Thank You for your reply.. It's the OEM for me , then.:smileyvery-happy:

possumall,

OEM versions are exactly the same as retail versions except that they don't entitle you to support from Microsoft so if the full OEM is cheaper than the retail Upgrade there is no reason not to buy the OEM. Your applications (Works) will operate just fine under the new OS.

Denny, "they don't entitle you support from Microsoft." By this do you mean phone support and what about the Windows Updates?

aps@sun,

I mean only telephone tech support. Windows Updates are available to any Windows operating system.

Thanks Denny.  I am updating a few computers for senior citizens who have very little money. The computers were given to me to donate to those in need of a computer. . Since most of the time these "seniors" call me rather than Microsoft this should work. 

I have OEM versions of XP Pro and XP Home on all my computers. No difference between the OEM and retail. If you are considering an OEM operating system, you probably won't need Microsoft telephone support anyway. www.newegg.com is where I go.

Thanks Ron, I am just at this point going to buy one copy and see how all this goes.  What is the deal where you have to purchase some hardware also? Thanks for the link to the newegg site.