On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:10:47 +1100, "Rod Speed"
<rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:

>Kilroy@washere.com wrote
>> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>>> 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.
>
>>> He was supposed to have written one when he first got the machine.
>
>> He said he didn't get any instructions when he opened the box.
>
>Bet it was installed on the system and could have been read online.
>


.... and this kind of burden being placed on the user to
proactively seek resolution to a product failure ahead of
time is why such OEM systems should be avoided, unless the
user is already well aware of it before purchase and accepts
this (potential) cost savings.

To address the OP, it doesn't matter of MCE had logo
changes, more significant is if there is any loss of OEM
installed software, and the time required to hunt down
drivers (some would care about that, others won't, would
even prefer a clean install instead of the OEM factory
bloated install).

As for the OS itself, if the HDD fails and no recovery CD is
present, no backup made, the owner is left borrowing the
same OS version (Including it being OEM) from someone and
using their license, key with it - and it'll probably
require activation manually.