Windows XP Home Software

[Dave]

My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"

Was she ripped off?

[JA Smith]

Yes!!

"Dave" > wrote in message
...
> My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
> When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
> both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
>
> Was she ripped off?

[David Roberts]

Not necessarily. Depends on how much she paid for it.

"Dave" > wrote in message
...
> My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
> When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
> both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
>
> Was she ripped off?

[Nicholas]

Apparently, you acquired an "OEM version" of Windows XP,
which is not designed to upgrade an existing Windows Installation.
OEM versions can only be installed on a clean, reformatted drive.
Only "retail versions" of Windows XP have the upgrade capability.


--=20
Nicholas

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dave" > wrote in message:
...

| My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
| When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet=20
| both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
|=20
| Was she ripped off?

[Ken Blake]

In , Dave wrote:

> My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
> When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
> both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
>
> Was she ripped off?


No. She bought an OEM copy. It should be fine, but it does have
three limitations you should be aware of:

1. It can only do a clean installation, not an upgrade to an
older version.

2. Once installed, its license ties it permanently to that
computer. It can never be sold or moved to another computer.

3. You get no support from Microsoft.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

[PaulC]

OEM versions are usually tied to the BIOS, so she would not be able to
install it on her computer, only the computer that it was originally on.
"Ken Blake" > wrote in message
...
> In , Dave wrote:
>
> > My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
> > When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
> > both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
> >
> > Was she ripped off?
>
>
> No. She bought an OEM copy. It should be fine, but it does have
> three limitations you should be aware of:
>
> 1. It can only do a clean installation, not an upgrade to an
> older version.
>
> 2. Once installed, its license ties it permanently to that
> computer. It can never be sold or moved to another computer.
>
> 3. You get no support from Microsoft.
>
> --
> Ken Blake
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>

[Donald Link]

That is not completely true. A lot of OEM copies work fine except you can
do an update and have to do a full install and usually come with a piece of
junk hardware with them. OEM for a specific vendor name machine normally
work only on that machine. Try EBay and look at the listing.




"PaulC" > wrote in message
...
> OEM versions are usually tied to the BIOS, so she would not be able to
> install it on her computer, only the computer that it was originally on.
> "Ken Blake" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In , Dave wrote:
> >
> > > My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
> > > When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
> > > both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
> > >
> > > Was she ripped off?
> >
> >
> > No. She bought an OEM copy. It should be fine, but it does have
> > three limitations you should be aware of:
> >
> > 1. It can only do a clean installation, not an upgrade to an
> > older version.
> >
> > 2. Once installed, its license ties it permanently to that
> > computer. It can never be sold or moved to another computer.
> >
> > 3. You get no support from Microsoft.
> >
> > --
> > Ken Blake
> > Please reply to the newsgroup
> >
> >
>
>

[Ken Blake]

In , PaulC wrote:

> OEM versions are usually tied to the BIOS, so she would not be
able to
> install it on her computer, only the computer that it was
originally
> on.


Although that is sometimes true, it's not so in this case. There
are two types of OEM versions: those that come preinstalled on
brand-name computers; generic OEM versions that are sold on
installation CDs (supposedly along with some hardware, but that
rule is not always enforced).

The first of those types is often, but not always, BIOS-locked to
the particular computer; the second type never is (there is not
usually even a specific computer to BIOS-lock it to, since you
can buy it with any hardware, even a power cord).

Since he says she "purchased wimdows XP Home edition" and "when I
cane to install it," it's clear that he's talking about the
second type--a store-bought generic copy, not one preinstalled on
a brand-name computer.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup




"Ken Blake" > wrote in
> message ...
>> In , Dave wrote:
>>
>>> My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
>>> When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
>>> both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
>>>
>>> Was she ripped off?
>>
>>
>> No. She bought an OEM copy. It should be fine, but it does
have
>> three limitations you should be aware of:
>>
>> 1. It can only do a clean installation, not an upgrade to an
>> older version.
>>
>> 2. Once installed, its license ties it permanently to that
>> computer. It can never be sold or moved to another computer.
>>
>> 3. You get no support from Microsoft.
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake
>> Please reply to the newsgroup

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

It's hard to say if she was "ripped off," because you haven't
mentioned whether or not she knew what she was doing when she
purchased an OEM license. You also haven't said whether or not the CD
is "branded" to a specific PC manufacturer.

There are some very important reasons that an OEM license costs so
much less than a retail license. OEM licenses are very limited:

1) OEM versions must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally
a motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC, although Microsoft
has greatly relaxed the hardware criteria for WinXP) and are
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which they are installed. An
OEM license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another
computer under any circumstances. The only legitimate way to transfer
the ownership of an OEM license is to transfer ownership of the entire
PC. This is the best reason to avoid OEM versions; if the PC dies or
is otherwise disposed of (even stolen), you cannot re-use your OEM
license on a new PC.

2) An OEM CD cannot perform an upgrade, as it was designed to be
installed _only_ upon an empty hard drive.

3) If the OEM CD was designed by a specific manufacturer, such as
eMachines, Sony, HP, Compaq, etc., it will most likely only install on
the same brand of PC, as an additional anti-piracy feature. Further,
such CDs are severely customized to contain only the minimum of device
drivers, and a lot of extra nonsense, that the manufacturer feels
necessary for the specific model of PC for which the CD was designed.
(To be honest, such CDs should not be available on the open market;
but, if you're shopping someplace like eBay, swap meets, or computer
fairs, there's often no telling what you're buying until it's too
late.) The "generic" OEM CDs, such as are sold to small systems
builders, don't have this particular problem, though, and are pretty
much the same as their retail counterparts.

4) Microsoft provides no support for OEM versions. If you have
any problems that require outside assistance, your only recourse is to
contact the vendor of the OEM license. This would include such issues
as lost a Product Key or replacing damaged installation media.
(Microsoft does make allowances for those instances when you can prove
that the OEM has gone out of business.) This doesn't mean that you
can't download patches and service packs from Microsoft -- just no
free live or email support for problems with the OS.


Bruce Chambers

--
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"Dave" > wrote in message
...
> My wife recently purchased wimdows XP Home edition.
> When I cane to install it, I noticed the Disc and Booklet
> both state "For Distribution with New PC Only"
>
> Was she ripped off?