Guest C-M0n3y Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 ....to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) thx
Guest Malke Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Is it legal... C-M0n3y wrote: > ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i > want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) > > thx It would be extremely foolish to do that. You can replace your broken CD with very little trouble. Your license to use Windows is the Product Key, not the CD. Since you bought a retail copy, contact Microsoft here: How to Replace Lost, Broken, or Missing Microsoft Software or Hardware - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;326246 If a friend has the same version of XP that you do (example - retail XP Home-Pro-MCE) you can also just make a copy of his CD. Malke -- Elephant Boy Computers http://www.elephantboycomputers.com "Don't Panic!" MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Guest Jon Sherry Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Is it legal... Technically no, unless you can find EXACTLY the same distribution as what you had. But even then you'd be taking risks. If its an OEM CD from someone like HP or Dell, you'll need to contact them for a replacement CD. Or perhaps find one on eBay. If its a retail (store-shelf) version Microsoft will replace the CD for a small fee. Downloading it from the internet exposes you to the risk of viruses, getting a distribution that's incompatible with your key, etc... "C-M0n3y" <C-M0n3y@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:F91EE345-9278-4B3D-9B1D-51C27EB5C0F9@microsoft.com... > ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i > want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) > > thx
Guest Leythos Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Is it legal... In article <F91EE345-9278-4B3D-9B1D-51C27EB5C0F9@microsoft.com>, C- M0n3y@discussions.microsoft.com says... > ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i > want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) Yes, it's illegal. Why not just get the media replaced from the vendor you bought it from? -- Leythos - Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. - Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist" spam999free@rrohio.com (remove 999 for proper email address)
Guest Ian Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 RE: Is it legal... Depends on your definition of legal. Microsoft would say a definite No. The real-world legal situation is that copyright laws differ depending on the country/state you're in, so whether Microsoft's (hypercomplex) T&C are in fact enforcible is a moot point, and one which has seldom been tested in court. HST I think there is a scheme for obtaining a replacement CD at moderate cost. If so that might be your best route. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246
Guest Phisherman Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Is it legal... On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:14:02 -0700, C-M0n3y <C-M0n3y@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: >...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i >want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) > >thx Probably not, unless you are downloading from Microsoft. To know for sure you can call Microsoft, that is, if you are not connected to an offshore call center.
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Is it legal... On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:28:04 -0700, Ian <Ian@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > Depends on your definition of legal. > > Microsoft would say a definite No. > > The real-world legal situation is that copyright laws differ depending on > the country/state you're in, so whether Microsoft's (hypercomplex) T&C are in > fact enforcible is a moot point, and one which has seldom been tested in > court. > > HST I think there is a scheme for obtaining a replacement CD at moderate > cost. If so that might be your best route. > > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246 To me, even above the legal issues, who knows what may be on that downloaded file? I wouldn't want to trust it. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Barry Watzman Posted July 30, 2007 Posted July 30, 2007 Re: Is it legal... In my opinion (contrary to what others are saying) it probably is legal if you have your own legal COA and product key. But it's dangerous, because you don't know what you are getting (could be virus infected, for example). If it's the wrong version (retail vs. OEM, for example), it won't accept your product key anyway, so that is not an issue. If two people (unrelated and living in different households) both bought the same make/model of laptop, and one loses his media, I'm pretty sure that it is not illegal to borrow the other person's media (not his product key, but just the media). In situations like this, I will do what seems to me to be "right" and "fair" (even taking into account Microsoft's interests) and not worry too much about the exact letter (as opposed to the intent) of the license. BUT, that doesn't change the real dangers associated with downloading software from an unknown source. Microsoft will replace media for a small fee if it's not OEM media, if it is OEM media (e.g. Dell, Gateway, HP, Sony, Toshiba, ..... etc.) then you have to contact the OEM. If you purchased the OS stand alone without hardware then it's either retail media or "generic OEM" media, either way, call Microsoft. C-M0n3y wrote: > ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i > want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) > > thx
Guest Bruce Chambers Posted July 31, 2007 Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Is it legal... Barry Watzman wrote: > In my opinion (contrary to what others are saying) it probably is legal > if you have your own legal COA and product key. It's true that it's the Product Key, and not the physical CD, that represents the license. > But it's dangerous, > because you don't know what you are getting (could be virus infected, > for example). > Correct. Because, unless one has a very expensive MSDN subscription, there are *NO* legitimate sources for downloading a Microsoft OS. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
Guest Plato Posted July 31, 2007 Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Is it legal... =?Utf-8?B?Qy1NMG4zeQ==?= wrote: > > ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i > want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) Stupid idea. Buy a real, officail copy of the OS you want to use and use that for best results. -- http://www.bootdisk.com/
Guest Gordon Posted July 31, 2007 Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Is it legal... "Plato" <|@|.|> wrote in message news:46aea700$0$211$bb4e3ad8@newscene.com... > =?Utf-8?B?Qy1NMG4zeQ==?= wrote: >> >> ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i >> want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) > > Stupid idea. Buy a real, officail copy of the OS you want to use and use > that for best results. > Now that's also fairly dumb. As it's the KEY that is the essential possession not the CD, all the OP has to do is find a friend with the same type of Windows CD(generic OEM, Retail etc etc) and make a copy of it....
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted July 31, 2007 Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Is it legal... On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:46:30 +0100, "Gordon" <gbplinux@gmail.com.invalid> wrote: > "Plato" <|@|.|> wrote in message > news:46aea700$0$211$bb4e3ad8@newscene.com... > > =?Utf-8?B?Qy1NMG4zeQ==?= wrote: > >> > >> ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with akey(i > >> want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) > > > > Stupid idea. Buy a real, officail copy of the OS you want to use and use > > that for best results. > > > > Now that's also fairly dumb. As it's the KEY that is the essential > possession not the CD, all the OP has to do is find a friend with the same > type of Windows CD(generic OEM, Retail etc etc) and make a copy of it.... That's assuming that he actually has a legal key. Maybe he has, but I'm certainly suspicious (as I suspect Plato is too). -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Gordon Posted July 31, 2007 Posted July 31, 2007 Re: Is it legal... "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message news:9qnua3dr0dl128jg43jdi0h8ull9bc8ejg@4ax.com... > On Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:46:30 +0100, "Gordon" > <gbplinux@gmail.com.invalid> wrote: > >> "Plato" <|@|.|> wrote in message >> news:46aea700$0$211$bb4e3ad8@newscene.com... >> > =?Utf-8?B?Qy1NMG4zeQ==?= wrote: >> >> >> >> ...to download a copy of windws from the net that doesnt come with >> >> akey(i >> >> want to use the one i purchased, but i sat on the cd...) >> > >> > Stupid idea. Buy a real, officail copy of the OS you want to use and >> > use >> > that for best results. >> > >> >> Now that's also fairly dumb. As it's the KEY that is the essential >> possession not the CD, all the OP has to do is find a friend with the >> same >> type of Windows CD(generic OEM, Retail etc etc) and make a copy of it.... > > > That's assuming that he actually has a legal key. Maybe he has, but > I'm certainly suspicious (as I suspect Plato is too). > Well if his key isn't genuine then he'll find out fairly rapidly! However if it IS genuine, then my suggestion stands - I did it myself when my Acer restore disks failed to boot on the second time of use and Acer wanted £50 for replacements....
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