Has your school ever received donated personal computers without the appropriate documentation and installation CDs for the original Microsoft Windows operating system? If so, help is here.

Microsoft has heard clearly from our education customers that donated technology is a necessary and viable means for many schools to expand student and teacher access to today’s learning tools. Properly managing these donated technology resources has often been a time consuming, confusing and difficult procedure. To help schools streamline this process, we have created a simple and easy process called Fresh Start for Donated Computers program.

The Fresh Start for Donated Computers program helps ensure donated computers are properly licensed to run an original Windows operating system, and also provides a no-cost solution for replacing the operating systems that were deleted in the donation process. The program assumes that most PCs received as donations originally had a Windows license and therefore provides appropriate documentation and Windows installation CDs - at no cost to you - as a replacement for the originals.

Here’s how it works: After completing a short online application, your school will receive a letter that serves as proof of valid Windows 98 or Windows 2000 licenses for you donated PCs. Microsoft also will provide one copy of the software on CD if you have received donated PCs that no longer have a working operating system installed. The single CD can be used to install an operating system on all of the donated computers registered under the Fresh Start program.

To ensure our ability to maintain this program, we are asking that the PCs licensed through the Fresh Start program meet the following specifications:

PC must be received as a donation

PC must be previously used.

PCs, to the best of your knowledge, must have had an original Windows operating system previously installed.

Only PCs with Intel Pentium II (or equivalent) and older processors are eligible for inclusion in this program.

Please NOTE: Donated PCs with Intel Pentium III (or equivalent) and newer processors that have a Windows Certificate of Authenticity (COA) affixed to the machine as a sticker, as well as some form of proof that the machines were acquired as a donation, already have sufficient documentation for a valid Windows operating system license and therefore do not need to be reported through the Fresh Start program.

Ownership of PCs licensed through this program must be retained by the institution and cannot be transferred to students or other external organizations.

We encourage you to visit our program Web site to learn more. Details on the program and the online application form can be found at http//www.microsoft.com/education/?ID= FreshStartFAQ