That is just the tip of the iceberg...
Most sellers of new PC will not provide an operating system CD with the system!
It can never be reinstalled or repaired should the system freeze (and it will, it's just a matter of when).
In spite of my advice not ever to go near "XP" anything, a few of my firends have replaced their computers and failed to request other OS to be installed (non-XP Windows 2000 comes to mind) and are now tearing their hair out:
PC cams that previously worked fine are no longer usable.
Digital camera software used for a year or two previously will no longer install and run on the new computer.
Scanners, will no longer work. HP is famous for ending support for older models printers, scanners and CD writers after a very short time forcing customers to buy updated drivers from third party providers, or from HP itself.
Unless Microsoft is in a position to claim that their XP Operating system is perfect and bulletproof, there are many many other reasons for the OS to be corrupted or otherwise unusable other than replacing a hard drive.
Try replacing the motherboard...
Install an unintegrated graphics card...
A new modem...
After these many months of discussion, anyone who buys or instals any XP is out of his mind.
Last I heard 50% of XP upgrades have failed.
If this represents only 1% of users, it's still an awfully large number.
Just before the release of Win XP, a friend in the business recommended the purchase of Win 2000 as a safe - relatively bug free - alternative to XP. It turned out to be excellent advice. I've researched all of the benchmark evaluations of Win XP and Win 2K. I've concluded that Win XP is nothing more than an updated service pack build of Win 2000 with a colorful new GUI shell, a few new multi-media apps, and a repulsively intrusive authentication routine that will disable your system if you make significant hardware upgrades.
Nobody, not even the known Microsoft shill munchkins on FR, have assailed me on this conclusion.
But I digress. People are going to love XP. You computer geeks are as bad as Mac worshippers. You don't understand us broad mainstream puter simpletons who actually like an OS that does stuff for us that we don't even WANT to understand or mess with. It just does it. I mean, thank God that you guys are willing to write that kind of code. Personally I'd rather do some serrious ditch digging. Anything, but bust code and stare at a screen all day while my ass throbs.
Got a source for that?
PC cams that previously worked fine are no longer usable. Digital camera software used for a year or two previously will no longer install and run on the new computer. Scanners, will no longer work.
Well, DUH! If your friends RTFM, or even ran the XP compatibility wizard, they wouldn't have had to tear their hair out. It is a well known fact that drivers and software compatible with Win98 and before need to be upgraded for XP, because XP is a BRAND NEW operating system that is not necessarily backwards compatible with the drivers and software from previous systems.
Your friends are like most people. They are too damned impatient to take a few extra minutes to do things right. That's why there are millions of VCRs out there with the date flashing. Then when things go wrong, they quickly blame the manufacturer. Computers are very sophisticated devices and they require a little knowledge and patience.
I installed XP for the kid of a friend. No more Visioneer One Touch scanner. The Microsoft spammers around here are about to make me puke.
Carly was a PC hire from a failed company and will definitely take Hp back to the garage from which it sprang. Unfortunately, this time the garage will contain no entrepeneurs.