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Repair Computer, Repurchase OS?
An anonymous reader asks: "Recently, I have been bit by a computer repair on an e-Machines computer that involved a system board replacement. Though this was strictly a repair, not an upgrade, neither MS or e-Machines will provide for activation of the system. Why should a user have to purchase another copy of XP after repairing a computer? The system board is listed on the e-Machines website, but costs 4x what an off-the-shelf board with the same chip-set/capabilities costs, and furthermore is not actually available. The e-Machines rep even said repurchasing XP was my only option. This seems to me patently unfair and of questionable legality. Is it possible that there are enough disgruntled consumers bit by this problem to generate a class-action lawsuit?"
You're probably right, but he's still not completely out of luck. If he can get his hands on a Windows XP disc that's the same version (ie Home/Pro, same SP number included, etc) as what was originally installed, he should be able to use the OEM key included with the machine to get Windows installed. He'll then have to call Microsoft and tell them the hard drive went bad, mainboard was replaced, etc, and he should have a fully functional standalone Windows XP installation.
Vis-a-vis the licensing, Microsoft can blow it out their ass. You purchase a license to run Windows XP when you buy the system, meaning you've paid money to Microsoft. Microsoft can throw all the legalese garbage into the EULA that they like and a court will tell them just where to stick it if they try going after someone doing what I just described above.
-- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
Umm, did you replace your hard drive in the HP? HP (amongst others) creates a smallish (600MB~1GB) partition on your hard drive. The recovery software is looking for that partition. Swap out the drive, and those recovery disks are useless. You can buy a disk image set from them for about $14 for your machine. I recently have gone through this repairing a friend's Compaq laptop. I had to replace the drive, and order a disk image set. It took about 5 days for me to get it, but I didn't have to purchase an OEM copy with a drive for $100.
"Fortunately, I'm adhering to a very strict drug regimen to keep my mind limber..."
Good point. I work on a blue water sailing vessel with three or four PCs and it is an absolute nightmare if we need to reinstall windows or even adobe creative suite whilst in the middle of the Atlantic. Not to mention data calls are either too slow to do online activation, or cost $14 per minute for single channel ISDN. On top of that we go through so many hard drives due to the boats constant slamming and movement that we are often asked why we have activated so many time in the past. All I can think is why do we have to spend even more money on satcom charges to install licensed software?
Inevitable solution? (Other than decent backups) simply use a pirated copy and WGA crack. A sad state of affairs indeed.
The moral of the story: steal Windows.
It's not worth the money anyway.
But it's a funny world we live in, where stealing seems to bring you elss trouble than buying - and that's leaving money out of the equation.
I mean, really... if you buy Windows, you didn't really buy it as such. You bought a license to use it on one computer under the exact conditions provided by Microsoft, take it or leave it.
If you steal it, however... why, you don't have a worry in your life (BSA is not all-powerful, after all) - not only do you steal a license, but you steal so much that you can disregard the license altogether. Hey, you stole it, you might as well steal all the way.
Which only goes to prove: if you know something about computers, one way or the other, you'll stop paying for software.
Ignore this signature. By order.
I've come to the point where I consider paying for multimedia and software an altruistic act. I'll pay for software or music if I feel I should support whoever is getting that money. So I still pay for some shareware, and purchase content from the artists. But that's pretty much it.
I have been using Windows XP at work for at least a year and a half now, but I still haven't found any reason whatsoever to upgrade beyond Windows 2000 at home. Windows 2000 does not use product activation, and is stable. So what if Microsoft doesn't support it anymore? It still works great, and I have yet to run into a software application I like that won't run on it. Seriously... so many people just act like sheep, in regard to accepting the "Thou Shalt Upgrade" commandment from Microsoft, without question.
So, in conclusion, I remain steadfast in my resolution to never buy another Microsoft operating system. And surely copies of Windows 2000 are still available on eBay, or elsewhere.
Also, you may want to start experimenting with using Linux. I'm using it more and more often these days, as I learn its capabilities. So I would recommend downloading a Knoppix Linux image, burning it to a CD-R or DVD+R, booting it up via CD/DVD drive, and playing with that. It will not affect any of the data stored on your PC (unless you direct it to).