Is this legal or piracy?

[engwar1]

I bought a brand new computer that shipped with XP Home but no OS
disks.

I immediately made backup disks that would allow me to reinstall the
system and all software packages that it shipped with.

If I needed to reinstall the OS and wanted to do a clean install can I
legally do so by formatting the drive and using a borrowed copy of XP
Home to do the install? I assume I'd need to use the serial number for
the copy of XP Home that I purchased and not the serial number of the
borrowed OS disk.

Just curious. No need to reinstall the OS yet but at some point I'll
need to and I'd rather do a clean install than installing all the junk
that came on the machine in the first place. But I'd rather not have to
go purchase XP Home disks since I bought the OS along with the
computer.

Why computer manufacturers don't ship OS disks is beyond me. The media
can't cost them more than a few cents.

 

[Alias]

I bought a brand new computer that shipped with XP Home but no OS
disks.

I immediately made backup disks that would allow me to reinstall the
system and all software packages that it shipped with.

If I needed to reinstall the OS and wanted to do a clean install can I
legally do so by formatting the drive and using a borrowed copy of XP
Home to do the install? I assume I'd need to use the serial number for
the copy of XP Home that I purchased and not the serial number of the
borrowed OS disk.

Just curious. No need to reinstall the OS yet but at some point I'll
need to and I'd rather do a clean install than installing all the junk
that came on the machine in the first place. But I'd rather not have to
go purchase XP Home disks since I bought the OS along with the
computer.

Why computer manufacturers don't ship OS disks is beyond me. The media
can't cost them more than a few cents.

Why you accepted the computer without one is beyond me. What brand name
is the computer so others won't make the same stupid mistake you made?

 

[John]

Hi
A PC Supplier has a legal right to supply you with a means of
reinstalling/recovering windows in the event of an error.
This can be either a backup cd, recovery cd, genuine cd, recovery floppy
disk or a recovery boot menu.
Using a copy of windows from a friend should not be a piracy problem so long
as you use the licence number provided to you on your system case.
A few things to remember though.
CD keys are NOT provided according to the SP level of XP, but
according to the LICENSE-TYPE of DISC, as in "Full Retail", "Retail
Upgrade", so-called "GENERIC OEM", "DSP OEM", or "Volume License".

You must use the correct version of disk for the licence type.
Review here http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/coa.mspx

Regards

John

MCP Windows XP Professional.

 

[David Candy]

I think DUTY is a better word than legal right.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

A possible problem with doing what you suggest is that you may not be able
to re-install all of the 'other than Windows stuff' without actually using
the full recovery process as supplied..

 

[Donny Broome]

Legal? Yes. You'll need to borrow the same TYPE of XP Home Edition CD. Most
likely, it's an OEM version. You'll have to use your unique CD key.

 

[engwar1]

Thanks for the comments (except for a troll named 'Alias')

I'll look into this further. My friend's disk looks like it shipped
with an HP or Compaq machine. My box is also a Compaq so I'm hoping for
the best.

Other than Windows and proper drivers there's not much else on the box
I care to keep.

 

[Alias]

Thanks for the comments (except for a troll named 'Alias')

And the comments I made are not true?

I'll look into this further. My friend's disk looks like it shipped
with an HP or Compaq machine. My box is also a Compaq so I'm hoping for
the best.

Probably won't work if it's a restore disk. If it doesn't work, buy a
generic OEM XP version and install that.

Other than Windows and proper drivers there's not much else on the box
I care to keep.

So, you bought a Compaq. Thanks for letting everyone know.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

I would imagine that your friend's HP/Compaq machine would have been
supplied with a proprietary recovery set.. if it is in fact a genuine XP
Home OEM CD, then you could use it to re-install your system OS, entering
the COA number attached to your machine..

You could always buy an OEM CD complete with it's own number, or even a full
retail version giving you more rights than you have with the OEM version..

 

[Doug Kanter]

Historically, Compaq machines have needed some proprietary drivers that were
so weird, that you couldn't even get an ugly installation up and running
long enough to download the drivers from their web site. So, his friend's
disk may or may not be applicable for his machine.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Certainly true of older machines, but new ones are not so fussy.. it is
always a good idea to have network and modem drivers burned to CD such that
the machine can at least access the internet to get whatever else is
required..

 

[Galen]

In (e-mail address removed) <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

I bought a brand new computer that shipped with XP Home but no OS
disks.

I immediately made backup disks that would allow me to reinstall the
system and all software packages that it shipped with.

If I needed to reinstall the OS and wanted to do a clean install can I
legally do so by formatting the drive and using a borrowed copy of XP
Home to do the install? I assume I'd need to use the serial number for
the copy of XP Home that I purchased and not the serial number of the
borrowed OS disk.

Just curious. No need to reinstall the OS yet but at some point I'll
need to and I'd rather do a clean install than installing all the junk
that came on the machine in the first place. But I'd rather not have
to go purchase XP Home disks since I bought the OS along with the
computer.

Why computer manufacturers don't ship OS disks is beyond me. The media
can't cost them more than a few cents.

Just make the disks...

Step 1: Create a set of recovery discs or a recovery DVD:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...=en&product=89327&cc=us&docname=bph07143#N387

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

 

[bill]

We've all said it before. Alias you are really an arsehole. Get a life.

 

[Alias]

We've all said it before.
"We"?

Alias you are really an arsehole. Get a life.

Charming. Are you always so diplomatic? If I didn't have a life, you
moron, I would be dead and, obviously, I am not.

