Laptop Disaster

[bixy]

A friend's laptop hard drive has finally expired. She does not have the original OS disk or a recovery disk. It seems to me that installing a new hard drive would not be a problem but she will have no OS. Am I right in thinking that the only thing to do here would be to download Ubuntu on another machine and install that, or is there another option?

Patrick

[AnOther]

Not the only thing at all and nothing wrong with Ubuntu, or Linux of other flavours, but is it what your friend wants ?

A simple way to reinstall Windows would be to buy a genuine unopened copy from somewhere like eBay. Not everyone on there is a rogue [;-)]

[bixy]

Thanks Ernie. She just wants a working laptop. I have a copy of XP myself but my understanding is that it can only be used on the machine it was originally intended for. Is that correct?

Patrick

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Generally on a laptop only the disc that came with the machine will work, but I managed to put a different copy of xp on a laptop (my original disc had been damaged), and I used the xp code provided with that laptop and it all seemed to work ok. In fact the laptop was French and I installed an English version of xp on it and then changed the regional settings to French so the French keyboard would work.

It took a while longer to sort everything out as I had to download and install drivers from the manufacturers website, but everything's good with it now.

[AnOther]

[quote user="bixy"]I have a copy of XP myself but my understanding is that it can only be used on the machine it was originally intended for. Is that correct?[/quote]That's not quite right.

If you have a genuine full XP CD it only be installed and activated on one machine so if your copy has been activated on yours whilst you will be able to install it on another machine you will not be able to activate it. Sometimes you will get copy which has been customised for a specific machine, with drivers and machine specific applications etc., and this of course cannot be used elsewhere at all.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="ErnieY"][quote user="bixy"]I have a copy of XP myself but my understanding is that it can only be used on the machine it was originally intended for. Is that correct?[/quote]That's not quite right.

If you have a genuine full XP CD it only be installed and activated on one machine so if your copy has been activated on yours whilst you will be able to install it on another machine you will not be able to activate it. Sometimes you will get copy which has been customised for a specific machine, with drivers and machine specific applications etc., and this of course cannot be used elsewhere at all.

[/quote]

Um.. I managed it. Both laptops were downloading updates at the same time too! [:D]

Maybe luck.

[AnOther]

[quote user="LyndaandRichard"]Um.. I managed it. Both laptops were downloading updates at the same time too! [:D][/quote]Or maybe down to which version of XP you have !

I've heard that there are hookey copies of the corporate version about which do not require individual activation though not suggesting that is what you have that of course [Www]

Not that they are all neccessarily illegitimate. My genuine copy of XP Pro was obtained through a scheme operated by my employer whereby employees can purchase some MS products for a nominal sum. I can't remember how much XP was, it was a long time ago - something like £10 or £15 I think - but I also recently got a copy of Office 2007 the same way and that was only $20 including post to my home address in France. The only caveat is that any products bought this way are strictly for individual use only and to enforce that the serial number, or numbers, are logged against me personally.

Or maybe because it's now obsolete and MS just don't bother checking when you try to activate ?

Here's a question: If XP, or any piece of software for that matter, is obsolete and not officially for sale anymore can it really be regarded as piracy or theft if you 'acquired' a copy from somewhere and used it. You're not actually defrauding anybody of anything although I suppose it could be argued that you could have bought he latest version if you needed that particular programme ?

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

The xp disc was specifically for a Compaq laptop which was bought in Australia. It was service pack 1.

The computer I loaded it onto (due to it's xp disc being damaged) was a French HP. So I used the Australian xp disc on the French laptop and inserted the xp serial code from the French xp disc, so although it was the same xp install, it was actually using two different serial numbers. Perhaps that's how it accepted it. And really I cannot see anything illegal in what I have done as I have paid for both copies (although one was dead).

So the moral is, I believe the same xp install disc can be used, as long as you have the individual serial numbers to enter.

[bixy]

Thanks to those who took the trouble to answer. My friend now discovers she has nearly a year to run on her warranty so it's down to Dell!

Patrick

[Mikew]

The windows product code should be shown on a label stuck to the underneath of a legitimate laptop (and somewhere on the case of a desktop) Hopefully this will work with someone elses full, not OEM, windows disk. Linux, Ubuntu flavour, is well worth using to regenerate an old out of date computer as it needs less resources than Windows.

[AnOther]

[quote user="LyndaandRichard"]The xp disc was specifically for a Compaq laptop which was bought in Australia. It was service pack 1.

So the moral is, I believe the same xp install disc can be used, as long as you have the individual serial numbers to enter.[/quote]The XP install CD will accept any serial which is valid for the version which you are installing, Home, Pro, Server etc. as it's actually an algorythm rather than a specific S/No which the CD is expecting. What it won't do is activate if it has been activated previously.

According to the strict letter of the MS EULA, if XP is supplied with a machine, i.e. as with your Compaq for instance, then it should not be used anywhere else. The only version you are free to install anywhere (but only once of course) is a shrink wrapped retail one.

Actually the reason it worked for you was probably because you had the laptop upsidedown [:D]

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

[quote user="ErnieY"][quote user="LyndaandRichard"]The xp disc was specifically for a Compaq laptop which was bought in Australia. It was service pack 1.

So the moral is, I believe the same xp install disc can be used, as long as you have the individual serial numbers to enter.[/quote]The XP install CD will accept any serial which is valid for the version which you are installing, Home, Pro, Server etc. as it's actually an algorythm rather than a specific S/No which the CD is expecting. What it won't do is activate if it has been activated previously.

According to the strict letter of the MS EULA, if XP is supplied with a machine, i.e. as with your Compaq for instance, then it should not be used anywhere else. The only version you are free to install anywhere (but only once of course) is a shrink wrapped retail one.

Actually the reason it worked for you was probably because you had the laptop upsidedown [:D]

[/quote]

This is also true, but I won't be losing any sleep over it. I have two laptops working off the same cd, Bill Gates has a fat wad of cash in his pocket, so he can have no complaints.

Actually, is HP part of Compaq or vice versa as there seem to be a lot of similarities (more so than other pc firms).