Difference between OEM and retail

I was wondering what is the difference.. Like theres the OEM vista and the retail one.

Thanks in advance.

 

This has been discussed ad nauseum. Please search the forums.

And in case Google didn't yield any results, here's a freebie for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_equipment_manufacturer

 

About fifty bucks. That aside, OEM software is supposed to be sold only with the purchase of hardware and it is bound (by user agreement...lol) to only that hardware. I once had to buy a fully XP compatible USB cable to get an OEM copy of XP.

 

OEM also can only be installed on one PC...ever. If you get a new PC, you have to get a new license.

 

This is not true. If you buy a OEM version of Windows you can install it on as many PCs as you want but ofcourse only one at a time. The only differances between OEM Windows Vista and retail are:

1. Price
2. OEM only get either 32 or 64bit. Retail gets both and can order the 64bit DVD cheaply from MS.
3. You dont get a fancy box and booklet.
4. You dont get any support from MS.

Only if you get OEM Windows together with the PC it is tied to the PC. But even this has been overturned in courts, atleast here in Germany it has.

 

this info i get when i want to buy my Vista last time... So OEM version normally is just a one time install copy... meaning... you normally don't receive any update after that... but of coz you can install multiple times, thats not the problem... only thing... what you install is what you get...

this info i get from a computer personal in a computer shop, so if he cheated me... then i'm sorry for the wrong info...

 

no OEM is basically sold with hardware and generally can only be installed in one computer, when that computer goes, so should your copy of vista. you do receive support from MS in the form of updates and such but you do not get the retail box and manual. installing on another machine MAY work if you don't change the hardware too much but not guaranteed. and yes you only get the 32bit versions if you order a 32bit OS and license.

 

Yes if you get the OEM Windows with a computer then it is tied to it. But if you buy OEM (System Builders) Windows without a computer at newegg.com or other then it is not tied to any computer.

Not to the first one you install it on and not to the 2nd or 3rd either.

 

You will more than likely have activation issues and have to call MS to reactivate if you reinstall on a different hardware config. GL

 

yes you will have to call MS if you reinstall it on a config that has changed somewhat, i read that in an article where someone purchased an OEM copy of vista and changed PCs and had to call MS cuz of it.

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong. You are bound by the OEM EULA, which you have not read. Read it, then come back here and apologize to these nice visitors.

Only retail versions can be transferred to other machines.

 

Much confusion abounds

2 types of OEM:
~OEM OS that is pre-installed on a laptop/desktop
~OEM you can buy "off the shelf" (online) as a system builder; i.e. OEM hardware/software

At least with XP Not keeping up with Vista since I don't have it

 

Oh, thanks for all the answers.

 

Both require that the license stay with the computer.

 

An OEM version of Windows is licensed to the hardware--meaning that it can only be installed on one system.

A Retail version of Windows can be installed on multiple systems--provided that you uninstall it before reinstalling the OS on another system. You can only have it running on one system at a time.

 

How does it know?

If we own 2 computers and install the OEM version on both computers, what would stop it from running on both?

 

You know. That's the entire point - you know that you are required to use a different license key on each computer. Besides that, once you activate Windows on the second machine, the first machine will no longer be able to use Windows Update.

The only thing that stops you from using the same key on two computers is your integrity.

 

When you try to activate, it won't without a call to Microsoft.

They do not actually de-activate a previous version, rather, when you install, your computer sends a code to the MS activation servers. That information includes a unique code specific to your hardware, your cd-key and your product ID.

When you try to activate the same copy of Windows a second time, the activation server rejects it and you are forced to call MS to get a new activation code. The Microsoft person will ask you if this is the only computer this copy of Windows is running on. Say yes, and they give you a new code; say no, and they will not give you a code.

Now, you are going to get some people running in and saying they have activated a copy of windows more than once on multiple machines, and this is true.

Microsoft periodically purges the database which allows you to re-install your OS without a call. It seems that they also allow multiple activations within a short period of time--to allow, for example, someone making an install and that install going bad.

I've installed a Windows OEM and activated it and run into an issue, reinstalled and it re-activates in one day. I've done the same thing over a week and had to make the call.

As for the purge mentioned above--it seems to be about every six months

 

I guess I'm one of those people that feels it's okay to install something on 2 computers as long as they're MY computers (my wife and I both have computers).

Selling the software or sharing it with friends is a different story.

 

The EULA discussion always breaks down to this (and that's why I've stopped getting involved in them): both OEM and retail EULA say one license per machine. It doesn't matter how anyone feels, as it's all laid out in black and white. That's why I said it's a matter of integrity. You either follow it or you don't.

Personally, I choose to buy a copy of an OS for each machine. You don't feel the same way. To each his own.

 

It doesn't matter how black and white the EULA may be. The EULA's not using the software on my computer. I am. And on my computer, it only matters how I feel.

 

... and that's why I said it's a matter of integrity. You either follow the EULA or you don't. If you have 10 computers and you use the same key on all 10, that's entirely up to you. If you have 10 computers and you choose to install the same Microsoft Office on each computer, that's up to you.

 

To you, it's a matter of integrity. To me, it's a matter of independence. You either use the software on the EULA's terms, or on your own. In either case, I do not begrudge people of their decisions in the matter.

 

"INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS. Before you use the software under a license, you must assign that license to one device (physical hardware system). That device is the “licensed device.” A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a separate device."

this is a snipet from http://download.microsoft.com/documents/useterms/Windows%20Vista_Home%20Premium_English_d16c019b-fa71-4fc9-a51d-a0621bddb153.pdf

What do they mean by "Hardware Partition"? Could a hard drive be seen as a hardware partition? If so then if you install Vista on a harddrive then that is the licenced device? Moving on from there if you then transfer that harddrive to another pc from your original one and technically you would still be using the original licenced device? (obviously you'd confuse the hell out of the Vista installation and have to sort out the drivers etc)

I may well have got the wrong end of the stick on this but does anyone know if this is the case?

 

I thought EULA provides for eventualities such s your hard drive going bad and needing to be replaced if you get my drift

 

Regardless of how you may feel, when you use the software you accept the EULA. Period. The EULA specifically says one license, one machine. This thread is already going in the wrong direction.