Windows installation disc

[druiaghtagh]

When buying a new pc should you get a windows xp disc rather than just pre installed please?

[naz_nomad]

Personally I'd always get a Genuine CD ... if you need it later on, because of problems, you could well be struggling without it...

I've had to reinstall XP a couple of times and was glad I spent that bit extra for a ''hard'' copy..

Make sure it's a 'Genuine' one, with all the holograms & stuff, not a copy...

[boobesque]

its up to you. if you have windows pre installed and something goes wrong how will you re-install windows? you can get a reload disc from your manufacturer sometimes but if you do a low level format on your hard drive you can no longer use this.
it is handy to have the disc but its not cheap

[Shadowthief]

When i got my PC i got a choice to create a windows back up(Start menu>All programs>PC Help&Tools>Recovery CD/DVD Creator) it took either 5 cds or 1 dvd on my PC which is a Compaq Presario,i done that then made a duplicate of them just to be on the safe side, i've never had a problem as i've had to do a system recovery & used the back up discs i created they worked fine, hope this is of some help.

[wildwood]

Usually pre-installed operating systems are not supported with physical CDs, however, they are installed on a locked partition on your hard drive so that you can not accidently delete anything. You are offered the option to make one hard copy when you first start your new computer, in case you may need to reformat your HDD, or get e new one.

The comps which come with preinstalled O/Ss have special modem/motherboard or other hardware which is not present in a generic Windows copy, but the drivers for these can be downloaded for free.

The advantage of a pre-installed copy is that re-installing/repairing Windows is easier and quicker. Cds also tend to become damaged when used, so this way the hardcopy you make in the beginning stays 'fresh'.

[boobesque]

you can delete the locked partition by doing a low level format on the hard drive. so with pre installed windows you can screw it beyond repair but with cd windows you can always reinstall