Multiple brand rebuilds...

[cava83]

Hi there,

I have the following manafacturers for PC's

• Dell
• Fujitsu
• Acer
• HP

The person who was here before myself did not create recovery discs.

All machines have windows product keys on the chassis.

Would like to rebuild most of them obviously using the existing product keys.

How would you go about it ?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[KDF]

install windows (oem), enter product key.


Or am I missing something ?



Or you could do a pxe install and change the product keys, MS have an example script to change the product keys.

 

[cava83]

Directly from the MS website which contradicts what they say in their OEM SDK kit to create images for computers to be used as a generic image for computers with an OS pre-installed?? read in an OEM document in the SDK...

Confused.

Do I simply just get a OEM disk....?

2008/7/4 Gabriel Cavaller <gabi.cavaller@googlemail.com>:

Q. If I need to reinstall the operating system on a machine from a direct OEM (for example Dell) that my customer has brought in, how should I do this?

A. If your customer wants you to reinstall Windows on their behalf, they must provide the recovery media they received from the direct OEM because this is the software that is licensed to the customer for use on that PC by that OEM. You cannot use your own OEM system builder media to reinstall the operating system, or any other version of media (for example TechNet, MSDN, Action Pack, etc.) as these versions differ from the original OEM Windows license your customer acquired from the direct OEM, and thus can't be substituted for that original license. If your customer did not originally receive a backup copy of the software that can be used for reinstallation, or if they no longer have it, they will need to contact the original OEM and request replacement recovery media; you may use that media to reinstall the operating system on that machine

 

[KDF]

so basically your screwed

 

[cava83]

so basically your screwed

lol unless you know otherwise ?

There must be hundred of thousands of people that come across this issue

 

[ChrisH]

Installing Windows from an OEM disc and entering the OEM product key will work, if you want to be totally legal, presuming its for a business so wouldn't be worth the risk of not being, you would have to contact the manufacturer of each machine and buy the recovery media for each one, the fuji's and dell's come with the recovery media in the form of OS CD's, also have you tried running the HDD based recovery's on the others?

 

[KDF]

Ye, I think in this case you have 3 choices.

1) Try and see if they have hidden partitions with recovery data on the HDD's
2) Contact the OEM's and try and get the media, I have absolutely no doubt they will try and charge you something for the priviledge.
3) Download a OEM copy of Windows and use the product keys on the side of the box.

Personally I think you will have to go with option 3. Which while not 100% legit, is still as legit as you can get without a major headache.

 

[cava83]

1) Nope
2) Dell wont sell me the OEM disk's for XP, stopped supporting them end of june.
3) Might work ......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120279124500

one down, two more to go.

 

[David]

i would, buy acronis, snap deploy v3

create a image without product key. then pxe the image on and you should simply be able to bash on the product key. job done.

 

[Chris1.4RT]

Windows oem xp.... pm me?