need 'puter for momma
Karl Townsend
like new fangled ways of doing the same thing. That means I should stay with
the operating system she knows - XP.
I went to Dell and they want an extra $150 to install XP on a windows 7
machine. She just needs a basic computer for internet, email, small
spreadsheet, and word. For myself I'd just get a used eBay. But I know momma
wants a new one. Any suggestions?
Karl
Winston
99c and free shipping!
eBay 250563264822, 250563316731, 250563316256
Also use search term 'windows xp sp3' in eBay search window for other
low - cost approaches.
The best answer for me has been to buy a replacement HD and install
the OS to it. Save the original HD for hardware testing and rainy days.
You may have to download one or two drivers and install them manually.
--Winston
--
Machining can only occur between one Catholic and one Bridgeport.
Other people and machines can continue to enjoy their hobby within
a Mechanical Partnership but to protect our fine tradition, they
must be prevented from actually Machining. To grant them the ability
to Machine would ruin this traditional institution for Catholics,
Bridgeports and everyone and everything else.
Do we think that a Unitarian and her Deckel has any valid claim to
the freedom and sanctity of Machining? Of course not!
We cannot risk validating this gravely unjust pairing; to
recognize it would send the wrong message to our precious youth.
Who knows how many young lives have been utterly ruined because
of the non-procreative destruction of perfectly acceptable surfaces by
non-Catholics using non-Bridgeports?
No other form can be considered as an equivalent to this natural
relationship between a Catholic and a Bridgeport out of whose love
tools are born.
Join me to protect the unique social and legal status of Machining
for everyone in the 21st century!
Pete C.
I've got similar issues here. All my mother really needs functionally is
a netbook, however they have tiny screens and no modems. 74yo eyes and
10" screens probably aren't a good combo, and a modem is needed for
dialup since all she does is email and looks at a few links I forward.
I'm watching Fry's and a few others for a good closeout on a regular
laptop. With a real laptop, it can also double as a portable DVD player
too.
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
$150 for the license.
There's this if you have 7:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx
I've had good luck with refurbished office PCs. Around here $250 -
$300 buys a clean, MS-updateable reload of XP on a PC that's 5 years
old or less, though they tend to have single core processors and lack
PCI-E or even AGP slots for better video cards.
This $300 laptop is a Dell Latitude D610, a rugged machine with a
metal frame that cost over $2000 only a few years ago. It's on $5-a-
month dialup so when I need to download large update files I take it
to Barnes & Noble and use their free WiFi.
jsw
Bob La Londe
news:4b4f26ec$0$65849$892e...@auth.newsreader.octanews.com...
Check out Tiger Direct. I needed a new XP Pro machine for my CNC controller
and I had dozens of options this last summer. Bought an E-machine for 299 I
think that just screams compared to my old CNC controller.
Buerste
"Karl Townsend" <karltown...@embarqmail.com> wrote in message
news:4b4f26ec$0$65849$892e...@auth.newsreader.octanews.com...
No, don't stay with XP! 7 does a great job and mom won't notice the
differences in her applications. She'll never need to get under the hood
and everything else looks about the same...in a way. She'll be just fine
with it. Buy parts at Newegg and spend the 20 minutes to assemble it. Got
a Philips screwdriver? Install 7, Office, set her mail up...you're done in
an hour and a half.
Bob AZ
> wants a new one. Any suggestions?
>
> Karl
Karl
Just buy the parts from Newegg.com and build her one. Get XP from Ebay
for the OP.
And be sure to make several visits to your "Mother" in the process.
Also bring her some nice apples each visit.
Bob AZ
Karl Townsend
> No, don't stay with XP! 7 does a great job and mom won't notice the
> differences in her applications. She'll never need to get under the hood
> and everything else looks about the same...in a way. She'll be just fine
> with it. Buy parts at Newegg and spend the 20 minutes to assemble it.
> Got a Philips screwdriver? Install 7, Office, set her mail up...you're
> done in an hour and a half.
OK, Winston points out you can get XP cheap right now. I'll try this cause,
"Tawm said you'd be OK". Now, if you piss my momma off I want your phone
number <VBG>
Dell has worked well for her. Not top quality but acceptable. Here's one for
$250.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=ddcwua1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=inspiron-zino-hd
Can New Egg even come close?
Karl
Winston
>> No, don't stay with XP! 7 does a great job and mom won't notice the
>> differences in her applications. She'll never need to get under the hood
>> and everything else looks about the same...in a way. She'll be just fine
>> with it. Buy parts at Newegg and spend the 20 minutes to assemble it.
