Guest Scout19d Posted September 5, 2007 Posted September 5, 2007 I want to upgrade my computer, and i mean a major overhaul. I heard that this will freak out windows, and need to know if microsoft can send my a disk copy of microsoft windows XP that will work w/ my cd-key. The computer is a dell, and didnt come w/ a windows disk copy.
Guest Bruce Chambers Posted September 5, 2007 Posted September 5, 2007 Re: Windows Question Scout19d wrote: > I want to upgrade my computer, and i mean a major overhaul. I heard that > this will freak out windows, ..... That depends on exactly what you mean by "upgrade" and "major overhaul." Which specific components are you planning to replace. > .... and need to know if microsoft can send my a disk > copy of microsoft windows XP that will work w/ my cd-key. The computer is a > dell, and didnt come w/ a windows disk copy. No, only Dell can provide an installation CD for their OEM version of WinXP; Microsoft cannot do so. (And a Dell OEM CD won't do you any good if you happen to upgrade, as in "replace," the Dell motherboard. In that case you'll have broken your support agreement with Dell and will have to purchase another license for the OS, unless you can somehow find/obtain a generic, unbranded OEM CD that will work with the OEM Product Key.) -- 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 Jupiter Jones [MVP] Posted September 5, 2007 Posted September 5, 2007 Re: Windows Question No, if you need a CD, you need to get it from Dell. Check your manual and/or contact Dell for option making the restore media. Most Dells that came without CDs had the capability of making the restore media. This would be a Dell feature and is not a Windows Capability. -- Jupiter Jones [MVP] http://www3.telus.net/dandemar http://www.dts-l.org "Scout19d" <Scout19d@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:81A6F19A-3FD5-426A-AEA2-1C2A236F78F1@microsoft.com... >I want to upgrade my computer, and i mean a major overhaul. I heard >that > this will freak out windows, and need to know if microsoft can send > my a disk > copy of microsoft windows XP that will work w/ my cd-key. The > computer is a > dell, and didnt come w/ a windows disk copy.
Guest Tony Meloche Posted September 5, 2007 Posted September 5, 2007 Re: Windows Question Jupiter Jones [MVP] wrote: > No, if you need a CD, you need to get it from Dell. > > Check your manual and/or contact Dell for option making the restore media. > Most Dells that came without CDs had the capability of making the > restore media. > This would be a Dell feature and is not a Windows Capability. > That's right, as I just bought my third computer from Dell. At the time I bought it, they were *advertising* it as coming *with* the WinXP-sp2 restore disc, but they had already discontinued that. But they hadn't change the web page. I raised hell about it, but they wouldn't budge - they will no longer supply the disc. However, they will give you a URL to download the entire XP-sp2 disc free, if ou want (no, I don't have it). I think they said the CD download is around 400MB - ? So, if you still have dial-up, you might want to think twice before doing that. Tony ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----
Guest Tim Slattery Posted September 5, 2007 Posted September 5, 2007 Re: Windows Question Scout19d <Scout19d@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: >I want to upgrade my computer, and i mean a major overhaul. I heard that >this will freak out windows, and need to know if microsoft can send my a disk >copy of microsoft windows XP that will work w/ my cd-key. The computer is a >dell, and didnt come w/ a windows disk copy. Depends on just what your overhaul entails. If you change the motherboard, and the new one doesn't come from Dell, the OEM system that came with your computer pretty surely won't run on it, since it's probably locked to the BIOS on the original motherboard. -- Tim Slattery MS MVP(DTS) Slattery_T@bls.gov http://members.cox.net/slatteryt
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted September 5, 2007 Posted September 5, 2007 Re: Windows Question On Tue, 4 Sep 2007 19:26:01 -0700, Scout19d <Scout19d@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > I want to upgrade my computer, and i mean a major overhaul. What does a "major overhaul" mean? Exactly what components will you be upgrading or replacing? > I heard that > this will freak out windows, Depends on exactly what is changed and how different they may be from the originals. You may need to do a repair installation or you may need to do a clean reinstallation. You may need to reactivate. > and need to know if microsoft can send my a disk > copy of microsoft windows XP that will work w/ my cd-key. The computer is a > dell, and didnt come w/ a windows disk copy. First, if yours is a Dell, you have an OEM copy of Windows. All support for OEM copies has to come from your OEM (in your case, Dell), not Microsoft. Microsoft won't help you. Second, the license for an OEM copy of Windows ties it permanently to the first computer it's installed on. The license doesn't specify exactly what constitutes the same computer, but if your changes are significant enough, be aware that it may be considered to be an entirely new computer, and you won't be able to activate your current copy. Third, many OEM copies are BIOS-locked to the motherboard. That means that if you change motherboards, you could not physically reinstall that copy of Windows at all. And finally, if you get past all the issues above, be aware that 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 (especially 3; a hard drive crash can leave you with nothing), 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. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
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