# Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic OEM Price



## MetalheadGautham (Jul 9, 2010)

Any idea what the cheapest version of windows 7, the home basic OEM costs in India ?


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## sakumar79 (Jul 10, 2010)

4.5k at The IT Depot Theitdepot - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic OEM but you may get it cheaper 3.5 to 4.5 k elsewhere

Arun


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## MetalheadGautham (Jul 11, 2010)

3.5k is the price I'm looking for since that was the minimum windows vista could go to.
And what does Windows 7 Starter OEM mentioned in the same page cost ?


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## gopi_vbboy (Jul 11, 2010)

downloading wud b the cheapest way


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## pauldmps (Jul 11, 2010)

First of all, OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer & is not meant to be purchased for individual use. You'll be seriously violating the license terms by using an OEM version.

Windows 7 Starter Edition is not available for Retail purchase.

The only way will be to purchase the Retail version of Windows 7 Home Basic. 

There is no point of purchasing a copy of a software which will not be licensed properly. Therefore stay away from the OEM version.


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## sakumar79 (Jul 11, 2010)

@pauldmps - Actually, there are two types of OEM - one that comes with specific hardware, and one that is available separately... What makes OEM cheaper than Retail version is the fact that they are not eligible for upgrades... You cannot get Upgrade version of the next OS version if you have OEM license, but you can if you have Retail version...

@Gautham - Computer Warehouse Online - Buy Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Accessories, Laptops and Electronics is listing Home Basic at 3.4k... You can confirm with them if it is OEM and not Upgrade version... I checked a few sites I know but they dont have Starter Edition listed...

Arun


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## salvachn (Jul 11, 2010)

@pauldmps It is perfectly alright to get a OEM edition, if you're getting a new motherboard and processor. Many people I know build their new PCs and buy an OEM edition to install on it.


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## MetalheadGautham (Jul 14, 2010)

@sakumar:
Thanks a million. Computer Warehouse is in my city itself 

BTW any more info on what exactly OEM licence does ? Heard its non-transferable ?



gopi_vbboy said:


> downloading wud b the cheapest way



I've a policy. Avoid piracy. And never pirate if you're making money out of it. Windows 7 and MS Office Basic 2007 (buying if I am unable to teach OpenOffice to my dad) will be for my dad's office use.


And yeah to all windows experts, is it advicable to go for 32bit or 64bit ? I'm not after performance (for high speed encoding there is always linux) but after compatibility with maximum applications. So am thinking of 32bit. Any opinions ?


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## sakumar79 (Jul 15, 2010)

See Frequently Asked Questions for details about OEM System Builder licence. There were other links which I checked up when I made some purchases a few years back, but I am unable to locate those links now on short notice...

EDIT: Regarding 32/64 bit... At the moment, one disadvantage of going 32bit is that you cant go for more than 3 GB RAM (you wont be able to use the extra RAM if you get more). This can be an issue when you need to upgrade your PC... But the disadvantage of 64bit is that drivers of old hardware may be incompatible and also some software may not work on 64bit... Try to find out if you have any such hardware/legal software that can be a problem in 64 bit... If not, go for it...

Arun


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## gopi_vbboy (Jul 16, 2010)

MetalheadGautham said:


> @sakumar:
> Thanks a million. Computer Warehouse is in my city itself
> 
> BTW any more info on what exactly OEM licence does ? Heard its non-transferable ?
> ...



Ok dude i understand


Regarding 32 or 64bit...i prefer 32bit for your dad's config if you dont have internet all the time ...cos the main prob in 64bit is drivers...for some devices you may need to donwload like for sony cellphone cybershot(now i donno but i had to cos i have cd of 4 year old)..,usb to serial converter...some graphics card,finger print sensor,etc some old components which have 32bit drivers

one more thing if you wanna go comfortably in 64bit , check if driver downloads for all your devices is available in win7-64 (vista also ok)

and i think more than 3gb no one uses most the time and is not a issue


regrading compatibility...u need to enlighten your father reg the comaptiblity mode in property of an exe ( i did for my father too once)...cos some old apps (unupdated) may likely crash if you dont set it (irrespective of 32/64bit)...so you may need to set it to run in XP SP2 mode sometimes...hope you got it


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