In the mid-to-late 2000s, Dell was the undisputed king of Wintel PCs. Their direct-to-customer model meant millions of OptiPlex desktops, Latitude laptops, and XPS machines shipped globally every quarter. But Dell had a problem common to all major PC makers: . Every time a customer lost their Windows installation disc or had to call support to activate a reinstall, it cost money.
Microsoft largely tolerated this because Dell paid for every PC that left the factory with a COA sticker. The activation mechanism was designed for convenience , not absolute security. windows 7 dell oem