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Thread ID: 59772	2005-07-12 05:48:00	XP CD	smithie 38 (6684)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
371555	2005-07-12 05:48:00	Hi folks. When I bought my computer some time back, from a computer shop I had XP loaded and I was given the CD which was registered to me. Recently I had my HDD crash and a new one was installed. The technician asked for my XP CD and I was able to give it to him. Now I have a friend who purchased his computer from Bond & Bond. They loaded XP onto his computer but did not give him the CD. They said it was unnecessary. Thats fine whilst his computer is under warranty, but if after this period his HDD dies and he takes it to a computer technician, surely then my mate will need an XP CD or he will be forced to purchase one. Just curious now, but if he paid for XP at the time of purchase surely he should be given a CD and be registered to him.? Smithie	smithie 38 (6684)
371556	2005-07-12 06:04:00	Depends if the OS in on a partition on the hard drive. Some systems have a partition . If he brought just the system, I would say this is why they didnt give him XP on CD. Unless he purchased the XP cd separately.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
371557	2005-07-12 06:19:00	To expand on the above, it's common for such systems to have a "hidden partition" on the hard drive with all the XP CD files loaded for recovery purposes. These systems often have instructions on how to create a backup set on CD from that partition (in case the whole HDD croaks). The XP COA and "CD Key" numbers will be on a sticker on the computer case, thats his "registration" of ownership of XP.	godfather (25)
371558	2005-07-12 06:26:00	Pretty common and it sucks!! A few Brand name manufacturers do this to save a couple of dollars on the cost of a CD The sticker that has the XP serial number stuck to the system unit (on top or side usually) is the important bit. Make sure he writes it down and doesn't lose it in case the sticker is damaged. If the drive dies he can install with any XP CD (as long as it's the flavour his PC came with, probably home edition) and use that number for the install. So he will have to borrow a CD. This sucks as it probably also came with preinstalled software for scanner/printers etc if it came as a package, so he will have to find and install drivers for sound, video, chipset etc and he will lose any CD Writing, Word processor, graphics programs etc. that came as part of the bundle. If he's lucky, any printers/scanners etc will have come with their own CD's He could overcome this by buying a second drive and cloning the existing setup to it. An expensive option and completely useless if his motherboard goes kaput and a new setup is required for the new board (there are ways around this but they are probably beyond the average home user) Another option is, some newer PCs with XP loaded from a partition give the owner the opportunity to write the whole system to CD/DVD using a preinstalled utility so have a look around and see if his came with one. Tell him to go back and harass them, you never know your luck	bartsdadhomer (80)
371559	2005-07-12 07:21:00	yah i bought my computer 3 days ago from circuit city when i opened the box i was like hmm wheres the xp cd.... and there wasnt one i was like *** then i booted up and it let me create one on a dvd i was like cool w/e and my comp came with a partition with all the files that the computer came with on it... also around 1 hour ago i had to use my restore cd (whoops lol) and i was supprised that it backed up my files then installed windows drivers norton and everything else that came on the comp i actually think i like it better than when they give u a cd	CorbinH (37)
371560	2005-07-12 11:20:00	Now I have a friend who purchased his computer from Bond & Bond. They loaded XP onto his computer but did not give him the CD. one thing to watch is there have been several chain stores that have been pulling the old "load the OS and resell the cd" scam. several have been prosocuted for this. personaly i hate restore partions and the restore cd's, exspecailly those tied to the pc (hardrive or bios etc). if the hardrive dies you may have the restore cd but it won't work with the new drive so you have to buy a new copy of windows. i think even dell now have gone back to supplying actuall windows cd's. also with any restore disk is it can be restoreing the problems that caused you to format your pc in the first place.	tweak'e (69)
371561	2005-07-12 11:42:00	HP are one of the worst - you have to make your recovery disks, but the thing is that a lot of HP helpdesk & shops don't know / don't tell about this, until too late.	quarry (252)
371562	2005-07-12 11:47:00	My old techie (who was fixing a problem I couldnt figure out) noted I still had my sticker on the outside of my case for XP instead of the installed XP Pro. I wonder if I should find a Linux sticker for next time :p (p.s. there won't be a next time :D) As far as recovery CDs, not worth the CD they are written to. Make one hardware change (such as add a CD Burner) and it becomes useless	Myth (110)
371563	2005-07-13 00:48:00	Hi all , I know the person whom smithie38 refers to- and he is now following blindly what his latest tech tells him to do- and that same tech - (an owner of a computer shop/business) says that he does not need the CD ---BUT as several people have stated in this thread what happens after the warranty runs out? Even if I accept the need to have a partitioned part of the h/d have the re install set in place, this aquaintance of ours had the computer refuse any effort to be able to access the so called partion- then what would he do? I know this person to be a very very angry man- as "a computer is only a tool, why learn more than that? " In othwer words he is up the creek without a paddle if/when his machine does pack a sad---again ( it is not the first time) he will still need his specialist to help out when as I had to do was learn for myself! I also asked my tech who, as a school boy set me up and taught me some of what I had to know to get out of the pooh! and he says his firm in which he now works as a qualified man- will not let any computer go out without a CD- he says that he /his firm has had to salvage many a crash just as we are discussing. What would say I do to create this --if I can afford to replace my aged machine-and though most of the time I can get myself out of trouble, by myself- yet I do NOT know what to do about this- I would be glad to be able to record the process. effie c	effie c (6856)
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