in message
NOTE: The list of newsgroups in this reply matches the original list,
so the comp.sys.hp.hardware that was added by Tee in mid-discussion
was ignored. Do not add newsgroups in the middle of a discussion.
Users in the other newly added newsgroup won't have any of the posts
in the thread to provide historical context.
Good catch, I didn't think it would be a problem, I was just doing
some Google Groups searches after my original post and saw that group
was there so I added it. Since the threads have remained in each of
the reponses to which I added the new group, I don't think the
'missing post' criticism is valid. Since I'm replying to you here,
I'll leave the original groups, as you desire.
Well, are you still under the warranty or period for support that you
paid for or was included in the price of the product?
No, does that mean that the SW license is no longer valid as well? I
need to keep buying it every time a piece of HW fails?
You "received it broken". Hmm, so someone dumped their broken
computer on you? Well, then you knew it was broken and probably would
incur some cost and/or time to get it unbroken. Since you bought or
otherwise "acquired" a broken computer, it's a good bet that a
legitimate license for Windows was NOT included.
A broken HD is not equivalent to a SW license. Nice try at a new
business model, but no go. Who in their right minds would equate a
crashed HD to additional SW costs? Your claim that this PC doesn't
have a legitimate license is baseless.
A recovery CD is an image. It will wipe out the partition to install
the exact same setup as when HP produced the computer. This [attempts
to] return the computer to its buy-time setup. You lose everything in
the partition where the image gets restored. Some recovery CDs will
also recreate the hidden partition that is tried on bootup to recover
the computer. With a non-OEM install CD, you could elect to perform a
Repair (in-place) install to get the OS running again. However, you
said "crashed HD" which makes it appear that you had to replace the
hard drive, and that means the instance of your old OS install is
gone. An advantage of a recovery CD is that all the drivers and 3rd
party software are already included to get the computer back to its
buy-time state. With an install CD, you'll have to go find all those
drivers yourself, and some of the 3rd party software, like from HP,
may not be available for download (i.e., you get it pre-installed with
the pre-installed OS on the pre-built computer that you bought).
That's a fair trade-off, if you know you are making it. I assumed that
would be the case, and getting rid of the bloatware 3rd party stuff
sounds like a win. I think it's pretty commonplace to visit the
vendor's site to get specific drivers, so that's not a big deal.
No, not just HP charges for replacement CDs. Microsoft will charge
for replacement CDs. If you have a warranty or service contract that
covers hardware or software, rarely does it include shipping costs.
After all, if they were selling you the OS, the cost would be a lot
higher. You are paying for shipping and handling charges. What, you
thought that everyone should ship you replacement products for free?
Do you ship anything for free?
You're missing the point, I didn't suggest that anyone should send me
anything for free. I was saying that I should expect to be able to
install XP using Microsoft's own media, and using a key code that came
with the PC. Like other manufacturers do.
