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(Vanity) My laptop died, need cheap OS
geronl

Posted on 09/05/2012 9:02:46 AM PDT by GeronL

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To: GeronL

Personally I’d just hold out for a new laptop rather than install Vista. I have an issue with mine where my CPU is one of 0.001% of all they ever made that does not play nice with Vista SP 1. And because of that my tech guy is iffy as to whether Windows 7 can even be installed. My daughter just bought a screaming fast Windows 7 laptop with 6 gig drive for just over three hundred bucks.


41 posted on 09/05/2012 9:34:27 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: GeronL
Ubuntu

Good. I shuddered when you said Vista. It's a dog and it's worse on older HW.

42 posted on 09/05/2012 9:35:10 AM PDT by palmer (Jim, please bill me 50 cents for this completely useless post)
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To: oh8eleven
Open Office is a MS Office clone and is free. You can't tell the difference.

LIES!

If I run MSWord for some reason my machine takes for-frickin'-ever to shut down.

If I use OOWriter I can shut down instantly, no problems.

I assume this is because MS won't let my machine shut down until Word is done tattletaling back to mama MS.

43 posted on 09/05/2012 9:36:26 AM PDT by null and void (Day 1325 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Obama, a queer and present danger)
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To: GeronL

Go to the bookstore, spend 18 bucks on a magazine with the word “UBUNTU” on it. It has a disk inside that holds the Linux based OS. I recommend it highly.


44 posted on 09/05/2012 9:36:39 AM PDT by Captainpaintball (We don't have much time left)
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To: GeronL
-- disk is fried --

I had a 3.5 inch that seemed "fried." It wouldn't spin or make any of the sounds associated with starting up. I replaced the controller card that is attached to the hard drive, and it spun right up. That drive is running fine, and has been for about six months since I replaced the card. I had another drive (exact same model) to cannibalize, otherwise the card would have been $20-$40.

From the looks of the 2.5" drive in my hand, the card is removable without entering the disk area. Eight little screws.

If your drive rattles, then the head is probably off its pivot. I've never had any success in recovery from that, although I think it is possible, in principle, at substantial cost.

45 posted on 09/05/2012 9:37:08 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: GeronL

Mark this post as a Place Holder.....

....for a hilariously clever, self deprecating, witticism regarding Tenacious1’s technological ignorance and lack of real contribution to this thread.


46 posted on 09/05/2012 9:38:56 AM PDT by Tenacious 1 (The Click-&-Paste Media exists & works in Utopia, riding unicorns & sniffing pixy dust.)
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To: GeronL

If nothing else, burn a CDROM for a LIVE version of Puppy Linux and boot it from scratch without installation. You’ll see what your old PC is actually capable of and if you still want Windows, well you’ll know what the alternative is.


47 posted on 09/05/2012 9:39:55 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: GeronL
-- 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. --

I ran a laptop with no HD at all, for a few weeks. Booted off the CD, saved work to a flash drive. A bit slow booting up and starting programs, but hey, it kept me online!

48 posted on 09/05/2012 9:40:16 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: indyman777
Contact Dell. Normally, they will send you installation discs for a nominal fee. ... If it is the first time you’ve had to ask for the discs, it is usually free, assuming you are the original owner.

Maybe I'm missing something here but why contact Dell for a Toshiba machine?

49 posted on 09/05/2012 9:40:30 AM PDT by ken in texas (I was taught to respect my elders but it keeps getting harder to find any.)
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To: dinodino

My son installed Linux for us on a netbook. Linux performs wonderfully. It is surprisingly user friendly. And, I could sit back, drink cocoa and laugh at virtually all malware and viruses being shuttled around the web.


50 posted on 09/05/2012 9:40:54 AM PDT by righttackle44 (I may not be much, but I raised a United States Marine.)
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To: GeronL
I am sorry about your lost data... as far as your operating system and MS Office you are going to have to wait a few days, but Toshiba will send you recovery discs either free or for a nominal fee. HP charged me $5 for my last set of recovery disks. Here is the link:

http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/System-Recovery-and-Recovery/Recovery-media/m-p/9148#U9148

Microsoft also provides replacement CDs to registered users, again I am not sure of the exact cost, but it is inexpensive, the last set I got from them were also $5:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302822

51 posted on 09/05/2012 9:41:28 AM PDT by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: Captainpaintball

I have a USB with Ubuntu on it now, and I can burn a disk


52 posted on 09/05/2012 9:42:30 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: bigbob

come to think of it, I already have a burned disk of Puppy Linux somewhere.


53 posted on 09/05/2012 9:45:29 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: null and void
LIES! ... I assume this is because MS won't let my machine shut down until Word is done tattletaling back to mama MS.
Put down the mouse, step away from the PC ... take a chill pill.
Yes, MS and the Dems are behind all of this ... but only on your PC. [insert Twilight Zone theme]
54 posted on 09/05/2012 9:46:30 AM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: GeronL

There is a good chance that your data is still intact; the last time my father’s laptop wouldn’t start up even in safe mode there was just a problem with a couple of start-up files that became corrupted. I had to use a Hyren’s boot CD (which is a freeware download) to get the laptop started and used one of the tools included on the disc to restore the original registry.

http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

After that the laptop would boot into safe mode and I was able to use system restore to get the computer back to normal.


55 posted on 09/05/2012 9:49:19 AM PDT by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: GeronL

As others said, don’t toss the old hard drive. You may be able to recover a lot. And seriously consider Win 8.


56 posted on 09/05/2012 9:49:43 AM PDT by jdsteel (Give me freedom, not more government.)
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To: GeronL
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.

Don't go to Best Buy!!!

They suck!

The Geek Squad are a bunch of a$$wipes and don't know $hit! In all likelyhood they won't do the work there and will send it out to Toshiba. They also overcharge up the Wazzoo!

Find yourself a local computer guy who has a hole in the wall storefront. They usually bend over backwards in terms of sales and service.

57 posted on 09/05/2012 9:51:00 AM PDT by Focault's Pendulum
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To: Slump Tester
"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!"
Some of us, do remember...and shall never forget...
(spy) Hansen should've been excuted in public.

58 posted on 09/05/2012 9:51:13 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (WA DC E$tabli$hment; DNC/RNC/Unionists...Brazilian saying: "$@me Old $hit; w/ different flie$" :^)
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To: Cboldt

my 2-year warranty ended about a year ago, almost exactly


59 posted on 09/05/2012 9:55:28 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Pursue Happiness)
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To: oh8eleven
PC? I have a Mac...

(...and I run the Nut-Job Conspiracy Ping List)

60 posted on 09/05/2012 9:59:46 AM PDT by null and void (Day 1325 of our ObamaVacation from reality - Obama, a queer and present danger)
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