Vista Home Premium 64-bit Single-Pack DVD OEM $95 + Free Shipping

Its the same thing. You just dont get the box and all the paper work. Works exactly the same, it is the same disc. By law, I believe they have to sell it with some hardware of some time. Such as a IDE cable. ;)
 
actompkins said:
Is there any reason at all not to buy an oem OS instead of a retail one?
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Two reasons.

1. Support. The computer's "OEM" (read: you) provides OS support, the Vole will charge you per incident as an OEM consumer. For 99% of us, this doesn't matter.

2. Licensing. The OEM license is only valid for the original computer that it is installed on and may not be transferred to a different machine, even if it is removed from the original machine (last I checked, a "machine" was identified by a case and motherboard). If you give the truth to an activation rep, they will generally deny the reactivation of your license if you have it on new hardware.
 
fallguy said:
Its the same thing. You just dont get the box and all the paper work. Works exactly the same, it is the same disc. By law, I believe they have to sell it with some hardware of some time. Such as a IDE cable. ;)
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Actually, in the XP days, it was NOT the same disc - there were different discs for OEM, Retail Full and Retail Upgrade. Though, you are now correct that there is no difference in the discs now.
 
actompkins said:
Is there any reason at all not to buy an oem OS instead of a retail one?
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An OEM install is tied to the first system it is installed onto. If you replace the motherboard, for example, for upgrade reasons, and attempt a fresh install using the OEM disc and OEM license, it will not activate, although a call to microsoft tech support and a wee lie can get you a new OEM license.

EDIT: damn I was beaten to it.

nicely put Schro
 
Schro said:
Actually, in the XP days, it was NOT the same disc - there were different discs for OEM, Retail Full and Retail Upgrade. Though, you are now correct that there is no difference in the discs now.
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The only thing different among OEM, Retail, and Upgrade discs was 8 bytes. Everything else was identical as long as the editions matched..
 
The OEM version must be sold with an OEM type of hardware, such as an OEM HD, CPU, etc. The OEM license is technically supposed to be tied to that piece of hardware.

I have had the same OEM license with XP through three major computer upgrades (new MB, CPU, RAM, Vid), and I have never had to call MS either. I have kept the same DVD drive through each major upgrade, and I did buy the XP OEM with that drive (along with a lot of other hardware).

I read somewhere that the database that keeps track of what hardware was registered to what XP license is cleared out after 6 months. I hope it remains the same with Vista, even though I snagged the retail upgrade version for $50 when my local CompUSA went out of business.

If you buy the 32bit version, you can get the 64bit DVD from MS for a small fee, I'm sure you can get the 32bit DVD if you buy the 64bit one too.
 
jimnms said:
The OEM version must be sold with an OEM type of hardware, such as an OEM HD, CPU, etc. The OEM license is technically supposed to be tied to that piece of hardware.

I have had the same OEM license with XP through three major computer upgrades (new MB, CPU, RAM, Vid), and I have never had to call MS either. I have kept the same DVD drive through each major upgrade, and I did buy the XP OEM with that drive (along with a lot of other hardware).

I read somewhere that the database that keeps track of what hardware was registered to what XP license is cleared out after 6 months. I hope it remains the same with Vista, even though I snagged the retail upgrade version for $50 when my local CompUSA went out of business.

If you buy the 32bit version, you can get the 64bit DVD from MS for a small fee, I'm sure you can get the 32bit DVD if you buy the 64bit one too.
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With XP and Vista, OEM licenses are tied to the motherboard when you install it, not the hardware you purchased it with.
 
Ordered Friday morning, 7/27-delivered just now 7/30. Upgraded the shipping for ~$3.00.

Also picked up the 7100K 750gb drive for $234.00.

I'm just waiting for TankGuys!!
 
BMWlover said:
An OEM install is tied to the first system it is installed onto. If you replace the motherboard, for example, for upgrade reasons, and attempt a fresh install using the OEM disc and OEM license, it will not activate, although a call to microsoft tech support and a wee lie can get you a new OEM license.
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What's the best lie? I am asking for myself. My original mobo has just died and I need to replace almost the whole 5 year-old PC.
 
i read that it's also more difficult to slipstream office2k7 and many other apps. whereas you can do so easily w/retail or VLK versions.
 
i have the 32bit version or vista home. how do i get the 64bit version from M$ ?
 
I just called up MS. I got a key through MSDNAA, and installed it on a different computer. Not only that, I jumped from 32 bit to 64 bit (the same key for 32 bit works for 64 bit).

They asked how many computers it was on (1), and where I got it from (MSDNAA download through my college), and she activated it for me.

It's actually been installed on 3 computers now. 2 in 32 bit, and now this in 64 bit.
 
jimnms said:
The OEM version must be sold with an OEM type of hardware, such as an OEM HD, CPU, etc. The OEM license is technically supposed to be tied to that piece of hardware....
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According to MS, OEM must be sold with any piece of non-peripheral equipment. A power cable, mouse, keyboard, lots of cheap options. OEM licenses aren't tied to hardware they are purchased with, they are tied to the hardware they are installed on.
 
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