oem ?

Know when you buy a product from ebuyer or places like that and they have the product description and at the end it says OEM.

what does it mean?

You could have just Googled...
Original Equipement Manufacturer

OEM for hardware means you get the product by itself with no accessories, screws or anything (ie: OEM hard drive = just the hard drive in a static resistant bag. No box, no software, instructions, nothing).

OEM operating systems are restricted to use on only one computer.

Comes with only the produc, no way to install it, but if you are making a completely new computer the case, motherboard, etc, will basically supply everything needed to put it on.

For Windows Vista, it is for 1 computer, although buying Vista Brand new OEM is less expensive. Basically you can get 2 OEM Vista for cheaper than 1 retail. Also buying OEM Vista is cheaper than upgrading. That eliminates any worry about planning on building a new computer by the time the next windows comes out and wanting to have Vista on it to do a cheap upgrade; OEM is even cheaper so just buy it seperatly.

OEM operating systems are restricted to use on only one computer.muirplayer

for those who has OEM vistas, have u tried reinstalling and activate vista again if u ever upgraded the mobo and it worked?

[QUOTE="muirplayer"]OEM operating systems are restricted to use on only one computer.mike4realz

for those who has OEM vistas, have u tried reinstalling and activate vista again if u ever upgraded the mobo and it worked?

Yes, I have OEM Vista and XP. Microsoft treats both of these the same. When you have used up your auto-activations, and you have to phone to activate, the only thing they ask is "how many computers is this copy of windows currently installed on".

I have reinstalled XP more times than I can remember, and Vista at least twice. I have changed motherboards with both. Microsoft does not care if you switch motherboards. All they care about is that you are not installing your copy of windows on more than 1 PC at the same time.

You can install Windows OEM on as many computers as you want, as long as it is only one at a time.