A process for manufacturing a computer
system, including a selected hardware configuration and a selected
software configuration, utilizes a CD-ROM writer connected to a manufacturing
system network to select and write a
custom software configuration to a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM is used to install the selected
software configuration onto a
custom hardware configuration and to subsequently serve as a permanent
backup copy of the
software configuration. The CD-ROM is written with an identifier of the specific
computer hardware assembled in the manufacturing process and the identification written to the CD-ROM is checked when the software is loaded from the CD-ROM onto the computer so that the software is only accessible to the specified
computer hardware.