If you request an original copy from your retailer they have to (are supposed to) give it to you and can only charge you a fee for the media, which is usually $

If you request an original copy from your retailer they have to (are supposed to) give it to you and can only charge you a fee for the media, which is usually $10-25. This applies for the first few months, thereafter you can call Microsoft and within a few prompts they will send it out to you, often for free. Should work in most countries, and is a bit of a backdoor way of getting original install disks. There is also a way in the EU to get a free linux distro disk if you request it, which was part of the EU antitrust settlement but I can't remember what that was (all of these consumer rights features were part of one settlement or another)