Reinstalling Windows on Acer laptop without OS disk

RastaManBob · 4 Aug 2010 at 12:17

Hi,

I'd like to format my (very old) Acer Travelmate 2410 laptop. I've checked and it did not come with a Windows XP disk. Reading the user guide it appears the system contains a hidden system partition containing restore data, accessible by selecting Alt + F10 on system boot.

I've yet to try this, but I'd imagine it will simply revert it to the state when I first purchased the system - Including lots of unwanted software.

The laptop has a license sticker on the underside, quoting:

"Windows XP Home Edition
Acer Incorporated"

Can I format the disk and remove all partitions (including the system partition) and install using an alternative Windows XP disk and use the license key on the underside of the laptop?

Is removing the system partition likely to cause any problems, above and beyond requiring me to find relevant drivers from the Acer website (found previously)? And if not, is there any limitation as to what Windows XP disk I can use? I have a Windows XP Home Service Pack 2 disk available, would this be suitable with the laptop license key?

Finally, are there any legal ramifications to this in terms of using a Windows XP disk supplied for use with another computer but using the license key from the Acer laptop?

Thank you!

Sp00n · 4 Aug 2010 at 12:23

Technically you will be able to use the key if you have an OEM disc, also depending on how old the machine is it might need to be a non SP disc or SP1 disc.

Don't really know the legal ramifications however in order for you to have an OEM disc you need to be an OEM, so that right there is probably quite dodgy.

RastaManBob · 4 Aug 2010 at 12:31

Sp00n said:
Technically you will be able to use the key if you have an OEM disc, also depending on how old the machine is it might need to be a non SP disc or SP1 disc.

Don't really know the legal ramifications however in order for you to have an OEM disc you need to be an OEM, so that right there is probably quite dodgy.

So using an OEM disk from another computer but installing it to the Acer laptop with the Acer license key is not strictly speaking okay? I *need* an Acer OEM disk?

I'm not disputing you but it does sound pretty silly... So Acer never supply me with a disk and I have no way to "legally" format and reinstall Windows XP without all of their additional (unwanted) software? Sounds a bit poor.

Anybody else able to clarify further?

Valo · 4 Aug 2010 at 12:38

It's an OEM Licence, as long as you use an OEM Install media your licence will work. You can't mix and match licence and media, for example you can’t use an OEM Licence with a retail windows installation disk.

RastaManBob · 4 Aug 2010 at 12:44

Will an OEM XP Home SP2 work on this laptop (COA details above, unless you need more?)... I do not know whether the laptop came without SP's or SP1 or SP2...

Sp00n · 4 Aug 2010 at 12:58

RastaManBob said:
So using an OEM disk from another computer but installing it to the Acer laptop with the Acer license key is not strictly speaking okay? I *need* an Acer OEM disk?

I'm not disputing you but it does sound pretty silly... So Acer never supply me with a disk and I have no way to "legally" format and reinstall Windows XP without all of their additional (unwanted) software? Sounds a bit poor.

Anybody else able to clarify further?

A lot of manufacturers have been doing this for a while, it's to try and prevent piracy.

You just need an OEM disc, they aren't manufacturer specific generally, I have seen BIOS locked HP discs before so I would avoid those.

There is no real way to tell if a disc/license is non-sp/sp1/sp2/sp3, not as far as I know anyway.

RastaManBob · 4 Aug 2010 at 13:08

Sp00n said:
There is no real way to tell if a disc/license is non-sp/sp1/sp2/sp3, not as far as I know anyway.

Thanks for the clarification. So there may not be a way to tell if a disk/license is a specific SP but do the disk and license have to match in terms of SP? Eg, is a license "SP2" and therefore will only work on an (OEM) SP2 disk install?

Thanks.

Sp00n · 4 Aug 2010 at 13:11

RastaManBob said:
Thanks for the clarification. So there may not be a way to tell if a disk/license is a specific SP but do the disk and license have to match in terms of SP? Eg, is a license "SP2" and therefore will only work on an (OEM) SP2 disk install?

Thanks.

From my experience I find this to be true only with OEM media, so yes, you will need to find the appropriate disc.

Six6siX · 4 Aug 2010 at 13:15

Sp00n said:
From my experience I find this to be true only with OEM media, so yes, you will need to find the appropriate disc.

Odd, I have never found this to be the case! I did some testing a while back and had no issues using SP3 media with OEM keys from machines even pre SP1

RastaManBob · 4 Aug 2010 at 13:19

At this point I'm not sure I dare delete the recovery partition and try to install Windows from an OEM disk incase it doesn't work and I cannot get hold of the correct one. Seems I'll do the Acer restore and just deal with the unwanted bits and bobs

Thanks for the help!

Sp00n · 4 Aug 2010 at 13:23

Six6siX said:
Odd, I have never found this to be the case! I did some testing a while back and had no issues using SP3 media with OEM keys from machines even pre SP1

I have only really ever encountered it with HP, I have had machines in my old job which would only work with an HP sp1 disc (white).

RastaManBob said:
At this point I'm not sure I dare delete the recovery partition and try to install Windows from an OEM disk incase it doesn't work and I cannot get hold of the correct one. Seems I'll do the Acer restore and just deal with the unwanted bits and bobs

Thanks for the help!

What I would do is use something like clonezilla, copy the entire disc (including system partition and recovery partition) to an external hard drive, then try whatever you need to try. If it doesn't work, restore back to the way it was