getting a new computer, 10 days to choose

mobility

mobility

New Member
Hey every one, :) newbie here, 2nd post ever today, so any way im thinking of getting a Advent 4401 @ PC World (Yes I'm a UK guy) any way but my problem is that the advent 4401 has windows vista home premium and i want a windows xp home or pro pc, i want a small laptop for home only. Nothing too good or businesses but again nothing too rubbish and cheap looking with nothing good on it. I want a cd drive, if i did not then i would buy a web book. So its perfect but i wanted XP! :mad: I mean no offence but WINDOWS VISTA IS
icon_puke.gif
any way so thats my point, yes people are saying "Jest install XP on your laptop then, but that make me worry these:

1. I may need to install drivers and that will be hard since Advent don't have a website because PC World created Advent.

2. My screen may get streached and look weird on my computer screen and look hudge.

3. I will have this irritating logo that should say XP on the right-hand side of my laptop:
vista_logo.jpg


So thats my problem(s) can any one PLEASE find me a laptop from PC WORLD only: www.pcworld.co.uk or help me make the advent 4401 w/ windows xp :) i appreciate how you are helping me

THANK YOU ALL,
mobility (Ketan)
 
My suggestion: Buy the laptop with Vista on it and give it a try. If you decide you really don't like vista, a clean xp install is all you will need. Drivers are easy to find on the interwebz and screen size can be changed to pretty much any size you like in the display settings.
 
Don't be a vista hater: www.windowsmojave.com
If you haven't tried it yet, why listen to idiots saying that it is bad?
The first release was bad, but SP1 fixes most of these 'bads'. You can always put xp's theme using 3rd party applications (ex: windows blinds) if you want :D

And if you get vista without SP1, it's free to download from microsoft.com

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But if you really want xp, than you may want to look to an older laptop with lower system specs so you can find drivers for xp.
 
I have Windows Vista right now brought it when vista first came out, did all my updates straight away when they are avalible and i have so many bugs with it, my sister brought a Windows Vista Computer hers is a Dell, She jest got it 2 days ago and she already hates it! And so do i because

1. I tried to install Windows IE 8 Beta and it did not work at all jest freezes
2. Most so called "Vista Working Products" say it works on Vista but when you install it it said It douse not work on vista and most of them install smoothley but when i click the icon it frezzes or don't even open.

Thanks,
Ketan.
 
can't be bothered to download silverlight

chibicitiberiu said:
Don't be a vista hater: www.windowsmojave.com
If you haven't tried it yet, why listen to idiots saying that it is bad?
The first release was bad, but SP1 fixes most of these 'bads'. You can always put xp's theme using 3rd party applications (ex: windows blinds) if you want :D

And if you get vista without SP1, it's free to download from microsoft.com

-----------

But if you really want xp, than you may want to look to an older laptop with lower system specs so you can find drivers for xp.
Click to expand...

Cant be bothderd to download silverlight ;) bit lasy sometimes.. but like i said i hate vista and 10 days to choose.. ...im going to pc world tommorow to see the lappy in real life so wont be on the forum tommorow or may be i will :rolleyes: well see :P
 
For a start, IE 8 Beta crashing is probably an error in that program only, hence the BETA (testing release).

Secondly, living in the UK, I also know how hard it is to find decent laptops to buy. If PC World is your only option, I would like to advise that you cannot return the laptop to the manufacturer for warranty repair. It has to be done through the Tech Guys @ PC World. Crap service.

Third. Having only ever owned one Advent laptop, I am not really a good reviewer (seeing as mine was DOA and I didn't want a replacement). However, from a friends experience, he had to return his after his hard drive was damaged (corrupted when he got it, Windows crashing, file copies hanging).

If you don't mind buying from the internet, you can try laptopsdirect.co.uk, as they have a large selection at bargain prices.

It looks like thats the only one @ 12" with a fairly decent processor, so if thats what you want, then go for it. Just remember to read some reviews about the product on the internet first. Not just one or two, but as many as you can find. You don't want something that's gonna turn out like crap when you get it.

You can also speak to the Tech Guys @ PC World regarding an XP downgrade. They may be able to do this, but it'll obviously cost. Just note that Vista has become a lot more stable since its release, and you don't need Silverlight to download SP1 (pure laziness, but I hate it because it records what you download!) Hope you can find something right for you, anyway.

PS - From personal experience, the words "Vista" and "Beta" rarely appear in the same sentence together, as they never work together, no matter how hard you try. Unless the software is ready, Vista won't run it (and if its for Vista, XP won't run it either).

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EDIT: You posted while I wrote this. The laptop there will probably be easier to downgrade to XP, but bear in mind that the processor is only about half the power, the hard drive is twice as small, and the screen is 3.4" larger than the other laptop you suggested.