 

[Vanguard]

I bought a brand new computer that shipped with XP Home but no OS
disks.

I immediately made backup disks that would allow me to reinstall the
system and all software packages that it shipped with.

If I needed to reinstall the OS and wanted to do a clean install can I
legally do so by formatting the drive and using a borrowed copy of XP
Home to do the install?

There are OEM versions of Windows XP Home Edition. There are retail
versions. There are vendor-specific BIOS-locked versions. If you are going
to rely on someone else having a copy of Windows from whom you can "borrow"
their CD, expect problems.

Why not use the backup discs that you claim to have produced? For the
serial number you can use Belarc Advisor (there are other similar tools) to
extract both the product key and the produce code for the currently
installed instance of Windows (just be sure to use the product key to do the
reinstall since the product code won't work because it is generated from the
product key).

Contact whomever sold you the computer or its manufacturer (if it was a
pre-built). Ask them to send you installation, recovery, or restoration
discs. It is unlikely that they are allowed to OEM the Windows software on
their boxes without providing a means for recovery. You never mentioned
WHICH brand and model of computer that you have but you did say it was
"brand new" (i.e., not used) so contact whomever makes that computer.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Contact the manufacturer of your new PC
and order their Recovery CD. The Product
Key affixed to your PC is only valid when using
the PC manufacturer's recovery method and is
not valid when used with any other Windows XP CD.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I bought a brand new computer that shipped with XP Home but no OS
| disks.
|
| I immediately made backup disks that would allow me to reinstall the
| system and all software packages that it shipped with.
|
| If I needed to reinstall the OS and wanted to do a clean install can I
| legally do so by formatting the drive and using a borrowed copy of XP
| Home to do the install? I assume I'd need to use the serial number for
| the copy of XP Home that I purchased and not the serial number of the
| borrowed OS disk.
|
| Just curious. No need to reinstall the OS yet but at some point I'll
| need to and I'd rather do a clean install than installing all the junk
| that came on the machine in the first place. But I'd rather not have to
| go purchase XP Home disks since I bought the OS along with the
| computer.
|
| Why computer manufacturers don't ship OS disks is beyond me. The media
| can't cost them more than a few cents.

 

[GregRo]

Contact the manufacturer of your new PC
and order their Recovery CD. The Product
Key affixed to your PC is only valid when using
the PC manufacturer's recovery method and is
not valid when used with any other Windows XP CD.

That depends.

There is a way around it. It is a pain to do and is legal.
These may not be complete instructions. This is for expert use only.

DISCLAMIER
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!


Look on your computer for an I386 folder.
Burn the i386 folder to a cd drive
Download all the drivers for your system.
Get a Linux live cd. (This will be used for copying)
Get the windows xp key viewer.
Use xp key viewer to get the hidden image key
You need to get a windows 98se boot disk or 98se boot cd.
(Boot cd should work if you don't have a floppy drive)
Using the boot disk
Fdisk the drive into at least two partitions depending on your disk.
Reboot
Format all drives.
This will take awhile.
Do this from the A prompt
SYS C:
Insert the live cd in one drive
Reboot
Copy the i386 to the c drive
Remove floppy
reboot computer
install xp
c:\i386\winnt.exe
Note do not chose ntfs at this time.
Do the conversion after the install.
It should not need activating.
Install all hardware.

to fix the boot menu
remove the a extra line in c:\boot.ini
titled something like this c:\ previous os or c:\ microsoft windows
convert to ntfs in you want.


If you try to install it from the cd drive it will fail.
Greg Ro

 

[GregRo]

I forgot to add one thing.
Burn your drivers to the cd.


Greg Ro

 

[Saucy Lemon]

I bought a brand new computer that shipped with XP Home but no OS
disks.

I immediately made backup disks that would allow me to reinstall the
system and all software packages that it shipped with.

If I needed to reinstall the OS and wanted to do a clean install can I
legally do so by formatting the drive and using a borrowed copy of XP
Home to do the install? I assume I'd need to use the serial number for
the copy of XP Home that I purchased and not the serial number of the
borrowed OS disk.

Just curious. No need to reinstall the OS yet but at some point I'll
need to and I'd rather do a clean install than installing all the junk
that came on the machine in the first place. But I'd rather not have
to go purchase XP Home disks since I bought the OS along with the
computer.

Why computer manufacturers don't ship OS disks is beyond me. The media
can't cost them more than a few cents.

The legality? I am not a lawyer. Is it "piracy". No. You have bought a
legimate licence/copy and "fair use" says you are entitled to make a backup.

I agree with you about them not giving you a disc.

Ask, and the manufacturer might give you a Recovery disc specific to that
computer. These discs are so-so. Sure it might have all the drivers right
there, but it also contains a lot of fluff-ware perhaps and the use of it
might actually wipe your harddrive. So any files stored in My Documents on
that harddrive get wiped when you go to recover using that CD-ROM disc. On
the other hand, a proper Microsoft Windows disc might mean you have to root
for some hardware drivers, but enables much more flexibility when it comes
to recovery and re-installation etc.

You might survey the lay-of-the-land first? Check the website of the
manufacturer - are drivers for your model available etc. etc. Windows XP
might catch everything, but not necessarily, and you will want the proper
drivers. If the drivers are available on the website, then a Microsoft
Windows disc might be the preferred disc over a fluff-ware stuffed
inflexible good-bye My Documents "recovery" disc.