kilroy@washere.com wrote:
> 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.

It will more than likely be alright. You'll probably have to hunt down
down some drivers, but on the plus side, you'll likely end up losing
some of the crap/trialware that hardware vendors are so happy to glob
into your system.