Legit Reviews

I am a little bit confuse on the OEM license change Microsoft made with all of its XP OS. So basically what it says that I am only allowed to install XP Pro once, and if I made any hardware changes i.e. motherboards, cpu or harddrive, or uninstall and reinstall XP Pro, it is considered a new computer thus I will be required to buy another license from MS?

Would it be better for me to buy the OEM or the full retail version for my new computer?

Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. IIRC this means you must purchase WinXP with some kind of hardware (a case fan works).

When ever I have to call MS for a new activation I always remember to say it happened because the component dies not because you upgraded to a different motherboard or what ever it is you replaced that way you are still using the same system that you had to repair not changed just to upgrade. this is where people get into trouble the way I understand it but I could be wrong it has worked for me in the past 6 times. Plus I do not have an OEM copy I bouhght a retail copy when I build my rig from stratch. Good Luck.

so... um - does this mean I'm not allowed to install Pro on more than one machine at a time? 'cause I just buy the disk once and install it on everything...

Just recently Microsoft made the OEM Version of Windows XP that comes with pre-built machines non-transferable to another system. If you bring your computer in for repairs and a company changes say a motherboard replacement, you essentially have a new computer and at that time would require you to purchase another copy of Windows XP since OEM versions can only be used once now.

I'm no software pro, but from my understanding this is the lastest on that front.