When people buy a new PC, they usually take for granted that there is an operating system (or OS) on it. You know.. Mac, Windows, Linux, Ubuntu, whatever. And, I'm not so sure that it's a BAD thing that they take it for granted. However, the operating system isn't "built-in" to the system. It's just like another "part" of the system just like the the monitor or the DVD drive.
Most Mac's and Windows PC's come with a disc or discs. Windows PC's also usually come with a Proof of License Certificate of Authenticity sticker on the PC or on the disc cover - if the discs are provided. If someone builds your PC for you, hopefully they are on the up and up and will provide you with the proper discs. I have a big issue with people who build custom PC's and they try to cut costs by loading operating systems multiple times from the same disc. It's still possible to do, but not as easy anymore. It was a rampant problem back when Windows XP and earlier were being sold.
Whenever I want to help people with their PC problems, I always ask if they have the original OS disc because if the problem comes down to doing a reinstall, I'm going to need it. The reason I'm writing this blog post is because typically my friends will say they don't have it. Shockingly, they don't know where it is! So here I am, making this digital statement for perpetuity - DON'T LOSE YOUR OS DISCS!
Sometimes the disc you get from the PC manufacturer isn't a Microsoft Windows disc. Instead it's a "recovery" or "restore" disc which is used to bring the computer back to factory state, as it was when you first turned it on. This is just as good.
To be fair, some manufacturers like DELL don't actually provide a physical disc anymore. Instead, they provide a special partition (or section) on the computer's hard drive which is used to restore the computer to it's factory state.
So the point I'm trying to make here is that you should know whether your PC manufacturer provides you with discs or with a recovery partition. In addition, you should be aware of how to do the restore. This information will usually be in your PC's documentation.
Here's a scenario I see far too often. A person calls me and says, "I got a virus, can you help me with my computer?" First thing I ask is if they have Antivirus software - and usually the answer is that it's expired or worse, they don't have it at all. (See my Anti-Whatever post) Next, I try to make some kind of determination as to whether the virus has infected the PC so badly that it cannot be fixed in a short amount of time.
I must clarify what I mean by "a short amount of time". One time I worked on a relative's computer for 8 hours, thinking I had the virus removed. All along the skeptical PC technician in the back of my head was telling me just to wipe it clean and restore it. The next day, the computer was turned back on and started to exhibit the same symptoms. Ugh! So what I mean by a short amount of time is less than a half hour.
Anyway - back to the PC incident. I should have just restored the computer and saved 8 hours of time. I asked my relative if the discs were handy - and what do you think I'm going to say? No.. they weren't available. So I was up the creek, or my relative was up the creek. So what did they do to fix their PC? They took the PC to a person who had no problem with installing an illegal copy of Windows. How sad.
In conclusion - this is what I say when I have to help someone who has no way to restore their PC.. How sad.
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