If you have an OEM version of NIS2008 (complete with a one year subscription and product key) installed from a purchased CD, and the subscription has run out, how do you renew it? Buying a retail version of NIS2009 is not attractive. I only need one license and I understand that I wouldn’t qualify for the rebate discounts anyway. So the obvious choice is an OEM version of NIS2009. Most computer shops seem to offer them for about $25US. I believe I picked up the OEM NIS2008 when I bought a faster hard drive. The problem is, I don’t need any more hard drives. I see that many local and online computer stores offer legitimate OEM NIS CDs as single sales (without any concurrent hardware purchases). Also, to add to the confusion, some of the OEM labeling seems to imply that you have to buy an entire PC system to qualify for OEM purchases. The OEM NIS EULA basically just says that you can only use one copy. Neither does it imply that you can’t transfer the “copy” to another computer or even another owner. It doesn’t mention (clear up) any of the other issues at all. Isn’t the consumer EULA the only thing the consumer has to go by or needs to adhere to? If so, then it should be ok to renew with an OEM CD (without any concurrent hardware purchases). Is there an EULA between the distributor and the vender that deals with these issues? If so, where do you get a copy of it? Or do you just rely on what the store manager tells you. And if there is a problem, its his problem. I’ve been using NIS for about ten years now. I’ve decided that if you’re not suppose to renew an OEM NIS2008 with the purchase of an OEM NIS2009, I’m switching to a different company. I gave up trying to contact Symantec about this. When you really get stuck on something, only a one on one conversation with a knowledgeable person will settle it. Why don’t they just post their phone numbers (they don’t have to be toll free) and email addresses on their site? The attempt at the chat session was hopeless. If you purchase a stand-alone licensed copy of their software, you should be able to install it on the hardware platform of your choice. Why all the hardware restrictions? Not surprisingly, I’m beginning to think that its best to avoid OEM software in altogether.