Does anyone know if the version of the OS on the HP & DELL Media
Center Edition 2005 machines is just like MS Windows Media Center
Edition 2005? Or are those OS's changed by HP & DELL to suit their
use (including their logos etc)?

Asked another way - what happens if you restore a HP or DELL Media
Center Edition 2005 machine by installing on it a MS Windows Media
Center Edition 2005 OS?

Reason for the question - my brother has a HP Media Center Edition
2005 given to him for Xmas that requires recovery, on a new virgin HDD
(his original HDD is defunct & un-readable). He does not have a copy
of HP's Media Center Edition 2005, and has no 'recovery disk' if there
ever was one. But he says he can get his hands on a installation-copy
of what he calls a vanilla MS Windows Media Center Edition 2005.

Thanks