*how Do I Burn A Downloaded Copy Of Windows Xp To A Cd?

[brc6523]

Can Anyone Help Me W/this? My Hard Drive Got Erased From My Computer And I Need To Reinstall Windows Xp. The Only Downfall Is That The Only Backup Copy I Had Was Partitioned On The Hard Drive! And Hp Wont Send Me A Copy. What To Do? Thanks.

[Sturm]

Just burn the Iso with some proprietary burning software http://www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso-features.htm. If you want to pay money and don't want to take the obvious route you could use a linux live cd.

[jbennet]

dont ask us about that. Software piracy is bad

[happygeek]

If you do not have a backup image, and the PC did not come with a Windows CD, then I am afraid it looks like you are stuffed to be honest.

As jbennet says, we can't offer advice on taking an illegal route so please do not ask for that. I suspect the only option is to dig into your pocket and pay for a new copy of XP, or Vista, or go down the Linux road...

[Sturm]

Actually it could be legal...I mean I bought windows when I purchased my computer (Didn't come with a cd), so its legal to get a copy off piratebay right? Note: The computer I bought was a HP laptop so his claim is actually likely to be valid.

[ft3ssgeek]

I have to say that I think I agree with sturm here...o/p already paid for the license when he purchased the computer, right? If the key is printed on a sticker on his laptop and he uses that product key, what's wrong with downloading another copy and using that product key?

[countryboyz]

just make sure you get the right version. the key will either be

xp home oem
xp home retail
xp pro oem
xp pro retail
xp media ed. oem

i don't think there is a xp media ed. retail

anyways if you have a "xp home retail" key it won't work with a oem disk

as far a legal? you paid for a key code when you bought the computer......

well not going to comment its splitting hairs

[EnderX]

This is also assuming the key itself works. A while back, I purchased a new drive for a computer I was planning to give away; it took something like three months before I could retrieve it in working condition from the computer store, because, according to the store owner, the store manager, and at least one tech, the numbers printed on the sticker affixed to the case were invalid.

[Ancient Dragon]

Installation and use. You may install, use, access, display and run one copy of the Product on a single computer,
such as a workstation, terminal or other device (“Workstation Computer”). The Product may not be used by
more than two (2) processors at any one time on any single Workstation Computer

The way I read it is that you can install a single license of the operating system on only one computer at a time. If you want to install it on another computer you have to remove it from the first. But since I am not a lawyer I could be wrong. I have heard that Vista can only be installed on a single computer. If that computer breaks and you have to replace it then you have to buy another Vista license. If you violate that license agreement then you may not be able to get any updates, patches or service packs from Microsoft.

[jbennet]

You also cant emulate the Home versions of vista (MS put that clause in so that perople are forced to use vista)

not be used by more than (2) processors

Does vista fail on quad core then? (it should see them as 4 logical CPUs)

[Ancient Dragon]

Microsoft probably limits XP to 2 processors because they couldn't make it work with more. I heard about that several years ago that the os would crash often with 3 or more processors and barely works with 2.

[jbennet]

its so they can get money from server licences. Xp could run it just fine

(i run my server with 4x pentium 3s on win2k server)

And i Wonder here...why this thread not moved by Mod's to its appropriate Forum ? Or if its illegal arguments in this thread so why its not have been deleted yet ?

[jbennet]

because we are debating if its actually ilegal or not. I flagged it which is why happygeek responded with #4

[wyerleader]

I have to agree with strum.If you had the cd it wouldnt matter how many times you formated your hard drive and reloaded your operating system would it? Then why can't you download a version ( checking the build ) probably sp2 build 2600 and load it with your valid key. you have to get validated threw windows to update and its not a pirated copy its getting back what you paid for.He would have to do like you said burn an image file with nero or the like.Or find a friend with the disk of the same build. Or am I way out of line here? Im new.

[wyerleader]

I have 10 bucks that says if he called microsoft and put the question to them like this." I have no cd and my hard drive got wiped but I have a valid key do you guys care where i get my version of windows to Reload my operating system" The answer would be NO.As a matter of fact I will do that tomorow and let you guys know.We will get it straight from the horses mouth.I aint scared!

[TheNNS]

>I have 10 bucks that says if he called microsoft and put the question to them like this." I have no cd and my hard drive got wiped but I have a valid key do you guys care where i get my version of windows to Reload my operating system" The answer would be NO.As a matter of fact I will do that tomorow and let you guys know.We will get it straight from the horses mouth.I aint scared!

whatever. It's illegal what he's trying to do. Pirate Bay is an illegal site, and do not try to rationalize or justify your actions. If it's illegal, then it's illegal. In this case, he would need a new xp license, but it's weird that hp won't send him a disc, usually hp's come with them. Anyways, he needs to buy a new license.

[jbennet]

>I have 10 bucks that says if he called microsoft and put the question to them like this." I have no cd and my hard drive got wiped but I have a valid key do you guys care where i get my version of windows to Reload my operating system" The answer would be NO.As a matter of fact I will do that tomorow and let you guys know.We will get it straight from the horses mouth.I aint scared!

whatever. It's illegal what he's trying to do. Pirate Bay is an illegal site, and do not try to rationalize or justify your actions. If it's illegal, then it's illegal. In this case, he would need a new xp license, but it's weird that hp won't send him a disc, usually hp's come with them. Anyways, he needs to buy a new license.

