Media Center CD

Logsi · 20 Aug 2006 at 12:08

I bought this computer about 2 months ago and i have wondered why i didnt get a OS CD.

Am i entitled to get this CD? Where can i get it for free as i already own the licence.

Any help will be appreciated!

Josh

Larnica · 20 Aug 2006 at 12:15

Ring the company you bought it from, and yes you should get one mailed to you for free but recently I've noticed some charging like £5 extra to get the CD? :eek:

kinggost · 20 Aug 2006 at 12:36

Yeh you should as the licence key should be in your name as you have brought the comp with the os on.

Logsi · 20 Aug 2006 at 12:53

It "was" a HP. Just upgraded some stuff and wanted to buy the Asus mobo thats on This Week Only from this site and i wanted a disk. Should i go to where i purchased it or shall i go on the HP site.

On the HP site it talks about buying a recovery CD which to my mind doesnt mean a OS CD but it could be. The Computer itself has this HP software installed where it asks me to make a set of recovery CD's (2 DVD's SL) could i use these CD's to install the OS again with a new motherboard?

Josh

kinggost · 20 Aug 2006 at 13:18

5bjoshua said:
It "was" a HP. Just upgraded some stuff and wanted to buy the Asus mobo thats on This Week Only from this site and i wanted a disk. Should i go to where i purchased it or shall i go on the HP site.

Yeh go where you purchased it from they should give you one. Did you get your cd key with your computer. You sure you can upgrade your hp computer because people like dell and compaq and all them get parts specaily made for them so you can't go to people like overclockers you have to buy hp parts which cost a lot more.

On the HP site it talks about buying a recovery CD which to my mind doesnt mean a OS CD but it could be. The Computer itself has this HP software installed where it asks me to make a set of recovery CD's (2 DVD's SL) could i use these CD's to install the OS again with a new motherboard?

no i wouldnt think so because all id think it would do is save critical info from that certain point and they would be diff drivers so they wouldnt work with new motherbords.

Logsi · 20 Aug 2006 at 15:52

HP said:
Dear Joshua,

Thank you for getting back HP Total Care.

Joshua, The recovery CD\DVD will contain the operating system and all
the pre-install software that came with your computer. So you can use
the recovery disc to reinstall the operating system and all the
pre-install software. If you change the motherboard or the harddrive,
you need reinstall the operating system and all the software from the
recovery disc.

HP Pavilion PCs that ship with Windows XP do not include a set of
recovery CDs or operating system CD. Instead, they use a hidden space
(partition) on the hard drive to store the recovery information. Using a
hidden partition provides a convenient, more stable recovery process and
it also eliminates the need for fragile CDs that can be lost or damaged.

I wish, I could have resolved the issue. However, I am restricted by
resource available with me.

This should answer your query. If you need further assistance, please
reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.

They got back to me within minutes which was nice. So it seems by this that i can use the recovery Dvd's i made when i get the new motherboard.

Does everyone think the Asus P5W DH Deluxe is a good one to go for?

Also i heard theres a way to just change the motherbaord without having to reformat, i think its in a PCFORMAT, ill have to dig it out but id rather do a full reformat anyway.

csmager · 20 Aug 2006 at 18:46

The chances are the above information is incorrect - the recovery cd will contain an image of of the OS/Software installation. Restoring it onto a different PC will either fail, or strange driver issues. You really need the original CD, and I'm not sure the OEM is obliged to give you one.

Aside from this though, if you read the sticky on licensing then you will discover that by changing the motherboard you have invalidated the current windows license, and legally you need to buy a new copy.

Logsi · 20 Aug 2006 at 20:15

O i didnt know that?

Memphis · 20 Aug 2006 at 22:37

5bjoshua said:
O i didnt know that?

Well you do now.

Just order another OEM copy of XP with your new motherboard. Unless you intend changing it again, in which case you would require a new copy of XP again.

Burnsy2023 · 21 Aug 2006 at 09:42

5bjoshua said:
O i didnt know that?

Indeed. From the sticky:

What components can I change in my system before I invalidate the OEM License?

There is a general consensus that the OEM license is paired with the motherboard. You can generally change any other component bar the case where the COA is attached. If you change the case, and the COA isn't physically attached, this breaks the terms of the EULA. Also, if you do buy a new OEM license, but don't attach the COA, the same applies, you are not licensed. If you change a significant amount of hardware you may be asked to reactivate, but this doesn’t mean that you are necessarily unlicensed.

However, you can change the motherboard under a warranty claim if the motherboard was faulty. A warrenty claim is defined as replacement of the original board from the company that your purchased it from, under a warrenty scheme. You cannot simply buy yourself another board if there was a problem with your existing motherboard and still be fully licensed. If you are simply upgrading for feature or performance enhancements, you would need a new OS license.

Burnsy