Windows on Mac - OEM licence?

[Guest Guest]

I was under the impression when buying OEM licences they need to be supplied by the retailer who supplies the Macs, but we have been told you can buy them from any retailer...

 

Does anyone have any info on this? Preferably in black and white (hard ask i know from searching on the subject, but we dont really want the auditers seeing this and it invalidating our licences)

 

Cheers

[tmcd35]

Officially - for OEM can only be bought by system builders. So if you buy the components (mobo, cpu, etc) to build a system from your favourite supplier they are allowed to sell you OEM at the same time (on the same P/O or Invoice). So with Mac's, officially, Apple have to supply it with the machine (fat chance).

 

Unofficially - Most retailers sell OEM on it's own without batting an eyelid.

 

You could always try snapping off an e-mail to M$ and ask them their opinion.

 

EDIT: I think Mac OS X is a valid OS to upgrade from with the Volume License version. I don't think you need to buy a full Windows OS (either FPP, Upgrade or OEM) to use Windows on a Mac - you just need to purchase a covering Volume License on your Select/Open/Schools Agreement and use that to load it into Boot Camp. - I think!

 

EDIT: See chart on this page: http://www.microsoftvolumelicensing.com/ProductPage.aspx?pid=232

Edited May 13, 2010 by tmcd35

[Arthur]

tmcd35 is correct. You need VL and not OEM licenses for your Mac's.

 

I was under the impression when buying OEM licences they need to be supplied by the retailer who supplies the Macs, but we have been told you can buy them from any retailer...

OEM licenses would need to be installed by the manufacturer of the computer i.e. Apple. Like you say, you can easily buy an OEM Windows license from any supplier, but installing this on your Mac would technically be illegal since you are not the OEM.

Edited May 14, 2010 by Arthur