They are doing as dell do. There is a recovery partition hidden on the hdd instead of a CD

and the reason they cant send him an XP disc is as MS are reluctant with them now due to vista

[jwenting]

Microsoft will send you (if it works with Windows as it does with some of their other products) replacement media at some cost (S&H) if you can prove you have a license.
In case of an OEM license though you may have to go through your hardware provider (if you have a branded OEM license certainly).

If Microsoft can't send them now that Vista is out that's because they may have run out, not because they don't want to (Microsoft guarantees support on products for a specified period after release of a replacement product).

[jbennet]

if ita an OEM copy MS wont help you. The whole point with OEM is that MS offer no support

[GrimJack]

How did the HD get totally erased? The answer is important because, depending on the 'how', the drive could be recoverable. SpinRite is probably the most well-known techie's sekret weapon. Unfortunately it costs in the neighborhood of US$70.00. You can read about it at http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm. It works independently of OS, here is the blurb:
By operating directly upon magnetic storage media at a level below any installed operating system, this major milestone release of SpinRite is able to operate on all Windows XP NTFS formats, all DOS FAT, all Linux file systems, Novell, Macintosh (if temporarily moved into a PC) or anything else — it can even be used to repair and recover the hard drive from an ailing TiVo!

While you are there, check out his freebies: http://www.grc.com/freepopular.htm and everyone should check out ShieldsUp just to see how the world sees your computer - it actually checks out the most important ports on your computer. I would especially test the file-sharing and spam me button at https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Cr*p! I just went way off-post again, sorry!

[hbk619]

>I have 10 bucks that says if he called microsoft and put the question to them like this." I have no cd and my hard drive got wiped but I have a valid key do you guys care where i get my version of windows to Reload my operating system" The answer would be NO.As a matter of fact I will do that tomorow and let you guys know.We will get it straight from the horses mouth.I aint scared!

I would have thought they'd say YES. You have to buy another copy (including the key) from us.

[TheNNS]

I agree with GrimJack, SpinRite is one of the best hard drive recovery tools I've used. Although a little expensive, I think it's worth it.

[John A]

>It's illegal what he's trying to do.
And you can prove this exactly how....?

>Pirate Bay is an illegal site,
The Pirate Bay does not actually host illegal content, it just hosts torrent files which point to the illegal material. Under Swedish law, this is still legal (as far as I know). And what exactly defines illegal? I'm no lawyer, but I would expect it's when you break the license agreement. And that is precisely my point: you don't buy the software itself, you only buy a license. If the original poster still owns the Windows XP license, what does it matter where the installation data came from? Likewise, installing Windows XP from an official disk on 10 computers when you don't have 10 licenses is just as illegal as if you had downloaded Windows XP from The Pirate Bay.

Another thing worth pointing out in this thread: recovery software. Great for recovering important data, but not a good idea for a functional system. It is unlikely that recovery software will restore the files perfectly, and in doing so you put the whole operating system at risk.

[Ancient Dragon]

Making your own image of the operating system that is configured and running on a computer is not necessarily illegal. The company I worked for bought a license from Microsoft that allowed them to do just that so that my company could install it on a couple hundred other PCs, making them all run exactly the same identical version of the os. This was legal because Microsoft sold them a license to do it. But its not very likely that an individual at home could afford to buy a similar license. It would be a lot cheaper to just buy another retail license.

[jbennet]

The Pirate Bay does not actually host illegal content, it just hosts torrent files which point to the illegal material. Under Swedish law, this is still legal

yeah its legal in sweden

in the UK you get a stiffer penalty for dowloading torrents then buying them illegal in the street because if you are seeding it counts as distributing stolen goods, with each person who receieved a chunk counting as an offence

[TheNNS]

Making your own image of the operating system that is configured and running on a computer is not necessarily illegal. The company I worked for bought a license from Microsoft that allowed them to do just that so that my company could install it on a couple hundred other PCs, making them all run exactly the same identical version of the os. This was legal because Microsoft sold them a license to do it. But its not very likely that an individual at home could afford to buy a similar license. It would be a lot cheaper to just buy another retail license.

One of those licenses can cost up to a few thousand dollars a year, depending on how many computers you'll use it.

And Joeprogrammer, he did buy the license when he bought the comptuer, but the way he reinstalls the OS has to be either with a legitimate manufacturer CD, or retail version of the OS.

[John A]

And Joeprogrammer, he did buy the license when he bought the comptuer, but the way he reinstalls the OS has to be either with a legitimate manufacturer CD, or retail version of the OS.

So you mean if I make a backup of my Windows XP disc and then I lose the original, I can't use the backup disc to reinstall Windows? Quote the relevant sections of the Windows XP EULA that state this.

[TheNNS]

So you mean if I make a backup of my Windows XP disc and then I lose the original, I can't use the backup disc to reinstall Windows? Quote the relevant sections of the Windows XP EULA that state this.

You CAN do that. See, the thing is, if he downloads it from pirate bay, he is not going to have HIS back up, he'll have a pirated version. If he would have made a backup, it would have been perfectly legal.

[John A]

See, the thing is, if he downloads it from pirate bay, he is not going to have HIS back up, he'll have a pirated version.

And if he downloads the same version of XP that he bought, it would contain the same data as a backup CD, would it not?