Windows 7 - Lost your Windows discs? How to get replacement media, legally

**Brink** · 01-05-2012

By Ed Bott | January 5, 2012, 3:48pm PST

Quote:

Did your most recent Windows PC come with reinstallation media? Many do, some don’t. But contrary to what you might have read, creating replacement Windows discs is easy, and every major PC maker will supply backup discs, sometimes for free. I have details.

Read more at:
Lost your Windows discs? How to get replacement media, legally | ZDNet

**Hipster Doofus** · 01-05-2012

Didn't realise that Comet were charging for discs. As the guy in the article stated, "Bollocks".

Reminds me that I must create some recovery discs of my own.

**Night Hawk** · 01-05-2012

Most OEM manufacturers will have a utility to create a recovery disk if they don't provide any with a new machine. It may not be installed on the new machine when first bought but can be found at their support site. If your new desktop or laptop comes without any it's a good to look into that option.

**JMH** · 01-06-2012

Quote:

Microsoft today filed a legal complaint against Comet, a UK retailer which the company alleges sold 94,000 sets of Windows Vista and Windows XP recovery CDs without Microsoft's blessing. While Microsoft called the CDs counterfeits, Comet says it was acting in good faith, supplying customers with recovery discs when Microsoft would not.

Microsoft noted that the recovery CDs were sold to customers who had purchased Windows-loaded PCs and laptops. Comet operates 248 stores as well as an online shopping site.

“As detailed in the complaint filed today, Comet produced and sold thousands of counterfeit Windows CDs to unsuspecting customers in the United Kingdom,” Microsoft associate general counsel David Finn said in a statement posted on Microsoft's website. “Comet’s actions were unfair to customers. We expect better from retailers of Microsoft products—and our customers deserve better, too.”

Microsoft claims UK retailer sold counterfeit Windows recovery CDs

**Night Hawk** · 01-06-2012

ZDNet also has a similar report as well.

Quote:

Is UK retail giant Comet really a Windows pirate?

By Ed Bott | January 5, 2012, 4:21am PST

Summary: It’s not unusual for Microsoft to file lawsuits against PC makers who pirate its software, but its case against giant UK retailer Comet is different. What did Comet do that was wrong, and why has Microsoft hauled them into court?

Microsoft has filed suit against a major UK-based retailer, accusing Comet of “creating and selling” more than 94,000 counterfeit Windows recovery CDs in 2008 and 2009.

It’s not unusual for Microsoft to file lawsuits against PC makers who pirate its software or against resellers who offer copies of Windows that are clearly marked “not for resale” or have been diverted from the proper channel.

The full report can be looked over at: Is UK retail giant Comet really a Windows pirate? | ZDNet

**gregrocker** · 01-06-2012

We had an inquiry yesterday about another retailer selling these OEM Recovery Disks:
Are There Any Drawbacks to Using a Branded Windows 7?

**Night Hawk** · 01-06-2012

The poster there was simply explaining that there are both branded and unbranded OEM disks. A vendor like newegg will carry the unbranded OEM disks for System Builders. They can't turn around and start selling HP, Dell, or any other branded disks however.

FranzB · 01-14-2012

Quote: Originally Posted by Brink

By Ed Bott | January 5, 2012, 3:48pm PST

Read more at:
Lost your Windows discs? How to get replacement media, legally | ZDNet[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Brink, for that link. Very useful.

**theog** · 01-14-2012

Comet sold for £2.

Quote:

Anglo-French electrical goods retailer Kesa announces plans to sell off its troubled UK-based Comet stores for £2 to a private equity firm.

BBC News - Comet electrical stores sold by Kesa for £2

**Night Hawk** · 01-15-2012

Someone bailed out real fast there!

Windows 7 - Lost your Windows discs? How to get replacement media, legally

Lost your Windows discs? How to get replacement media, legally problems?