The Microsoft Donated Computer Operating System Program at TechSoup Stock
Published on May 12, 2010
The Microsoft Donated Computer Operating System (DCOS) Program Has Been Discontinued
The DCOS program was offered in the United States to support nonprofit organizations that received donated, used computers without Microsoft Windows operating systems by enabling them to obtain licensed operating system software. Now that refurbishment has become a more common offering in most communities, and licenses through refurbishers are lower in cost than what was offered through DCOS, the program is being discontinued.
Organizations currently needing operating systems for donated, used computers should consider the following options.
Get Licenses from a Local Refurbisher
If your organization has received donated, used computers without Windows operating systems, we recommend contacting a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher in your area.
Refurbishers provide varying services at different costs, and you should work with a refurbisher to ensure that your PCs are professionally refurbished and that genuine Microsoft products are installed. Click here to find a refurbisher near you.
The Microsoft Registered Refurbisher program authorizes refurbishers to install licensed copies of Windows operating system on eligible used computers. Refurbishers work with both original owners and eligible recipients. The program defines a used computer as one that is at least six months past the date it was purchased new. The computer must also have its original motherboard.
To be eligible to receive Microsoft Windows through this program, a used computer must already have a Windows Certificate of Authenticity sticker physically attached to the computer.
Once the computer has a licensed Windows operating system, eligible organizations might choose to upgrade the system to a more recent one through TechSoup, provided the computer has enough RAM, a fast enough processor, and other resources needed to run the later system.
Become a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher
In May 2010, Microsoft launched the Registered Refurbisher Program, which is a program tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized refurbishers who want to deliver genuine preinstalled Microsoft software licenses to their customers on the PCs they refurbish.
The new program replaced the Community Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (Community MAR) program. Like the Community MAR program, the Registered Refurbisher Program is designed for computer refurbishers, but 501(c)(3) nonprofits are encouraged to apply to the program if they intend to refurbish donated PCs and need full-version Windows XP and Microsoft Office licenses for their own computers.
Details of the Registered Refurbisher Program are available on the program's website.
Get Refurbished Computers from a Local Refurbisher
Another option is to turn in your donated, used computers to a refurbisher and purchase fully refurbished computers with a Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Office already installed (prices are set by the individual refurbisher and vary by computer type, age, and so on).
Click here to find a refurbisher near you.
Get Refurbished Computers Through TechSoup
A fourth option for eligible organizations to obtain computers with licensed Windows operating systems is to purchase low-cost, warrantied, refurbished computers through TechSoup's Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI). These desktop and notebook computers have a Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Office installed on them by the refurbisher.
TechSoup's RCI program aims to increase the supply of donated and refurbished computer systems to U.S. nonprofit organizations. By maximizing the life cycles of these systems, TechSoup and its donor and refurbisher partners hope to significantly decrease the disposal of still-useful computers while acting to reduce harmful waste.