Need help with Windows 7

[mildgamer001]

Hi, i might be starting a very small scale computer repair service in my area and i need some purchasing advice and how the heck do repair shopd get hardrive and OS replacements so cheap?! Windows 7 is 100$ on newegg for a single copy, but when you get a new harddrive from a local repair shop it doesnt cost 180$ for the harddrive and OS, where do they get these copies for so cheap and how many do they get with each? i understand they buy hard drives and other parts individually because not every computer uses the same parts so there isnt any point in getting a whole bunch at once.
Is there any peopel in the IT business that can explain where to get these cheaper, multiple copies of windows? it would really help so it would be cheaper for customers. and i dont want some illega copy crap, that isnt what im talking about. If someone could clear this up for me it would be great. thanks.

 

[JDFan]

In most cases a Repair shop is not installing a new OS on the system since the system already has the OS installed and activated and merely changing the HDD or repairing the installation does not require changing the OS itself -- In most cases they have iso images of the various versions of the windows OS that they use to install on the system and then use the product key that is placed on the case to enter once the OS is installed (and if there is no sticker they merely install the OS without activating it allowing 30 days for the user to activate the OS using their product key at home after repair -- If the user does not have a legitimate key then the OS install expires after that time and they have to purchase a valid key from MS ) -- If the user wants a new OS installed and does not already have a valid key they will be charged for the product same as any other software.

 

[mildgamer001]

i mean after a hdd is broken completely, so there is no os to transfer over. and by iso images you mean the image that your windows copy saves so you cn only put it on one computer? for example my laptop didnt come with a reinstall disk for windows 7, and im too lazy to make backups myself. if my harddrive broke or os got corrupted what would a repair shop do? also how do you transfer old data from one internal drive to another? the way i thought of was taking old HDD, copy everything from that to an external, then instal new internal in another comp and transfer data from external to the new internal, then finally putting the new internal into the computer and trashing the old internet and wipeing the external.

 

[mildgamer001]

or, what about in custom built computers? OS's are still expencive, and people dont want to buy for too much more than retail, and the shop has to make some money off of it too. do they just buy the OS retail?