>> Got a Philips screwdriver? Install 7, Office, set her mail up...you're
>> done in an hour and a half.
>
> OK, Winston points out you can get XP cheap right now. I'll try this cause,
> "Tawm said you'd be OK".
Wayell, Tawm recommends Windows 7. I've got no experience with it but it's
been out for almost 3 months, so maybe the important bugs are squashed.
> Now, if you piss my momma off I want your phone
> number <VBG>
Not me Karl! It's much too late for me to 'turn out right'.
Did Ma mention something specific about her present machine?
It'd be unfortunate to get her all set up with a new puter and
then find out that her issue was an intermittent power strip
rather than 'refresh rate' on _Call of Duty_. :)
--Winston
Jim Wilkins
wrote:
> >...
>
> Dell has worked well for her. Not top quality but acceptable. Here's one for
> Can New Egg even come close?
>
> Karl
Vista Home Basic, no monitor, no productivity software, only a 30 day
trial of McAfee.
You didn't say what her connection speed is. For Pete C, downloading
OpenOffice and AVG over dialup would take hours.
Both can be downloaded elsewhere and installed from the copy, but AVG
then needs to load it's entire database.
Dell's office line is higher quality. My HDTV recording PC is in the
middle, a student-grade Dimension 2400 that's just barely adequate as
long as I kill all non-essential processes. I bought it as-is and it
was a "learning experience".
jsw
Buerste
Nope, go with the Dell. I see it comes with Vista but do the $30 upgrade to
7. I REALLY like 7, I have yet to get stumped or bumped. After using 7 for
a while, XP seems like '95, MS did a good job!
DON'T use McAfee or anything other than Avast or AVG, + adaware and Spybot
Search&Destroy. 2gb mem is enough, more is better but she won't need it
unless she's a closet hard-core gamer. 250 HD should be plenty, even with
ALL your baby pictures on it.
Richard W.
Acer netbook has XP installed. About $300. new at Walmart.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
3 year old used "office" dells go for $95 to $149 with XP COA around
here. (off lease)
cl...@snyder.on.ca
wrote:
I'd dissagree.
An octagenarian used to XP would in all likelihood find either Vista
or 7 a real upset, particularly if they've been using XP in the
"classic" mode, which is commo n if they moved up from '98.
Michael A. Terrell
Larry Jaques
<karltown...@embarqmail.com> scrawled the following:
My new Acer came with Windows Vista Business and the fallback OS on
the drive was XP. It also came with a free upgrade to Win7, which I
installed. Check what's available at www.walmart.com . I gave $550
for a 2.4GHz minibox with 2GB ram, 160GB drive, and a 23"
monitor/kbd/mouse package. $8 to deliver it to me at home.
I'm still trying to figure out how to work with the data I brought
over from the old computer via Win7's Easy Transfer prog. Anyone BTDT?
--
The greatest fine art of the future will be the making
of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.
--Abraham Lincoln
Tim Wescott
Build her a new one from parts, install her current version of XP on it
from the install disks, and when it asks for registration tell it that
you just did a 'repair'. Be sure to install the new computer under the
old XP license sticker, so you won't be lying.
Jim Wilkins
> ...
> Build her a new one from parts, install her current version of XP on it
> from the install disks, and when it asks for registration tell it that
> you just did a 'repair'. Be sure to install the new computer under the
> old XP license sticker, so you won't be lying.
>
> --www.wescottdesign.com
Have you actually tried that? I got a replacement XP CD from Dell and
MS phone support wanted a note from Jesus' mother before giving me a
license key that it accepted.
jsw
Bob AZ
Karl and Tim
Karl. Listen and do as Tim says. Avoid Windows Vista and Windows 7
like the plague. Vista because it is/was a flop and 7 because it is
too new. Your Mother is locked into XP and the change would drive her
away from the computer which she sorely needs to keep on living.
And Karl. Send her some more apples.
Bob AZ
Bruce L. Bergman
Me, I'd get her a new mid-line computer for her, with Windows 7. And
let her keep her old XP one next to it for a while (while it still
runs), so if she absolutely can not figure something out she has the
option.
Mid-line, because she won't have to get another new one if Quicken
or Internet Explorer starts demanding more processor or memory. Or
she decides to start scanning and Photoshopping all the old family
photos with names and dates for the future generations, and a cheap
machine can't churn them fast enough.
