Difference between Retail and OEM software?

[JordanPlayer]

Ah, I see what you are saying... well now that I know that they will give you a new one if your HD becomes corrupted and you reformat then I will most likely be using that excuse

[Niode]

Ah, I see what you are saying... well now that I know that they will give you a new one if your HD becomes corrupted and you reformat then I will most likely be using that excuse

Sorry? I'm not following, there should be no issue if your hard drive becomes corrupt. Unless of course you are using an upgrade install. You can install an OEM/Retail version on the same PC (by same I mean nothing physical has changed, data isn't physical) as many times as you want. There should be absolutely no need to contact Microsoft over the issue, since you just reinstall and reactivate. That should be it. If you are having to contact MS everytime you need to reinstall Windows then there is something gravely wrong with the licence you own. Like I said the only time that installing onto a clean drive is an issue is if you are using an upgrade disc, this requires you to have a previous install of Windows on there. So you just have to install windows, and then again for it to work.

[JordanPlayer]

What I was saying is that they gave me a new license key even though I "shouldn't" need one... so instead of saying your mobo crapped out (where it sounds like they won't give you a new key) just make up some bs.

[Niode]

Strange

[opethfan]

This licensing crap of someone else deciding what I can and can't do with a piece of software I paid $200 on is a contributing factor to why today, I just ordered a MacBook from the Apple Store.

[Hobie-wan]

But its not like you avoided an annoying licensing deal by buying a Mac. You can't build a new Mac from the ground up and move the copy of the OS over like you can with a pile of parts and Windows. So you've actually restricted yourself more.

[Niode]

Yes but there is nothing stopping you installing that copy of OS X on any mac you own. There is no DRM in Mac software. Even their Logic Studio and Final Cut Studio packages (it's just a licence key). There's still licences there to abide to, but there is nothing in software stopping you breaking them, nothing that will render your software or system useless. Unlike Microsoft's software...