Ok, so this is going to be a long post, but please read it. I REALLY need help and appreciate it 
So Im having a hell of a time finding a laptop for dental school, which starts at the end of this month.
The problem im having is that it MUST have to have XP Pro on it, not Vista. this is a requirement, not a preference. The only laptops i can find with XP on them are Business class laptops from Dell, HP, Toshiba Ect, but they cost almost twice as much as a consumer laptop and only have half the specs i want/need.
For example, here is an HP consumer with everything i want, except no XP and its only $822: the HP HDX 16T with:
HP HDX16t Premium Series customizable Notebook PC
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
FREE Upgrade to 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p) Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
No TV Tuner w/remote control
HP Color Matching Keyboard
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
No Productivity Software
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: September 17, 2009
Free standard shipping on this item
Price: $1,164.99
Discount: -$93.20
EPP Price: $1,071.79
Notebook instant rebate: –$250.00
Price after rebate: 821.79
*Please notice the lite-scribe blu-ray, 1080p, 320gb 7200rpm Hard drive, 4 gb of Ram, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
So this is a consumer laptop, and no matter how much I fight with HP or dell they will not put XP on this system for me. i have done some research online and found that it is difficult, but possible to put XP Pro myself on this system. again, not easily, but maybe possible.
These companies will only offer me XP if i go with a business class laptop which usually only has 2gb of ram, pay extra for the graphics card, no blu ray, and def no high def; then they want like $1300-1500 for it...where as the laptop i configured above is $820
So i would like everything mentioned above with XP, but my bare minimum requirements are:
XP Pro
2.0 GHZ processor
NVIDIA or ATI graphics card of 256mb or more
13+ inch screen with res of 1280 x 800 or more
dvd
usb 2.0
few other basics
sorry this is such a long post, but i am trying to be as thorough as possible when explaining my situation. basically, i dont want to pay $600 more for a businss class laptop with half the features. Please help!!!!
P.S. I have done some more research on putting XP on the HP HDX series it seems very difficult, but possible. I think if i try it, i would like to do it as a duel boot. here is one of the guides i have found to put this on the HDX 18t, but should be the same for the HDX 16t.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=378373
so what do you guys think. should i go for it, or do you have any other suggustions? thanks so much
So Im having a hell of a time finding a laptop for dental school, which starts at the end of this month.
The problem im having is that it MUST have to have XP Pro on it, not Vista. this is a requirement, not a preference. The only laptops i can find with XP on them are Business class laptops from Dell, HP, Toshiba Ect, but they cost almost twice as much as a consumer laptop and only have half the specs i want/need.
For example, here is an HP consumer with everything i want, except no XP and its only $822: the HP HDX 16T with:
HP HDX16t Premium Series customizable Notebook PC
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
FREE Upgrade to 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p) Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
No TV Tuner w/remote control
HP Color Matching Keyboard
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
No Productivity Software
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: September 17, 2009
Free standard shipping on this item
Price: $1,164.99
Discount: -$93.20
EPP Price: $1,071.79
Notebook instant rebate: –$250.00
Price after rebate: 821.79
*Please notice the lite-scribe blu-ray, 1080p, 320gb 7200rpm Hard drive, 4 gb of Ram, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
So this is a consumer laptop, and no matter how much I fight with HP or dell they will not put XP on this system for me. i have done some research online and found that it is difficult, but possible to put XP Pro myself on this system. again, not easily, but maybe possible.
These companies will only offer me XP if i go with a business class laptop which usually only has 2gb of ram, pay extra for the graphics card, no blu ray, and def no high def; then they want like $1300-1500 for it...where as the laptop i configured above is $820
So i would like everything mentioned above with XP, but my bare minimum requirements are:
XP Pro
2.0 GHZ processor
NVIDIA or ATI graphics card of 256mb or more
13+ inch screen with res of 1280 x 800 or more
dvd
usb 2.0
few other basics
sorry this is such a long post, but i am trying to be as thorough as possible when explaining my situation. basically, i dont want to pay $600 more for a businss class laptop with half the features. Please help!!!!
P.S. I have done some more research on putting XP on the HP HDX series it seems very difficult, but possible. I think if i try it, i would like to do it as a duel boot. here is one of the guides i have found to put this on the HDX 18t, but should be the same for the HDX 16t.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=378373
so what do you guys think. should i go for it, or do you have any other suggustions? thanks so much
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