Retail or OEM on new Sager laptop?

Do every laptops that come with Windows installed are OEMs?

 

They are Sager/Midern Computer OEM Copies. However, Pirating is not condoned here. I'd be in your best interest to keep it legal.

 

Does it work if I just go to BestBuy and OEM one?

 

Where do people usually purchase their Sager laptops?

 

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer (aka not retail). Going to BestBuy and OEMing anything doesn't make sense on quite a few levels.

Sager laptops can be purchased from online retailers like XoticPC.com.

 

You can purchase a retail copy of Windows 7 (Best Buy) and put it on a Sager or any laptop/desktop for that matter.

What you can't do is buy an OEM copy of windows and install it on anything other than the equipment it came with.

 

I bought my Sager without an OS. Came to me from Sager with just a blank harddrive.

 

I also bought mine without an OS because I have an unused retail copy of Windows XP and an Upgrade edition of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I couldn't install Win7 Upgrade without first installing XP and activating it. I couldn't install XP without an F6 disk for the SATA controller. I didn't have a USB floppy drive, so I had to slipstream my XP install disc with SATA drivers. Then call Microsoft and activate via phone. Then switch SATA controller to AHCI mode in the BIOS when I was ready to upgrade to Win7.

In other words, get a retail copy of Win7.

 

One good thing about being a college student is the MSDNAA program, free copies of windows. (Although I mostly use Linux anyway)

 

Retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium is $200. The disc will let you choose 32-bit or 64-bit. It also comes in a nice box and has an instruction manuel, basic quick start guide, your serial, and the installation disc.
Example of Retail (in US dollars):
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full

OEM copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit or 64-bit is $100. It only comes with a basic quick start guide, your serial, and the installation disc. OEM is fixed, if you want 32-bit, you have to buy 32-bit and the same goes for 64-bit.

I would recommend buying an OEM copy of Windows 7 to save money if this option is available to you in your country.

Example of OEM (US dollars):
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1-Pack DSP DVD - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - Operating Systems

 

OEM/System Builder OS is ok to install on the laptop.

The OEM/System Builder copy of Windows 7 means that once you register and activate the license on that hardware, the license is forever tied to that machine and cannot be carried over to separate computer, like a desktop PC. OEM does not mean that it is limited to only companies being able to use it...it just means that the license is tied to hardware.

Retail copies of Windows can be installed on any machine, as long as it is limited to one computer per license. So that means if you install Retail Win7 on a laptop, and then change the laptop to Ubuntu, you can then take the Retail Win7 and install it on some other computer.

 

Every time a computer comes with Windows installed, it is an OEM version/license. MifuneT is correct in everything they said.

Here's some additional info:
OEM versions of Windows 7 are identical to Full License Retail versions except for the following:

- OEM versions do not offer any free Microsoft direct support from Microsoft support personnel

- OEM licenses are tied to the very first computer you install and activate it on

- OEM versions allow all hardware upgrades except for an upgrade to a different model motherboard

- OEM versions cannot be used to directly upgrade from an older Windows operating system

 

This is not entirely true- there are also VL (Volume License) versions as well. They're less common on the consumer end, and targeted more for business. If you have a work machine and work at a larger company, odds are they're using a volume license deal where one key can register x number of products. It's cheaper and easier for companies to use VL keys and installs than retail editions (and they can push security policy and customized installs as well). Just pointing it out though! Most people have probably never heard of Volume Licensing.

The rest of your points are true though, OEM editions are much more restrictive than the Retail versions. Most retail installs allow up to 3 different machines (not at the same time) and 10 uses per key and are not hardware dependent. OEM keys are tied to one machine and are essentially only good for one use. Hence the large difference in price between the two. Sager, and most laptop companies for that matter, use OEM (original equipment manufacturer) images because they get them at a discount and only need to install it once. Theoretically, maintenance by the end user can be done with system recovery tools or partitions without the need to reinstall completely.

Well said though, Anakimana.

 

I kept reading how OEM copies of Win 7 get locked to the computer they are installed on. When my desktop died (it had OEM Win 7), I ordered my NP8150 with no OS (just to attempt to use my OEM Win 7 disc, but I had my doubts). It installed with no problem what so ever.

So I don't know what happened, I thought I wasn't able to reinstall it on another computer, but it worked. I'm not complaining of course, just sharing my story

 

I don't doubt your story. While it did work, unfortunately it's not legal, and Microsoft will eventually let you know that you're not using a genuine copy of Windows. I've seen it before... and at that point, you'll be restricted in what updates you can get from MS. They could lock down your OS if they decide to, like they do when you refuse to activate.

 

Yeah, I'll hope that doesn't happen. I know the logic behind OEM copies, but I'm not paying for another license

 

definitely get oem for a laptop. unless you're a pc junkie and upgrade your desktop/laptop all the time. then it's worth it for retail. but then again, it could also hurt resale value selling an os'less laptop.

 

Locked, as far as voluntarily complying with the conditions of the license agreement. Whether you honor those terms is another thing. Actual license enforcement by Microsoft is a bit of a grey area, but it's always good to have your licensing in order.

In almost every case I've heard of, Microsoft is very flexible when it comes to license activations for home users. Ie: Unexpected hardware loss like you experienced-- if you were to call Microsoft with your case, i'm 99% confident that they would allow for the way you used your OEM license and actually issue you a brand new Product Key so that it would be unique for your machine.

Microsoft is a good company, the amount of software support they have on tap (contrary to popular belief) is amazing. I <3 my TechNet subscriptions.

 

So, what do they consider it a new system? Is the OEM version locked to the motherboard (expressed in license agreement)? Say I bought my Sager with OEM Win 7 installed. Six months later I need to change the motherboard (warranty service), am I "required" by license agreement to pay for a new copy of the Win 7? What if I am out of warranty and I bought a motherboard from eBay, it is considered a new system now?

To make it more confusing, what if I purchased a brand new OEM Win 7 from Newegg and installed it to a desktop system that is custom build (myself). Do I need to purchase another copy of OEM when I switch out the motherboard later? Or maybe I can switch to a same model but not to a different model?

 

Replacing the motherboard in a laptop would be fine because it's the same model of motherboard. In your desktop computer, if you got a completely different model of motherboard you would, according to their rules, need to buy a new copy of Windows. I like the way retail licensing works. It's my license, I can use it on whichever single PC I want and upgrade my motherboard/CPU/RAM every couple of years, and only buy every-other version of Windows as they are released. I skipped Vista because XP Pro was still working fine for me. When 7 was released, XP was *really* showing it's age, but since I had retail XP licenses, I essentially got a nice discount on Win7 because my Upgrade Editions carry forward the license's Retail status.

 

Thats weird. The Windows 7 Home premium OEM version I got from Xoticpc has both 32/64 bit.

Are you sure OEM's can't do both ;/?

 

They can definitely do both. A Microsoft activation key is good for both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions. However, the installation media (usually the install disk) only has either the 32 bit or 64 bit version- not both. If you bought a 32 bit OEM disk, you won't have access to the 64 bit version on that disk and vice versa.

Even then, automatic activation may fail, because the key has already been used for the original install. Calling Microsoft activations tends to get it sorted out though.

 

Yep, the key works for both 32 and 64-bit but you need to have the 64-bit disc. The first time I installed, I actually installed with a 32-bit disc and had to download the 64-bit one. You can download the isos directly from Microsoft.

 

Dunno about you guys but I successfully installed x84 & x64 bit using the disk I ordered with xoticpc onto my ssd.