:

strange i got a copy of vista oem on monday and did not buy anything else form a well nown retailer

As I've said on other threads just because a reseller/retailer does something doesn't mean they're right to do so. Even Amazon got into trouble with Microsoft over OEM issues. Just being a big retailer doesn't mean that they don't make licensing mistakes. What matters is what Microsoft says, not the retailer, it's their licence after all.

SeanW

You do not have to buy any hardware for system builder (OEM) editions. Nowhere in the licence is this stated. Retailer's are not breaking the licence, you are when you open the product and install it, if you do not meet the requirements.

You are waiving the right to support from Microsoft though, as a System Builder you are supplying the support. I see no problem in calling yourself the refurbisher of the computer you are installing it on.

OEM versions are locked to the motherboard, not the hard drive. This is because Microsoft believe a new motherboard is a new PC. If the motherboard is replaced due to failure, then it must be of the same model, or the manufacturer's equivalent replacement.

A retail version can be moved between computers so long as it is only ever installed on one PC at any one time.

sco0ter

SeanW wrote:

You do not have to buy any hardware for system builder (OEM) editions. Nowhere in the licence is this stated. Retailer's are not breaking the licence, you are when you open the product and install it, if you do not meet the requirements.

Could you please show the new updated SB license you are reading from as the only SB one I can find states that OEM software MUST be preinstalled or sold with non-peripheral hardware.. This one is actually the old XP one that has been updated for 2007 and according to microsoft all thier OS now come under the heading Microsoft windows and now have the same agreements.

http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/Public/sblicense/2007_SB_Licenses/English.pdf