It needs to be a decision between performance (depending on what you want to use the laptop for), and loathing of Vista. I got screwed by buying a processor of 1/3 the power, and a hard drive 3 times smaller, just because it had XP pro and not Vista. Since SP1 came out, Vista is much more stable. Just try it, you don't need Silverlight.

Try it on the Dell too, because they don't have any preinstalled manufacturer crap that most PC's have (especially Acer).

Sorry for the extremely long post, but I think that addresses everything now. Hope this helps in your decision. Definitely check out www.laptopsdirect.co.uk. They are awesome for buying laptops in the UK.
 
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Compaq C765EM and XP

I have Vista right now, when i said i cant be bothered to download silverlight its because when i want to mojave.com or what ever it said you must download silverlight to have a better experiance on that web page, but that don't really matter, I ONLY buy laptops in store, never online :) you know i jest want to keep my money safe no matter how reliable the web site is.

Any way Advents are made by PC World so ditching that. The Compaq are very high-qulity due to the fact HP Made! HP have High-Quality laptops and Compaq is ment to be a low range of HP laptops still with a good processor. I'm really keen on XP so i'm gonna pick XP and plus you get more of a varity of Themes for XP and i LOVE! :rolleyes: XP! so any way I'm jest thinking now Compaq i have a worry when i put a nice fresh copy of XP on it the web cam may not work and drivers and that all i worry but thats all i think comes with Compaq's any way. Wallpapers no-body cares about, I know it's not gonna be like Toshiba with million's of Toshiba programs to make it work, Like the stupid toshiba flash cards! and nearly 3 wallpapers and over 20 drivers!

:P,
Ketan

P.S. Going to PC World today any way to see the lappys when i come back i may tell you what i saw and if you reccomend it. :D
 
Whatever you want to do, it's your choice. Hope you find something that works for you.

PS - Glad you did not pick Advent.
 
There may be some kind of limitation in further Windows service packs. Seeing as I don't run any XP machines below SP3 any more, I can't check. You could try it, but seeing as I have not used it, I cannot guarantee that it would run, or that Windows would keep working afterwards.

If you really wanted something like that, you could use software to create your own boot screen/logon screens for Windows. You could download Window Blinds from www.wincustomize.com. They also do Logon Studio (www.stardock.com).
 
Hey every one earlier on at about 6:00pm i came back from PC World, on display they had absolutely no laptops! All the had was a few £500-£999 laptops, web-books and Apple computers. I asked a PC World staff, he said "we do have much much more laptops, but there not in display, if you want to see then please follow me" then he took me to where all the display laptops are dumped. Yes they are dumped in piles! :P any way so i asked him "can i see the advent 4401" he said "sorry we don't have a display model of that, do you have any other computers you like" i asked about the Compaq which i writ down on paper because the model name is quite hard to remember :). We only have 1 or 2 compaq display models, none of them are the compaq" and said the model name. I asked "can i still buy 'em" he said yes. And then he said, sorry only buy Collect@Store online so you have to buy on the internet then collect it @ store" And i don't really mind seeing that i will be collecting it in store. So i could not see the laptop it self, and I'm not allowed to open one new fresh one in-box. So when i look at the web-books they were so tiny! so nice and small, jest, NO CD DRIVE! and i need that. and as you know i don't want a external one. My dad said, sorry if there no CD drive you cant buy it. he said because of Program CD's like printers and stuff, and he dont know that you can download it illegal but if i enter that Programs serial number that came with the box, that would be legal, as far as i know :D when i said that he said "still no, has to have a cd drive!"

And at the same time, my dad don't agree with product recoveries to older operating systems. for some reason he says no! and yes he douse notice when i do it. even if i put a vista skin that looks exactly like vista, start up screen and every thing.

Please every one i need help! :(

How can i get a laptop from pc world, with xp and a cd drive!

Im gonna go look at the referb. section on pcworld.co.uk

May be they have xp computers there, there bound to have at least one :(

thanks for the help :),
ketan.
 
I don't think we're allowed to talk about illegal software on here, but here goes.

Now technically, if you buy a product, but can't install it due to not having the right hardware - you should be able to download the program from the internet, and use the serial key that you purchased. You did actually pay the company their money, right? In practice, it doesn't actually work like this.

Many software companies will frown upon you downloading their software, even if you did purchase activation keys and media for the original product. I'm not sure how it stands in a court of law, but I do think that even if you own the product you are downloading, that it is still illegal.

However, if your installation media is corrupted, and the manufacturer provides a trial version of the same program (same version number and everything) on their website, you can download and install the trial and then activate it using the serial key that you purchased with the original software.

Anyway, if you're going to get the Aspire One, you don't need a CD drive. It has Linux. Everything you'll ever need to install on Linux (at the moment, anyway), is provided as a download from various websites. These downloads are generally open source (free), especially things such as printer drivers.

Hope this helps out :)
 
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