Windows Vista OEM-license?

Hey guys!
Im looking to buy Vista...It was pretty expensive(duh) but I found one package that would fit me like a glove:

MICROSOFT WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREM 64-BIT SVE DVD#OEM

But then I noticed these points about the OEM-license:

• You as a customer may only install the OEM-license on a new PC.
  This means that you may not install it on a PC that has had a previous operative system.
• The sticker that follows the OEM-license on which the licensekey is written has to be attached to the new PC at install.
• The OEM-license is bound to the specific PC that it has been installed on accordingly to the "systembuildingagreement".

This gives me loads of questions in my head.
What is exactly the OEM license?
Why is it so much cheaper than ordinary ones?
If I have XP on my pc, is it impossible to remove it and install this? Or is it just a legal thing. "Thou shall not"
Who is gonna make me put a freaking sticker on my pc?
Why do I feel that I shouldnt buy a OEM license?
etc etc. I did some searching on MS site but I couldnt find any good answers, so I really wish someone could take my confusion away :cool:

Simply put ,OEM license is the one that comes with your OEM PC like Dell,Compaq,IBM etc. It also means that you are not allowed to install an OEM version on an non OEM PC like an assembled one or on a old/used PC.
And as far as the sticker is concerned ,you will find one on the CPU of your OEM with the serial number which is only valid for that one single PC.

Personally i wouldn't recommend Home version as that is just a downgraded version of Professional and also try for a 32 bit instead of a 64 bit one.XP 64 bit was a complete failure !.

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Originally Posted by litlewiki

Simply put ,OEM license is the one that comes with your OEM PC like Dell,Compaq,IBM etc. It also means that you are not allowed to install an OEM version on an non OEM PC like an assembled one or on a old/used PC.
And as far as the sticker is concerned ,you will find one on the CPU of your OEM with the serial number which is only valid for that one single PC.

Personally i wouldn't recommend Home version as that is just a downgraded version of Professional and also try for a 32 bit instead of a 64 bit one.XP 64 bit was a complete failure !.

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Aaha I see. Is there a professional version of Vista? Isnt it called "Ultimate"? I think Home Premium got what I need...Business has some good stuff too though..
Could you elaborate on why I should get a 32 bit Vista instead of a 64 bit? Im not that into all this technical things :)

The reason why i suggested Professional/Ultimate is because the Home edition has been designed for home/general users and not for high-end users and programmers/developers(I guess you are one) .Of course you could go for Home ultimate if you wanted to.

64 bit technology is still new and not all hardware manufacturers support 64 bit specs which means some of your hardware may not be supported*.Apart from that there are hardly softwares that are truly 64 bit .You will most probably be running them under 32 bit compatibility mode which doesn't really give/serve the purpose of owning a 64 bit machine.

*64 bit windows comes with default drivers but they are very generic in nature.

Note 1:OEM license is valid as long as you don't change your motherboard which means if you change the mobo ,your license stands invalid :eek: .
Note 2:If you change your HDD ,you will have to first erase the OS from your old one and only then proceed with the new one .

The 64 bit version may be an issue for a while still as allot of manufacturers havent published 64 bit version of their drivers.


Here are all the different Vista versions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvist...s/default.mspx

I am running the Ultimate version as I wouldnt want to end up needing to use a feature that isnt available in a lower version.

Basically OEM is for new computer manufactures.

Ah ok thanks for the input guys...I just thought that since Im getting a pc with a 64 bit processor, I might just aswell buy the 64 bit windows vista...I always thought that 32 bit applications CAN run on a 64 bit OS, but that is not the case yeah?

Yes I am a developer, but I choose Home Premium over Ultimate, since Ultimate is almost twice as expensive.

Anyways I think I'll use XP for another month, so I can learn more about all these things...I dont want to rush to the store and purchase something I'll regret :)

As a casual user I am planning to switch to Mac .It sounds more promising . :thumb:

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Originally Posted by litlewiki

As a casual user I am planning to switch to Mac .It sounds more promising . :thumb:

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o0o0o a mac eh? ... those things are so compact :/ i was looking at a mac server it was so friggen small it was insane

i wonder how many people are gonna actually follow the OEM license tho i honestly cant see people deleting there xp mearly because they are insturcted to do so
im sure many people are gonna have dual boot going on ( xp and vista or somthing to that caliber)
or maybe vista will/ has some way of knowing xp is still there?
that would be somthing