This drives me nuts. If someone posts 'original equipment manufacturer', my brain automatically assumes that there must exist some negative alternative to OEM. What would that be? No PC is 100% made up of one single companies' products. So where does the term OEM end and its alternative begin?
Okay I'll give a simpler question...
Define the universe. Give 3 examples.
OEM refers to the brand name of the hardware
thus if you buy the Dell Vostro 200, even though it has a Western Digital Harddrive and nVidia graphics card and a Microsoft operating system, everything that comes with it (i.e. The list above) has been licensed to (and sometimes modified by) Dell who becomes OEM.
Example 1
If you then add an SSD that your friend gives you it is not OEM; you added it, so if it then send a jolt of electricity into the motherboard and fries the board (and if Dell can prove it was the reason ) it would not be covered by the OEM warranty.
Example 2
If you install an antivirus program from a random website and it creates havoc on your PC your OEM doesn't cover that; where if the Norton Antivirus that came with your machine grabs rundll.exe as a infected file then the OEM is likely to cover it.
Subexample: An OEM may first ask you to uninstall 3rd party software before rendering you aid.
Example 3
Dell will tell you to remove all password protection and backup you files before sending the computer to be fixed. This is because this stuff is not what they sent to you on the PC (OEM factory state), if you don't they are likely to overwrite your data with a factory (OEM) image…and then you hope Recuva can retrieve some of what you lost
Bonus Example 4
I buy a Palm Pre2, I open the case pry off the tele radio and put the radio from my old Palm pre in it (it works) then I am no longer covered by the OEM warranty as I've modified the hardware
Extra bonus example 5.
HP support told me that my warranty was void if I set up a dual boot in this new computer.
Da bums.
I assume big computer stores (ie. Best Buy, Fryes) don't have permission to modify any PC components before they're sold. They can package them with other external products but they can't change video cards, etc. before the PC's sold. I would then assume by the time the big stores get their shipments of new name-brand PCs in, they're technically all OEM at that point. People who build their own or modify their bought PCs wouldn't be covered by any OEM warranty or policy.
I guess OEM has more to do with a PCs' warranty coverage than whether it's full of bloatware or not.
Thanks for clarifying that for me Nergal.
Extra bonus example 5.
HP support told me that my warranty was void if I set up a dual boot in this new computer.
Da bums.
I have an HP Pavilion and I get the feeling that my warranty expired the moment I removed the shortcut icon to HP Support Assistant that was on the desktop when I first bought my PC.
Well bloatware does come with it (falls under the instal 3rd-party (1st-party) software such as OS, Windows Live Essentials, Winzip, Wildtagent)
add to that (for windows8) OEM altered windows store
I have an HP Pavilion and I get the feeling that my warranty expired the moment I removed the shortcut icon to HP Support Assistant that was on the desktop when I first bought my PC.
naw that's just a shortcut, it wouldn't even void your warranty to uninstall the Support assistant, though phone support may ask you to reinstall it before they'll help you. . . though then they help you reinstall it.
Most of the time OEM is just a guideline
though my examples made it seem the way you (jokingly?) put it is true, mostly it just means they can deny if they see fit (heck gateway fixed my first computer even though the motherboard was splattered with blood )
when your PC dies under Australian Consumer law we are covered by the 3 R's - refund, repair or replace, from the place of purchase.
once you buy the hardware, it is considered 'yours' to do with what you will.
if you don't like the supplied AV software, you can uninstall it and whack on your own.
need another hard drive for storage, no probs.
want more RAM, go crazy.
if the part you changed/added dies, then that obviously is that part manufacture's problem.
and of course the usual rules of 'no physical damage', 'use it as intended', 'keep away from swimming pools' still apply.
the analogy I've heard used is like your car; they can't stop you using a different octane level fuel, you can change rim sizes etc, as long as it stays safe and legal.
and it's still covered by the dealer warranty.
if your 3 year old PC (with extended warranty) dies, there would be an above average chance that within that time frame the unit has had one or more hardware changes and numerous software changes, despite this, it is still covered under the original manufacture's warranty if the broken part is theirs.
@corona, I guess the OEM term never ends, that baton just keep getting past to another manufacturer until the allotted warranty time elapses for the part in question.
PS; I'm still waiting for someone to 'define the universe'
Bonus Example 4
I buy a Palm Pre2, I open the case pry off the tele radio and put the radio from my old Palm pre in it (it works) then I am no longer covered by the OEM warranty as I've modified the hardware
If you sell your modified Palm Pre2 on eBay,
have you now become the OEM of the product
That's one reason when looking to flash update/upgrade a device that you carefully read if you can use it or not if for instance your burner drive is OEM or not.
I remember once when I was going to flash update a TEAC DVD burner drive that they had clear warning text on the TEAC website not to use it if the drive was an OEM drive installed by a computer manufacturer as it would damage the drive.
If you sell your modified Palm Pre2 on eBay,
have you now become the OEM of the product
LOL definitely not as you were unlicensed in your "manufacture" (also not sure you manufactured anything and you aren't the original even if you did). I believe you'd actually be libel of sale of counterfeit item if they wanted to prosecute. (note when a part is licensed to a pc manufacturer, nvidia-to-Dell, that transfers the moniker original)
That's one reason when looking to flash update/upgrade a device that you carefully read if you can use it or not if for instance your burner drive is OEM or not.
I remember once when I was going to flash update a TEAC DVD burner drive that they had clear warning text on the TEAC website not to use it if the drive was an OEM drive installed by a computer manufacturer as it would damage the drive.
Yup that's why you have to go to the Dell or HP or whatever site for your drivers for the nvidia cards if they came with the pc.
PS; I'm still waiting for someone to 'define the universe'
universe [ˈjuːnɪˌvɜːs]n
1. (Astronomy) Astronomy the aggregate of all existing matter, energy, and space
2. human beings collectively
3. a province or sphere of thought or activity
4. (Mathematics & Measurements / Statistics) Statistics another word for population [7]
[from French univers, from Latin ūniversum the whole world, from ūniversus all together, from uni- + vertere to turn]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
According to the Enterprises' computer the universe is now a spheroid structure 705 meters in diameter and closing.