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Re: Does Pirated Windows Install on New Hard Drives?



TW wrote:
Hi,

I was trying to install a copy of Windows XP that I downloaded in '06 onto my friend's mom's laptop computer, but it wouldn't take. I bought her a new hard drive (Seagate, 80GB) so that she could have more space. However, when I try to install the OS, I get an error message. I can't remember it exactly, but it was something about an NT dll error within a subdirectory of the System folder.

The OS copy that I have installs just fine on this computer, but it's on a hard drive from back in '06. So, have hard drive manufacturers put something on their hard drives now that prevent pirated Windows installations? Or, is it that I just have an outdated copy of Windows? I wanted to know 1) so that I don't sound too much like a fool when I have to explain this and 2) for increasing my knowledge. Thank you.

More than likely -- I can't believe I'm answering a Windows question on this list -- the laptop's CD drive is failing to read the CD properly. If you had a second partition on the drive, perhaps reserved for Linux in the short-term future for a dual-boot setup, you could install the CD's intaller files onto the partition and try installing from there. (Note, I suggest this for educational purposes, just to see if it works, not to provide a means to run illegal software. Once you've verified this is or is not the problem, I recommend you remove the illegal software from her machine, leaving the machine pristine and pure with only Free and/or Legal software.)

No, to my knowledge, hard drive manufacturers have not started putting a feature on their drives to prevent the installation of pirated copies of Windows.


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