TwoZeroAlpha Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Need some help here. I've got a Sony VAIO laptop from a friend to fix. It's currently got XP MCE on it and he wants it "back to factory fresh". However can't find any of the discs etc that came with it. Can anyone sort me out with an ISO of XP MCE, or point me to a link. Many thanks in advance.
powdarrmonkey Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 No, it's illegal. But in any case, you need the original Sony disks because they are pre-activated and hardware-locked.
mac_shinobi Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Need some help here. I've got a Sony VAIO laptop from a friend to fix. It's currently got XP MCE on it and he wants it "back to factory fresh". However can't find any of the discs etc that came with it. Can anyone sort me out with an ISO of XP MCE, or point me to a link. Many thanks in advance. I presume it does not have a recovery partition ? Also if he gets a copy of MCE and uses the laptops current serial would that not work and also would that still be legal ?
kmount Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Some Sony's have a wizard to create recovery media, have you checked this and whether there's a recovery partition?
TwoZeroAlpha Posted August 3, 2009 Author Posted August 3, 2009 No, it's illegal. But in any case, you need the original Sony disks because they are pre-activated and hardware-locked. Ah, I was under the impression that you could copy the cds quite happily as it was the licence key you purchased. Oh well looks like I'll have to do things the hard way and do a clean up of files and spyware. Damn.
FN-GM Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Its only illegal to send the product key sending an ISO should be fine.
powdarrmonkey Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Also if he gets a copy of MCE and uses the laptops current serial would that not work and also would that still be legal ? Probably not - so-called 'gold' partners like Sony get to create their own serials and labels, but they are locked to their own media and the machine model. Of course, if you can get hold of someone else's CD from the same gold set, you're ok. As to copying discs but not keys, I am not a copyright lawyer, but I'd have hoped the 'do not make copies of this disc' stamped on them would be a clue.
RabbieBurns Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 All the vaios Ive used have had a recovery partition, so worth checking that first.. it might even still be there, just not listed in a boot menu if Media Center was installed over an XP Home or anytying... worth checking the partitions Ive never used Media Center edition, but with XP Home OEM, if you just "source" a OEM cd you can then just install, get the drivers from the sony site, and activate (home can only activate over the phone these days) So I reckon just get hold of a media center edition CD, and as long as you have his own legit key, I dont see the problem in the method of sourcing the CD.
powdarrmonkey Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 The way to tell is to see if it has 'Sony' on the proof. If it has, you need Sony media.
RabbieBurns Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Probably not - so-called 'gold' partners like Sony get to create their own serials and labels, but they are locked to their own media and the machine model. Of course, if you can get hold of someone else's CD from the same gold set, you're ok. As to copying discs but not keys, I am not a copyright lawyer, but I'd have hoped the 'do not make copies of this disc' stamped on them would be a clue. All our 3 vaios with sony oem xp home reinstalled fine with a generic oem cd, just using the serial printed on the base..
RabbieBurns Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 The way to tell is to see if it has 'Sony' on the proof. If it has, you need Sony media. The laptop Im typing this on, the label says Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Sony Corporation. But Ive used a Vista Business ISO with SP1 slipstreamed, that wasnt a sony one, to reinstall... and it worked...
powdarrmonkey Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Hmm. Well it always used to be the case, maybe the arrangement changed with Vista/Sony. I don't know.
RabbieBurns Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 was just an example, as I dont have any of the XP vaios here, but im sure Ive done the same with them too...
michael2k6 Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Yep. The keys will work with any media. It's the other way around. How it works is the discs sent with the machines only work if you install on the model intended for. They use the SLIC key in the bios to check it. So you can for example install a dell disc on a sony, but you'd need a bios emulator to make the slic key match. This is ilegal. If you can find an MCE disc, you should be good to go with the serial on the bottom of the machine. As long as you're using that serial it isn't ilegal. Sharing media is ilegal regardless of how or why you copied it. The media can be purchased seperately from MS though i've never tried it. The only way you're aloud to copy a disc is if it's a backup copy for yourself. But, mr MS isn't going to be bothered where you got your disc from as long as you're using a kosha license. Much bigger fish to fry. And morally, there's nothing wrong with getting a disc from somewhere (IMO).
mac_shinobi Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Probably not - so-called 'gold' partners like Sony get to create their own serials and labels, but they are locked to their own media and the machine model. Of course, if you can get hold of someone else's CD from the same gold set, you're ok. As to copying discs but not keys, I am not a copyright lawyer, but I'd have hoped the 'do not make copies of this disc' stamped on them would be a clue. thats a point - normally each serial key is linked in with the product code of the xp installation
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