OEM or Retail Vista?

jeffro29 · Feb 5, 2007, 10:26 AM

Could somebody explain the difference between Oem and Retail. Because im planning on getting Vista home premium and want to know the differnce between the two. Retail you can activate as many times you want right but is OEM the same? And on OEM aren't you limited to upgrades on your system with OEM software. And OEM is alot cheaper then retail but what is the down fall of purchasing OEM over retail. I hope that all makes sense can anybody shed some light on this for me thanks.

nicnik · Feb 5, 2007, 10:35 AM

With OEM I believe you cannot (legally) transfer the licence to new hardware.

Meaning it's not transferable. And if you upgrade your machine on a large scale you may find that you cannot install vista OEM again.

Whereas how many times you can reinstall OEM, im not sure. But I'm sure Retail Vista can be reinstalled/transfered as you please.

jeffro29 · Feb 5, 2007, 10:38 AM

Oh nevermind I found the thread about OEM software. But what is the better buy thou

jeffro29 · Feb 5, 2007, 10:41 AM

So if i replaced my MotherBoard I wont beable to install the OEM version again. Well that sucks. What about processor? or ram?

nicnik · Feb 5, 2007, 10:57 AM

Not sure about that. But if u dont upgrade your computer or format your computer more than once a year, then i guess OEM is the better buy.

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 10:59 AM

I believe it is only the Motherboard.

If you have going to have 2 or less motherboards during the life of Vista, I would buy OEM. If you are going to change 3 or more motherboards during the life of Vista, I would buy Retail.

OEM is 1/2 the price of the Retail version. You can buy 2 copies of OEM Ultimate for $199 each. You can buy one copy of Retail for $399.

BlueMak · Feb 5, 2007, 11:02 AM

My advice, get the retail, no oem problems, and you can install the OS whenever you please without worrying.

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 11:25 AM

If you only swap motherboards 1 time, you can sell the first board with the first OEM copy and use the 2nd oem with the second board and make back some of your money. Or just be nice and give it away.

dipstick · Feb 5, 2007, 12:53 PM

While it is true that you cannot transfer an OEM copy to a new PC I doubt they will ever enforce it (just like XP). People have already tested this by moving Vista OEM to multiple computers with no hassle but of course you never know if MS changes their mind. Personally, I went for an OEM version and if they ever do change their minds I am hoping prices will be a lot lower by then.

Edit- Also retail boxes include both 32 and 64bit versions whereas with OEM you can only chose one or the other when buying

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dipstick

While it is true that you cannot transfer an OEM copy to a new PC I doubt they will ever enforce it (just like XP)

Microsoft has already stated publicly, as has been mentioned in a variety of articles, that they will indeed enforce it. OEM copies will be hashed to the motherboard, and if you change that motherboard and try to use the same OEM copy, they will put Vista in "Reduced Function" mode and that OEM copy will no longer be usable without a phonecall to Microsoft.

Necrosis · Feb 5, 2007, 01:03 PM

It needs three marker changes to require reactivation which w/ a MB change could cause that. I wonder if you could get around it by using a NIC card?

dipstick · Feb 5, 2007, 01:10 PM

Sure, you might have to call them but you can still activate it again to have a 100% running copy. People have done this already and it has worked.

jeffro29 · Feb 5, 2007, 01:15 PM

Ok thanks every body I have made up my mind heck with OEM because i plan on changing my hardware because i allways want something faster and keep up with the new technology lol and i usually reformatt 2-3 times a year. So I'm gonna get the Retail copy. Thanks for all your replies just wanted to know what everybodies thoughts were and all you driverheaven people rock great site to come to for computer problems or ??.......

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 01:42 PM

I'm just sayin' what Microsoft has said.

Previously, they did not tie it formally to a single part.

Now,they are absolutely tying it to the MOTHERBOARD. For OEM versions, that is the critical component. You change the motherboard, you lose the right to your OEM license - it cannot transfer.

That's why they created the Reduced Function mode in the first place.

Zelig · Feb 5, 2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dipstick

Edit- Also retail boxes include both 32 and 64bit versions whereas with OEM you can only chose one or the other when buying

A note about this: Only Vista Ultimate (and maybe Enterprise?) includes the 32-bit and 64-bit versions in teh retail packages. Other ones have the 32-bit version, and you can pay shipping to have the 64-bit version delivered to you.

dipstick · Feb 5, 2007, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeBoyz

I'm just sayin' what Microsoft has said.

Previously, they did not tie it formally to a single part.

Now,they are absolutely tying it to the MOTHERBOARD. For OEM versions, that is the critical component. You change the motherboard, you lose the right to your OEM license - it cannot transfer.

That's why they created the Reduced Function mode in the first place.

Good read here and you can see that they installed and activated Vista OEM on three different PCs and all copies were 100% functional.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid...e=expert&pid=1

Quote:

Update 1/26/07: After some more comments in this thread of our MS Windows forum, I installed this same license of OEM Vista on a third PC using another motherboard and chipset (680i) and was able to follow the same call in procedure to get it fully activated. It seems the OEM route is looking more and more appealing!

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 02:08 PM

Hey, if you can get away with it, more power to ya.

Maybe MS just hasn't started cracking down yet, or maybe they will back down totally.

Here's hopin.

dipstick · Feb 5, 2007, 02:37 PM

Yeah, you never know when they will change their ways which is why retail is always the best if you can afford it. Still, its good to see MS is helping us poor/cheap guys out by cutting us some slack.
Also i never meant to to give the impression that oem was better than retail; nothing beats the peace of mind and both 32/64bit versions if you can go for it

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 02:40 PM

OEM is simply better value if you are going to only change your MB once or no times at all.

Nothin' wrong with retail. It just costs a TON.

BlueMak · Feb 5, 2007, 04:23 PM

If you find any article about tests with OEM that were performed after 1st of February, then it would be better.

EDIT: This might be relevant. Amazon admits misleading customers over Vista upgrade

jasonbourne · Feb 5, 2007, 04:36 PM

i have another question, i have a retail copy of ultimate vista installed on my pc , in case i decide to install on my laptop would it work??i know that legally u should have only in one pc but i wondered if anyone tried it yet

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 5, 2007, 08:42 PM

If you activate that same copy on the laptop, it should flag it and put it in reduced function mode until you call Microsoft and re-activate over the phone, I believe.

But it does depend on whether they are choosing to enforce that license yet.

Retail can legally be MOVED, but is not supposed to run on more than one machine at a time.

I think you can buy the 3 pack family license though...

The_Neon_Cowboy · Feb 6, 2007, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeBoyz

If you activate that same copy on the laptop, it should flag it and put it in reduced function mode until you call Microsoft and re-activate over the phone, I believe.

But it does depend on whether they are choosing to enforce that license yet.

Retail can legally be MOVED, but is not supposed to run on more than one machine at a time.

I think you can buy the 3 pack family license though...

Beware! Vista family discount purchasers stuck with invalid keys!
http://www.techspot.com/news/24242-v...alid-keys.html

~~DudeBoyz~~ · Feb 6, 2007, 12:16 PM

They'll fix that though.

Necrosis · Feb 6, 2007, 01:28 PM

I hope they get it fixed soon I was planning on upgrading my laptop w/ it.