I am a bit confused about how to tell when bidding on e bay whether an XP operating system is OEM or Full Retail. As I understand it OEM 's are usually bought already installed on a PC and when that motherboard dies so does the O/S License whereas Full Retail versions bought off the shelf can be legally moved on but can only be on one computer at a time.
On e bay OEM's can be bought and providing they have never been installed before they can be installed on any PC. However I often see items which appear to be OEM up for auction as 'used' which seems to suggest they too can be moved on, which if the product key has been used seems unlikely. Sometimes the seller pleads ignorance about whether an O/P IS OEM or Retail.
No doubt Microsoft can tell from either the 25 figure code or the MPN.but how can we.?
On e bay OEM's can be bought and providing they have never been installed before they can be installed on any PC. However I often see items which appear to be OEM up for auction as 'used' which seems to suggest they too can be moved on, which if the product key has been used seems unlikely. Sometimes the seller pleads ignorance about whether an O/P IS OEM or Retail.
No doubt Microsoft can tell from either the 25 figure code or the MPN.but how can we.?
