I just bought a Vista OEM Home Premium CD from newegg.com, one of the largest online PC sellers in the world. . My OEM kit says on the front of the UNOPENED box, that to install it I need the OPK, (OEM Preinstallation Kit) (something ???? per the MS web site availble to ***REAL REGISTERED*** SYSTEM Builders). IT NOW APPEARS THAT I JUST WASTED $130. IT APPEARS THAT OEM VISTA CDS ARE NOT SELF-CONTAINED!! YOU NEED THE OPK TO USE THEM. And the MS web site says OPKs are for legitimate System Builders only (it appears to be SW to allow installation from a server BUT that really does not matter; what matters is that whatever the OPK is, it is REQUIRED to use the OEM CD).
Details: What was sold was actually NOT called an OEM VIsta CD. It was called on the site selling it PLUS on the box received EXACTLY THE FOLLOWING WORDS "OEM System Builder PacK . Intended for System Builders ONLY..... ......It must be installed....using the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK)." END QUOTE.
ALSO THE MS WEB SITE SHOWS A PHOTO OF A CD THAT IS LABELED Oem Preinstallation Kit which iimplies that it is a SEPARATE CD and without it I cannot use the OEM CD in the box. Which means I just lost $130 !!!!
LOOK THIS IS WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THIS: I have previusly bought 3 OEM CDs for Win XP (not from newegg.com but from ebay sellers) for each XP variant and none of them came in a box that said anything about needing an OPK. They had a COA with the product key needed to install and that was it. I have installed them and they worked . NO OPK NEEDED.
MY QUESTION: Is this OPK a new thing for Vista to make sure that OEM CDs (WHICH ARE 1/2 THE PRICE OF RETAIL BOXES WHICH IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF THIS EMAIL IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) are only used by REAL System Builders to make sure that regular consumers cannot buy Vista at 50% off??
ALSO: What physically is the OPK? Is it a CD??? Is it an long number like the product key?? WHAT IS IT IN PLAIN ENGLIGH?? Could it possibly be included in the box?
IMPORTANT NOTE TO THIS QUESTION: I refuse to open the box and see what is inside (except I can see that is is ONE CD ONLY, NOT 2 , thru a window in the side) because then I could not get a refund from the seller if it turns out this CD is not useable by me. Per Federal Law, opened SW can not be refunded. So I am relying on the replies of EE experts HERE to resolve this issue. PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO OPEN THE BOX AND REPORT HERE WHAT IS INSIDE.
Now there is another reason OEM CDs are 50% off: you cannot call MS and get free support for two "incidents" as you can with Retail Boxes; the system builder is supposed to support his customer (in my case the customer is me) so the product is not worth as much. But I am hardly convinced that MS thinks it is worth 50% less because of the support difference.
Mike
