OEM License

windude99 · Apr 28, 2012

A recent thread on Sevenforums got me thinking. Why does Microsoft say in their license terms that you can't use an OEM license for personal use, but they sell it through third parties (Amazon and Newegg) and they know that ordinary people are going to buy these OEM copies. If Windows Activation goes through with it then it must be fine, right?
Also, I kind of mentioned this already, but why would they sell it through third parties if they CLEARLY know that any average personcould come across it and buy it. It doesn't say anywhere on Amazon's product description page that I have to sell it to a third party. Only in Microsoft's long EULA.

bbearren · Apr 28, 2012

The OEM Windows 7 sold through third parties is intended for builders who are building a PC for sale to another person. The EULA for OEM Windows 7 states pretty clearly that the OEM version is intended for the installed sale on a PC to another party, and not for personal use.

So legally/technically, even though it will activate, it's not fine; it's contrary to the EULA.

linnemeyerhere · Apr 28, 2012

To the best of my knowledge.....which is limited, the term OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer means in this instance that this MS product is designed for system builders. You install this discounted full version and it notes the mobo and system it is loaded to and isn't designed to be easily transferred to other systems later.

unifex · Apr 28, 2012

I think that this is some sort of lawyer trick. Naturally, nobody ever is going to check what kind of OS you are using at home. Therefore as long as the activation goes through you should be OK. There are only two logical reasons for these "grey areas" - either someone screwed up or it's done intentionally such that if necessary a lawsuit can be filed against whenever seems convenient. None of that concerns private users, as far as I know. Myself, I use a Technet subscription - naturally, for evaluation purposes.

windude99 · Apr 28, 2012

unifex said:
I think that this is some sort of lawyer trick. Naturally, nobody ever is going to check what kind of OS you are using at home. Therefore as long as the activation goes through you should be OK. There are only two logical reasons for these "grey areas" - either someone screwed up or it's done intentionally such that if necessary a lawsuit can be filed against whenever seems convenient. None of that concerns private users, as far as I know. Myself, I use a Technet subscription - naturally, for evaluation purposes.

Yea. I agree. They should really explain this stuff.

unifex · Apr 28, 2012

Well, a more tolerant explanation is this - they are trying to come up with the document that covers all possible situations in the world and aims to prevent all possible forms of abuse of their original intention. It's hard, right? So that's why it's so confusing. Of course, the only way to make things simple is to come up with one single price, say MS Word is worth $N, full stop, period, done, end of story. But I guess they think that it's better to have this complicated pricing system in order to benefit certain parties - friendly hardware companies, friendly developers, etc. They probably think that a little bit of abuse is inevitable and not worth fighting against - that is, the percentage of customers who actually do buy those OEM or Technet versions in apparent contradiction to the original intention of those venues is too small. Consequently, nobody is sued, everyone is happy. Unless a huge corporation decides to buy those OEM licenses for the 100 000 PCs that it operates

seavixen32 · Apr 28, 2012

If you build your own computer and use an OEM copy of Windows, which by definition is intended to be used by system builders, how can Microsoft then argue that you're not a system builder yourself?

Let's face it, no-one in their right mind is going to pay over the odds for a retail copy of Windows if the cheaper OEM version can be installed instead.

windude99 · Apr 28, 2012

seavixen32 said:
If you build your own computer and use an OEM copy of Windows, which by definition is intended to be used by system builders, how can Microsoft then argue that you're not a system builder yourself?

Let's face it, no-one in their right mind is going to pay over the odds for a retail copy of Windows if the cheaper OEM version can be installed instead.

That's the thing. I'm not the money tree Micro$oft wants me to be. I'm just not. If they have a problem with what I use then they need to make their license terms clear and then I will change how I do things.

bbearren · Apr 28, 2012

They do make it pretty clear. OEM Windows 7 installed on a custom built PC is meant to be sold to another person. The builder also agrees to provide OEM support for the end user.

"There is a growing market for "do-it-yourself" home PC hobbyists who assemble PCs from components for their own use. Microsoft retail software licenses are the appropriate licenses for the do-it-yourself market. OEM System Builder software is not intended for this use, unless the PC that is assembled is being resold to another party."

bbearren · Apr 28, 2012

seavixen32 said:
If you build your own computer and use an OEM copy of Windows, which by definition is intended to be used by system builders, how can Microsoft then argue that you're not a system builder yourself?

Let's face it, no-one in their right mind is going to pay over the odds for a retail copy of Windows if the cheaper OEM version can be installed instead.

I've never really claimed to be in my right mind, but I do try to stay legitimate. I use retail.

NoelDP · Apr 28, 2012

(I'm staying out of this one now - I've had a few pints!

)

kellymac35 · Apr 28, 2012

Windows OEM software is really kind of a pain for the real computer enthusiast who plans on keeping his builds. I have not built a new rig since 3/2010. Prior to that I was purchasing a new Motherboard every six months which meant a new OEM copy of Windows. I have OEM copies of Vista and 7, without the origial motherboards they were married to, they are worthless. I have since purchased a full version of 7 Ultimate, much more convenient.

windude99 · Apr 28, 2012

kellymac35 said:
Windows OEM software is really kind of a pain for the real computer enthusiast who plans on keeping his builds. I have not built a new rig since 3/2010. Prior to that I was purchasing a new Motherboard every six months which meant a new OEM copy of Windows. I have OEM copies of Vista and 7, without the origial motherboards they were married to, they are worthless. I have since purchased a full version of 7 Ultimate, much more convenient.

