windows xp disk help it has a crack?

Question

the cd is crack 1/2 in on the out side edge can i get a new cd cheap from microsoft

Answer 1

What makes a CD any different than anything else? You bought it, you broke it, you are responsible for replacing it.

Answer 2

Legally, Windows CDs cannot be sold without their accompanying product keys, and vice versa. Shelling out money to buy a new product key just to get a new CD is what most people tend to call excessive and unusual torture, so some people with such problems turn to filesharing. There are a bunch of Windows XP discs floating around the bittorrent system, for example, and I'm sure there are some on Gnutella and such.

One problem with those shared discs, though, is that it's relatively easy to hack said disc to make a subsequent installation of Windows faithfully report your personal information back to an identity thief once every 24 hours at 10 AM, so pick carefully.

Answer 3

Microsoft generally takes the view that your deal was with the OEM (original equipment manufacturer), not with Microsoft. In any case, Microsoft does not have copies of recovery discs nor access to any drivers or other changes made by OEM suppliers. You would therefore have to buy a new copy of Windows and hope it works.

However, in the UK at least, some smaller system builders bought Windows under a different deal, and if your Certificate of Authenticity sticker says OEM Product, you may be entitled to a replacement disc costing about £16. Ask on 0800 032 4479.

Answer 4

if you attempt to play it there is a chance it will explode into hundreds of thousands of tiny little shards inside your optical drive, call microsoft for a replacement.