looking at a used dell that has no hdd, ERGO no o/s. Computer has a m/s coa sticker for vista. How do I go about getting new o/s installed on new hdd? Is it free download from dell or m/s? It would appear from dells website that you have to buy it. If I had to pay for an o/s that kills the deal. Thanks for the help!You will need a Hard Drive + either buy a 2nd hand copy of Vista to install to system or even better, contact Dell and buy the original restore media for this computer. You will probably find that its cheaper to pay $40 to Dell for the Disc's and whatever the cost of a hard drive is for the capacity that you want vs trying to find a deal 2nd hand. *Sometimes keys on the COA do not work well with other (same Vista) OS Discs! I have some Windows XP CD's that only work with certain keys when trying to use the XP Pro key affixed to the bottom of a laptop against my Windows XP Pro CD which did not come with that laptop but was bought for another system for example. Everything is legal because it all has its rightful key associated with it, but the one XP Pro CD I had rejected the key, so I had to try the other of 5 XP Pro CD's I had to find one that was compatible with the key on the laptop. This required me to reinstall the OS using the 2nd oem disc and it accepted the key of the laptop, while the other CD did not! Would have been probably easier to just pay the $40 for a system recovery set.

A laptop without a hard drive and without the OS to me would be worth around $40, and thats only if the laptop is in good working order other than a HDD missing with OS missing!!! Since I'd be looking at putting $80-$100 into it to make it run again buying hard drive and OS through retail. If you want to go the route of Linux, such as Linux MINT 14.1 KDE, then the OS is FREE and you just need to find a hard drive for the system.

I only value used laptops at around $120 for ones that are CORE 2 Duo or Athlon II CPU or newer, because I know that I can SELL it at $120 and break even if i dont chose to keep it myself. Anything older is limited in application and very few people would want to buy old when for around $300 to $700 they can buy brand new. Laptops older than Core 2 Duo's or Athlon II's to me I generally get for free or very cheap. Usually I gut them for parts to fix the faster computers inexpensively since most are filthy, battered, and keyboards are heavily worn, as well as the batteries are at the end of their life and no longer hold a charge longer than 10 minutes and are $80 to replace etc, so the computers only function if kept on wall power.

I am not aware of any legal iso downloads for any operating systems of Microsoft. Although you would think that they would make it available if all you need is the key really. But if Microsoft made it too easy to reactivate an old OS, they wouldnt be able to sell their new OS, so I look at it as planned obsolescence by making the older OS not readily available for replacement without spending money, and if someone has to spend $40 or more for the original OS, they may want to buy the newer OS instead making Micro$oft richer!!!

What is the model # of the laptop and overall condition to assess its current value with lacking its OS and Hard Drive?He can get a Vista DVD from a fiend that also has a Dell with Vista.
A used hard drive is now about $20 here in the USA. SATA 89GB or better.

Also, refurbished PCs with Vista are super cheap.
On eBay a legal Vista DVD is about $15.
Nobody wants Vista.If the COA is still visible all you need is an MS Vista CD that matches what was installed...this is perfectly legal.