License laws

[Paul2009]

Hi guys,

I have a feeling I'm posting this question in the wrong place, but
hopefully someone can point me in the correct direction.

A friend of mine has been complaining that a notebook of his didn't come
with an OEM recovery disc, but instead had a program to use to create the
disc. The company is Toshiba. I was wondering, are computer manufacturers
required by the M$ licensing laws to provide the media, or are they allowed
to just install a program to create the media?

Many Thanks.

 

[BrianB]

My understanding is that as long as they provide a recovery method they are
within the rules. But I also think that they are required to provide
physical media upon request.

Brian

 

[Paul2009]

Hi BrianB,

OK, well as far as the recovery request goes, if I request the media I
have to pay for the media to be made and shipped over to me or my friend. Is
that legal?

Paul.

 

[BrianB]

I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect so. I've heard of enough places that do it.
Hopefully somebody with enough real knowledge will chime in to this thread.

Brian

 

[Mike Torello]

Hi BrianB,

OK, well as far as the recovery request goes, if I request the media I
have to pay for the media to be made and shipped over to me or my friend. Is
that legal?

Paul.

Of course it is. Create the disc from the installed utility and move
on.

 

[Paul2009]

Thanks Mike/BrianB,

My main reason for asking is if he complains again to me I can state the
law and the fact that he's wrong and Toshiba aren't breaching any laws by
doing so. Any ideas where I can fine any terms that apply to this?

 

[Mike Torello]

Thanks Mike/BrianB,

My main reason for asking is if he complains again to me I can state the
law and the fact that he's wrong and Toshiba aren't breaching any laws by
doing so. Any ideas where I can fine any terms that apply to this?

Tell your friend to look it up himself online. It's not in any "law"
per se, it's in the agreement between Microsoft and the OEM.

Also tell him to make the freaking discs before something happens and
he's unable to.

 

[Curious]

Many PC vendors such as HP do exactly the same thing as Toshiba is doing and
have done this for several years.
You have a choice either purchase a set of recovery disk from the vendor or
use the Create Recover DVDS" application that is contained on your system.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi guys,

I have a feeling I'm posting this question in the wrong place, but
hopefully someone can point me in the correct direction.

A friend of mine has been complaining that a notebook of his didn't come
with an OEM recovery disc, but instead had a program to use to create the
disc. The company is Toshiba. I was wondering, are computer manufacturers
required by the M$ licensing laws to provide the media, or are they allowed
to just install a program to create the media?

Many Thanks.

This isn't a matter of "License Laws," of which I've never heard.
However, contract law and copyright law can come into play, sometimes.

Microsoft requires its licensed OEM computer manufacturers to
provide a means of returning the computer to its original, ex-factory
state. The particular method of recovery, however, is left entirely to
the discretion of each individual computer manufacturer.

Legally, the OEM has met it's contractual obligation to Microsoft
by providing a means of returning the PC to its ex-factory state,
whether it's a Recovery CD or a Recovery Partition. They are not
legally obliged to provide a true installation CD as part of the sale.
Reputable, customer-service aware OEMs do provide a full OEM
installation CD, that does permit custom installations and repairs.
However, many uncaring OEMs, such as eMachines, Compaq, HP, and Sony, in
an effort to save pennies and reduce their support costs by having to
hire support people that need only say "Boot from the Recovery CD to
return your PC to its original condition," provide only a CD bearing a
disk image of the hard drive as it left the factory.

Essentially, it boils down to "You get what you pay for."

The computer's manufacturer will have provided your friend some
means of returning the computer to it's original, ex-factory state.
Tell him to read the documentation that came with the computer, or check
the manufacturer's support web site, and follow the
instructions/procedures provided.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi BrianB,

OK, well as far as the recovery request goes, if I request the media I
have to pay for the media to be made and shipped over to me or my friend. Is
that legal?

In most places, certainly. However, to be certain, consult a local
attorney for information about the pertinent laws in your locale.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi guys,

I have a feeling I'm posting this question in the wrong place, but
hopefully someone can point me in the correct direction.

A friend of mine has been complaining that a notebook of his didn't come
with an OEM recovery disc, but instead had a program to use to create the
disc. The company is Toshiba. I was wondering, are computer
manufacturers
required by the M$ licensing laws to provide the media, or are they
allowed
to just install a program to create the media?

Many Thanks.

Lots of companies do this now. It appears that this is permitted, and it
saves the manufacturer less than a dollar at the the consumer's expense.

I'll suggest three things. First, make that disk *immediately*, preferably
more than one copy. Store one copy safely elsewhere.

Second, contact Toshiba and see if they'll sell you a reinstall DVD. My
Thinkpad came this way, and Lenovo charged me $30 including next-day
delivery for the DVD set. It's important to do this while the system is
current, or they won't have any of the disks and will be reluctant to make
just one set.

Third, write - not email - to Toshiba and MS and complain about this
practice. The savings for the manufacturer are small, but if the consumer
hasn't made the disk, or has done it incorrectly, and if the drive fails -
as drives do - the passed-on cost is comparatively very high. The consumer
then has to buy both a new hard disk *and* a new OS license.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi BrianB,

OK, well as far as the recovery request goes, if I request the media I
have to pay for the media to be made and shipped over to me or my friend.
Is
that legal?

Sure. If they included it in the box originally, you'd be paying for it
there. Most of the cost afterwards is shipping and handling.


HTH
-pk

 

[Chuck]

What is even worse with HP (Laptop) is that the make recovery disk(DVD) is a
ONE USE capability. I had a bad copy, failed verification, and when I went
back into the program to try again, I got the you've aready made your copy
sorry messsage.
The issue was resoved by using one of my upgrade licenses to upgrade to
retail Vista Ultimate. Enough OEM *(&^ already!