How to LEGALLY obtain new installation disks

To those of you who are advanced users, this will seem like a really dumb question, but I just don't understand it, so here goes:

I see computers for sale by various businesses, etc. that are stripped of everything - no operating system, etc. Many of these older systems have no CD-ROM's, so any software would have to be installed via floppy disks. YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN'T BUY THESE IN STORES BECAUSE THEY ARE NO LONGER SUPPORTED.

These things were originally sold with an operating system on them - without it they are PAPERWEIGHTS. Isn't there a way to (legally) obtain new installation disks for what was originally sold with the system? I can find NOTHING about it at Microsoft's website, but that is what I am hearing from other people, so where is it?

I am NOT asking for anything illegal - no piracy, etc. I want to know how anyone is supposed to LEGALLY use a system that is sold stripped of EVERYTHING THAT CAME WITH IT. I am getting damn frustrated with trying to find an answer to this.

Can anybody help me, I guess I'm a dummy.

-10CFR

 

What about an external CD- drive and a fresh copy of your favorite OS

buck

 

I think,legally there are two ways to sell a computer.
1) Hard drive is wiped clean.
2) Hard drive has OS and other software. Computer sold this way should be accompanied with all software disks and manuals. #2 seldom happens.
There is no way to obtain original software for any one particular computer. When you come into possession of one such PC all I can say is to use your own initiative as to how you will put it to some sort of use.

 

Buck,

Is Windows 95 still available on CD?

 

I've seen it for sale through a portal like Yahoo>shopping>software. Maybe it wasn't Yahoo, but I was looking for an out of date game, a couple years old and came across the above. They were being offered by companies with reputable names, so I assume it was legal.

 

Here's one...

95 CD

fr

 

Latest version OEM for $38: http://www.directdeals.com/product.asp?id=557

 

http://www.9software.com/

Priced at $12.50

 

Thank you all for your responses.