Help Needed Alot!!!

Ok I right now have an unvalidated version of Windows XP Pro. on my Acer Aspire 3050 and when I got the laptop I had to restore winodws like 2 weeks after I got it because of hardware problems. Ive looked all over the net and all I come up with it disks with only drivers nothing with drivers and the OS. Does anybody know where I can get the disks so I can have a validated version of windows and all the drivers I need for my computer??? if so I would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Ok...so how did you end up getting an invalid copy of XP? Did you purchase from eBay or something? Did you download the OS yourself or are using an XP OS that you know isn't legal (if you did we can't help you)?

Some stuff to check:
Get your product key...make sure you entered in your license sticker number correctly.
Talk to who you purchased it from...if you were told it was a legit copy you should be entitled to a partial refund.

You cannot get an XP OS without paying for it...you cannot download legally discs that have drivers and the OS. NewEgg offers some OEM XP discs and a valid license for a fairly good price. MS will charge about $150 to "legalize" an invalid copy of XP so I'd go with NewEgg if cheaper...a friend of mine purchased a computer off of eBay and had the same problem.

 

call acer they might sell you a set of restore disks fairly cheap or even free
jim

 

Its a disk my dads got for ****... like for windows updates I cant do anything with that and I cant the new windows media player...... Ive called acer and they said 20$ for 2 disks..... and Ive been looking around to see what I can find but Ive had no luck how much does NewEgg charge.... When I bought the computer off ebay it was brand new in the box never turned on or anything.... Besides getting updates the computer runs fine I just want something so Its a legal version.

 

legal version of windows media center at new egg $109.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116171
also if you have a windows sticker on bottom of your machine you can call microsoft for a new copy of o/s cancel that microsoft said your computer manufacturer should replace the disk at a nomonal fee

 

How would i go about doing that? and do you know what the normal fee is?

 

acer i am not sure of the charge but i did buy one from dell last year for my desktop for 20.00 it was xp pro and driver disk
hp charged me 16.00 plus shipping for cd restore disks so i think your best bet is to call acer support or you might check at bestbuy the geeksquad there may be able to help you it might be worth a try
jim

 

Alright thank you for your help it actually did help me alot because I wouldnt have thought to go to best buy lol.

 

glad to be of service
jim

 

Just to be clear Mike, you bought a laptop that did not come with Windows, correct? I would be surprised if you had the Windows serial number sticker on the bottom of your machine. The Windows disk you used to install was probably a pirated/cracked version, real copies of WinXP still run about $100. I don't see how BestBuy will help you here---they will probably charge you a labor fee for looking at your computer and tell you that you need to buy a legit copy of Windows.

Your best is to check on Ebay and buy a legit copy from a seller with a very high rating and thousands of sales orders.

 

Gator thanks for telling me that because I was going to go tomorrow lol.... umm actually my laptop did come with a copy of windows on it it was windows media center edition and I do have the sticker on the bottom.... What should I in the search engine of ebay to get a legal copy of windows xp??? and yea it was a pirated/cracked version of windows my dad had.... I can get a copy of windows from e bay and get all the drivers off acers website because that what I did for the copy ive got on here now and it works great. Thank you for your input on this by the way

 

if you have the sticker all you need is a copy of the disk the license is the sticker not the disk so any copy that matches the sticker as far as type be it pro or mce will work
jim

 

explain different dont really understand what you mean???

 

Yes, if you have the shiny metallic Genuine Windows sticker with a serial number on the bottom of your laptop, you can either call up Microsoft or Acer and ask them to send you a replacement disk. You may have to provide more proof beyond reading back the serial number, probably take a picture and send it via email or something. Be sure to specify that this is an OEM copy if they start asking for the original packaging.

 

ook heres the scoop...... called acer told them the sn and they said well we cant send you one just like that its gonna cost.... now when i called up acer before the dude said its gonna cost 20$ for recovery disks....well today someone else told me its 20$ for those disks and then another 20$ for the actual OS CD itself... so right now im looking at spending 40$ plus tax then he said 10$ for shipping. ISNT THERE A CHEAPER WAY GUYSS!!!!????

 

Get Linux? Otherwise, no.

 

im not to good with linux... my dads got a desktop hard drive with red hat linux i think its 2.0 and its just weird but pretty cool at the same time id have to work with it to get the hang of how it works.

 

Check out Ubuntu. Otherwise, there is no cheap way to get Windows. You need to pay for it if you want it. I don't agree that it's worth what they charge, especially for such a buggy piece of crap from a company that can't invest money in it's own R&D to make something new, rather they copy their competitors, but that's the way the game is played for right now.

 

i requested the disks for Ubuntu and im downloading it from their website i wanna see what his program is all about i might do it on a different hard drive before i do anything yet so i dont mess my computer up but thanks for the input u daaa man bluee u daa bluee

 

If you have any issues, ask away in the Linux sub-forum.