"But both the letter and the expert were pricing a disk that came with a Microsoft license" So the $25 is the cost, to Dell etc, of volume purchase of Windows

"But both the letter and the expert were pricing a disk that came with a Microsoft license" So the $25 is the cost, to Dell etc, of volume purchase of Windows OEM along with the sticker with licence number. Utterly unrelated to a restore disk for a machine that already has the sticker, and thus a valid licence. That he is found guilty is a travesty.