[dnanian]

I'm not sure why the response is complicated... and I didn't mean to suggest you didn't pay for your OS. Rather, you indicated that Apple had installed "the latest" OS, which implied (to me, at least) that you didn't have that version installed before.

Anyway, I don't think you'll find either of the things I suggested difficult: it's certainly a lot simpler to restore than to reinstall everything (including things you might not have the registration info for).

What part are you finding confusing?