It really isn't that hard to switch OS's /in the same family/ as long
as you have the basic premise down solid. I got my mother upgraded
from MS-DOS 2.0 through 6.22 in three or four steps, then skipped a
Windows generation or two to Windows for Workgroups 3.11, then Win95,
Win98, WinME, WinXP... She didn't make it to Vista, but that wouldn't
have been all that bad.
My Mom's secret was to make cheat sheets, and Read The Friendly
Manual - what a concept! You know it will do what you want, you just
don't know how to tell it to. Find out how.
If it wasn't intuitive she went and found it in the Help Documents,
then printed it out and taped it to the side of the device... She
managed change quite nicely, once I showed here where to find the
answers to the questions. We have a large stack of well-thumbed
"Dummies Guide" books here.
--<< Bruce >>--
Karl Townsend
>ike the plague. Vista because it is/was a flop and 7 because it is
>too new. Your Mother is locked into XP and the change would drive her
>away from the computer which she sorely needs to keep on living.
>And Karl. Send her some more apples.
Yea, we ain't chanin' nothin'. I went to a newer version of word on her once
and she was screwed. But, I'm off the hook. I told her "the Kid" is way
better at 'puters. So she called and offered him "Granma's meat loaf and
tatoes with cherry pie dessert". "The Kid" will do damn near anything for
another special meal from granma.
Karl
Wes
>99c and free shipping!
>
>eBay 250563264822, 250563316731, 250563316256
>
>Also use search term 'windows xp sp3' in eBay search window for other
>low - cost approaches.
Those are OEM which means you can never move the OS to new hardware if I understand
correctly.
Can you use an OEM XP disk to upgrade a W2K install? Reason I ask is some day Alibre
isn't going to like my W2K box since W2k isn't listed as supported even though V12.0 works
just fine. I figure one of the next revisions is going to say sorry Wes, you need Xpee or
something worse.
How hard does Microsoft tie a OEM disk to the current hardware? Mother boards die, My
case has had two so far, not because I had the jones to upgrade, the board fried.
Wes
--
"Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect
government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home
in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller
Michael A. Terrell
Wes wrote:
>
> Winston <Win...@bigbrother.net> wrote:
>
> >99c and free shipping!
> >
> >eBay 250563264822, 250563316731, 250563316256
> >
> >Also use search term 'windows xp sp3' in eBay search window for other
> >low - cost approaches.
>
> Those are OEM which means you can never move the OS to new hardware if I understand
> correctly.
>
> Can you use an OEM XP disk to upgrade a W2K install? Reason I ask is some day Alibre
> isn't going to like my W2K box since W2k isn't listed as supported even though V12.0 works
> just fine. I figure one of the next revisions is going to say sorry Wes, you need Xpee or
> something worse.
>
> How hard does Microsoft tie a OEM disk to the current hardware? Mother boards die, My
> case has had two so far, not because I had the jones to upgrade, the board fried.
Some packages only car that the BIOS has the right name, like Dell. I
have used Dell recovery disks to install XP when they had a bad hard
drive, or the previous owner deleted everything. I simply ran the
recovery, and typed in the registration code from the sticker on the
case.
Others work only for one model of computer like Emachines which is a
HD image on a DVD.
Both will flash up a message, This is not a XXXXX motherboard if you
try them on something else.
A bad motherboard requires a new activation code every time I've done
it.
Tim Wescott
Uh -- I can't remember now! The last time I built a computer I went 100%
from scratch, and bought XP to go with it.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
The change from windows 2 through to Windows 98 was very subtle. It
was all basically the same OS with refinements.
Moving to XP was a major change as it left the old DOS base and went
to the NT Kernal.
Microsoft was kind enough to supply the "classic" interface, which
mimicked 98 quite well - so no large paradygm shift was involved.
Vista changed all that.
And 7 has departed from Vista in some major ways. The change from XP
to Vista or 7 is a greater change, operationwise, than from Windows
2.0 to 98/xp classic.
I say get an XP machine that is 7 ready and you have all the bases
covered.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Depends on what kind of "oem" package you have.
There is the Microsoft supplied "OEM INSTALL" package that is the same
as the retail package except for the licence. It will install on
anything and does not check BIOS or anything. It does not include any
OEM supplied utilities or other crap, or any special drivers.
Then there is the "OEM Pre-install with Recovery Disk"
It will only work on a machine of the original manufacture. Put in a
new motherboard from a different supplier and you are screwed.
