OEM Preinstallation Kit -- do I really need this?

[Neil Harrington]

I've been building my own computers since Windows 98. The last several
systems I put together have been Windows XP; I've avoided Vista because of
all the nasty reports.
Since Windows 7 has been getting great reports I decided finally to build a
system with that, so I bought Win 7 Home Premium OEM.

Now on the package it tells me this "must be preinstalled . . . using the
OEM Preinstallation Kit." I went to the Microsoft website mentioned on the
package to download this kit (whatever "preinstallation" is), and there it
indicates that I need to create an account in the "OEM Partner Center."

Is this really something I have to (or should) do? I'm getting the
impression that it's something that pertains to people or companies that
build systems for profit. I'm just a hobbyist. Over the past 12 years I've
built a number of systems with various versions of Windows, both full retail
and OEM, and have never seen anything like this "OEM preinstallation"
business before.

 

[Neil Harrington]

Just stick it in your optical drive and install it. You don't need no
stinking OEM Preinstallation Kit. That's for people like Dell and HP who
like to preinstall crap ware like Norton or McAfee with Microsoft's
blessings of course.

OK, thanks very much.

 

[Bill Yanaire, ESQ]

Just stick it in your optical drive and install it. You don't need no
stinking OEM Preinstallation Kit. That's for people like Dell and HP who
like to preinstall crap ware like Norton or McAfee with Microsoft's
blessings of course.

We all know the biggest crap ware out there isn't Norton or McAfee (although
both products are crap), but Ubuntu. That is the biggest crappy product
that will screw up your computer faster than Monica Lewinski on Bill
Clinton!

 

[ray]

We all know the biggest crap ware out there isn't Norton or McAfee
(although both products are crap), but Ubuntu. That is the biggest
crappy product that will screw up your computer faster than Monica
Lewinski on Bill Clinton!

Ah - another brilliant insightful post by our resident idiot. Not only is
he 180 degrees from truth or sanity, but has absolutely nothing to do
with the OP's question or the timely response from another knowledgeable
poster.

 

[Bill Yanaire, ESQ]

Ah - another brilliant insightful post by our resident idiot. Not only is
he 180 degrees from truth or sanity, but has absolutely nothing to do
with the OP's question or the timely response from another knowledgeable
poster.

Just like your post. It has nothing to do with the OP. Better move along
and go play with your GIMP! LOL!

You and Alias are the resident idiots here. You just get a hard-on for that
SHITTY Ubuntu. I'll bet you can't afford Windows 7 either!

 

[XS11E]

I've been building my own computers since Windows 98. The last
several systems I put together have been Windows XP; I've avoided
Vista because of all the nasty reports.

Too bad, you missed a really GREAT OS! Took me awhile but it's one I
love almost as much as Windows 2000.

Is this really something I have to (or should) do? I'm getting the
impression that it's something that pertains to people or
companies that build systems for profit.

Yes, you should. It won't hurt anything and it may give you some
valuable pre-installation tips. It won't do anything permanent so why
not run it?

 

[XS11E]

news:[email protected]...

Never take advice from a Linux troll.

 

[Seth]

Yes, you should. It won't hurt anything and it may give you some
valuable pre-installation tips. It won't do anything permanent so why
not run it?

It's only value in a case like this would be for creating ones own custom
reinstallation disk. Unless one is going to go through that time and effort
it really is a waste of time. I use it, but then again I'm making an
installation image to be used on 140000 machines.

 

[Alexander Arnakis]

I've been building my own computers since Windows 98. The last several
systems I put together have been Windows XP; I've avoided Vista because of
all the nasty reports.
Since Windows 7 has been getting great reports I decided finally to build a
system with that, so I bought Win 7 Home Premium OEM.

Now on the package it tells me this "must be preinstalled . . . using the
OEM Preinstallation Kit." I went to the Microsoft website mentioned on the
package to download this kit (whatever "preinstallation" is), and there it
indicates that I need to create an account in the "OEM Partner Center."

Is this really something I have to (or should) do? I'm getting the
impression that it's something that pertains to people or companies that
build systems for profit. I'm just a hobbyist. Over the past 12 years I've
built a number of systems with various versions of Windows, both full retail
and OEM, and have never seen anything like this "OEM preinstallation"
business before.

I had this exact same question when I was building a new system with
Windows 7 OEM (which, btw, I bought at Micro Center, a legitimate
retailer).

