Windows Disk

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I have bought a used Laptop. It has a fully activatied and registerd version
of xp pro. It did not come with this disk though. I have had to reactivate
it due to hardware upgrades so I know it is a legitamate copy. Is there
anyway to abtain a copy of windows xp pro though microsoft? I want to wipe
my drive and reinstall a clean copy on this machine only not looking for a
loop hole for a second computer. It just seams that if a copy was bought for
this machine they should have a way to get a backup copy. Thanks for the
imput.

Matt
 
Does the laptop have a recovery partition? If not, you'll have to buy a
retail copy of Windows.
 
No recovery partition and I forgot to say it was obvouisly upgraded from 98.
It runs fine I just would rather have a clean install. I used belarch
advisior to obtain my user key and tried to use a friends disk and my key on
a new harddrive with no luck.
 
Matt said:
I have bought a used Laptop. It has a fully activatied and registerd
version of xp pro. It did not come with this disk though. I have
had to reactivate it due to hardware upgrades so I know it is a
legitamate copy. Is there anyway to abtain a copy of windows xp pro
though microsoft?
Click to expand...


No. Copies of Windows that come with computers are OEM copies, and Microsoft
provides no support for them. You can try the manufacturer, but whether he
can help or not, I don't know.

Also be aware that many computers that come with preinstalled Windows come
with a recovery partition from which you can reinstall. Contact the
manufacturer to find out if this is the case, and if so, how to use it.

I want to wipe my drive and reinstall a clean copy
on this machine only
Click to expand...


That's always a good thing to do whenever you get a computer with Windows.
You have no idea how the computer has been maintained, what has been
installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and spyware there may
be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody else's mistakes and problems,
possibility of kiddie porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else
do either.
 
Did you, by chance, purchase this laptop from an organization in which you
work. It may be a site licensed copy of XP Pro. If this is the case, the
only way you can "legally possess" the copy of XP on the machine would be if
the company grants you permission to use their license and they should
provide a CD with the OS on it. This also may void the site license for the
company, depending on the exact wording of the EULA they have. My previous
employer allowed me to place XP on my personal laptop computer (used in the
company business) but when I left the company I had to remove their copy of
XP and all their supplied software.
 
Matt;
Did you get the original CD and Product Key?
If not, you may not have a valid license.
Ask the seller for the CD.
But if it was an upgrade from Windows 98, the seller probably has that
installed on another computer.
Successful activation is far from proof of a valid license.

Unless you get the original key and media, you may need to purchase Windows
XP or whatever OS you choose.

You could contact Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=326246
But based on what you said, I doubt Microsoft can replace the CD.
 
Tue, 7 Mar 2006 14:46:26 -0800 from Matt
I have bought a used Laptop. It has a fully activatied and registerd version
of xp pro. It did not come with this disk though. I have had to reactivate
it due to hardware upgrades so I know it is a legitamate copy. Is there
anyway to abtain a copy of windows xp pro though microsoft?
Click to expand...

No, you can neither "abtain" nor obtain a disk through Microsoft.

The person who sold you the system should have given you the Windows
disk. If you don't have it, then unfortunately you have no legal
rights to one. Your only option,(*) if you want to start over, is to
buy a copy of Windows.

(*) Check the machine's partitions. If you're lucky, there's a
"recovery partition" to restore the machine to its factory state.
You'll have to reinstall all the Windows patches, but at least you'll
know you're starting clean.
 
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