[hijack] I remember that thread. Can you provide any further info yet? [/hijack].
Depends on the license. For most computers owned by individuals, yes. For many computers owned by larger companies, no.
Some of these guys buy pallets of computers which are off-lease or surplus. Sometimes the purchase price is based on the weight of the pallet, not by the actual computer models. They replace parts as necessary to get them working. Often, the computer will have a license sticker on the side. If they have the original install media that corresponds to that license, they can just reinstall and it’s just like new and the license is fine.
But like everyone is saying, the computers may be 10+ years old and there’s no guarantee of how long it will last. Your biggest risk will be losing the hard drive, so make sure you keep frequent backups. Go into it with the realization that you’re getting an older computer and there may be older computer problems.
Make sure you get a copy of the installation media so that you can reinstall it if necessary. The correct media will depend on the manufacturer. So if you have a Dell, you’ll need to have the Dell installation media. That’s something to ask in your initial emails. If the seller won’t or can’t provide it, there may be license issues. If so, find another seller.
No. And probably not for a long time. Sorry.
Oh, and he was a real estate agent, not an attorney like I posted.:smack:
Keep in mind that wiping the disk and re-installing Windows/Office (without much else) will typically result in a computer running at its peak performance. Just keep in mind that after you install your online poker software, your copy of Quicken, etc that things will start to slow down.
Also he might have a wicked-fast internet connection at his house that could be why it seemed faster than yours.
But for $50, what have you got to lose?
Which is fine selling at the swap meet or craigslist, as a legit storefront, the vast majority demand the same support and warranty for the $99 refurb that a new $1500 gaming machine would rate. If I don’t and one dies 6 months later I am now the “place that sells crap computers”.
Fundamentally incorrect. OEM Windows keys on the computer can be used with “standard” OEM install disks that are not brand specific. if it was installed with volume licences by a large company there probably is no key sticker. I would be more concerned with a lack of of a key sticker than a lack of a disk as there are tons of windows disks available via a variety of channels.
To make life messier most win8 machines have no sticker its embedded in the bios
So I bought a Dell from one of the guys and it’s working great!
Only thing is when I try to play games on the 80’s arcade game sites it won’t let me. It says I need an add on, but I don’t know what to “add on”. Also, some sites need Java and Firefox won’t let me download Java. What’s up with that?
I guess in that case, make sure you get one of those “standard” OEM install disks with the computer. I have had Dell computers with an XP license sticker which I couldn’t install with a retail Windows XP install disk. I had to use the Dell Windows CD to do the install. Can that OEM image be legally downloaded from somewhere?
Retail disks/licence are different from “Original Equipment Manufacturer” or OEM disks/keys. any OEM disk from anywhere for the appropriate version and bit level will work.
They are all over ebay or if you ask nicely most shops will give you a burned one as they go through them like crazy from occasionally leaving them in drives and such. The disks are no big deal the licences are.
I have a brother that does this. He gets older PCs from The University of TN. I think he gets a dozen or more for about $100. I know him far too well to ever buy one from him but he seems to have a few happy repeat customers.
I don’t know anybody who flips systems like this per se, but I did have an IT geeky friend who had a “basement full of computers” setup because he’d buy any cheap system he could find, quickly spruce it up, and attach it to his home network to test different sysadmin stuff while studying for various IT certifications.
It wouldn’t surprise me if some of these guys started doing similar things and realized they could turn a small profit and make additional contacts for bigger IT work.
The problem with licenses: people tend not to want to sell PCs with anything less than Windows 7, but the computer they are selling may have had a Vista license. That said, I’m not sure that the fix to let you install and activate Windows 7 is detectable if you do it right. You essentially do the same thing the computer manufacturers did so they could activate Windows 7. I guess maybe they could detect that your particular model never shipped with Windows 7–but that’s assuming that is true.
Another issue is that a lot of people want to install a better edition of Windows 7. Fortunately, this is easy to detect: did it come with Windows 7 Ultimate? That’s almost certainly not legit. Even having Professional is iffy–most computers had Home Premium.
And then there’s Office. If it’s a consumer license, a full license for the latest office is unlikely to be legit. I know I found a KMS driver on my used machine. Which was fine, because Office 2013 looks so bad I hated pulling it up. Fortunately, I didn’t buy the computer for Office, so I just removed that crap.
Anyways, if you have a legit license, there’s going to be some stickers on the machine indicating such and giving you the activation number (lest you ever need to reinstall.) It’s a requirement for the company to sell the license. Since you’re going there in person, look for those.
For whatever it’s worth: legitimate licenses aren’t necessarily THAT huge a deal right this moment, because MS has stated they will allow nonlegitimate Windows 7 and 8 systems to upgrade to Windows 10. So, worst case scenario you put up with activation nags for a few months until you update. And you WILL want to update; Win 10 will tie together many of the best elements of 7 and 8 while adding some new forward-looking options.
Now, that doesn’t address the legal / ethical part, but, if you’re going in with good faith, you’re not going to be saddled with a system that’s unusable due to a license issue.
There are ways to trick a machine into activating from its default manufacturer specific OEM bulk key. Since it easily facilitates piracy I will not name the software/method here but it does work and we occasionally do it to reload machines where the key is damaged and or worn off but obviously had one.