New Computer Help!

We don't discuss the channels of piracy here so the bottom line is XP costs money. It's price seems to bottom out in the low 100 USD range so any less becomes suspect and you may run into the dreaded activation woes and be poorer for the endeavor.

Bob

about another computer just the same as yours, And he said it has XP installed. ( no mention of pro.)
this computer
:RTQ:US:11">http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270155312017&sspagename=ADME:RTQ:US:11

It seems you have nothing to worry about.....I would make a recover disk and those instructions can be found on the dell site.

.. I asked him if it had and he said "Hello, it has got Win XP Prof license sticker but it hasn't got Win XP instlled and hasn't got XP disk. Regards"

so i don't know

Regards

You seem to be in denial about the issues here. If you have a legitimate license then ask a friend for a copy of their XP CD and see if it works out. The license is for the OS, not for the CD!

With activation, if your license is invalid Microsoft will tell you when you get to that point.

Good luck and be sure to collect those drivers from dell.com before you begin the install. Also, be sure not to ask "How do I install XP?" since that is widely documented. Not that I don't want to read such a post but many are unhappy with the replies to such a post. Try google.com to find XP install guides.

Bob

this is his rather short reply to me

Hi
is windows XP.

Be sure to take care when jumping into someone else's discussion. Most will take Craig's post as the item under discussion.

If you have a new topic, it's best to create your own discussion.

Bob

It was just part of an ongoing discussion.
sorry if I offended you

you can usually buy the windows xp pro media (the cd) for about $20USD. all you need to do is give them the service tag number.

But if worst comes to worst where is the cheapest place to buy PRO and how much? And which pack will i need?

Regards

.. Had another 2 new messages from the seller which say..
"Hello, you don't have to buy a Windows XP becouse this computer has got Win XP license sticker and you can install any Win XP. You don't have to buy a Win XP. Regards" and the other one says "Hello, you can use a XP disk form other computer. You don't need to buy a XP CD becouse you have a license sticker on the desktop case. Regards" so i don't know what i need? someone help please and will my computer even turn on ?

This is no way to run a business, nor to sell a PC privately, on eBay.

You (the seller), don't send out PC's without any XP disk or installed OS, and with just a license sticker on it, and say, "You don't need XP, just get someone else's XP CD". That is plain ridiculous.

I would complain to the seller, and send a copy of the complaint to eBay's complaint department.

There are a number of issues with this seller which I would have walked away from.

1] These are listed as used Dell Optiplex GX260 Intel P4 1.8GHz 512MB 20GB XP Pro. The eBay page you posted shows whole pallets of these Dells, and in a [quoted] Q&A he says;
Q: how many are on pallet and how much is the pallett
A: Hi is 60 on pallet,and we can do 60.00 each. mirek 07769658999.

How is he getting whole pallets of Dell used machines? Do Dell sell them off in bulk like that? If so, do they sell with XP pre-installed? Do they sell with the XP licenses?

2] The photo's have the XP logo on them. Why isn't XP pre-installed?

3] This appears to be a UK business. His name and address is;
Mirek Limited
MJarmoszuk
320 kings road
Reading, Berkshire
rg1 4jg
United Kingdom

Foreign name, (puts me on guard, if not in itself suspicious), and look how he quotes his post code, rg1 4jg. Should be RG1 4JG. His address is kings road, not Kings Road.

When I am dealing with people online I want things to be 'perfect', not slapdash.

4] Google shows Mirek Limited as, amongst other things, a (Office) Cleaning Service, a photocopier and printing service, a web solutions web site. I would guess the list goes on. Is he a wheeler dealer?

5] eBay feedback is 99.1% positive. Very good. Too good to be true?

6] No mention in his sales talk that 'you' have to find some other person with an XP CD in order to install XP and then use the sticker on the box.

None of this, in itself, is proof positive that there is anything wrong with this seller. But all together, I would have walked away. I'm in the UK also, and I would not have touched that product.

As Bob said here;
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=5&threadID=261196&messageID=2567481#2567481
if you have a relative/friend who you can borrow their XP CD off, then you can install XP from that and try the key from the sticker. That way you get to find out if the key is genuine or not.

But you still need the drivers for the hardware for that machine. Belarc Advisor will help you identify the hardware and any software once you have XP installed, then you hunt down the drivers.

Good luck.

Mark

This isn't just someone selling their old PC. It's a business selling dozens of PCs probably coming off lease. Those PCs are typically naked (no manuals, no discs, etc.) and the hard drives are erased. But the XP license is bound to the PC and as long as it has the certificate of authenticity it's perfectly legitimate (and commonplace) to sell the PC without an XP CD.

All the buyer needs is a Dell OEM XP Pro CD or the appropriate Optiplex recovery CD.

I admit I am no expert, but it would seem to me that a license doesn't travel with the machine, it travels with the OS.

What you are suggesting is that I can wipe my PC clean, sell it to someone else, and as it has a key on the case they can use that key to install XP. However, since I have the original XP CD with the same key, I can also use my CD to install XP onto another machine.

Perhaps it is different with business or bulk buying, but nevertheless, the seller did not make this clear in his details.

Mark

I think that an OEM Key may only be used on one PC only. Microsoft I believe keeps a record of the hardware when the key is registered. That is the reason the key can stay with the hardware and why any XP CD could be used to do the install.

I don't know if the person selling these PCs is doing it legally, but you will find out soon enough when you try to validate the Key that comes along with the hardware.

Bruce.

You can take a look at the web site below. Interesting reading about how the product activation works. The part in Particular is the section near the bottom about the OEM versions. Basically the 'key' stays with the original hardware.

http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.php

Bruce.

ps... of course this info I am reading isn't on an official Microsoft website. May or may not be credible.

Thanks for that. Reading the Aumha article shows this;

"There are two versions of OEM Windows XP systems. One can be purchased separately, with qualifying subsidiary hardware, and installed with that hardware to an existing machine, to which it becomes bound. The software may be reinstalled and reactivated indefinitely as with a retail system as long as it is still on the original machine. It may not be transferred to a different computer. It is activated as described above, but if it were installed to hardware seen as not substantially the same, the activation would be refused as falling outside the license.

In the other OEM form, the system is provided pre-installed by a major supplier. Instead of activation, the system is ?locked? to the BIOS on the motherboard. The validity of this lock is checked at boot. As long as this is satisfied, other hardware may be changed freely, but any replacement motherboard must be for a compatible one supplied by the original maker."

So in the 2nd paragraph it clearly states that the OEM installation is locked to the BIOS on the motherboard. Which means that the key stays with that hardware as well. Pretty clear there.

What the original poster needs now then is another person's XP CD to install on this computer and see if that key works.

Mark

it cannot be resold without the PC. if you have a retail license (or system builder's license) you can uninstall it and put it on another PC.

your original CD is just media... it does not convey a license (that's why you have to enter the license). the certificate of authenticity (COA) is the actual physical representation of the license, not the CD. thus, if a PC comes with COA then it effectively comes with the license detailed in the COA.