Comment Re:More important to me (Score 1) 193
What about all the PCs that were shipped with valid licenses, but for whatever reason, techs (such as myself) have had to install a fresh copy of Windows on the box. Could be a failed drive, or other failed hardware, or whatever, reason doesn't matter too much. The point is that it shipped with a legit copy of Windows, and often times doesn't have a recovery disk or an OEM copy of Windows. What are we supposed to do then as techs? Tell the customer "SUCKS TO BE YOU" or "GOTTA PAY FOR THE THING YOU ALREADY PAID FOR, AGAIN" - or just suck it up and install a "non-genuine" license key on the box? Are these users totally SOL out of having a genuine upgrade to Windows 10 because the previous version of Windows that shipped with the system became broken?
Because in that case you should call the computer manufacturer and get a copy of the installation disks to restore onto the new drive with.
While I'm aware most people don't, if I was buying a Windows computer, I wouldn't buy it without the restore disks for that exact reason. HP charges $19 for the disks; BestBuy will make the disks for you for a small fee too.
In the end, there is zero reason to have to re-buy the Windows OS in order to help your customers.
P.S You can only use an OEM License with an OEM installation; so a Retail installation set won't work with the OEM license on the box. If you're a support shop then you should have a copy of the OEM installation for your own uses any way. That's just good business. If you're doing it on your own for Friends and Family, then just take the extra time to get it from the OEM (e.g HP, Asus, Lenovo, etc) when you run into the issue.