Need advice on reformatting computer and installing XP O/S from our resident geeks.

Frys electronics ^ | July 30, 2004 | wildbill

[wildbill]

My 82 year old mother is buying a new computer. I found a cheap system (179.00) from a reliable retailer (Fryes) It has 1.6gherz Athlon motherboard, 128mb of ram, cd, 56modem and 40gig harddrive, yada, yada, yada--but it comes with Lindows installed. see url.

Is there any problem with reformatting and putting XP on the system? That's the question. No discussion of the evils of Microsoft, the Mac, or Lindows, or why I need another whizbang, please.

[wildbill]

I know some of you super-geeks out there can help.

[VOA]

sorry I can't help...except to bump for publicity...

[TomServo]

I'd make sure you had any HD drivers available for the HD (on floppy). You may need them. Other than that, make sure you can boot off the CD, reboot and follow the prompts...

[Mr Ramsbotham]

There shouldn't be any trouble at all, apart from the fact that your RAM is pretty weak. I'd get at least another 128 MB if I were you. Install XP from the bootable CD if you can, and re-format the drive in NTFS.

[TomServo]

And choose the option, 'Quick Format'

[Mark]

128 ram won't work from what I understand-- need minimum of 256- 512 better.

[Gorzaloon]

I run both Linux and Windows here, so have no axe to grind. If a person that age will be starting fresh, are you sure you want to remove Lindows? Yes, it might be a clunky neither fish-nor-fowl, but for email and word processing and maybe a database, why bother stripping it and installing one or the other...Unless she wants to be a Power Gamer, or intends to do heavy Photoshopping.

[TomServo]

Here. Although bumping it wouldn't hurt a bit.

[Slings and Arrows]

I'll second that sentiment - more RAM is Real Good Idea (TM) unless you have a fetish for page faults. ;-)

[mlbford2]

You'll need more than 128mram for XP. It takes 110mRam just to boot up. It needs around 512 or something near that.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

You'll have no prob. I like to clean with gateways GWSCAN program and write zeroes to the drive first.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Oh, and if you get ram, go to www.crucial.com and put in the system type and it will bring up what you need.

[mlbford2]

Also go to PNY.com and then click configurator. Help you decide what chip PC100, 110 etc.

[DB]

On any newer system you shouldn't have any problems using XP.

128 MB or RAM isn't enough for XP. It will run very poorly. And I do mean very poorly. The installation and everything that follows will go much quicker and smoother if you add another 128 MB before you start.

If this computer is going to be on the Internet, as soon as you get it online, start Windows Update and download all the service patches and security updates. The machine is vulnerable to attack until this is completed.

If you have high speed Internet access, use it to do the updates even if it is going to be using dialup access later. Otherwise it will take hours to complete.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Personally, I have had problems with PNY memory sticks (bad ram), but never crucial.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I am on a 14.4 modem. Will that work?

[jnarcus]

Your first mistake was purchasing ANYTHING from Fry's...all hope is lost abandon ship

[JerseyHighlander]

Well first, Microsoft is the devil incarnate. And Macs, only Communists and Michael Moore fans use them. Now let me tell you about this new 3-D holographic monitor I got my grandma, who's also 82.

Kidding, let me tell you this, To run XP, Internet Explorer, Norton anti-virus, and Zone Alarm, assuming your mom will be surfing the net a little, take 242 MBs of RAM, with only 2 IE windows open. That's completely stripped of all other programs except her modem program, also necessary. Without an email program open.

Going to crucial.com for memory is the easiest way to go, and priced competitively to boot.

[Not A Snowbird]

I completely reformatted my husband's gateway and reinstalled Windows XP. The only problem I had was getting the correct drivers. This may have been just a Gateway problem, but I would definitely back up your hardware drivers first on a floppy disk.

Good luck!

[Mannaggia l'America]

Where are you going to get XP? If you try to install your copy, you may run into problems with WPA (Windows Product Activation).

The Full Version of XP Home is $179 at Staples. You may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere, but let's say its $179. So now you are spending $179 for the PC and $179 for XP, totaling $358. You're nearing the price of a new Dell, without the hassles of reformatting or upgrading the RAM. Just a thought.

But as for reformatting, you shouldn't need to. Just let the PC boot from the XP CD and it will take care of it. The XP installer will not recognize the Linux partition and will let you format it from the installer (if I recall correctly).