Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3, 32-bit for System Builders - 1 Pack Old Version

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

This pack works great for installing Windows on a Mac. Although the product description says you need it, the Windows Preinstallation Kit (which is not included) is NOT actually required to install the product. It installs fine without it.

Warning: This product is less expensive than the standard Microsoft XP installation discs because you will NOT be eligible to receive technical assistance direct from Microsoft, and you will NOT be able to "move" the OS to a new computer. New computer means new motherboard: be aware that if you replace only the motherboard, that IS a "new" computer in the eyes of Microsoft. From personal experience: my Gateway motherboard failed after 3 years, so I replaced it with a generic non-Gateway board. Although the old computer with the new motherboard booted up properly using the hard disc with the OEM XP operating system, I did get a warning that the OS was not authenticated, and would go into reduced functionality in a few days. When I called Microsoft to re-register the OS, they refused and pointed me back to Gateway. Since the computer now had a non-Gateway motherboard in it, that was not an option. I was also not allowed to purchase a new authentication code from Microsoft nor Gateway. I either had to purchase an indentical 3-year old Gateway motherboard replacement, or a new copy of XP to register with the new motherboard. I chose the latter.

Having said all that, if you deal with a large number of computers like I do, the cost-savings of buying the OEM version are significant, even if you sometimes have to re-purchase the software for a machine that undergoes changes significant enough to trigger the "non-authenticated" landmine.

I've used OEM XP to successfully replace Vista on several dozen computers, both laptop and desktop, brand names Dell, Toshiba and HP. Why? I have multiple legacy devices and software in my office: printers, scanners, hardware and software repair tools, disk burners, network attached storage and so on, none of which have Vista drivers released by their manufacturers. I also find websites such as Webex being unreliable under Vista IE7. It's cheaper for me to replace Vista with XP than it is to replace all existing hardware and software.

Using this OEM disk does provide a reliable installation of the basic XP operating system. But on those computers which come from the manufacturer with Vista installed you will be missing the XP compatible drivers for various internal subsystems such as sound card, modem, network cards, USB hub and so on. Sometimes, but not always, the computer OEM website support page will provide downloads of the drivers you need. You will have a better chance of finding the XP drivers if the manufacturer provided the computer model in question preloaded with your choice of either XP or Vista OS. If necessary, call the manufacturer to find out if they provide drivers for an XP version of your computer. I found that the initial installation of XP on a previously Vista computer left several subsystems inoperative, but going into the Control Panel>System>Device Manager to delete the non-functional subsystems, followed by reinstalling them using the Add Hardware function and allowing the system to go online to find drivers was successful. I may have been very lucky. Note, if the nonfunctional subsystem breaks your internet connection, you are out of luck!!

If the problems and solutions I've described are mysterious to you, DO NOT buy this product. And the full price version won't be any better for you.

This OEM version of XP is cheaper because you give up Microsoft support and you cannot move it to a new motherboard. Otherwise, this is exactly the same software as you find in the full price version. The full price version WILL NOT have any more XP drivers for your subsystems than does the OEM version. If you are a system builder, you will have received XP drivers with each of the subsystem devices.

You can, as I did, take a chance and install XP on computers that were originally Vista driven. I was lucky in being able to find XP drivers for each of the devices in my computers, after the conversion. When and if I do this again, I will try to secure the XP drivers BEFORE I blow away the Vista. Before removing Vista, use a good system configuration toll such as Belarc Advisor to get a good description of what hardware is in your system, and use that as a guide to finding the XP drivers you will need.

Make sure you have a Vista install disk for your specific computer BEFORE you remove Vista, in case you are unable to make the XP work.

I recently bought a new computer with Windows 7 Professional installed. I hoped the XP emulation mode might allow this computer to integrate with the existing legacy equipment and software more easily, but ultimately the implementation feels clumsy and has failed on some legacy programs, so it's very likely to be "downgraded" to XP.

Good luck!

Using it on my MacBook Pro (2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo), running Mac OS X, 10.5.6. Works with both Parallels and VMWare. It is only meant to install on one computer, and not to be ever transferred onto another computer.

Let me first say that I am an Apple guy and I don't like using Windows at all. Unfortunately I have to use it a little bit for my business. I tried Vista for a while and found it to be awful!!! This is a much better option and the price it right.

Purchased this product from Amazon, so no problems with authentication. The reason it is so inexpensive is that there is no extra software (drivers, etc.) included, so unless you are building a PC from scratch this is not the package for PC users. If you are installing it on a MAC, this is everything you need. I am using VMWARE's Fusion 2 so I can "drag and drop" files between Windows and MAC apps, but I understand it works just as well using Bootcamp. It installed esaily and does everything I want it to including MS Office 2007 and 4 specialized database systems including one I wrote using Clarion for Windows. Highly recommend this product for MAC users.

I purchased this for installation on a new MacBook Pro.

Installed Windows XP within Parallels 4.0 with no problems and no additional software/drivers needed. It runs quite fast in this setup, even though it's a "virtual machine" and I am quite pleased. I didn't even bother with Boot Camp.

The only caveats/advisories:

* Make sure you use Windows Update after you install from this CD. Even though it is SP3, there were quite a few security updates released since the this CD was published.

* At the time of this review, you can find copies of a similar product (OEM standalone release) for Vista, and they come with a free coupon for an upgrade to Windows 7. On top of that, they are slightly cheaper than this version of XP, believe it or not. I stuck with XP anyway because I wanted a lighter, faster OS to run as a secondary OS on my MBP.

I used next-day shipping and had my purchase within 18 hours of ordering. I am completely satisfied with Amazon's service and pricing, as usual.

This OEM packge of XP Professional looked new, shiny and ready to go. The software loaded and performed as expected. A couple of days later my customer's screen background went black with a message from Microsoft indicating that the copy of XP was counterfeit. The package and certificate of authenticity looked absolutely "legit" (perfect holograms, etc.) but close examination of the bar code evidenced slight smearing, which in retrospect was the only indication that the product could be bogus. I determined that the registration code didn't exist in Microsoft's database. Microsoft sold me a genuine copy over the web, for more $'s of course. The reload didn't disrupt system operations but sure knocked any profit out of the transaction. Live and learn.

This is an economical solution to having a licensed version of Windows XP Professional on a Mac. This package does not include some of the installation drivers, which requires a bit of work around to overcome and it is not recommended for the amateur. If you are not comfortable making some intermediate steps to get it installed, the full Windows XP at a much higher price is recommended. The work around involves installing a previous version of Windows XP with full drivers then go back and start from scratch with this OEM version. That is not particularly difficult, but it takes a bit of extra time. Delivery was fast and you can't beat the price. The received package did not include SP-3, but that is easy to download from Microsoft.

I purchased "WinXP Pro SP3 32-bit for System Builders 1-Pack" thru Amazon, but from "Discount Deals 4U". I paid $94.44 plus $3.99 shipping, for a total of $98.43 I installed it on Friday, 11/27. Microsoft reported that it was not a legitimate copy, and I had to pay Microsoft $149.00 to make it legitimate! I am NOT happy.

I recently bought a new Macbook, and although I love the Mac OS there are a few work related programs that I needed Windows to run. This is exactly the Windows XP version that I needed to run Windows on my Mac using Bootcamp. Windows XP runs superbly on the Macbook. If you are looking to run Windows on a Mac then I would highly recommend this version. Of course if you just need to install windows on a new pc then you can't go wrong with this version either.