Another big difference.
With the OEM INSTALL package you can do a repair install, as long as
you don't have higher service packs installed, without losing any
data.(or settings). You can also do a fresh install on a different
directory and save your data, or delete the windows directory and do a
fresh re-install without formatting the drive and losing data,
You DO need to enter the windows key and go through the windoows
authentication process
With the OEM Preinstall Recovery disk you cannot do any of the above.
The re-install formats the drive and puts everything back to the way
it was shipped.
Generally you don't need to enter the key and authenticate windows -
on some you do need to enter the key.
Martin H. Eastburn
format the C drive. Install XP.
The 150 might be used up on XP - but try Tiger Express.... for xp and machine.
Martin
Karl Townsend wrote:
> My momma called and wants a new computer. She's an octogenarian and don't
> like new fangled ways of doing the same thing. That means I should stay with
> the operating system she knows - XP.
>
> I went to Dell and they want an extra $150 to install XP on a windows 7
> machine. She just needs a basic computer for internet, email, small
> spreadsheet, and word. For myself I'd just get a used eBay. But I know momma
> wants a new one. Any suggestions?
>
> Karl
>
>
Michael A. Terrell
"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote:
>
> Buy if you don't have a set of XP. Then buy the windoze 7 machine and
> format the C drive. Install XP.
Make sure you have all the drivers you need, first.
Winston
(...)
> Those are OEM which means you can never move the OS to new hardware if I understand
> correctly.
That isn't my understanding. You should get an OEM disk with every custom
PC you buy. You could install on many different desktops and notebooks
as long as only one bootable disk exists at a time.
> Can you use an OEM XP disk to upgrade a W2K install?
Sure, if you broaden your definition to include a complete disk wipe.
> How hard does Microsoft tie a OEM disk to the current hardware?
The way I misunderstand it is that an OEM disk is not tied to any specific
motherboard. Further, it usually arrives without the fancy packaging and
hardcopy manuals the traditional 'full' version has.
--Winston
--
Machining can only occur between one Catholic and one Bridgeport.
Other people and machines can continue to enjoy their hobby within
a Mechanical Partnership but to protect our fine tradition, they
must be prevented from actually Machining. To grant them the ability
to Machine would ruin this traditional institution for Catholics,
Bridgeports and everyone and everything else.
Do we think that a Unitarian and her Deckel has any valid claim to
the freedom and sanctity of Machining? Of course not!
We cannot risk validating this gravely unjust pairing; to
recognize it would send the wrong message to our precious youth.
Who knows how many young lives have been utterly ruined because
of the non-procreative destruction of perfectly acceptable surfaces by
non-Catholics using non-Bridgeports?
No other form can be considered as an equivalent to this natural
relationship between a Catholic and a Bridgeport out of whose love
tools are born.
Join me to protect the unique social and legal status of Machining
for everyone in the 21st century!
Snag
> "Martin H. Eastburn" wrote:
>>
>> Buy if you don't have a set of XP. Then buy the windoze 7 machine
>> and format the C drive. Install XP.
>
>
> Make sure you have all the drivers you need, first.
>
find the drivers you need on the mfr's website . Exception I've found is the
older emachines . Had problems loading the drivers once I found 'em , but
then this was a W98 box . I wanted an old box for some old games I useta
play , but decided the return wasn't worth the effort .
You can download a copy of XP from one of the torrent sites , and use a
key from just about any dead box to activate it . Which is why I grab any
comps I see on the curb . Nobody thinks to keep that sticker , and that's
the license . Why pay for it if you can get it for free ?
I've also collected some pretty nice video/network/audio cards from those
dead boxes . Hard drives are usually worn out though ...
Snag
the computer repairman ...
Michael A. Terrell
Some of the Emachines ME drivers work ok with 98.
I have repaired computers from the early '80s, starting with Motorola
Exorcisor bus 6800 based systems used for graphics in Cable TV. I
repaired Commodore Vic 20, C64, some models of the PET line and the
various drives to the component level. The newer Emachines restore disk
is a drive image for that model like the W3118. I have a few, but most
of the time I have to track down the motherboard OEM or chipset OEM to
find some drivers.
Dell is easier. It is similar to the OEM XP disk, with the drivers
that were current when it was made, so it covers a lot of models.
robobass
wrote:
> My momma called and wants a new computer. She's an octogenarian and don't
> like new fangled ways of doing the same thing. That means I should stay with
> the operating system she knows - XP.
