Posted on 09/05/2012 9:02:46 AM PDT by GeronL
My Toshiba Satellite L305 has crapped out. It did not come with the reinstallation disk. I can get a new hard drive but I need an O/S. It is too old to run Windows 7, which I can't really afford.
Does anyone know where I can buy a Windows Vista Home Premium (or sumtin') disk or product key for a good price?
But it’s not “cheap”.
even if its just a stopgap measure I will have best Buy install a new harddrive and I will put Ubuntu on it. At least I will be able to get online and stuff.
Look for an Inspiron 9400. It's their 17" multi-media package and usually sells for $200 or less. I've bought about 5 or 6 of them for friends. I always manage to find the 1920x1200 ones, but even the lower res 1440x900 ones are great.
The older Inspiron 9300 is a nice 17"er too, but it has an IDE HD instead of the newer SATA.
BTW - I guess you are too young to remember when Toshiba screwed us, broke the law, and sold our silent submarine propulsion technology to the commies. F*ck Toshiba! Never buy their products!
I doubt I have the budget for even a USB drive enclosure
lol
A lot of the time when a disk fails you can attach as a 2Nd drive a recover the data. All you need is something like this.
http://www.frys.com/product/5466019?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
KINGWIN USB2.0 TO SERIAL ATA & PARALLEL ATA ADAPTER CABLE KIT - USI-2535
Mfr: Kingwin Model: USI-2535
FRYS.com #5466019 UPC: 859813001441
USB 2.0 to SATA & IDE adapter w/ back up button.
Connect to three different sizes of drive mechanism to USB. (2.5”, 3.5”, and 5.25”).
Support both SATA & IDE types of drives.
Dual output power supply with power on/off button, standard 4 pin power output and new SATA power output.
AC power cable.
SATA II & USB 2.0 compatible.
$14.99
I use Win2k, fully patched with the official updates as well as the unofficial ones on MSFN’s 2k forum. Those give me some XP app compatibility.
See if you can borrow one. I've recovered all sorts of thousands of files for others after their O/S crapped out.
sadly my niece just got a $1200 Sony Vaio with 8 GB RAM
Also - you don’t want vista on that turd. Find XP if you can, but then you’ll have lots of fun trying to find drivers - not an easy thing to do with Toshiba.
Putting Ubuntu ISO onto the USB card now
lol
“need cheap OS
Ubuntu (Linux) - free is better than cheap.”
This.
I’ve put it on a few friend’s compters who were in the OP’s position. I prefer Windows but if you don’t have the disks to reinsall it sure beats buying a new copy. It also depends on what you do with it. The people I gave Ubuntu to just used there’s to surf the Internet and do web based email.
Try the free beta release of Windows 8...seriously! http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download. I did this with a pretty old PC that had been running XP. Once you get the hang of the new interface it is very fast and dependable. Everything worked great for me. Call MS support and tell them about your office 2007 situation. They should be able to help you download the program and get you your product key based on your registration info.
Contact Dell. Normally, they will send you installation discs for a nominal fee. I’ve done it before. If it is the first time you’ve had to ask for the discs, it is usually free, assuming you are the original owner.
This might be a good opportunity to give ReactOS a try...
wait.. Geek Squad probably took the HD out already... argh, at least they’ll give me the old HD, right? Someday....
All the info they need is all saved on the hard drive. lol
The cheapest thing I’ve always found was an OEM copy of the OS from NEWEGG. Still find XP sufficient.
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