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Missing OEM CD
Dear MVP's;
Several months ago, a couple of friends gave me a computer. At that time I knew nothing about PC's and, apparently, my benefactors didn't know a whole lot more. They got the thing second hand (and cheap) from a local clearing house adjunct to UBC. The vendor's key selling point was that the unit had Windows 98 "pre-installed." To my friends, this was a feature worthy of great glee. To my mind, it was an appurtancnce about as signifigant as a copy of "CALCVLVS" would be to a flounder. I have come to learn that the transfer(s) of ownership did not conform to convention*; either the original owner, or the Reseller, kept the documentation, OEM CD, Manual, and etc's. I am also missing an equivalent to the "Welcome to Windows" tutorial. Since I had no way of knowing at the outset these deficits existed, learning and problem-solving have been rather drastically impaired. As it now stands, I have the feeling that I have been caught 'off-sides' by a careless pass and I wish to get a new 'face off' and start again. In response to a previous query of mine to MSNG, Brian A wrote: * "A check on the manufacturers support site will usually get you the information of what is bundled with the make/model of the computer. Do you even have the OEM disk/s? If not, then in all legality the machine has not been properly transfered and is not in compliance with any EULA or TOA of MS. All documents and disks must be transfered along with the machine for it to be considered legal." Since then, I managed to track the original vendor to the UNB Bookstore (1998). They can provide no assistance. The Manufacturer, Touch Systems of Canada, do not provide any support or help of any kind and the Reseller, "Valu Village", just played dumb. Since they claim they don't know who they bought the unit from, (which, together with a phone book), might have enabled me to discover provenance) I suspect they sold the missing materials separately or they knowingly received it, shall we say, 'unrighteously' (The Ser# is not readable on the tag on the tower). Q1 Is the Ser# written somewhere else on the unit, [Touch Model EN 6550]? Before I do anything else, I want to check with the authorities, obviously. Q2 Would MS know from the Reg # 12703-OEM-0070696- 16701 if the unit/pre-intsall was ever reported AWOL ? rooster boundary bay, bc |
#2
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Missing OEM CD
It is not common for a tower to have a serial number - you might be looking
at nothing more than a warranty tag. In any case, it seems the vendor isn't going to tell you anything about it. It's not good practice to post software IDs in a public place, but yours appears very generic and I doubt that MS would know anything useful about it, and if they did I'm not sure what good it would do you. The transfer might not be legal if the vendor retained some documentation or software, but if it no longer exists (or never existed) the point is moot. If by 'unrighteously' you mean stolen, and if that concerns you then you should simply put the unit aside until the rightful owner calls in to collect it. Check your system for a utility to create an installation CD from the installation files that might have been copied to the hard drive. Windows CDs are sometimes available on e-bay or through the on-line computer software stores. Reference and tutorial books are available through many bookstores. -- Jeff Richards MS MVP (DTS) "rooster" wrote in message ... Dear MVP's; Several months ago, a couple of friends gave me a computer. At that time I knew nothing about PC's and, apparently, my benefactors didn't know a whole lot more. They got the thing second hand (and cheap) from a local clearing house adjunct to UBC. The vendor's key selling point was that the unit had Windows 98 "pre-installed." To my friends, this was a feature worthy of great glee. To my mind, it was an appurtancnce about as signifigant as a copy of "CALCVLVS" would be to a flounder. I have come to learn that the transfer(s) of ownership did not conform to convention*; either the original owner, or the Reseller, kept the documentation, OEM CD, Manual, and etc's. I am also missing an equivalent to the "Welcome to Windows" tutorial. Since I had no way of knowing at the outset these deficits existed, learning and problem-solving have been rather drastically impaired. As it now stands, I have the feeling that I have been caught 'off-sides' by a careless pass and I wish to get a new 'face off' and start again. In response to a previous query of mine to MSNG, Brian A wrote: * "A check on the manufacturers support site will usually get you the information of what is bundled with the make/model of the computer. Do you even have the OEM disk/s? If not, then in all legality the machine has not been properly transfered and is not in compliance with any EULA or TOA of MS. All documents and disks must be transfered along with the machine for it to be considered legal." Since then, I managed to track the original vendor to the UNB Bookstore (1998). They can provide no assistance. The Manufacturer, Touch Systems of Canada, do not provide any support or help of any kind and the Reseller, "Valu Village", just played dumb. Since they claim they don't know who they bought the unit from, (which, together with a phone book), might have enabled me to discover provenance) I suspect they sold the missing materials separately or they knowingly received it, shall we say, 'unrighteously' (The Ser# is not readable on the tag on the tower). Q1 Is the Ser# written somewhere else on the unit, [Touch Model EN 6550]? Before I do anything else, I want to check with the authorities, obviously. Q2 Would MS know from the Reg # 12703-OEM-0070696- 16701 if the unit/pre-intsall was ever reported AWOL ? rooster boundary bay, bc |
