Operating System Software guidance

[visionman]

Hi guys, Im looking for safe buy guidance. Do I have to buy from certain places when I buy Mrcrosoft software in order to ensure verification success. I see lots of software advertised on ebay however what happens if the verification code does not pass m/s telephone code test? Is there a way to ensure that I am buying a genuine article, ? What happens if it’s the genuine article and still fails the telephone code test? Any advice hints and tips on this subject is welcomed BTW I am talking about the older types of O/S either XP Pro or XP Home sp3 Cheers.
visionman

[lordsmurf]

Buy from legitimate stores you already know -- not random eBay crap.
Not from some cheap site you found on Google.

[redwudz]

Same reply always: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You can get discounts on MS products occassionaly or student discounts. One good deal is the 'family pack'. You can get W7 for around $50US each if you can find some people to go in with. I got W7 in a pre-release deal for ~$50US. XP isn't much of a deal from MS at present. About the same price as W7. W7 is a vast improvement over XP, IMO. Cheaper copies of XP may be phony and near impossible to activate. Also watch out for full, verus upgrade versions. Buyer beware.

[visionman]

Hi Redwudz, it was those upgrade versions that got me into difficulty. XP Home sp2 to sp3, ( to solve a little problem I had with system Restore) I agree with both of your replies , however buyer beware of sharp practices in software retail shops as the sales staff get pressurised into selling o/s. I have opted to try MINT 10 from a rock solid source , to get a breath of fresh air from all the bamboozle . since some of the new distros of Linux look very good indeed. Thanks for your suggestions

visionman

[zzyzzx]

https://forum.videohelp.com/forums/37-Computer

Anyway, I'd be using some form of Linux if all my existing hardware would work with it.

[tgpo]

Anyway, I'd be using some form of Linux if all my existing hardware would work with it.

Amen! I made the switch from OS X to Linux a few years back and haven't missed it at all.