MarleneD.....OEM ( Original Equipment Manufacturer )
OEM XP would normally be installed on one PC and the serial code for registration would be physically attached to the pc case its being installed on . There isnt any full blown manual or any fancy packaging with OEM cd's .
I believe the license fee paid to M/S may also be less than the RETAIL version .
RETAIL Version ........ The operating system is the same as OEM ......the only real differance is that it comes with its own box , user manual and again it's own serial code used for registration. The real differance is that a Retail version may be installed on any pc ( provided it only installed on one at a time )...as opposed to the OEM version which is only supposed to be installed on the pc , it either came with or was purchased to install on .
If you purchase a Dell or HP for example , you will not receive a authentic M/S operating system . You will receive a set of install /restore disks which contain propietory software ......( this is done to save a few $ in license fees )
Hope this helps
dl65