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bbales · Sep 12, 2007, 07:45 AM

I have a new iMac and am now turning my attention to installing Parallels and Windows. I was thinking of going with XP, just because it seems there have been problems with Vista. (But I'm not completely wedding to that plan.)

My question -- where to buy it? I've looked online and certainly it seems I can get a better deal on ebay. I'm thinking if I stay with descriptions that indicate "full version" (with SP2) and "never registered" not to mention sellers with really high positive ratings and lots of feedback and transactions, I should be OK? I've also seen the sticky about being careful to make sure it's a real disc, etc. And I have decided to stay away from OEM, too.

So -- have people done OK buying on Ebay? (I even tried college bookstores, but most of them are going with Vista, now.) Or should I just go with Vista?

Thanks in advance for the help. I only plan to use a few Windows programs.

Chooglin' · Sep 12, 2007, 08:25 AM

Just buy Vista at the college bookstore. You'll get the OS immediately without any complications and it'll do everything you need.

The majority of Vista users find it better than XP.

hookem2oo7 · Sep 12, 2007, 08:59 AM

if you are a college student, and your university has a volume licensing agreement with microsoft, it's a very good deal. I got a copy of vista ultimate for $28. I'm lucky enough that my school has an agreement with apple too. I paid $5 for Tiger...

PaperNotes · Sep 12, 2007, 09:04 AM

I haven't seen a problem with Vista. All devices and software works. Windows Software Update is less intrusive and works better too. I can't look at XP after using Vista. The only reason I can see for using XP is some games will run faster because drivers and overclocking utilities are a little better.

bbales · Sep 12, 2007, 11:23 AM

Well, I HAVE a college student, so I think I'll send her to her bookstore! And my brother works at a college as well.
Thanks -- I think I'll go Vista. Basic probably will serve me just fine...

mpancha · Sep 12, 2007, 01:41 PM

if you're getting it, get Ultimate. On a mac, it runs fine.

With the basic version, you may not notice immediately, but there's quite a bit of functionality missing. If you're getting the University volume licensed version at the discounted price, may as well get the best you can rather than going back later.

bbales · Sep 12, 2007, 01:52 PM

Hmmm-- it's turning out a number of colleges don't sell the full version! ONe told me it's because the market is only there for the upgrade (which actually makes sense). But I'm still looking.

ghporter · Sep 12, 2007, 04:58 PM

The typical campus-level agreement allows ONLY ONE COPY of any MS product per student. My school is like this. However, different versions are considered different titles for purposes of the "one product per student" rule. Thus, I could have gotten XP and then XP with SP2... So far my school hasn't released the student media version of Vista-which will probably cost about $10 for me. As far as I can tell, we'll get the full version, because all the other OSs are or have been sold as full versions. I'm not sure which particular flavor of Vista will be offered though...

Dork. · Sep 12, 2007, 05:33 PM

If you're not going the College Pricing route, I'd recommend getting a OEM copy at NewEgg. I asked a few questions about where to buy XP a few months ago for my wife's MBP, and the general consensus is that a deal that sounds too good to be true, probably is. It's very easy to scam someone by selling a fake copy with a bogus serial number.

I know you said you would stay away from OEM, but the OEM install was a snap for me. All you're losing with getting the OEM version is support from Microsoft. And do you really think Microsoft is eager to support an install via Parallels on a Mac?

I did have one problem with the install under Parallels:The CD kept having read issues. I made a disc image of the CD, and mounted that in Parallels, and had no problem (it went a lot faster than it was supposed to, too!) That wasn't really a problem with OEM, though, just with that CD, I guess.)

I got XP Pro for $140:
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM

I'm sure you could get Vista OEM there, too, but why would you want to do that?

ghporter · Sep 12, 2007, 05:45 PM

Dork, are you suggesting that the campus-level agreement at my school is somehow bogus? Or am I misreading you? I go to the bookstore, sign a form and pay my (very little) money, and I get a genuine, actual, made by Microsoft disc. Really. Hologram, key and everything. Honest.

Dork. · Sep 12, 2007, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Dork, are you suggesting that the campus-level agreement at my school is somehow bogus? Or am I misreading you? I go to the bookstore, sign a form and pay my (very little) money, and I get a genuine, actual, made by Microsoft disc. Really. Hologram, key and everything. Honest.

You are misreading me, I'm suggesting that if he doesn't go the College Pricing route, he should go OEM from a reputable source instead of going to eBay. Campus-level agreements are great if you can use them.

ghporter · Sep 12, 2007, 08:28 PM

Sorry, I misread. Your suggestion is a Very Good™ one-using only highly regarded, reputable, and (very important here) traceable vendors for buying OSs is exceptionally important.

TheMosco · Sep 12, 2007, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

The typical campus-level agreement allows ONLY ONE COPY of any MS product per student. My school is like this. However, different versions are considered different titles for purposes of the "one product per student" rule. Thus, I could have gotten XP and then XP with SP2... So far my school hasn't released the student media version of Vista-which will probably cost about $10 for me. As far as I can tell, we'll get the full version, because all the other OSs are or have been sold as full versions. I'm not sure which particular flavor of Vista will be offered though...

My school did the same thing. I got XP(5),XP 32bit SP2 and 64bit(5 for both), Vista Business(10), and Vista Ultimate(10).

bbales · Sep 13, 2007, 08:38 AM

Dork -- the only reason I was staying away from OEM is that I was a little concerned as to exactly what I was getting. For this, I definitely want to go with a reputable dealer, b/c Microsoft checks so thoroughly (it seems, anyway) and I don't want to unintentially buy something that's illegal and isn't going to work.

So far I haven't been able to determine if my daughter's school has an agreement with Microsoft. I'm still checking. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll go the OEM route. I was checking prices on Newegg yesterday, in fact.

Thanks for all the help. Anyone have any more opinions on XP vs Vista?

bbales · Sep 13, 2007, 11:06 AM

My daughter's college sells Vista Ultimate, full version, for $107.50. So I guess I'll have her get it there. Would have loved to have gotten it for $20 or $30, but this seems very reasonable.
Thanks for the help.

angelmb · Sep 13, 2007, 01:07 PM

What about MS EULA…? do they still deny the possibility of installing e.g. Vista basic editions on virtual machines like Parallels, VMware Fusion…?

ghporter · Sep 13, 2007, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by angelmb

What about MS EULA…? do they still deny the possibility of installing e.g. Vista basic editions on virtual machines like Parallels, VMware Fusion…?

Yep. Sure do.