newbie to building my own system!! Shane?? Allen??

[mykhal c]

hey all. i'm startin' to put the specs together for my own INTEL CORE 2 DUO system. what i'm a little confused about is XP's system builder's version. i don't see the difference between it and the FULL VERSION. well, except the FULL VERSION is $100 more. here is a link to what i'm lookin' at. XP SYSTEM CHOICES seems like the system builder's version IS a full version. what am i missin'??? what did you cats use when building your own systems?? thanks as always...mykhal

[wolfskin]

What you're referring to is the OEM version, which is absolutely identical to the retail version, less the fancy packaging and documentation. OEM versions must be purchased with hardware. It's absolutely the way to go if you're building your system.

[mykhal c]

thanks wolfskin. this is what was/is confusin' in the product description... This OEM software is intended for system builders only and cannot be transferred to another PC once it is installed. i was under the impression that MS does NOT allow for multiple activations from the same install cd on different/multiple PC's. could you help clarify for me? thank again...mykhal

[wolfskin]

That's correct. Unless you purchase a network deployment package (licensed through a server by # of workstations), you cannot activate on more than one PC.

Remember, XP generates it's activation based on the specific computer's hardware (LAN card, video card, MB, etc...). What MS is *really* saying here is that they won't be as lenient with allowing you to re-activate should you change out enough hardware as to need a re-activation. As an OEM, you're not paying for phone support / troubleshooting...

[mykhal c]

got ya!! great explanation!! so given my current system was a build by IBM (years ago) and is considered OEM by MS, then i should expect pretty much the same thing as far as activations, support, etc??!!! would you say that's correct?? and the reason i'm askin' is because i've upgraded my hard drives (system and audio) MULTIPLE times. and at some point i did have to re-activate XP because it did notice my hardware changes. so as long as an OEM version allows changes to hard drives, network and fireware cards, etc then i'm cool with that. i can understand it not being as forgivin' to MOBO, cpu changes. thanks again

[wolfskin]

There is a 'point system' used by MS with hardware. You can probably find the specifics on the Microsoft Knowledge Base. From what I remember, the video card is a big component in that formula. If you're simply adding / swapping the hard discs, you shouldn't have a need to re-activate...

You WILL want to have all of your hardware installed on your new system BEFORE you activate. Remeber, you'll have 30 days in the event you're waiting on that extra hard drive / DIGI approved FW card, etc...

[mykhal c]

thanks man!! you've been a great help. peace...mykhal