Greetings --
PC manufacturers who sell PCs with an OEM version of any Windows
operating system are required by their licensing agreement with
Microsoft to provide a means for the consumer to restore the PC to the
condition it was in when it left the factory. The specific means by
which this "restoration" is to be accomplished is left _entirely_ to
the discretion of each OEM.
Some manufacturers, generally the same ones who use lower quality
components in their products, elect to provide no CDs at all, but
rather rely upon a hidden hard drive partition. HP and Compaq's
consumer products divisions (their business-class systems are a
different story) are well-known examples of this type manufacturer.
Other manufacturers provide a Restore or Recovery CD that contain a
proprietary image of the factory configured hard drive and that can be
used to return the PC to its ex-factory condition. A few respectable,
customer-service aware, consumer-class PC manufacturers, such as Dell
or Gateway, provide BIOS-locked, full installation CDs.
It all boils down to "You get what you pay for." If you're going
to shop at a volume discount chain like Best Buy or CompUSA (two of
the last places on Earth I'd shop for a computer), for example, you
should expect a lower quality product and little to no after sales
support.
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH