Robert Heller wrote: >> Unfortunately, this is no longer an option as these days when you buy >> a Windows PC you do not get any installation media, merely a recovery >> CD/DVD. Yes, you are reading this right - you are paying money for the >> OS but you ain't getting no disks with it! >> > > NO, you were *never* paying for the OS! When you 'pay' for MS-Windows > you are paying for the right to USE a COPY of it. You do not *OWN* > anything. Microsoft *does not sell* the O/S, only licenses to use it. > MS is just getting 'smart' -- by not shipping a installation disk with > OEM copies they are just preventing pirating. Read the EULA. > furthermore, its not even necessarily true. you can order media with the system from many vendors, most others will supply the DVD for a nominal S&H fee. Anyways, its not Microsoft who's not shipping the OEM DVD, its the OEM vendor. You're less likely to get a disk with an elcheapo bigbox store retail system, where the $1 or $2 saved by not packaging the media is a significant chunk of the narrow profit.