[pdcagirl]

Am in a real dilemma. In short here are the facts.

Bought a XPS 400 new Dell about 1 1/2 years ago - 32 bit.
The CD rom drives have never worked right but could use minimally.
Finally CD Roms broke down entirely.
Called in a tech. He tried new CD Roms in my PC but they too refused to work
Tech feels problem lies with motherboard so will need new PC. Mine out of warranty.

Have a laptop with Win 7 on it - 64 bit.
Thought would just use laptop DVD drive.
Soon discovered all game discs/other discs I have are 32 bit.

Am considering now buying the new Dell.
Will they honor my request to put XP Pro on it with 32 bit or will I have to
"jump and down and argue" my cause?
If so with Dell, is there another brand PC that would honor such request?

Hope I have explained my dilemma clearly - happy to add any facts needed.

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I don't think any of the "big brand" PC manufacturer's will pre-install or supply Windows XP on a new computer now because their agreement with Microsoft forbids it - they are only allowed to offer Vista or Win7 (some of them may not even be able to supply Vista any more).

If you buy a PC made to order from a "one off" computer builder/repair shop as i did last month, they will often be able to offer you a genuine Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 -- including a genuine licence and a 'proper' Windows disc (which I got) as opposed to an OEM recovery disc or recovery partition which is tied to a specific computer for it's entire life.

[phillipcorcoran]

I don't think any of the "big brand" PC manufacturer's will pre-install or supply Windows XP on a new computer now because their agreement with Microsoft forbids it - they are only allowed to offer Vista or Win7 (some of them may not even be able to supply Vista any more).

If you buy a PC made to order from a "one off" computer builder/repair shop as i did last month, they will often be able to offer you a genuine Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 -- including a genuine licence and a 'proper' Windows disc (which I got) as opposed to an OEM recovery disc or recovery partition which is tied to a specific computer for it's entire life.

[Neil Jones]

I don't think any of the "big brand" PC manufacturer's will pre-install or supply Windows XP on a new computer now because their agreement with Microsoft forbids it - they are only allowed to offer Vista or Win7 (some of them may not even be able to supply Vista any more).

Since when?
If I look at Dell's website today they are offering the Inspiron Zino, a chunky little unit that you could argue is a computer in a suitcase. It comes with XP Home.
PC World sell the Emachines EZ1601-01, an all-in-one unit built into a screen unit. It comes with XP Home.

Other offers may be available if you look for them.

If you buy a PC made to order from a "one off" computer builder/repair shop as i did last month, they will often be able to offer you a genuine Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 -- including a genuine licence and a 'proper' Windows disc (which I got) as opposed to an OEM recovery disc or recovery partition which is tied to a specific computer for it's entire life.

The recovery partitions and/or recovery disks are part of a Microsoft agreement that you don't get an actual XP/Vista/7 disk, because the OEM disks and/or partition do the job. All licences on branded machines are genuine, they just don't go out with that key.

[dsenette]

including a genuine licence and a 'proper' Windows disc (which I got) as opposed to an OEM recovery disc or recovery partition which is tied to a specific computer for it's entire life.

also take note that the MAJORITY of computers that are built by local shops (or anyone that's not a big brand name) use an OEM license for the install, the license for which is also tied to qualifying hardware on said computer (typically the motherboard or processor). so if you ever change the qualifying hardware (i.e. replace the motherboard), your license is no longer valid. which is no different than the brand name systems.

i'm not advocating brand names over local built, just making sure you're aware of the fact that just because you have a windows disk, doesn't mean that the licensing is any different