>
> I went to Dell and they want an extra $150 to install XP on a windows 7
> machine. She just needs a basic computer for internet, email, small
> spreadsheet, and word. For myself I'd just get a used eBay. But I know momma
> wants a new one. Any suggestions?
>
> Karl
My mother is in the same position, and I was in the same position. In
my case, I had a compact XP Pro desktop with 512 ram and an 80 gig
hard drive, Upgrading to 2 gigs ram and installing a 400mb slave drive
solved all my problems. My mother has a six year old super compact
desktop with 512 ram and a built in graphic card. I told her to
install a stand alone graphic card and beef up the ram. Of course she
can't do this herself, but a local techie is on the job. I think that
in cases like this, there is no reason to replace the whole
computer.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
wrote:
>Wes wrote:
>
>(...)
>
>> Those are OEM which means you can never move the OS to new hardware if I understand
>> correctly.
>
>That isn't my understanding. You should get an OEM disk with every custom
>PC you buy. You could install on many different desktops and notebooks
>as long as only one bootable disk exists at a time.
You need to read your OEM licence.
It goes with the machine it was sold with.
A case could be made that you replaced the (defective) motherboard,
then the hard drive, and then put it in a new case with new video card
etc, and ended up with a new machine - but the "COA" sticker is , by
the terms of the licence, to be applied to the case - and they can be
a real bear to remove from the old case to transfer to the new one.
>
>> Can you use an OEM XP disk to upgrade a W2K install?
>
>Sure, if you broaden your definition to include a complete disk wipe.
>
>> How hard does Microsoft tie a OEM disk to the current hardware?
It is not "tied" except by the conditions of the licence.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Yes, but very often NOT the actual model the disk was supplied with.
You still need to figure out which component the "unrecognized" item
is - who made it, and what driver it requires. Without calling Dell
Tech Support and giving them the tag numbers from your machine, it can
be very frustrating - hense my refering to them often as "the DELL
from HELL"
Jim Wilkins
> On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:21:03 -0800, Winston <Wins...@bigbrother.net>
> wrote:
> >Wes wrote:
>
> You need to read your OEM licence.
> It goes with the machine it was sold with.
> A case could be made that you replaced the (defective) motherboard,
> then the hard drive, and then put it in a new case with new video card
> etc, and ended up with a new machine - but the "COA" sticker is , by
> the terms of the licence, to be applied to the case - and they can be
> a real bear to remove from the old case to transfer to the new one.
> >The way I misunderstand it is that an OEM disk is not tied to any specific
> >motherboard. Further, it usually arrives without the fancy packaging and
> >hardcopy manuals the traditional 'full' version has.
Once you have installed XP, WPA records some specifics of the hardware
to block you from putting clones of that hard disk in multiple
computers. I don't remember the details because I don't abuse the OS
but it assigns a voting weight to about 5 devices and if the vote
total drops below some level it wants to call home to be reauthorized.
IIRC it gives you a month of probation and then refuses to start.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2181167_avoid-xp-after-hardware-change.html
The replacement CDs that Dell sent me didn't have a COA and the one on
the case didn't work. I had to beg MS for one.
The SP3 update doesn't require net access for WPA.
jsw
Snag
Actually , with the service number off the case , I found it relatively easy
to figger out which drivers I needed .
--
Snag
"90 FLHTCU "Strider"
'39 WLDD "PopCycle"
BS 132/SENS/DOF
Michael A. Terrell
You can use the tag number to find most drivers for the OEM
components on the Dell website. Like the computer I'm using, right now.
It was part of a business network that held everything on a small office
server. It was faster to wipe the hard drive and reinstall XP than
clean out all the separate passwords and links to the server.
The Dell restore disk was shipped to me by an IT guy from a
university n California a few years ago when they cleaned out a
storeroom. i downloaded all the drivers I needed to a USB stick on
another computer, installed XP, and installed the missing drivers.
Randall Replogle
> My momma called and wants a new computer. She's an octogenarian and don't
> like new fangled ways of doing the same thing. That means I should stay with
> the operating system she knows - XP.
>
> I went to Dell and they want an extra $150 to install XP on a windows 7
> machine. She just needs a basic computer for internet, email, small
> spreadsheet, and word. For myself I'd just get a used eBay. But I know momma
> wants a new one. Any suggestions?
>
> Karl
>
>
Just saw this....
http://www.dummies.com/store/product/Laptops-For-Seniors-For-Dummies.productCd-0470578300.html
RR