Hi,

>I have a couple of questions on  the OEM operating system though.
>1. Is the OEM OS recognized by Microsoft (is it legal)?

OEM OS is "legal" when it is sold, installed on a new machine, with the COA
attached to
the machine.

It is not "legal" when sold by a retailer to an end user without at least a
minimum hardware purchase
like a hard disk or main board.  A place I worked for, and some of my
present customers have been "shopped"
by MS for selling with out hardware anbd warning letters were issued by MS
to those companies.

>2. Can the OEM OS be updated (can Service Pack 1 be installed)?

Yes it can be updated.  latest versions of the DSP packages are coming with
SP1

>3. Is the OEM CD the same as the retail CD?

There are actually 2 types of OEM CD's  The first type is the type the big
boys (DELL, GATEWAY, HP, ETC) use and is often a recovery CD.  These are
often BIOS LOCKED to work on that brand main boards only

the 2nd type is the DSP CD that smaller OEMS buy usually in 3 packs or
larger and are more likey to
be the same as the retail CD.  Major difference between the 2 is the
support issue.  these can bu used on any main board

Retail uses MS support and OEM use support from the PC builder.

4. Is the manual supplied with the OEM OS as complete as the retail version?

The OEM type cd's come with a very small thin manual.  Not having seen the
retail version
I can't answer this one.


Thanks,

Joe

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