xp media center?

[shetheid 069]

so a buddy said he had an extra copy opf media center so i could give it to my girlfriend for the computer im building her. well it is a burned copy and i dont understand how he did that...is there a certain way to obtain it. he said its the full real version, but its on a cd??? if anyone can explain please do, it would be alot of help and answer alot of questions, thanks a bunch guys

 

[da sponge]

you can get an iso of media center through an MSDN subscription (download & burn). I think that's for development purposes only though. It's also trivial to make a copy of a legit cd. The question is, did you get a prodcut key / certificate of authenticity? The media really doesn't matter so long as you have a valid license.

 

[hulksterjoe]

well.. it could be hacked.. it could be legal and he just reburned it.. but since media center comes on 2 disks.. I gotta wonder?

reburning a copy of the media isnt illegal..its reusing those pesky COA's that is

 

[morningreis]

You can easily fit MCE on one CD. I wanted to have an unattended install. Having 2 CDs would defeat that.

Extract both CDs to the SAME DIRECTORY.
It will be bigger than 700MB so if you use nLite, it will optimize if for you and that will make it under 700MB.

Burn and you're done. Better find a more comprehensive guide though.

 

[xxGriff]

if it is burned to CD-R/RW or even DVD(+/-R etc.) it is a copy of whatever retail/academic/volume/OEM version the original CD was. I make slipstreamed backups of my 2k Advanced Server and XP Pro, and use them if required to re-install if i need to. I do not let people borrow my CD for installing on their systems, as MS will tell you.....that is illegal, and if he is selling a MS OS on a burned CD-R, it is pirating.

while it is fine to make a back-up copy of your own software for personal use, giving a burned copy to friend for them to use is pirating. a full retail version will also require activation, and you will likely find the CD-key already activated (by your friend most likely).

yes a copy can be burned, but it is not "Authentic" as MS and the law see things. you have no CD key or COA for activation or other things where MS requires Authentication of a genuine product.

I would just buy a copy of Windows XP MCE, and avoid the pitfalls of using a copied disk.

you can always buy a OEM with purchase of qualifying hoardware, which can be just about any hardware now.