Windows XP CD???

[Sam]

Hi, Could someone tell me if when you buy a new PC they should give you the
Windows installation disk with licence?, as a friend of mine didn't get one
when he bought he's PC.

Thanks

Sam

 

[kurttrail]

Hi, Could someone tell me if when you buy a new PC they should give
you the Windows installation disk with licence?, as a friend of mine
didn't get one when he bought he's PC.

Thanks

Sam

Yes, they should if they were reputable companies, but many computer
OEMs aren't all the reputable.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
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"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Not necessarily, but they must provide you with a method to return the hard
drive to the state it was in when you purchased the PC. Often there is a
hidden partition on the hard drive that will enable this. See the PC manual
for details.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Hi, Could someone tell me if when you buy a new PC they should give
you the Windows installation disk with licence?, as a friend of mine
didn't get one when he bought he's PC.

That's not uncommon.

OEM vendors are required by their agreement with Microsoft to
give you a means of reinstalling, should it be necessary. They
can do this in one of three ways:

1. An OEM copy of Windows
2. A restore CD
3. A hidden partition on your drive, with restore information.

If you don't have 1 or 2, you should have 3, but you should
contact your vendor to find out.

Personally, I find both 2 and 3 unacceptable, and would never
choose to buy a computer that came with an operating system
unless I got a complete generic installation CD for that
operating system.

 

[R. McCarty]

I think it's partly a cost savings measure by uninformed managers,
but also an attempt to stop customer's from attempting In-place
or Repair installs where there is a high percentage chance of doing
it incorrectly. At the least I would want the disk just for the ability
to boot to the Recovery console. Why these OEM's don't just put
the RC on the disk as an alternate boot choice is hard to figure out.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I think it's partly a cost savings measure by uninformed managers,
but also an attempt to stop customer's from attempting In-place
or Repair installs where there is a high percentage chance of doing
it incorrectly. At the least I would want the disk just for the
ability to boot to the Recovery console. Why these OEM's don't just
put
the RC on the disk as an alternate boot choice is hard to

figure out.


Although you may be right as to the reason, I think it's more
likely just penny-pinching.

But regardless of the reason, I want a complete installation CD;
anyone who doesn't supply at least an OEM installation CD would
never get my business.

 

[Hilary Karp]

They are supposed to provide one of three things:

1. A full installation CD with COA which is usually attached to the
computer case.

2. A recovery CD

3. A hidden partition on the hard drive for recovery.

The system manual should explain how to do a recovery.

 

[Guest]

Dear Sam,

You will not normally receive a Windows install disk. You
should receive an OEM version of Windows on a recovery
disk. The recovery disk will contain numerous other
folders and files and Windows may not be in a separate
directory.

Bernie

 

[Alex Nichol]

Hi, Could someone tell me if when you buy a new PC they should give you the
Windows installation disk with licence?, as a friend of mine didn't get one
when he bought he's PC.

All they have to do is provide a means of restoring to ex-factory state
(deleting all data and other software). Some makers provide a CD for
that; some, especially HP/Compaq just provide files hidden away on the
hard disk. I would not buy such a setup unless the price was such as to
allow me to factor in buying a separate copy