Windows XP OEM transfer rights?

[Weyland]

I'm after some clarification about what I can do with my OEM XP licences.

The background is this. A few months back, I bought a laptop, an Acer Aspire 5010, which came with XP MCE pre-insatlled. Nothing wrong with it, it has so far (touches wood) behaved perfectly. However, I didn't like the way it was partitioned, and wanted more space, so I set about fitting a larger HD.

On my first boot, I'd been prompted to, and had made, the "Systems Disk", which, from what I'd read, I could use to restore the laptop to factory settings - IE a clean install of MCE.

However, with the new HD in, all I got when booting from those disks was the Acer eRecovery Management software saying "Restore Failed! Reason 0xf0000051".

A little digging on the Acer site found this:

Problem: Why does eRecovery not work after I restore from factory default CD to a brand new hard drive?

Solution: eRecovery requires specific partitioning structure to support its functionality. If a hard drive does not consist such structure, it will not work at all.

(Original is here)

I've been emailing Acer tech support for the last week or so, but they just repeat what's in the FAQ.

I rang Microsoft yesterday to check, and they said that Acer were obliged to provide a means to install MCE to ANY HD, not just one provided by Acer.

Also, and this is the bit I need clarifying, I recall that you can transfer an OEM license to another machine, as long as you remove it from the original machine. If that is so, how can this be done with the Systems Disk that Acer provide?

What can I do to get an install of MCE on this new HD?

 

[murdoch]

If you 'old' hard drive still works, go back to it & ghost over to the 'new' one?
Most acers have a partition on them, one is for acer data & one for putting everything else on, if you fiddle with them, it will as stated not work. If you wanted more space you could have used an external hard drive or usb storage device.

As for the 'OEM' licence, yes you should be able to transfer it to your 'new' hard drive.

 

[Weyland]

True, I could have used an external drive, but they're a bit of a faff on long train journeys.

Besides which, the disk is FAT32, and I'd prefer NTFS - which rules out ghosting.

So, basically Acer aren't supplying what they should be supplying as per the MS OEM agreement?

 

[muckshifter]

I've been emailing Acer tech support for the last week or so, but they just repeat what's in the FAQ.

You ain't talking to the head, just a monkey ... you'll need to escalate your 'problem' to a higher authority.

I rang Microsoft yesterday to check, and they said that Acer were obliged to provide a means to install MCE to ANY HD, not just one provided by Acer.

Correct ... as Acer are the OEM supplier, they should supply you with means to re-install your OS ... but, they did that, their way.

Also, and this is the bit I need clarifying, I recall that you can transfer an OEM license to another machine, as long as you remove it from the original machine. If that is so, how can this be done with the Systems Disk that Acer provide?

Correct, but with Acer's 'recovery' disk/HD, impossible ... contact Acer for the correct CD ... and get the run-around all over again.

What can I do to get an install of MCE on this new HD?

Borrow someones "real" CD but use your licence key when asked at install time.


Just to add ... every one of the big PC manufacturers, from Toshiba to HP have hidden partitions on their hard drives ... everyone of them, I have seen no exceptions, not even from Gateway.

We here at PCR always stress the importance of acquiring a "real" OS CD from any PC builder ... It is just something that never seems to get through to manufactures of PCs.

 

[Weyland]

Thanks, it's always nice to know that I'm actually correct!

When I was looking around before I bought the laptop I noticed that getting actual physical media was pretty much a thing of the past. But I assumed these "self-burnt" CDs all the manus talked about would be the equivilant. Drat.

You don't happen to know how I can escalate this, do you? The turnaround on their email support is about 3-4 days.

Actually, would reporting them to MS do any good? Be nice to see MS threaten to take the OEM license away from them!

 

[muckshifter]

Thanks, it's always nice to know that I'm actually correct!

When I was looking around before I bought the laptop I noticed that getting actual physical media was pretty much a thing of the past. But I assumed these "self-burnt" CDs all the manus talked about would be the equivalent. Drat.

Unfortunately, we live and learn.

You don't happen to know how I can escalate this, do you? The turnaround on their email support is about 3-4 days.

Sorry, never bought a propriety built PC that didn't have all the correct software ... email seems a waste of time, phone calls cost you money, however, a 12boar shotgun is nice.

Actually, would reporting them to MS do any good? Be nice to see MS threaten to take the OEM license away from them!

LoL ... which way is the wind blowing, I need to pee ...

If you paid by Credit card, tell them you are in dispute and want your money back.

 

[Weyland]

Nope, bought by debit card from Microdirect's showroom (and more than 30 days ago). Actually, I'm slightly cheesed off about that, as I asked at the time if it came with install media, and they said yes. But I can't remember exactly what I said, and they might have thought I meant the hidden partition. Ah well, not their fault - I should have taken it back straight away, but I didn't think I had a problem until I changed the drive.

Looks like I'm springing for another set of OEM disks after all...

 

[Weyland]

Just to keep you updated here.

Acer have said they'll re-image the hard drive for me. But it'll cost me £50, and I have to send them the laptop. They refuse to tell me how to set up the new hard drive to accept their "Systems CD".

As I could buy another set of MCE disks for that anyway, I have naturally queried this offer.

So, here I am, having bought the OS, having done all the backup required, and I still have to pay again to get the OS back on?

 

[muckshifter]

Welcome to the world of propriety manufactured PCs


Sorry to tell you, but they are all the same and only really want your money.

 

[Weyland]

Do you know where I can learn to build my own laptop?

 

[muckshifter]

Sorry, to me laptops/notebooks are pointless underpower door-stops .. but you could start via the link below ...


http://www.abs.com/diy/notebookdiy.asp


... not the same as a desktop PC, is it.

 

[JIM451]

Extended Logical Drivers.who Needs Them.fat32 Will Transfer To An Ntfs Track.i Have Both On My Computer And It All Gets Along Quite Well.i Know What You Mean By No Room.i Changed A Laptop Into A Single Partition.none Of The Stock Drivers Would Work.i Spent Hours On The Net Getting Drivers That Work,including Active X.so It Can Be Done With A Whole Lotta Shear Gut Determination.i Certainly Would Not Do Anything To Change The Original Drive.how Many Drive Slots Are In Your Laptop.if You Have Two Slots It May Be Possible To Boot Another Barebones Os To Your New Drive And Copy Your Old System From Slot Two.you'll Have To Copy The Partition The Same To Accomadate The Laptop Os.after The Copy Remove Your Old Drive And Boot On Either Os To Get A Boot Menu.then Delete The Os That Was Used To Make The Transfer.anything Else Will Cost More Money, Unless You Have A Pc That Has Ide And Scsi Adapters For Laptops.unfortunatly An Os That Is In Use Cannot Be Transfered.