Buying OEM software on the 'net

[dogoftheunderworld]

I am in the market for a full version of Windows XP. Any good or bad experiences with buying OEM versions from discount internet stores (like royaldiscount.com, softwaremedia.com, etc.)?

Thanks,

Brian.

 

[trancejeremy]

I bought my version of Windows XP from Newegg.com. IIRC, it was oem, you had to buy a piece of hardware with it, a power supply splitter (which has a proper name, but can't remember it).

 

[Rackhir]

Nominally speaking an OEM version of XP IIRC, is tied to a specific machine. I would also make sure the place you are buying it from is legit. There's a lot of scams out there pedling "OEM" versions of windows and Office. Newegg is legit and usually pretty reasonably priced. Any place signficantly less expensive is likely to be of questionable legitimacy.

 

[TwistedBishop]

I purchased an OEM copy of XP from NewEgg in March. It didn't require any hardware with it at that time.

I recall Microsoft coming out a while back and saying they knew place like that were circumventing the intended sale procedure, but they didn't care as long as the end user understood it was their responsibility to provide tech support like any normal manufacturer of PCs.

 

[IronWolf]

Nominally speaking an OEM version of XP IIRC, is tied to a specific machine. I would also make sure the place you are buying it from is legit. There's a lot of scams out there pedling "OEM" versions of windows and Office. Newegg is legit and usually pretty reasonably priced. Any place signficantly less expensive is likely to be of questionable legitimacy.

I agree. I would be wary of the companies mentioned in the original post. Newegg is a reputable company. They are selling System Builder OEM copies. The official license is here:

http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/Public/sblicense/2007_SB_Licenses/English.pdf

And an article on distributing System Builder OEM licenses is here:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2088385,00.asp

 

[ThirdWizard]

but they didn't care as long as the end user understood it was their responsibility to provide tech support like any normal manufacturer of PCs.

This is the main thing to know with OEM Windows XP/Vista. You have no tech support. If something goes wrong with Windows, it is your responsibility to find the problem and fix it. If this is not a problem for you, then OEM/Systembuilder is a great deal.

 

[dogoftheunderworld]

Thanks everyone, for the responses!

 

[dpmcalister]

The other thing to remember (aside from the self-tech support aspect) is that an OEM version of any software is only licenced for one PC. You can't transfer it to another PC if you later sell the original one (unlike "full price" software which you can transfer from PC to PC as long as it is only installed on one at a time.

That's my understanding anyway (I'm investigating getting an OEM copy of WinXP to replace my unvalidated [1] copy.

[1] Well, according to Microsoft's checking software it's unvalidated. I bought it with the PC so I'm no so sure, but this is the only way around the problem.

 

[silvermane]

I wish someone was selling OEM copies of Office versions other than English.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Not much to add, but another recommendation for Newegg. Never had any problems with them, and their customer service is unbelievably nice.