On Tue, 2005-11-08 at 10:50 +0000, Anthony Anson wrote:
Isn't it illegal for a first supplier to sell a computer that has a system on it without the installation CD now?
Not at all, within the terms of the EULA the OEM only has to attach the licence sticker and provide a copy of the EULA (either paper or to be shown during the end user setup phase). Other requirements are that the machine in question actually qualifies for OEM software as opposed to boxed product.
Actually Microsoft actually discouraged provision of the installation media in the first place. There are no laws outside the (legally unproven in many cases) EULA terms that enforce provision of the installation media, you are paying for a license to use the operating system as installed.
One possible workaround is the Sale of Goods act if an installation fails and you are unable to recover from any "on HDD" recovery image...of course that will only count within a period from original sale.
Of course if you can source a loan copy of the Windows OEM installation media then you are free to use that (in conjunction with your own licence key) to reinstall. But of course you then lose access to some of the other bundled software that may have been included in the original OEM installation (I am thinking of DVD player and CD burning software here)
Yup, it's a mess