dell latitude cxi

The idea of reinstalling Windows on a laptop like this would probably not be a good idea, because (stating generally), if the HDD is not big enough to support the operating system decently, may I ask what kind of state the RAM is in? If you need to upgrade the RAM, the older the machine, the higher the price climbs, and if it's too old, you won't even be able to buy new RAM. May I state on the behalf of Windows, that XP requires 128mb RAM to run. This is a lie. XP REQUIRES 256mb RAM, otherwise you can boot, and view a desktop, but then you're out of RAM. Would you mind posting up the full specs of your machine, because sometimes Dell's are customized before purchase, so it may not be at factory specs.
 
azwebs said:
The idea of reinstalling Windows on a laptop like this would probably not be a good idea, because (stating generally), if the HDD is not big enough to support the operating system decently, may I ask what kind of state the RAM is in? If you need to upgrade the RAM, the older the machine, the higher the price climbs, and if it's too old, you won't even be able to buy new RAM. May I state on the behalf of Windows, that XP requires 128mb RAM to run. This is a lie. XP REQUIRES 256mb RAM, otherwise you can boot, and view a desktop, but then you're out of RAM. Would you mind posting up the full specs of your machine, because sometimes Dell's are customized before purchase, so it may not be at factory specs.
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I was able to run Windows XP with no issue on an older Dell Dimension 2100 with only 128MB of RAM.
 
I have tried to start and restart the laptop with the windows XP install disc. It would not install.

I tried taking the hard drive out and put it in an enclosure to reformat. It wouldn't access it.

What else can I try besides buy a new hard drive?
 
Any specific type of hard drive I should look for? What do I need to know when shopping for one? Where is the best place to pick one up at low cost?
 
IDE and ATA are pretty much the same thing. There is an adapter on the end of the hard drive that turns it into an IDE drive.
 
Just trust me. That hard drive will work once you put the adapter off the old hard drive onto the new one.
 
Just FYI. I was on the Dell fourm asking the same question. How to reformat this drive and someone gave me this link: http://www.windowsxpprofessional.windowsreinstall.com/installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm

It is for XP Professional but it didn't matter because everything was the same for XP Home edition. Worked great and very easy.

As it turns out, I wasn't booting from the cd drive first. Once I changed it I was able to format and reload.

Thanks for all your help. It has been a learning experience.
 
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