I don't change motherboards unless I were to get (or build someday) a new computer.

windude99 · Apr 28, 2012

I posted this in another thread, but I want to repost this here because I am not only speaki0gn for myself, but I'm speaking for all of the other people that get the OEM copies because they're cheaper: Listen, I am not one of those law breakers trying to be bad or to be cool. I just can't afford to dish out a bunch of money to the multi-billion dollar Microsoft. If I can get this (which keep in mind it isn't pirated) for cheap, then I will get it. If I had all of the money in the world, then I would buy all of the "proper" licenses, but as long as I am not pirating (and I never will) then I think I'm fine.

seavixen32 · Apr 28, 2012

NoelDP said:
(I'm staying out of this one now - I've had a few pints! )

I've made some of my best decisions after a few pints.

bbearren · Apr 28, 2012

windude99 said:
I posted this in another thread, but I want to repost this here because I am not only speaki0gn for myself, but I'm speaking for all of the other people that get the OEM copies because they're cheaper: Listen, I am not one of those law breakers trying to be bad or to be cool. I just can't afford to dish out a bunch of money to the multi-billion dollar Microsoft. If I can get this (which keep in mind it isn't pirated) for cheap, then I will get it. If I had all of the money in the world, then I would buy all of the "proper" licenses, but as long as I am not pirating (and I never will) then I think I'm fine.

All I'm doing is answering your question. What you do is up to you, and I'm fine with that; I'm not trying to tell you what to do.

This Dell Inspiron 580 is only the second OEM desktop I've bought. The first one was before the release of Windows 95. I've built all the PC's in between and used retail because I could move it from the old machine to the new machine; I even developed a method to transfer the entire installation without reinstalling anything except for new drivers. When I've upgraded Windows, it has been with retail upgrade versions. I went retail full install with Windows 7.

This Dell is running retail Windows 7 Ultimate. The reason for that is that the PC that had this Windows Ultimate installed on it burned up in a house fire (along with another desktop and a couple of laptops). I bought the Dell rather than take the time to order all the requisite parts and build another PC - I use mine for work and also personal use, so I needed to get back up and running.

In the not-too-distant future I intend to build a new machine, and I'll use this retail Windows Ultimate on it, and let the Dell revert to its original Windows 7 Home Premium OEM.

windude99 · Apr 28, 2012

bbearren said:
windude99 said:

I posted this in another thread, but I want to repost this here because I am not only speaki0gn for myself, but I'm speaking for all of the other people that get the OEM copies because they're cheaper: Listen, I am not one of those law breakers trying to be bad or to be cool. I just can't afford to dish out a bunch of money to the multi-billion dollar Microsoft. If I can get this (which keep in mind it isn't pirated) for cheap, then I will get it. If I had all of the money in the world, then I would buy all of the "proper" licenses, but as long as I am not pirating (and I never will) then I think I'm fine.

Click to expand...

All I'm doing is answering your question. What you do is up to you, and I'm fine with that; I'm not trying to tell you what to do.

This Dell Inspiron 580 is only the second OEM desktop I've bought. The first one was before the release of Windows 95. I've built all the PC's in between and used retail because I could move it from the old machine to the new machine; I even developed a method to transfer the entire installation without reinstalling anything except for new drivers. When I've upgraded Windows, it has been with retail upgrade versions. I went retail full install with Windows 7.

This Dell is running retail Windows 7 Ultimate. The reason for that is that the PC that had this Windows Ultimate installed on it burned up in a house fire (along with another desktop and a couple of laptops). I bought the Dell rather than take the time to order all the requisite parts and build another PC - I use mine for work and also personal use, so I needed to get back up and running.

In the not-too-distant future I intend to build a new machine, and I'll use this retail Windows Ultimate on it, and let the Dell revert to its original Windows 7 Home Premium OEM.

Trust me, I would use Windows 7 retail, but I just can't spend 200 dollars for each of my pcs. That would be 400 dollars for the 2 out of my 3 that run Home Premium. My primary desktop is running Pro (Windwos Anytime Upgrade, which is retial) I'm sorry to hear sabout how your old rig (and the rest of your house) got burned up like that

Brds7t7 · Apr 28, 2012

7 years ago I built a new pc for a friend with an XP oem disk and licence I had used on one of my own pc's which I took apart.
At the time I didn't actually realise that an oem copy was only for activation on one pc.

To this day my friends pc is still up and running and still has the same copy running as a genuine copy. The pc is a completely different pc to the one it was originally installed on. So I'm not sure why it's still working??

linnemeyerhere · Apr 28, 2012

I've always been a fan of full versions. But I've built system for several friends and used OEM versions to save money. I'm really not sure just why I don't save the money myself and go OEM......odd.

bmudyug · Dec 7, 2012

Could this be why MS............

Here is why [IMHO] that MS allows [except in rare situations] for only a one time installation of Win 7 OEM on a new PC.......
Consider if the situation was that whoever bought an OEM Win 7 O.S. COULD re-install the O.S. if their PC died and they purchased a new PC.
Got that ?
Now then a garage PC vendor buys the same Win 7 O.S. Then installs the O.S. on a PC. Then he sells it to Joe Blow. Now he uses the same disk with the Win 7 O.S. and builds another PC for Joe's Brother.....and so on......and so on.
He buys only 1 [ONE] Win 7 O.S. and uses it for all the PC's he intends to build and sell !

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