XP OEM recovery disk

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vince
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V

Vince

One more question for the experts...
If a PC has one of the reformat/image copy recovery CDs, is it possible
to partition the C: drive (e.g. with Partition magic) so that any
restore leaves the logical partition(s) intact?
Or is the unavoidable format on the CD such that these partitions on the
HDD are be destroyed also?
Partitioning could at least prevent possible data loss.

Vince
 
Greetings --

I imagine it would depend upon exactly what capabilities the OEM
built into its recovery process. I have seen some OEM Recovery CDs
that gave the user two or three different partitioning options, but I
haven't yet seen a Recovery CD that leaves anything on the target hard
drive intact. Ask the PC's manufacturer for the correct answer for
your specific model computer.


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
 
Yes you should be able to partition your hdd unless the recovery CD actually
changes the partitions (which is highly unlikely) you could always try it by
backing up your files and putting something useless on the partition and do
a recovery (I know its a lot of time wasted but at least it would put your
mind at rest)
 
Thanks for replies.
I don't have XP yet, I'm trying to find out just what to avoid/accept
from PC suppliers.
I thought of a 'bare' PC and a retail OS, but that is an expensive way
to reduce risk.
Less expensive is a PC with the smallest HDD available (with the OS
loaded) and specify or fit a second HDD from new for all data and s/w
downloads. This costs around the same as Partition Magic and makes the
data 'portable'. The original HDD can then also be used for regular
backups. Needs a bit of organizing, but seems about the safest approach.

V
 
Greetings --

There are some very important reasons that an OEM license costs so
much less than a retail license. OEM licenses are very limited:

1) OEM versions must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally
a motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC, although Microsoft
has greatly relaxed the hardware criteria for WinXP) and are
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which they are installed. An
OEM license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another
computer under any circumstances. This is the main reason some people
avoid OEM versions; if the PC dies or is otherwise disposed of (even
stolen), you cannot re-use your OEM license on a new PC. The only
legitimate way to transfer the ownership of an installed OEM license
is to transfer ownership of the entire PC.

2) Microsoft provides no free support for OEM versions. If you
have any problems that require outside assistance, your only recourse
is to contact the manufacturer/builder of the PC or the vendor of the
OEM license. This would include such issues as lost a Product Key or
replacing damaged installation media. (Microsoft does make allowances
for those instances when you can prove that the OEM has gone out of
business.) This doesn't mean that you can't download patches and
service packs from Microsoft -- just no free telephone or email
support for problems with the OS.

3) An OEM CD cannot be used to perform an upgrade of an earlier
OS, as it was designed to be installed _only_ upon an empty hard
drive. It can still be used to perform a repair installation (a.k.a.
an in-place upgrade) of an existing WinXP installation.

4) If the OEM CD was designed by a specific manufacturer, such as
eMachines, Sony, Dell, Gateway, etc., it will most likely only install
on the same brand/model of PC, as an additional anti-piracy feature.
Further, such CDs are often severely customized to contain only the
minimum of device drivers, and a lot of extra nonsense, that the
manufacturer feels necessary for the specific model of PC for which
the CD was designed. (To be honest, such CDs should _not_ be
available on the open market; but, if you're shopping someplace like
eBay, eastern European web sites, swap meets, or computer fairs,
there's often no telling what you're buying until it's too late.) The
"generic" OEM CDs, such as are manufactured by Microsoft and sold to
small systems builders, don't have this particular problem, though,
and are pretty much the same as their retail counterparts, apart from
the licensing, support, and upgrading restrictions.

If you are contemplating the purchase of a PC with the software
pre-installed, be careful to ensure exactly what type of CDs come with
it, and what your repair/recovery options are before buying. If a
sales clerk tries to tell you that the Recovery CD method is better or
easier, run - don't walk - to another store where the sales personnel
can at least spell "PC."

Legally, the OEM has met it's contractual obligation to Microsoft
by providing a means of returning the PC to its ex-factory state,
whether it's a Recovery CD or a Recovery Partition. They are not
legally obliged to provide a true installation CD as part of the sale.

Reputable, customer-service aware OEMs, like Dell and Gateway, do
provide a BIOS-locked, full OEM installation CD, that does permit
custom installations and repairs. Small, privately owned shops that
sell custom-built systems with OEM licenses also provide generic OEM
installation CDs that are capable of making repairs without first
wiping out everything on the hard drive.

However, many low-priced, uncaring OEMs, such as Compaq, HP, and
Sony, in an effort to save pennies and reduce their support costs by
having to hire support people that can only say "Boot from the
Recovery CD to return your PC to its original condition," provide only
a CD bearing a disk image of the hard drive as it left the factory.
These Recovery/Restore CDs, as your friend discovered, cannot perform
normal installations, nor can they be used to do any sort of repairs
or customizations. They can only wipe out the hard drive and store it
to its original, pre-purchase condition.



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
 
"Bruce Chambers" said in
1) OEM versions must be sold with a piece of hardware (normally
a motherboard or hard drive, if not an entire PC, although Microsoft
has greatly relaxed the hardware criteria for WinXP)
Click to expand...

