I went to a few places browsing for a laptop computer. when I asked if I could get the laptop with english version windows most places replyed with a yes but stated that I would get a copy CD of the english version windows.Do you know what does that mean exactly? I guess that its a pirated copy. I know that lately Microsoft has stopped allowing update download to people who dont have a genuine version of windows. Do you know of any places who sell original version windows? or is the copy version ok when updates are considered? What should I do?
You could ask the guys here. http://www.microsoft.com/taiwan/ I’m sure they could point you in the right direction.
When I got my new laptop I had to wait 3 days for an English version, but it was real (with the shiny sticker and all). It was however a recovery disk, not a full version, so I could not use it on any other computers 
If you insist they will get you a real copy (at a real store). If not go elsewhere.
Somebody I know runs a copy XT on various computers since several years. Still get SP2 and every update from MS…
Depending on the laptop make and model you can get a genuine English OS without problem, just need to wait a day or two for them to order and install it.
The CD that comes with it is usually a recovery disc with a label like ‘For distribution with a new [BRAND NAME] PC only’.
there shouldnt be any problem installing an original on that right? what exactly is a recovery disk? if later on i want to install he windows language pack will i be able to do that (i know it requires an authentic english version windows to install the language pack on).
I have seen copies of Windows XP supplied with new HP and Sony laptops that are merely drive images and only allow you to restore a drive image onto your computer. They are not actual copies of the operating system. These, IMHO, are worthless POS and I would not pay for such a thing. I do not know whether HP or Sony would supply proper OEM OS disks as the first thing I did with these laptops was intall Windows 2000 Professional. (And they have been running crash and hassle free for four years. M$ put the OEM price of W2k up to over a hundred quid of course when they brought out XP to put people off W2k. I still use and prefer W2k and so do… oh. This is turning into a rant. Sorry. Where were we?)
An OEM copy of Windows should be a full install disk, the only difference between it and the full retail version being the price. The last time I looked the OEM price in the UK for Windows was about £60. It should not matter one iota to the builder what language version he gives you but he may have to wait for the disk to come from Microsoft Taiwan as he may not have any English OEM disks in his shop. You might as well have an OEM version as you’re getting the real deal for a cheap price. It should be a CD shrink wrapped to a cardboard, er, card, with Windows XP Service Pack 2 OEM written on it, and “ONLY FOR USE WITH A NEW PC” or something similar on it. You should have a unique key and all that.
The “recovery disc” alone is not enough, IMHO.
Here in HK most of the shops include a full set up disk, you can refuse it, but you still gotta pay for it.
HG
Most vendors at the request of Microsoft don’t give out OEM discs anymore. They either use recovery discs or a recovery partition.
Their is no obligation for them to give you an install disc, you pay for a license to the software not the media it comes on.
The OEM license of Windows is almost completely non-transferable from the system it was sold with so an install disc is useless anyway.
Language packs can only be installed on top off Windows XP Pro Edition, not Home which ships on a lot of systems.
I checked k-mall yesterday as I want to buy a new laptop and Acer, Asus, benQ, Toshiba…all of them need 2 days longer to let install a genuine English XP versionwithout extra charge.
You do receive a recovery CD which is indeed a kind of an image.
No XP genuine CD included which you could install on other PC’s of course.
They become smarter at MS you know 
my advice is that you try to get a compaq/hp (m2xxx serie). there are many different models but the case is identical for all, so identical that you’ll often notice a sticker on top of screen that says ‘M2000’ even though it is not necessarly a M2000 laptop.
you’ll get 3 cds: one for drivers and applications, one for xp sp2 english and one for xp sp2 chinese. the xp is a regular install cd, not an image or ‘recovery disk’. the serial # is under the case (sticker) and can be used for both versions.
[quote]No XP genuine CD included which you could install on other PC’s of course.
They become smarter at MS you know ;-)[/quote]
right. ms becomes smarter, users become dumber. it’s not that simple: it is not about giving an install cd or not, it is all about the serial number that ms now ‘locks’ to one single computer by identifying 6 or 7 devices in your machine. in theory, if you change motherboard, you wont be able to install xp again with the same serial.
note that this serie works great with linux and you’d probably have nothing to configure if you install suse or mandriva. that could be an option too. i rarely use xp on my machine…
[quote]Most vendors at the request of Microsoft don’t give out OEM discs anymore. They either use recovery discs or a recovery partition.
Their is no obligation for them to give you an install disc, you pay for a license to the software not the media it comes on.[/quote]
There is an obligation. The recovery disks are not provided at Microsoft’s request at all, but rather the OEMs who can cut down on warranty servicing by saying “insert the recovery disc - do what it says”.
One cannot install the product on one’s computer without media. There are three versions of MS OS and three versions only: The upgrade, the full retail, and the OEM. There is no “recovery disk only” version supplied by MS. That is something created by the OEM. Your OEM, if they’re any good, will give you your OEM disk. Toshiba had no problem giving us 1,200 OEM discs when we signed a laptop contract with them, and I know Dell and HP in the UK will send you the disks if you want them. Obviously if you’re doing a large roll-out of desktops you may not want 4,000 OEM disks and you’re probably putting on drive images anyway… Microsoft does not to my knowledge supply licence numbers without the actual disks to the retail customer (and the volume customer is one licence fits all) so it’s no odds to them whether you have the physical disk or not as they’ve been paid , but as I said above, it’s easier for the OEM’s “tech support” if the only option the general public has is to put the recovery disk in the drive. The upshot is anyway that you should be able to get your proper OEM disk - you’ve paid for it.
[quote=“5566”][/quote]
in theory, if you change motherboard, you wont be able to install xp again with the same serial.quote]
Hey, how sure are you about this? I need to upgrade the next days, bought myself a genuine package online as I was running a copy (and felt a sudden wish to become clean with myself hehe)
So, what are the ods I will be unable to install my honestly purchased XP now?
Will they send me another serial for free??? How can they assume people would buy each time a new OS when upgrading their hardware. Hope this is bollocks otherwise I feel screwed again by MS
They assume you (we) are stupid and won’t change hardware that often. And yes, you are being screwed.
You are allowed to change a few things at a time. If all you change is the memory or cpu you should be ok, but a CPU and mobo upgrade will require a call (email) to there very slow tec support. Unless you get luck. So ask yourself: do I fell lucky?
Hope you got a nice kiss before you got screwed.
Does anybody faced with this problem (does XP have to die with the computer it’s installed on?) think that using Windows 2000 would have been better. I know XP has nice colours and uses 64k clusters, but that’s about all the difference I can tell between the two. Is it worth my buying a copy of Windows XP Pro (my W2k Pro is a legit full retail copy I paid for) or will I too be saddled with this shit? Windows 2K doesn’t care, and it seems to be running well…
I have a horrible feeling MS want the OEM version of XP to die with the machine it was sold for. If that is the case, then is the full retail version transferrable between machines, provided it is only installed on one at a time?
Vista is going to be some laugh. They’ll probably send a goon round to your house to give you a pre-emptive beating every time you run Windows Update.
Windows XP had a few nice multimedia features, but apart from that, Windows 2000 is perfectly fine. I still run it on my laptop.
The full retail version can be transferred, though you’ll have to phone Microsoft to transfer it. The OEM version cannot and, yes, will die with your computer. However, if you can fix the computer using some new parts, it can be reactivated following a call to Microsoft.
Ha!