What the misleading information on the MS website amounts to is "scare
tactics." They want to restrict the usage of OEM versions to bona fide
for-profit system assemblers, and want to steer hobbyist assemblers to
their higher-priced versions. But they haven't implemented this with
any sort of teeth.

My Windows 7 OEM installed and activated normally, without using the
"Preinstallation Kit." The only caveat is that with the OEM version,
you don't get follow-on Microsoft technical support (I'm not talking
about Windows Update downloads). The idea is that the OEM (you) is
providing the technical support. It's no secret that call-in MS
technical support is almost worthless.

After several months, I'm very happy with Windows 7. It boots fast,
doesn't crash, doesn't lock up, and shuts down fast. One thing that's
a little annoying is that the hard drive activity light seems to
flicker almost constantly -- but that's no big deal. It would have
been nice if there were more Windows 7 drivers for old hardware, but I
guess times move on. You can make Windows 7 look and feel a lot like
XP (or even like Win 98) with freeware addons that are available on
the Net. Just be careful what you install.

 

[Neil Harrington]

I had this exact same question when I was building a new system with
Windows 7 OEM (which, btw, I bought at Micro Center, a legitimate
retailer).

What the misleading information on the MS website amounts to is "scare
tactics." They want to restrict the usage of OEM versions to bona fide
for-profit system assemblers, and want to steer hobbyist assemblers to
their higher-priced versions. But they haven't implemented this with
any sort of teeth.

Thanks. That's sort of what I suspected.

My Windows 7 OEM installed and activated normally, without using the
"Preinstallation Kit." The only caveat is that with the OEM version,
you don't get follow-on Microsoft technical support (I'm not talking
about Windows Update downloads). The idea is that the OEM (you) is
providing the technical support. It's no secret that call-in MS
technical support is almost worthless.

I've never even used their tech support when buying a "full retail" Windows
entitled me to it, and I wouldn't expect to need it this time either. I
always buy at least one good book on a new OS I'm installing, and that has
always been sufficient. The book I bought this time is Pogue's "Windows 7:
The Missing Manual" which seems very thorough.

After several months, I'm very happy with Windows 7. It boots fast,
doesn't crash, doesn't lock up, and shuts down fast. One thing that's
a little annoying is that the hard drive activity light seems to
flicker almost constantly -- but that's no big deal. It would have
been nice if there were more Windows 7 drivers for old hardware, but I

I'll be building just this one Windows 7 machine for the time being, but
will still have three WinXP systems that I expect to keep for quite some
time. So the drivers issue shouldn't be a problem for me. Anything that
there aren't Win7-compatible drivers for, I'll just continue to use on an XP
system.

guess times move on. You can make Windows 7 look and feel a lot like
XP (or even like Win 98) with freeware addons that are available on
the Net. Just be careful what you install.

Thanks very much for the help and advice.

 

[Neil Harrington]

Too bad, you missed a really GREAT OS! Took me awhile but it's one I
love almost as much as Windows 2000.

Well, that's interesting. It sure goes against what I've read (even up to
the present time) about Vista, though.

Yes, you should. It won't hurt anything and it may give you some
valuable pre-installation tips. It won't do anything permanent so why
not run it?

Actually the main reason (at this point) I would consider using it is that
some Nikon software, e.g. Capture NX 2, supports Windows XP, Vista, and 7,
but warns "only 32-bit pre-installed versions supported." That made me think
there is some difference with preinstalled Windows, though I can't imagine
what the difference might be. What exactly does the preinstallation kit add
to the installation, is what I'm wondering.

Anyway, I am using NX 2 on a WinXP system NOT "preinstalled" and it runs
just fine, anyway.

Thanks for your reply. Having no experience with Win7 I'm interested in
anyone's opinion who has installed it.

 

[Neil Harrington]

It's only value in a case like this would be for creating ones own custom
reinstallation disk. Unless one is going to go through that time and
effort it really is a waste of time. I use it, but then again I'm making
an installation image to be used on 140000 machines.

Ah. That makes sense. Thanks.

 

[mwalkerworld]

This is a late reply but someone will eventualy read this. in responce to the below paragraph.

>
> After several months, I'm very happy with Windows 7. It boots fast,
> doesn't crash, doesn't lock up, and shuts down fast. One thing that's
> a little annoying is that the hard drive activity light seems to
> flicker almost constantly -- but that's no big deal. It would have


The light flickering might mean you do not have enough ram in your system, And you page file or swap file what ever you call it
is being written to alot. Your Page/Swap file is temporary place on your hard drive you computer writes to because more memory is needed.