#3
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Missing OEM CD
Jeff;
I am very grateful for your answer, but I have a few more questions. I thought virtually every electrical appliance had a serial #. (a) How do people identify their stuff if stolen & recovered? (b) According to Brian A., documentation, OEM CD etc must have existed at some point for legality's sake. I inferred from his response that these articles, in effect, comprise the copywrite equivalent to the registration for a car. I shall try again to get info from Touch Systems, but they keep telling me they no longer support W98 and I must deal with the vendor for any info or materials. All I want to know at this point is, how do I ensure what I have is legit? (c) "... rightful owner calls in to collect it." That would be fine with me but how would this person know I have it? Or am I just being naieve? (d) How do I go about checking for a utility to create an installation CD. This sounds like a great idea. Ideally, I would like to do a full systems backup and to do other maintenances which, according to MSNG epistles I have read, sometimes require reinstalls, or at least the capacity to do so if necessary. Being a newbie, these procedures are still rather confusing & intimidating. Thanks again, rooster -----Original Message----- It is not common for a tower to have a serial number - you might be looking at nothing more than a warranty tag. In any case, it seems the vendor isn't going to tell you anything about it. It's not good practice to post software IDs in a public place, but yours appears very generic and I doubt that MS would know anything useful about it, and if they did I'm not sure what good it would do you. The transfer might not be legal if the vendor retained some documentation or software, but if it no longer exists (or never existed) the point is moot. If by 'unrighteously' you mean stolen, and if that concerns you then you should simply put the unit aside until the rightful owner calls in to collect it. Check your system for a utility to create an installation CD from the installation files that might have been copied to the hard drive. Windows CDs are sometimes available on e-bay or through the on-line computer software stores. Reference and tutorial books are available through many bookstores. -- Jeff Richards MS MVP (DTS) "rooster" wrote in message ... Dear MVP's; Several months ago, a couple of friends gave me a computer. At that time I knew nothing about PC's and, apparently, my benefactors didn't know a whole lot more. They got the thing second hand (and cheap) from a local clearing house adjunct to UBC. The vendor's key selling point was that the unit had Windows 98 "pre-installed." To my friends, this was a feature worthy of great glee. To my mind, it was an appurtancnce about as signifigant as a copy of "CALCVLVS" would be to a flounder. I have come to learn that the transfer(s) of ownership did not conform to convention*; either the original owner, or the Reseller, kept the documentation, OEM CD, Manual, and etc's. I am also missing an equivalent to the "Welcome to Windows" tutorial. Since I had no way of knowing at the outset these deficits existed, learning and problem-solving have been rather drastically impaired. As it now stands, I have the feeling that I have been caught 'off-sides' by a careless pass and I wish to get a new 'face off' and start again. In response to a previous query of mine to MSNG, Brian A wrote: * "A check on the manufacturers support site will usually get you the information of what is bundled with the make/model of the computer. Do you even have the OEM disk/s? If not, then in all legality the machine has not been properly transfered and is not in compliance with any EULA or TOA of MS. All documents and disks must be transfered along with the machine for it to be considered legal." Since then, I managed to track the original vendor to the UNB Bookstore (1998). They can provide no assistance. The Manufacturer, Touch Systems of Canada, do not provide any support or help of any kind and the Reseller, "Valu Village", just played dumb. Since they claim they don't know who they bought the unit from, (which, together with a phone book), might have enabled me to discover provenance) I suspect they sold the missing materials separately or they knowingly received it, shall we say, 'unrighteously' (The Ser# is not readable on the tag on the tower). Q1 Is the Ser# written somewhere else on the unit, [Touch Model EN 6550]? Before I do anything else, I want to check with the authorities, obviously. Q2 Would MS know from the Reg # 12703-OEM-0070696- 16701 if the unit/pre-intsall was ever reported AWOL ? rooster boundary bay, bc . |
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