Before I call Staples, could I run a computer purchase issue by you?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>H bought a laptop for me as a Christmas surprise. He waited until Christmas Eve and all they had left was the floor model which he bought with 10% knocked off. When I opened it, we discovered they had packed only half of the power cord in the box. We were gone for a week but Staples had labeled the cord with a description of my husband and it was waiting behind the service desk. That was Easy.</p>

<p>This weekend I tried to defrag and it asked for the Windows CD because it found a problem. Uh-oh. I don’t have any system CDs. I don’t have any CDs. There is a Windows XP serial number sticker on the bottom of the laptop but it was torn when it was unstuck from the floor display so I do not have the entire number.</p>

<p>I absolutely must have the Windows CDs, right? And they must match the serial number currently installed, right?</p>

<p>If Staples says they can’t locate them, should I insist they let me return the computer? I want to sound somewhat intelligent, so, what should I say?</p>

2

<p>My experience with Staples has always been positive. If they can’t help you with locating the cds and serial numbers, then they should be able to help you fix the problem. By any chance was this a HP computer?</p>

3

<p>You are right – you paid for a Windows license, they owe you the serial numbers. They can install a new instance of Windows for you, or give you a new machine. </p>

<p>If you have to defrag a new XP machine this soon, it has been heavily used. I doubt it was just a “floor model.” Did the disk scanner suggest a defrag, or did you just choose to do one on your own? If the system asked for a defrag, I’d either return it or ask for a new unit in exchange – it’s been used a lot. Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Magical Jelly Bean can be used to lookup the product key (serial number) on your PC. Here’s some info.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.shivaranjan.com/2006/09/18/how-to-find-and-change-windows-product-key-and-registration-information/[/url]”>http://www.shivaranjan.com/2006/09/18/how-to-find-and-change-windows-product-key-and-registration-information/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As long as you have a valid product key the win xp CD does not have to match.</p>