OS refund

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

I just thought I'd share a little known and little used fact with everyone.

If you buy a computer with an operating system preloaded on it, and you don't use that operating system, the PC manufacturer will refund you the cost of the operating system.  In order to get the refund, you have to install your own OS before you run the initial setup and accept the EULA on the preinstalled OS.  For example:  If you own a copy of XP and you buy a new laptop with Vista preinstalled, and you install your copy of XP without ever setting up the Vista install (i.e. boot all the way into the system and accept the EULA), then you can get refunded for the cost of Vista.

Here is a quote from the Microsoft web site:

BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THEM, DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE. INSTEAD, RETURN IT TO THE RETAILER FOR A REFUND OR CREDIT. If you cannot obtain a refund there, contact Microsoft or the Microsoft affiliate serving your country for information about Microsoft's refund policies.

Source

YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS EULA BY INSTALLING, COPYING, OR OTHERWISE USING THE PRODUCT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE PRODUCT; YOU MAY RETURN IT TO YOUR PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND.

Source

I just thought I'd pass that along to anyone who may be buying a new computer but doesn't want to use Vista.

[BroTrey]

but.......... there is the problem of xp drivers not being available for many hardware components that are designed for vista..... plus some manufactures have some things in the bios that prevent the loading of any OS other than Vista..... can you say forced upgrade?