Dell Windows XP OEM CD's on EBay

[CPanther2003]

Has anyone tried one of these? It's my understanding that every Dell OEM XP Cd has been activated for a specific computer, but there are people on EBay saying that the Dell OEM cd's they are selling haven't been activated.

 

[CyberFed]

honestly im not too sure "in the eyes of the law" if those people on ebay can sell just the cd, i believe they would have to sell you the whole machine for it to be legal...i could be wrong someone correct me if i am.

 

[Audioaficionado]

It won't install on anything other than a Dell. OEMs sometimes obtain surplus and sell it on ebay. If it were illegal, ebay would shut it down. They only have to enclose a piece of hardware with it to make it legit as per M$ OEM requirements.

 

[Ben721]

My 12 year old cousin has a Dell and he took the XP and installed it on his friends pc and it worked and that was a Compaq, so I think it's more of an issue of legalness not working.

 

[tseongsun]

I heard that if a business orders from Dell they can opt to have the XP OS not installed on the system and instead just have it come in the box.

I assume that individuals may do the same thing if they order a dell box because of a deal and then just use their own copy of XP or maybe use Linux.

Seems legit enough to me although I always thought Microsoft Operating Systems were freeware jk

 

[AltecXP]

dell cd's WILL install on NON-DELL PC's ive done it it will just act like a normal install

 

[mbentley]

dell cd's WILL install on NON-DELL PC's ive done it it will just act like a normal install

however, i am pretty sure that it is illegal to do. i believe that these copies are for dells only even though they will work. i would definitely go for a totally legit copy.

 

[CrazyP]

however, i am pretty sure that it is illegal to do. i believe that these copies are for dells only even though they will work. i would definitely go for a totally legit copy.

I really dont think its illegal, Amazon.com also sells OEM Cds. think of it this way, dell makes so many copies of XP, then sp1 comes out, and they now have extra copies of xp without sp1. this is how I understood where the OEM versions come from anyway.

 

[jspam]

I dont think its illegal , but it might be against ebay policy. If you sell an OEM part that come bundled with something you also have to sell that something that it came with. I had a copy of windows 98 taken down for that reason.

Getting an auction removed is one of the most frustraiting things that can happen on ebay.

 

[Audioaficionado]

Other people have tried to install Dell branded versions of w2k, ME & 98 on non Dell machines and the installation failed. Maybe it's the luck of the draw.

It's legal to sell OEM OS if you include any piece of hardware like a 486 cpu, 30 pin ram, old ISA video card, etc. It doesn't matter whether it works or not just as long as the OS ships with hardware.

 

[Apilot21]

I used a dell CD to install XP pro on one of my computers.

 

[CyberFed]

its only illegal if you get caught thats my philsophy

 

[OrionRU]

I still wonder why do people who are not in any legal binding buy M$ stuff Freeware


hehe joking

 

[mbentley]

I still wonder why do people who are not in any legal binding buy M$ stuff Freeware


hehe joking

i would be all over freeware operating systems if they were 100% compatible with normal pc software made for windows systems

 

[pik4chu]

i would be all over freeware operating systems if they were 100% compatible with normal pc software made for windows systems

Ill second that big time. When *nix or others have the compatability that windows has, then Ill use it too. but until then Ill take my M$ "freeware" thank you..heh

 

[CPanther2003]

I would buy one of those Dell OEM cd's at Ebay if I knew that they would work 100% with another computer. Some report that they do, and some don't. I've got a true XP Pro OEM CD from Newegg on my P4 2.4, but I'm looking for something for my 2nd computer, the 1.1 Celery.

I considered trying Linux Susie ( is that right?) on the Celery, but I don't think it will work with everything. I'm gonna get a copy of XP home ( upgrade from Beast Buy for maybe even OEM from Newegg) for the 2nd one after I upgrade the hdd in this computer and give my 40 gig to the Celery.

 

[john240sx]

however, i am pretty sure that it is illegal to do. i believe that these copies are for dells only even though they will work. i would definitely go for a totally legit copy.

if you bought a computer that came with Windows XP then you paid for that copy of Windows XP. i had to pay for two copies of Windows 98 because the HP i bought came with recovery disks, when i bought my new computer i had to get another copy of 98 (even though the HP wasn't going to be ever turned on again). the way i see it WERE being ripped off by the recovery disks because were paying for a license of the OS but we can only use it on that one computer (even though the license doesn't say that it's only for that specific computer) if that one computer is destroyed we still can't use the copy of the OS we bought. if the Dell CD's can be used to install on another machine then i don't see how it would be illegal unless you signed a contract or something with dell.

 

[floben]

Danger, Danger!! Big Brother is watching you. Seriously, it will work, but the CD's clearly state, "For Distribution with a New Dell PC Only."

 

[mbentley]

the reason i was thinking it was illegal to buy one of these because i remember reading about how ownership of winxp is non-transferrable (that was quite possible and probably false as i think if it is fully uninstalled then it would be fine) but i don't feel like reading thru the whole license agreement for now...

i know what you mean about having a recovery cd but no windows cd. my friend karl just needed to do a simple repair install but his emachines disk that he got was a recovery cd not a winxp home disk... that really sucked

 

[OrionRU]

Well its illegal, its not like they are going to sue you.


I know 30 people who have XP Corp on all of their computers which came from only 1 disk ( even that was pirated).