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Friday, November 09, 2007

Microsoft program puts new Windows on old PCs

Under a new program large companies that sell refurbished PCs can get a new copy of Windows put on the machines provided they pay Microsoft for the privilege. The initiative, which provides refurbishers with a special version of Windows XP, could help save more machines from heading to the landfill.

This means Microsoft will get paid for Windows twice on one computer because to properly resell a refurbished PC using its original copy of Windows, Microsoft requires that resellers have either the certificate of authenticity that came with the PC or its restore disks which usually get lost along the way.

Microsoft did a study in 2004 and found that 20 million computers a year were being sold through formal refurbishment operations. They estimate today that number has grown to 28 million, with growth in the refurbished market likely outpacing new PC sales growth.

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