XP OEM non-transferable?

I'm thinking of purchasing XP for my M1530 and doing dual boot with Vista (or possibly triple boot with a linux distro). I've been looking at XP OEM versions since they are considerably cheaper. I understand they can't be upgraded which is fine since the M1530 already comes with Vista. Am I correct in believing that if I purchase a new XP OEM and install it on the M1530, I can never put the OEM version on a different machine in the future even if it was removed from the M1530?

BTW, what happened to the search button? edit. Nevermind, the search feature seems to have changed a bit.

 

Legally, no. It's intended to go with the first machine it's installed on. For that matter, just buying the OS without hardware is legally sketchy.

Technically, I think it's possible.

 

To add to what vespoli said, you're technically supposed to purchase an OEM with a qualifying piece of hardware, like a stick of RAM, motherboard, CPU, or even just a cable.

 

You don't have to anymore. Microsoft has laxed on the rules and allows retailers to sell OEM copies with no attachments.

 

Ah ok. It's been quite a while since I've needed to purchase one since I got my laptop.

 

Thanks guys. I was just reading XP will no longer being sold after June 30. Does that mean windows update for XP terminates as well? If so, when?

 

No, thank god. Security support (as opposed to new whistles and bells support) for XP - Home, Media Center, and Pro Editions - will continue until April of 2014; which, by the way, is 2 years longer than security support for any home version of _Vista will continue - security support for business versions of _Vista runs until 2017.

 

This is probably obvious but OEM XP can be installed alongside Vista/Linux for multiboot, right?

 

Yes it can.

OEM installations are locked into the system from which you activate it. If you want to move the OS around you should pick the retail version. You do not need to purchase hardware to buy an OEM copy anymore. If you buy just an OEM OS from Newegg they usually throw in a cheap molex cable.

 

Thanks. I guess I'll have to hope my M1530 is good for another 6 years. That or hope support for Vista improves by then should I change machines in the future.

 

If I were to purchase the full retail version of xp, could I install it on multiple machines that I own (one desktop, one laptop)? Would I have to register both or only activate both? Would I still be able to download updates on both machines? If one machine were to be used by myself and the other by a family member, would there be any conflict?

 

No, it is only one license. It just gives you the ability to move your copy around. You can get two OEM copies for about the price of one retail copy, so you'd probably be better off going that route if you need two licenses.

 

OEM isn't SUPPOSED to be moved to another machine, but I never had an issue. Usually I just port it over to the next machine I build, and MS usually just hands over the new license key no problem.

However, I think I will be buying an XP Pro SP3 OEM 3 pack since I will probably need to hold out for Windows 7, which will be released maybe in 2010 or 2011.

 

I was digging through my software bin to discover that I already have a copy of xp home upgrade retail and ME upgrade retail. Am I correct in assuming that if I were to do a full install using xp home upgrade on my M1530 (dual boot with Vista), it would require the previous version CD to be a full version and not an upgrade (meaning I could not use the ME upgrade CD)? Would I then need to purchase 98/98SE/ME full retail version off some place like ebay or would there be a cheaper alternative?

 

OEM versions can't be upgraded? I don't think that is correct.

 

Well, I wanted to do a dual boot of Vista and XP, not upgrade to Vista using XP OEM. I already have Vista OEM which came with my M1530. I don't think you can install Vista upgrade retail using XP OEM as a qualifying previous version. edit: Now I'm all confused.

But can someone please answer my previous question? Can I use a ME upgrade retail as the qualifying previous version source for doing an install of XP upgrade retail (clean install), or does the qualifying source have to be the full retail version?

 

You can dual boot with OEM versions. I don't think you can use a previous upgrade version with a current upgrade version.

 

Darn. I can't find my Win98 full version!