Way to start a Sunday morning...

[lagilman]

with your laptop going dead mid-post.

Um....

*sighs, gets out brain-transfer device to move files to desktop for storage*


*pets EEE for being new and brave and going with me when I travel*


If anyone wants me, I'll be burning backup cds....

EtA: this laptop was 2 years old and I didn't pay top dollar for it, so this is more along the lines of 'damned inconvenient timing, you SOB' than OMGTFHALP! Still, frustrating and annoying and all those other techie muttering things. Especially since we can't seem to figure out WHY it died (not overheating, not a power cord problem, etc). Damnit, do not want new computer. Do. Not. Want. Vista.

Comments

[redwolfexr.livejournal.com]

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You have three ways to still get XP on a machine even if you can't order it depending on how strictly you want to determine license.

If you buy a new Dell machine you can transfer the license from your old dead machine to the new one. MS argues you cannot, but its widely contested and they have not been willing to test it in court. As long as the old version is fully dead its not a duplication. (Dell OEM software will not install on a non-Dell machine)

Second, you can buy an OEM version from multiple vendors for $80 or so. Technically you are not the OEM unless you build it yourself, which means you get no tech support from MS. (thats all the OEM license really means, though MS usually requires their vendors to sell it as a package with hardware. What hardware? Any.)

Lastly, you can buy a retail upgrade which includes MS support. The License requires there to be a version of Windows on the machine to replace. (it allows you to dual boot XP/Vista as well) Those are around $90. I recommend a dual boot though, even if you never use the Vista side. (if your XP ever has to be reloaded on a blank drive you would have to load Vista first)

I ended up migrating to the Vista side eventually, but I still can boot to XP if I need to. I build my own desktops, and buy Dells for laptops -- so I use OEMs mostly. (OEM can be loaded from scratch or can dual-boot, but cannot be used to Upgrade. MS locked out the transfer ability on some of their OEM packages.)

Of course a fourth option would be to buy full retail, at $180. That lets you upgrade, transfer settings, blank install and gets full MS support.

(more neepery than you wanted, I am sure...)

One last note, you can buy a drive enclosure for $20 or so that will hold the old drive from your old laptop and connect via any PCs USB port. I use one for backing up my laptop to one of my desktop drives. Its much faster than a networked connection.