OEM Bankrupt, Where do I stand?

[Guest]

I bought a PC in 2001 from tiny computers in the UK.
Last year they went bankrupt and it did not occur to me until recently how
this could be a problem to me.

I was thinking about reinstalling my copy of XP since it is starting to run
slow and has gotten disorganised through fault of my own. My OEM supplied me
with a backup disk which unfortunately no longer works since I changed my
File System to NTFS (It only restores FAT32). Is there any way I can obtain a
copy of the XP Home CD without having to shell out for a Licence too since I
still have the CD Key and Licence sticker?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I bought a PC in 2001 from tiny computers in the UK.
Last year they went bankrupt and it did not occur to me until
recently how this could be a problem to me.

I was thinking about reinstalling my copy of XP since it is
starting to run slow and has gotten disorganised through fault of
my own. My OEM supplied me with a backup disk which unfortunately
no longer works since I changed my File System to NTFS (It only
restores FAT32). Is there any way I can obtain a copy of the XP
Home CD without having to shell out for a Licence too since I still
have the CD Key and Licence sticker?

Find a friend with a generic OEM copy, use your product key and install
using a copy of your friend generic OEM CD.

 

[Roy Coorne]

... Is there any way I can obtain a
copy of the XP Home CD without having to shell out for a Licence too since I
still have the CD Key and Licence sticker?

Ask a London friend, Dude;-)

 

[DL]

You cannot get a licence/wincd without buying it

I was told this before but I dont know anyone who has an OEM CD.
Someone suggested that there was a way of getting the media from Microsoft
without the licence but i can find no mention of that on the site.
Cheers,
Mitchel

 

[HeyBub]

I was told this before but I dont know anyone who has an OEM CD.
Someone suggested that there was a way of getting the media from
Microsoft without the licence but i can find no mention of that on
the site. Cheers,

Put an ad in the newspaper. Buy one from Ebay. Buy one from a local computer
store.

 

[Gordon]

I bought a PC in 2001 from tiny computers in the UK.
Last year they went bankrupt and it did not occur to me until recently how
this could be a problem to me.

I was thinking about reinstalling my copy of XP since it is starting to
run slow and has gotten disorganised through fault of my own. My OEM
supplied me with a backup disk which unfortunately no longer works since I
changed my File System to NTFS (It only restores FAT32). Is there any way
I can obtain a copy of the XP Home CD without having to shell out for a
Licence too since I still have the CD Key and Licence sticker?

The backup (or restore) CD *WILL* work - it will just restore your HDD to
FAT32. You can then convert back to NTFS. Unless you removed a hidden
partition when you converted to NTFS that your restore CD relied on.....if
you did that then you're stuffed.

 

[Gordon]

I bought a PC in 2001 from tiny computers in the UK.
Last year they went bankrupt and it did not occur to me until recently how
this could be a problem to me.

I was thinking about reinstalling my copy of XP since it is starting to
run slow and has gotten disorganised through fault of my own. My OEM
supplied me with a backup disk which unfortunately no longer works since I
changed my File System to NTFS (It only restores FAT32)

But the CD *WILL* work - you will have to re-convert to NTFS after the
restore......

 

[Ron Martell]

I bought a PC in 2001 from tiny computers in the UK.
Last year they went bankrupt and it did not occur to me until recently how
this could be a problem to me.

I was thinking about reinstalling my copy of XP since it is starting to run
slow and has gotten disorganised through fault of my own. My OEM supplied me
with a backup disk which unfortunately no longer works since I changed my
File System to NTFS (It only restores FAT32). Is there any way I can obtain a
copy of the XP Home CD without having to shell out for a Licence too since I
still have the CD Key and Licence sticker?

How to replace lost, broken, or missing Microsoft software or hardware
http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=326246
The page has information regarding OEMs who are no longer in business.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[demdike]

But the CD *WILL* work - you will have to re-convert to NTFS after the
restore......

Gordon is correct to a point
You have to reformat the drive first using a Win98/Me CD to FAT 32 and
then run the reload CD
Unfortunately we never paid for the licence to recover an NTFS
partition

Demdike

 

[Bob I]

If you need the data that resides on the drive because you have no
backup, remove the old drive, and install Windows on a new replacement,
and then put the old drive back as slave to recover the data.