XP cd's

Discussion in 'Software' started by abri, Sep 26, 2007.

  1. abri

    abri MajorGeek

    Could someone tell me the varieties of XP cd's one can get if buying an XP operating system with a computer on Ebay? For instance, what is the difference between OEM and non-OEM, between recovery disk and operating system disk. If you buy a Vista computer and buy an XP cd separately, would there be any legal problems installing it on the Vista computer? Any suggestions, when buying a computer on e-bay what to look for?
    Thanks!
    abri
     
    abri, Sep 26, 2007
    #1
  2. Mada_Milty

    Mada_Milty MajorGeek

    It's most likely an OEM version that came preinstalled on the computer, but also possibly a RETAIL version bought with a custom-built computer. There's also the possibility that it is an UPGRADE version.

    OEM = preinstalled copy. Comes cheap, but is only to be installed on a single computer. Major hardware changes on an OEM installation can break the activation

    Retail = store bought. More expensive, but can be installed on any hardware, so long as it's only 1 machine at a time.

    Upgrade = store bought. Used to upgrade a previous version of Windows to the version on the disc. Slightly cheaper, but requires that you prove ownership of the previous windows. In the case of XP, this could be as simple as inserting a Win2K or 9x disc during setup.

    No. No reason you can't overwrite.

    Make sure the license is legit! Don't want some doofus unloading a pirated copy on you.
     
    Mada_Milty, Sep 26, 2007
    #2
  3. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

    Computers come with XP in different ways....

    A recovery CD. Not useful because it comes with the garbage that was already on the pc.
    A Windows CD. A true CD with only XP on it. Best, most expensive. Sometimes a machine will come with preloaded software, but come with a normal XP cd. I always reformat these immediately, not too bad.
    No CD. Just a hard drive recovery. Usually, cheapest, easiest way and also the biggest pain. Had this the other day, had to remove Norton and a lot of bundled crap applications, clean the drive, registry, processes and then make a recovery cd. Took 4-5 hours.

    If you read the auctions, you can find this info. My suggestion on buying a computer on Ebay is.............. Dont. Too much garbage on there. Websites like http://www.tigerdirect.com sell refurbished machines and there are many other trusted places. To be honest, I have looked at Ebay and there are too many choices on the computers themselves that are questionable and thats before hoping the seller is legit.
     
    Major Attitude, Sep 26, 2007
    #3
  4. augiedoggie

    augiedoggie The Canadian Loon - LocoAugie (R.I.P. 2012)

    There are no legal reasons why you couldn't do that though there may be some technical ones, as in if XP drivers are not written for the HW that you have. I'll ditto MA on his eBay concerns, it's surprisingly easy to pirate a Vista copy, for several months at least by which time the seller could be gone before you notice something wrong.
     
    augiedoggie, Sep 26, 2007
    #4

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