OS help

[biagio1661]

I have been looking at window 7 os to put on my computer but I noticed there are some for much less OEM. What does it mean exactly from what I heard you have some limitation such as you cannot change some internal parts. I am new at building computer so any help is much appreciated.

ps. what is the max ram window 7 home premium can use I have heard it is 16gb?
pss.do I have to put the opk thing on the computer to and what is it?

[francisw19]

When you're comparing OEM vs. retail copies of Windows 7, there is no difference in the software. So, you'll be getting the same Windows 7 as you would with the retail copy. Some of the differences are:

- OEM copies cannot be transferred to a different computer once installed
- Cannot be used to upgrade from a previous OS (i.e. 'Upgrade install' from Vista to 7, for example)
- Microsoft doesn't provide any support

There may be a few other things that I've missed, but that's pretty much the gist of it. Most people just buy the OEM version since it's much cheaper than retail and the limitations noted above aren't a big deal.

When it comes to upgrading parts, AFAIK most hardware upgrades are OK with the exception of the motherboard. From what I understand, once you upgrade your motherboard, then you must buy a new license per the EULA. Personally, I've gotten away with quite a few upgrades in the past before I ran into any issues with activation. Don't worry too much about it...you'll still be able to make some substantial upgrades without being bothered.

Regarding the memory limitations, Win7 Home Premium does indeed only support 16GB. Professional and Ultimate editions support 192GB. This, of course is only on the 64-bit version as 32-bit is always limited to 4GB.

Lastly, not sure what 'opk' is...if you have some more details on that, we can help you out!

[biagio1661]

The opk is oem preinstall kit.
thank you for the help so to clarify if I build a computer from scratch with no preexisting os on it oem will work at a cheaper price with few limitation?

[francisw19]

Ah I see...with the OPK, you don't need this. It's geared toward the commercial computer builders (such as Dell, Gateway, etc...) to automate the install and customize some parts of the OS. In your case, you just buy the OEM windows 7 disk. Once you're ready to install the OS, put the disk in the drive and boot up the PC.

Take a look at this guide...it's got some good pictures on how to install Windows 7 from scratch.

Windows 7 Installation Guide / Tutorial - Windows 7

Hope this helps ;)

[biagio1661]

thank you. :D

[francisw19]

No problem..glad to help! If you have any more questions, just post back. :)