Can I provide Win7 DVD to customer if I use OEM?

Brink said:

You can use a retail Windows 7 installation disc to install Windows 7 on any computer.

What matters is that the Windows 7 installation disc must be the same edition that the product key is for.

For example, you obviously can't activate an installed Windows 7 Ultimate with a Windows 7 Home Premium product key.

I assume that means I can't install using my OEM copy of Home Pro 64 then give them the downloaded Win7 Home Pro 64 DVD.

Not that it matters. Just hoping to save them a few bucks. :)

Yes you can install with your retail OEM disk, then provide them with the same version retail installer from Dell. These are the same installers. Only the key determines which version (Ultimate, Premium, Pro, etc - OEM, Upgrade, Full) will activate.

gregrocker said:

Yes you can install with your retail OEM disk, then provide them with the same version retail installer from Dell. These are the same installers. Only the key determines which version (Ultimate, Premium, Pro, etc - OEM, Upgrade, Full) will activate.

That helps a lot, thanks.

Do you know if installing Win7 from my OEM disk is any cheaper to register/activate?

bigmck said:

If you install, there will be no Product Key for them to activate. They will have to buy a Product Key which is going to be in the $100 area. It would make things easier for them if you make the purchase while you are building the PC then you can enter the activation key and give them the Win 7 disk.

Thanks. My only hope/concern was that I might have been able to save them a few bucks installing the OEM version rather than full retail.

If the price to activate the OEM copy is the same as installing & activating the Full Retail version, there's no point. I don't want to give them an OEM disk because it contains almost twice as much data as the basic retail disc and is a tad less user-friendly.

I will be activating it myself (in their name) before handing over the hardware. Thx.

bigmck said:

The OEM and the Full Retail are the same. The only difference is the OEM is cheaper and is tied to the one machine. Check this out. What's the difference between Windows 7 retail and OEM? - Microsoft Community

Great. Then what I'll probably do is install & register Win7 using my OEM copy (saving the customer a few bucks), then just provide them the downloaded Retail copy of Win7 on DVD for emergencies & recovery/repair.

bigmck said:

The OEM and the Full Retail are the same.

Addendum: Sure is a wet & miserable day here in Houston, huh? :)