Anyone managed to get replacement XP CDs from Dell?

Indy500 · 10 Jul 2008 at 19:56

Long story short, I'm doing a fresh install on a Dell Latitude D600 with an XP Pro COA on it and the disc is missing.

I can't find anywhere on Dell's site that tells me what to do in this instance, and I don't want to pay a third party £26 for a pair of recovery CDs...

Mattus · 10 Jul 2008 at 21:08

In that situation I'd just download it! burnsy or Fire Wizard may correct me, but I don't see what you'd be doing wrong if you installed it with a valid licence.

Sp00n · 10 Jul 2008 at 21:16

Was it pre-installed? Might be an OEM license.

Indy500 · 10 Jul 2008 at 21:19

Mattus said:
In that situation I'd just download it! burnsy or Fire Wizard may correct me, but I don't see what you'd be doing wrong if you installed it with a valid licence.

That sometimes falls foul of WGA, and a Microsoft rep told me it isn't valid unless I'm using the manufacturer's discs.

swinnie · 10 Jul 2008 at 22:47

I called up Dell (well actually they called me - there is a way to do this

...saves the pennies!!!!!) and they sent out disks.

Edit...

Check for a recovery option or partition on boot options...

Indy500 · 10 Jul 2008 at 23:02

swinnie said:
I called up Dell (well actually they called me - there is a way to do this ...saves the pennies!!!!!) and they sent out disks.

What did they charge you?

swinnie said:
Edit...

Check for a recovery option or partition on boot options...

The drive was wiped prior to me seeing it.

swinnie · 11 Jul 2008 at 00:08

sr4470 said:
What did they charge you?

Nothing.

Indy500 · 11 Jul 2008 at 00:41

swinnie said:
Nothing.

I'll contact Dell Support then and see what they say..

Burnsy2023 · 11 Jul 2008 at 09:24

sr4470 said:
That sometimes falls foul of WGA, and a Microsoft rep told me it isn't valid unless I'm using the manufacturer's discs.

You would find it difficult to find an authorised source to download it from even if you do have a valid COA.

And the rep is talking out of their arse.

Dell support are usually quite helpful, I have had a few media kits sent for free

Burnsy

muon · 11 Jul 2008 at 10:05

If you use Dell OEM discs on a Dell PC/Laptop, no activation is needed whatsoever. So thats why they are preferred over a generic XP disc.

Indy500 · 11 Jul 2008 at 17:18

Burnsy2023 said:
Dell support are usually quite helpful, I have had a few media kits sent for free

How long did it take from you contacting them to receiving the media?

Burnsy2023 · 11 Jul 2008 at 18:53

sr4470 said:
How long did it take from you contacting them to receiving the media?

A few days, sent via UPS no less.

Burnsy

Indy500 · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:08

Burnsy2023 said:
A few days, sent via UPS no less.

Burnsy

I haven't received a response yet, but that sounds like better service than I've come to expect

blastman · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:22

if you still have access to the C:\ drive and can try this.

http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml

I had to use it on 5 Dell machines that had no recovery disc's, worked a treat and best of all, it used the existing OEM licence!!!

Hope it helps.

Indy500 · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:29

blastman said:
if you still have access to the C:\ drive and can try this.

That won't work since I'm dealing with a blank drive to begin with. (as I stated further up in this thread)

Sp00n · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:33

Was it zero'd?

Indy500 · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:35

Sp00n said:
Was it zero'd?

No. But recovering whatever might have been there is a lot more work than asking Dell to supply a CD (which I couldn't make a genuine copy of by myself anyway).

Sp00n · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:41

Then you have your answer

Indy500 · 11 Jul 2008 at 19:53

Sp00n said:
Then you have your answer

I guess there's nothing more to add, I appreciate the responses

swinnie · 11 Jul 2008 at 23:55

sr4470 said:
How long did it take from you contacting them to receiving the media?

4 working days for me.