-=CMD=- said:
I just purchased a new IBM ThinkPad which comes with only the IBM XP Recovery
Software on the harddrive. IBM will not provide me an XP CD.
If I contact Microsoft, will they provide me with a copy of the OS if I can
prove I have a valid license? And if so, how do I contact them for this
request?
Thanks,
Dave
Microsoft does not supply CDs or other support for OEM versions of
Windows. The computer manufacturer/assembler (IBM in your case) has
signed a contract with Microsoft which provides that they (IBM) and
not Microsoft are responsible for all warranty and end-user support
for the OEM versions of Windows that they sell with their computers.
In other words, IBM has agreed to assume the role and responsibilities
of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with regard to this
software. To make this situation perfectly clear to the computer
purchasers I believe that the product should be identified as "IBM
Windows XP, licensed from Microsoft" rather than Microsoft Windows XP,
but that is just my personal view.
The OEM agreement between IBM and Microsoft only requires that IBM
provide the computer purchaser with "a method" by which the operating
system can be resotored to the "as it left the factory" state. And by
providing the System Recovery partition on the hard drive IBM has
complied with this requirements.
See
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/oem_software for more detailed information
about OEM software.
You can make a backup copy of the Recovery Partition if you want,
using either a CDRW/DVDRW drive (if you Thinkpad has one) or by
purchasing an external USB2 hard drive and copything the Recovery
Partition to it.
But if IBM will not provide you with the actual CD then your only
other option would be to purchase a new copy of Windows XP.
Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
