Hello Joan, Monday, June 6, 2005, 10:50:52 PM, you wrote: JLA> I would think that if you purchased your computer new and out of JLA> the box at a place like Best Buy, or Comp USA that you don't have JLA> to worry about a bootleg Operating System. My 'puter came from JLA> such a place and was purchased new. If you purchased a HP JLA> computer after 2001 you may not have recovery CD. It is JLA> partitioned on the hard drive. Yep - such places can't afford *not* to be completely above board and legitimate :-) You also should find one of those WinXP licence key stickers on the case. JLA> The product key you get from Belarc would be legit. Again, yes it would, however you'd find that it differed from the one on the sticker. Both are correct !! Every PC built by these places has the same OEM licence key in the registry but a unique key assigned to that particular PC - it's that which you'll find on the sticker. Why do they do this ?? Well, instead of the OEM having to install each and every system from scratch they use a technique called cloning so that all PC's of the same make and hardware specification can be very quickly built and sent out. This does mean that they all go out with identical product keys in the registry so what happens is they buy a number of installation licences from MicroSoft ( being in-bulk they get a good discount ) - and in return they are sent a sheet of stickers with those unique licence keys assigned to the OEM builder. Quite reasonable when you know what goes on, but confusing when you don't :-) JLA> The problem, I think, would be if you had someone build you a JLA> computer and you do not know where the OS came from, or if a JLA> computer was purchased second hand from someone who may not be JLA> trustworthy. Definitely !! And the warning sign here is the lack of that little sticker with the licence key. Such a small thing but with a great importance. -- Best regards, Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk MicroSoft Free Zone running Xandros 2.0 Deluxe

Barry, Sorry to be "so thick".... but where would you look for this "License key sticker".... I did a quick look and didn't see it on either the top or sides of the tower.... I did buy it from Best Buy...so it is legit... Thanks, NancyT JLA> I would think that if you purchased your computer new and out of JLA> the box at a place like Best Buy, or Comp USA that you don't have JLA> to worry about a bootleg Operating System. My 'puter came from JLA> such a place and was purchased new. If you purchased a HP JLA> computer after 2001 you may not have recovery CD. It is JLA> partitioned on the hard drive. Yep - such places can't afford *not* to be completely above board and legitimate :-) You also should find one of those WinXP licence key stickers on the case. JLA> The product key you get from Belarc would be legit. Again, yes it would, however you'd find that it differed from the one on the sticker. Both are correct !! Every PC built by these places has the same OEM licence key in the registry but a unique key assigned to that particular PC - it's that which you'll find on the sticker. Why do they do this ?? Well, instead of the OEM having to install each and every system from scratch they use a technique called cloning so that all PC's of the same make and hardware specification can be very quickly built and sent out. This does mean that they all go out with identical product keys in the registry so what happens is they buy a number of installation licences from MicroSoft ( being in-bulk they get a good discount ) - and in return they are sent a sheet of stickers with those unique licence keys assigned to the OEM builder. Quite reasonable when you know what goes on, but confusing when you don't :-) JLA> The problem, I think, would be if you had someone build you a JLA> computer and you do not know where the OS came from, or if a JLA> computer was purchased second hand from someone who may not be JLA> trustworthy. Definitely !! And the warning sign here is the lack of that little sticker with the licence key. Such a small thing but with a great importance. -- Best regards, Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk MicroSoft Free Zone running Xandros 2.0 Deluxe ==== SENIOR-NEWBIE Mailing List ==== To leave the list, click here and send: mailto:SENIOR-NEWBIE-L-request@rootsweb.com?subject=unsubscribe To leave the DIGEST, click here and send: mailto:SENIOR-NEWBIE-D-request@rootsweb.com?subject=unsubscribe ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx