OEM purchase

[pradeep]

Hello , I am Indian (Chennai) residing in Seoul, Korea. I bought a Toshiba
laptop with Korean Windows XP OS. Since i wanted English, I reformatted the
entire hard disk and purchased and loaded an Windows xp OEM English software
(Not an FPP) which i bought from an genuine Microsoft dealer in Korea.

I heard that an FPP (price-400$) product is a retail product which you can
purchase from any of the Microsoft authorized resellers in your area ,
whereas an OEM (price- 100$)product, as the name goes, Original Equipment
Manufacturer, is a preinstalled software which comes to you along with the
system, and is not supposed to be obtained as a retail product, and if it is
done so, then you will not have the Support Option from Microsoft.

If in that case what are the SUPPORT OPTION is referred here?

I have run the MGA diag software from Microsoft online help and it says that
my version is genuine.

What are the future problems envisaged for my Laptop? Right now I am able to
do upgrades from Microsoft web sites. Can I upgrade to Microsoft Vista when
available?

If you have time can you throw a light on the difference between OEM and FPP
in technical terms and how could it affect me?

Do I have to do a MPA (Microsoft Product Activation) over the internet? For
your information I have not registered my Korean Windows XP over the internet
with Microsoft, instead after loading the English version, I have registered
with Microsoft. Is this the same activation?
What happened to my Korean Version which I have not activated?

 

[Ed Bennett]

What are the future problems envisaged for my Laptop? Right now I am able to
do upgrades from Microsoft web sites. Can I upgrade to Microsoft Vista when
available?
Yes.

If you have time can you throw a light on the difference between OEM and FPP
in technical terms and how could it affect me?

Anything which would require active MS involvement, you can't have. You
can't, for example, get telephone support if you encounter problems with
installation, and you can't usually get replacement media from Microsoft
like you can with an FPP.

Do I have to do a MPA (Microsoft Product Activation) over the internet?

I believe so.

after loading the English version, I have registered
with Microsoft. Is this the same activation?

No. Registration and activation are different and separate.

What happened to my Korean Version which I have not activated?

You retain a non-transferrable license to use that with the laptop.