I am looking to purchase Vista Home Premium and saw this "System
Builders" version which oddly enough seems to be cheaper then the
upgrade in most cases and seems to be the full version. What is this
version? I build my own systems, however imagine this one i s for
people who build and sell them. Just not sure if I can use it or if
it's got a different activation strategy or what.

Thanks.

JR

"JR" <jriker1******.com> wrote in message
news:1193005779.389630.163950@i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I am looking to purchase Vista Home Premium and saw this "System
> Builders" version which oddly enough seems to be cheaper then the
> upgrade in most cases and seems to be the full version. What is this
> version? I build my own systems, however imagine this one i s for
> people who build and sell them. Just not sure if I can use it or if
> it's got a different activation strategy or what.[/color]

In theory you can't buy it unless you do a major upgrade to your system.
In the UK m$ listed qualifying upgrades as being, for example (M$ words not
mine): new disk, new motherboard, new mouse.
I used an OEM build for my last desktop PC, they are the same as retail as
far as functionality goes but do have a more restrictive license and no M$
support.

The big difference is that, you are responsible for building PCs and support
when it comes to that OEM installation of Windows. Just like Dell, HP, Acer,
Lenovo and other OEMs.

You can find more resources at the following link:
[url]http://www.microsoft.com/oem/[/url]
--
Andre
Blog: [url]http://adacosta.spaces.live.com[/url]
My Vista Quickstart Guide:
[url]http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!9709.entry[/url]
"JR" <jriker1******.com> wrote in message
news:1193005779.389630.163950@i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I am looking to purchase Vista Home Premium and saw this "System
> Builders" version which oddly enough seems to be cheaper then the
> upgrade in most cases and seems to be the full version. What is this
> version? I build my own systems, however imagine this one i s for
> people who build and sell them. Just not sure if I can use it or if
> it's got a different activation strategy or what.
>
> Thanks.
>
> JR
>[/color]

That's the OEM version. It is meant to be used by people that build up
systems from components then typically resell to the end user. But you
don't have to resell it - you can keep it and use it yourself. You get no
support from Microsoft, and you cannot use an OEM version to upgrade an
existing system - it must be used for a clean, fresh install.

Finally, you cannot ever re-activate it on another system. It is meant to
be used forever with that initial system that you built up out of pieces.
(The higher priced retail versions can be reactived on another system at a
later date.)

All fine by me... I just finished building up a Vista Home Premium that way
on a system based on a cheap ECS motherboard, to be used mostly for
experimenting and generally getting familiar with Vista. Loaded easily and
worked fine!


"JR" <jriker1******.com> wrote in message
news:1193005779.389630.163950@i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I am looking to purchase Vista Home Premium and saw this "System
> Builders" version which oddly enough seems to be cheaper then the
> upgrade in most cases and seems to be the full version. What is this
> version? I build my own systems, however imagine this one i s for
> people who build and sell them. Just not sure if I can use it or if
> it's got a different activation strategy or what.
>
> Thanks.
>
> JR
>[/color]

Thanks for the replies. I heard also that if you change the
motherboard, or enough of the system to "upset" Vista, it will
inactivate and you can't reactivate it again unlike the full retail
version. Is this true? I wonder how much you would have to change to
cause this. I have seen prior OS's requiring re-activation when you
change hard drives. I hard changing the motherboard will definitely
inactivate it with no reactivation allowed.

JR

> No, that is not true. I had to RMA the motherboard of a PC with an OEM[color=blue]
> built of Vista Home Premium 64-bit... After installing the new
> motherboard, Vista asked to get activated again. It did not activate
> automatically, but it did after I spoke with a MS representative. The
> entire process took 10 minutes.
>
> vladsky
>
> --
> vladsky
>
> -Life is strange, but there's nothing else [Vladsky]-
> _______________
> Asus P5K Premium
> Intel Core2Duo E6850
> Asus 8800GTS 640 megs DDR3
> 4 x 2 gigs Patriot DDR2 6400 5-5-5-12
> Thermaltake ToughPower 750W
> 4 x WD320 (YS) SATA2 HDD set as AHCI
> APC Back-UPS 1300XS[/color]

Not to nit pick, however guess it is true, just Microsoft may be
willing, in some cases, to reset the activation if it's not truely a
"new" system. Either way, good to know.

Thanks again.

By the way, on a side note, what about Windows Vista Upgrade? From
what I understand it can basically be installed as a full version you
just need to install it once, and then install it again on top of
itself so it seems to be an upgrade. Not sure if this is unethical or
OK since I actually have XP Professional but don't want to install XP
and then physically upgrade it. Cost for this is similar to the
System Builders edition but is not an OEM.

JR