[sf-lug] bought used lenovo laptop with windows; never registered; can i request refund?

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Michael Shiloh (michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com):

> I know it's possible to request a rebate for a never used copy of
> Windows on a new computer. How does this work with a
> used/refurbished?

Michael --

I wonder if there's been some news in this that I hadn't heard since
2002, but I honestly very, very much doubt there has.  I wonder if you
wouldn't mind reading the portion of this article that concerns 'Windows
Refund Day', here, as background:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/26/1040511127721.html  (Skip down
to 'Let's come to the Windows refund day in February 1999.')

(In short, for reasons I discuss in the interview, sure, you can request
a refund on a new machine with bundled OEM MS-Windows.  You can't
usually get it.  For used/refurbished, you're all the more less likely
to succeed, as it'll be rather too easy to claim that you might not have
ever used the preload, but the original purchaser probably did -- or
some similar dodge.)