"Enkidu" <enkidu.com@com.cliffp.com> wrote in message
news:475c4a96@news2.actrix.gen.nz...
> VanguardLH wrote:
>> "opensky42" <opensky42@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:F08AF522-40ED-4753-8E36-D0496AEF77C7@microsoft.com...
>>> Hello. I recently purchased a used Dell PC, as a secondary computer for
>>> my
>>> household. It turned out that the hard drive was bad, and I need to get
>>> a new
>>> one. This computer did not come with any disks, but it does have a
>>> original
>>> sticker on the side with the product number for its copy of windows XP.
>>> My
>>> question is, can I install my copy of Windows XP from my other computer
>>> on
>>> this one, and change the registration # to match the OS that was
>>> originally
>>> installed on it? When you buy a used computer, does the OS legally
>>> convey
>>> with it as long as it was not installed on another computer by the first
>>> owner? as far as the no disks issue goes, my primary computer, which I
>>> purchased new, did not come with any disks...It came already installed,
>>> and I
>>> had to make my own backup copies. Any help on this issue would be
>>> greatly
>>> appreciated.
>>
>>
>> Since you *recently* purchased the computer, contact the seller to tell
>> them that they MUST relinquish the Windows installation CD. Otherwise,
>> what you bought was just the hardware, not the software. That is, you got
>> a polluted hard drive and you have to go buy or get whatever OS you want
>> to install on that computer. If the OS was supposed to get included in
>> the sale, and if the seller did not include it, then the seller committed
>> fraud. For the seller to include the OS, they must have included the
>> installation or restoration media for it.
>>
>> If the OS was supposed to be included in the sale of the used computer,
>> contact the seller to get the installation media for that OS. Without
>> it, the seller only sold you hardware.
> >
> Many systems from large manufacturers do not come with CDs. Well, actually
> some come with a plethora of disks, none of which is an OS disk.
This is true, but new systems are supposed to comply with OEM licensing
requirements and provide the end-user a method of recovering and
reinstalling the OS. This doesn't *necessarily* mean they provide disks,
just installation media of some type.
Some have chosen the incredibly bad idea of a recovery partition, which of
course dies with the rest of the hard disk; at this point the purchaser has
to buy a new hard disk AND a new OS license.
Others provide a method for creating your own restore media, which saves the
manufacturer perhaps a dollar.
While these approaches are frankly inadequate and put the consumer at risk
of loss, they do technically comply with the recovery requirement.
This is quite differerent from the sale of *used* equipment. In this case,
the OS license, being assigned to an education institution, may not
actually even be transferrable.
That said, finding another similar Dell system, borrowing and using its XP
install CD with the COA number on the back of the system, might well work.
If the install key is accepted, all should be well, as long as it then
passes activation.
HTH
-pk
>
> Cheers,
>
> Cliff
>
> --
>
> Have you ever noticed that if something is advertised as 'amusing' or
> 'hilarious', it usually isn't?