First one of the day *sigh*

[Mr. Rude]

Please keep in mind...

1: I just work here

2: If you do a new system build we can move the OS over......Hmmmmm.....That would be under "New hardware".

3: I just work here & do what the owner says ...If he thought it would be a risk to him as a MS reseller, he wouldn't do it. Nuff said

If you have ever worked in computer retail, you'd know what you can & cannot do. And the last thing I'd do for a buck is break the law or rip someone off...BTW, I'm not on commission. So I make the same no matter what anyone buys.

[DigitalEyes]

If a person needs a copy of Win 98 they've got much bigger problems than whether or not the disc is used.

Hmmm.. burned copies of operating systems... you're not, by any chance, running your store out of the back of a chop shop, are you?

[mrtauntaun]

Selling an OEM copy of Windows is just fine - in fact, I bought an OEM copy of Windows 98SE for my main PC a while ago, because it was $100 cheaper.

That is incorrect. While you can sell it, you must sell it with a minimum hardware component, you can not just sell the software. You need to sell it with either a Motherboard, CPU or Hard Drive. The reason it is so much cheaper is because it is intended to be sold with a new system, or at the very least some kind of hardware.
The store I used to work at was selling OEM copies as if they were retail, software only. Somehow Microsoft found out about this, and the store was hit with a gigantic fine. It was not a fun place to work for a few weeks after that.
We would get around it by selling old 1 GB hard drives for $1. In most cases the customer would not take the drive, but as long as it was on the receipt we passed the next audit and never heard from microsoft again.

And thanks for the correct, lordlundar, that was a pretty big typo

[RichS]

That is incorrect. While you can sell it, you must sell it with a minimum hardware component, you can not just sell the software. You need to sell it with either a Motherboard, CPU or Hard Drive. The reason it is so much cheaper is because it is intended to be sold with a new system, or at the very least some kind of hardware.

That's true - I bought the 98SE OEM copy with a motherboard, if I remember correctly.

I've seen stores sell OEM copies with some sort of inexpensive piece of hardware (an IDE cable, for example). Not us - The only way the store I was working at would sell an OEM copy is if we were building a new system, or if there was a system we were working on that needed a major component replaced. We understood that the one company not to cross was Microsoft.

Now, though, I can get OEM copies or XP or Vista from a store like NewEgg without any hardware, no problem. Don't know if the rule's been changed, but go figure. I'll have to ask if and when I get to go to the next conference this month.

[MadMike]

Microsoft has said that if you replace the motherboard in a system that has a OEM copy of XP with a different one, that the computer is essentially a new system and the OEM license is no good.

I've heard that they only keep the information for about six months, so if you go longer than that without changing a motherboard, it will reactivate just fine. I've done it a few times myself, and most of the time it reactivated without incident. There were only two times where it wouldn't activate and I had to call it in. Once, I had replaced the board but I didn't tell them that. Made up some BS story about how I lost my hard drive, and it was making me reactivate for some strange reason.

The other time, nothing had been changed. I was doing a repair of a spyware-infested machine for someone, and had to wipe it completely. The disc was still sealed in its original package, so it wasn't like they had let someone else use it. Weird.

For those who have never gone thru it, it's something of a PITA. You call their number, which thankfully, is 24/7. Then you read off your product key to the automated system. It will try to resolve the problem automatcally, but I have yet to see that work. It will then transfer you to a person who will ask you questions like "Did you install it on more than one machine?" (Like I'd be dumb enough to admit it if I had) Then they'll give you a special key to enter, and you'll be good to go.

Now, though, I can get OEM copies or XP or Vista from a store like NewEgg without any hardware, no problem. Don't know if the rule's been changed, but go figure. I'll have to ask if and when I get to go to the next conference this month.

I've ordered several OEM copies of XP from Newegg over the last few years, and they tell you they must be ordered with hardware. I never tried ordering it without it. I just assumed that the system would prevent you from doing it. Newegg isn't exactly a small, low-profile company. If they were selling OEM copies without hardware, I can't imagine they'd get away with it for very long.

[mrtauntaun]

Now, though, I can get OEM copies or XP or Vista from a store like NewEgg without any hardware, no problem. Don't know if the rule's been changed, but go figure. I'll have to ask if and when I get to go to the next conference this month.

New Egg owned by ABS technologies, which I believe is a Microsoft Authorized OEM Distributor. All you need to do to become a distributor is fill out a form, free of charge. I tried to convince my aforementioned company to do it, a no brainer I thought. But I guess they preferred to pay a fine.