got a new 'puter

Key, yes, media, yes, but it could be part of a "restore" disk in which case it's tied to the system it's designed for. It looks at key fetures of the system, like motherboard make and model (through the BIOS), hard drive type, etc... Won't install unless certain key requisites are met. This is how Compaq, HP, Dell and rest do it. If it's an OEM copy, you'll get a disk, a really lame ass and very uninformative crappy ass 10 page booklet, and the key will be stuck to the side of the case, that is, if the company it was purchased from installs the copy according to the licence aggreement. If I am correct, you can still purchase a motherboard or hard drive and get an OEM copy of an OS as per the licence agreement.
 
BTW, removing the key from the side of the case is a nono. Just to make sure Microsoft dosen't think I would do such a thing. :rolleyes:



Course, I'd be the last to do that as my Penguin case will die a painful death before any Microshaft crap goes in it.
 
that would suck not getting the media

i've been seriously thinking about putting Redhat or Mandrake on one of my comps
 
Basically, when you buy a computer from a mom and pop place, your going to get the media. Unless they have managed to somehow code the proper instruction in to create a restore disk (hire a programmer), you'll get the disk. Always ask before buying. And make sure you actually get some type of media. They can't sell a system with an OS installed and licence to go with it.

A side note, the disk itself is nothing. You can get a new disk easy enough as long as you have a licence to verify with MS. They'll send you a disk if you were to ever lose it.
 
PuterTutor said:
No, most of the time they are not. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a proprietory hard drive.
Click to expand...
way back in the day a couple companies tried putting proprietary HDs in systems, i think pac bell did and look at what happened to them :p

a buddy of mine had a e-monster 1ghz system that we tried replacing the onboard video for, after much cursing and several different OSs we figured out that if we booted with the onboard and let win2k boot it would find the replacement card and initialize it, what a headache :luke:
 
i didn't transfer any old software. it was just a couple of gigs worth of files. photos, mp3's, saved games. that type of stuff.

machine is working fine. loaded a DVD in just to see how well it worked and it downsized the screen area. big black boarder. took about 20 minutes for me to figure out how to get it back to normal.
 
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