1) Can OEM Microsoft software be purchased by itself or with “some hardware” such as a hard drive, etc.?
– ANSWER: If you are buying OEM Microsoft Server or Application software (such as Windows Server, Small Business Server, Office, etc.), then the answer is No, you cannot purchase legitimate OEM Microsoft Server or Application software this way. Note, I did state “legitimate” OEM Microsoft software. I am fully aware that there are people out there offering to sell you OEM Microsoft Server or Application software this way, but realize that legitimate OEM Microsoft software can NOT be sold this way. In fact, in the*Microsoft System Builder Agreement, it specifically states, “If the individual software license is application or server software, we grant you a nonexclusive right to distribute individual software licenses; provided that each one is distributed with a fully assembled computer system.” Note the requirement, it must be sold with, “A FULLY ASSEMBLED COMPUTER SYSTEM.” And did you know that in the OEM End-User License Agreement (EULA), there is a clause that states that if you acquire the OEM software without the qualifying hardware (in this case a fully assembled computer system), you cannot use the software? In essence, you own NOTHING if you purchase it separate from a fully assembled computer system. Did the company you found at
www.(insert your search engine of choice).com where you saw the OEM software by itself tell you that? They should have, because ultimately they are selling you nothing that you can legally use for whatever price they have listed.