[Janis]

I have been doing a search for Windows 7 PRO OS and find mostly OEM available. I want to buy a retail, Microsoft legal OS. I found this available at Mountain Software a company I am not familiar with. "Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Full Version 32/64-bit (Promotional)"
The word promotional on software has some concerns. Is this a safe OS to purchase?

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Gday Janis.
From what I have been reading, it is not illegal software but does break the spirit of Promotional software which is "Not for Resale". There appears. sometimes.
with Windows Genuine Advantage, where the disc comes with key code but not a COA sticker, now whether that means it's pirated, I don't know. There are a few blogs that state, it works, it's legal, you can upgrade from it, but, if Microsoft decides at a future date to (my term, devalidate) you may not be able to download or use some of their services.
Is there a reason you want the full retail package?
Newegg seems only to sell OEM W7 Now, > http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116992

[iammykyl]

Gday Janis.
From what I have been reading, it is not illegal software but does break the spirit of Promotional software which is "Not for Resale". There appears. sometimes.
with Windows Genuine Advantage, where the disc comes with key code but not a COA sticker, now whether that means it's pirated, I don't know. There are a few blogs that state, it works, it's legal, you can upgrade from it, but, if Microsoft decides at a future date to (my term, devalidate) you may not be able to download or use some of their services.
Is there a reason you want the full retail package?
Newegg seems only to sell OEM W7 Now, > http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116992

[phillpower2]

Rare as hens teeth and costly

[Janis]

Thanks for the insight. The preference for the PRO version was that the MS sales personnel state that no support is available if you buy an OEM version and you are not a certified installer. That would make a possible problem for the home user although there are lots of cd's available labeled as OEM. I may have to find a local friendly installer and buy the OEM for them.

[phillpower2]

The preference for the PRO version was that the MS sales personnel state that no support is available if you buy an OEM version and you are not a certified installer

It is the same for all OEM versions and not just W7 Pro.

That would make a possible problem for the home user although there are lots of cd's available labeled as OEM. I may have to find a local friendly installer and buy the OEM for them.

There is still such a thing as a "local friendly installer" but they still must charge for their services or they would go out of business, you would be charged for the initial installation of the OS and unless you paid in advance for a form of protection plan that covers problems with the Windows installation you will be expected to pay for any type of support that the installer may offer should you take the computer there to be repaired, software or hardware related (btw you would most likely only receive a back up disk that the store had made and not a genuine OEM Windows 7 disk).

As an asides Janis, purchasing a full retail product only entitles you to free software support from MS and not hardware support.

IMO you would be better served by purchasing and installing an OEM OS yourself, this way you will save money and have your own disk should you wish to do a fresh install on a larger hard drive or SSD or if heaven forbid should the present HDD ever fail, a local tech store would have no option but to charge you for this type of service/support as time is money, GTG is your source of free online software support for your OS

[Janis]

Thanks so many issues to consider.

[phillpower2]

You are most welcome and any further questions please ask