You can buy Windows XP OEM with just a power cord although that might
count as a peripheral component (Microsoft says the OEM version must be
sold with non-peripheral equipment). Mine came with a SATA signal cable
(I could opt from about 3 choices) at a cost of $2.
and are
_permanently_ bound to the first PC on which they are installed. An
OEM license, once installed, is not legally transferable to another
computer under any circumstances. This is the main reason some people
avoid OEM versions; if the PC dies or is otherwise disposed of (even
stolen), you cannot re-use your OEM license on a new PC.
Click to expand...

You can still replace the motherboard, add memory, change the CPU, add
hard drives, change the NIC and modem, change the video card, or
basically rebuild the entire computer. At most, all activation has
incurred to me is a telephone call to Microsoft. The license says that
instance of the OEM version of Windows stays with that computer, but
"that" computer can still be modified as desired. Microsoft isn't going
to severely lockup its product so it only works with a static snapshot
of the hardware at installation time since EVERYONE upgrades over time.

The only
legitimate way to transfer the ownership of an installed OEM license
is to transfer ownership of the entire PC.
Click to expand...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows200.../en/advanced/help/lic_legal_sell_software.htm
Example article only - Read your EULA; for Windows XP, its at
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\eula.txt"; do a search on "transfer". It says:

"You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as
part of a permanent sale or transfer of the COMPUTER, provided you
retain no copies, if you transfer the SOFTWARE (including all component
parts, the media, any upgrades, this EULA and the Certificate of
Authenticity), and the recipient agrees to the terms of this EULA. If
the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer must also include all prior
versions of the SOFTWARE."

You must transfer ALL of your Windows versions down to a full version.
You might not have the manual anymore but you are required to provide
the CD installation or recovery media and all floppies to the buyer,
along with the COA sticker or document. You are NOT allowed to simply
sell off the computer with the software installed on the hard drive but
keep all the Windows install/recovery media. If you don't have the
Windows install/recovery media then you cannot sell the OS with the
computer. Selling a computer with a polluted drive that you were too
lazy to wipe is not selling off the software and can get you into
trouble due to piracy (if you do it enough to warrant a lawsuit).

Also, if the last installed or provided version of Windows is an
upgrade, you must provide install/restore media for all the prior
upgrades back to a full version. If you bought Windows 95 as a full
version, then an upgrade to Windows 98, and lastly an upgrade to Windows
XP, you must at least provide the Windows 95 media since that is the
full version upon which the entire upgrade lineage is based. You should
also provide, in this example, the Windows 98 media (I don't remember if
Windows XP will upgrade from Windows 95), or you can discard it, but
once you dispose of the Windows 95 full version to include it with the
Windows XP upgrade then you are not entitled to use the Windows 98
version. You no longer have the full version license on which that
upgrade is based as an upgrade.

OEM versions are never upgrades; they perform a full install. OEM
versions *are* full versions; i.e., you don't need to provide prior
versions if a legal OEM version is already installed or included.

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing
2) Microsoft provides no free support for OEM versions. If you
have any problems that require outside assistance, your only recourse
is to contact the manufacturer/builder of the PC or the vendor of the
OEM license. This would include such issues as lost a Product Key or
replacing damaged installation media. (Microsoft does make allowances
for those instances when you can prove that the OEM has gone out of
business.) This doesn't mean that you can't download patches and
service packs from Microsoft -- just no free telephone or email
support for problems with the OS.
Click to expand...

See
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;prodoffer33a&sd=GN
for Windows XP support policies. You get all of 2, that's just 2,
incidents that you can report for free. So is it worth to pay the full
cost of the retail version to get just 2 times you can call them, or is
your money better spent to pay half the price and use that other money
on other utility software? The link notes that installation support is
unlimited and I would assume that means help with the product key (for
the retail version). With just 2 included trouble tickets, you'll
either end up holding onto their for dear life waiting for those
catastrophic events where no one else can help you (in which case, maybe
Microsoft can't help, either), or you'll chew through them immediately
and be left without any more support, anyway!

For OEM, you didn't pay for any support, not even those 2 incidents.
Make sure you don't lose your product key if it is an OEM version. Also
be sure to make a backup copy of the install/recovery CD.

4) If the OEM CD was designed by a specific manufacturer, such as
eMachines, Sony, Dell, Gateway, etc., it will most likely only install
on the same brand/model of PC, as an additional anti-piracy feature.
Click to expand...

This is the BIOS lock. The jobber has a customized OEM version that
looks for a specific signature string in the BIOS. That means you can't
take a DELL OEM CD and use it on a Sony machine (examples only).
Further, such CDs are often severely customized to contain only the
minimum of device drivers, and a lot of extra nonsense, that the ...
Click to expand...

You might not even get a recovery CD. Some OEM vendors don't provide an
installa
tion CD nor do they provide a recovery CD. Instead they put the
recovery image on a hidden partition on the hard drive. If you replace
your hard drive, you lose that restore image. There might be a means of
copying the restore image onto CD but it is likely the image is larger
than the capacity of CD and simply spanning the image across multiple
CDs might not work. You need to find out from the OEM vendor how to get
their restore image off the hard drive so you can have it on removable
recovery media, like CDs or DVDs.

<snip>
 
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