OEM Questions

[nothingman22780]

Ok so I'm ordering a new computer and I got Windows 7 OEM. Now I know OEM can only be put on one computer my question is. Can I upgrade that computers hardware (like the hard drive the OEM is installed on) without fear of Microsoft saying that it's a new computer?

 

[Saga Lout]

There's an awful lot of small print in W7 upgrade terms and conditions. You would get away with changing a hard disk by cloning the system but any hardware changes other than that could cause problems. A graphics card might pass unnoticed and you could upgrade RAM but forget about changing the motherboard.

With huge hard disk space being so cheap now, just go for a 2Tb for starters and add drives for storage, leaving the system on a Partition in that main drive.

 

[nothingman22780]

So would I be better off getting the Retail version? Or would I be better off buying the Upgrade edition? Or should I stick with the OEM? The concern I have for the upgrade edition is the windows XP I am using I bought from the College I attend and it has an open license. So I'm curious if the upgrade will work and if it comes with it's own serial.

 

[das_stig]

If the price difference between retail and OEM is only a couple of ££, go retail, although I have few machines running OEM and nver had an issue with M$ activating over phone after an o/s reinstall or hardware upgrade.