Windows XP

When you say 'only on Dells' does the CD recognize the different brand of computer or is it just printed on the CD or jacket?

Typically XP can be re-registered every six months, and thus re-used on home computers.

It's just printed on the CD

Regards.

This seems to be a fake copy as MS embeds their license LABLE on the Guidebook they provide & OEMs paste a Sticker on book or below the laptops/Notebooks

Give it a try then, nothing to loose, and when it asks: do you want to register this copy, say yes and follow the on screen instructions to activate the OS.

It should be ok i guess, maybe some Drivers are missing on the CD that XP uses so you have to download those

Visit www.hp.com there'll be a lot to be downloaded for your HP laptop. Isn't it a Compaq?

Its a Packard Bell Easynote R4622

Oh sorry, it's rare bird in my countryside. But it changes nothing in principe. Install your XP with ugly VGA mode. Then you must have downloaded drivers for ACPI, USB, SounCard, BIOS, videocard, modem, whatever.

Yes, new toy, new problems. I downloaded all the drivers for the laptop, and updated to SP2, hasn't prompted me for 3 yet. BTW, thanks for the trust, and if you mean a key, yes it did have one, which worked perfectly Thanks for the extensive answer...

Hello Bondy,

how u doing?.................There is a whole lot of stuff on that site. Doesn't really mean much unless you have a packard bell on your lap though? I am glad it helped. There is so many sites around, it is just pot luck that I found the right one!

Tace care OK...................

Hello caramba,

As to the date, I am guessing but I think it was about 18 months ago Compaq was taken over bu HP.

I know what you're talking about on the battery front, I must have the best ever battery, it lasts about 9 minutes from full charge, but a new battery isn't as expensive as others i've seen, mine is only £27

There are several versions of XP (Pro vs. Home, OEM vs. Retail, and Upgrade vs. Full Version). In your case, the version on your cd should be XP Home, OEM, Full Version. The key on the MS sticker on the bottom of your laptop should be for the same version - meaning that it should work fine. The activation keys are not manufacturer specific.

You may, however, run into an issue if either the key or CD is for SP2 and the other is not...

Either way, it should take less than an hour to try it! As mentioned above, you will then have to find the drivers for your specific model.

Thanks everyone, the cd worked great, and the key on the bottom worked a treat. I followed a link someone sent me, and downloaded the drivers

Hello Bondy,

If I understand you correctly, you have at least one 'spare computer which you use to talk to us. So install whatever is in the PB CD and use the good computer to download and drivers to your external USB ssd. Then tranfer it to your PB machine?

Tell us how you get on please?

Yes, I have 3 pcs which I could talk to you with, but this one is the best all rounder because the one which is wired with ethernet is slow, this one has fast wireless, and is fast enough, and the other one's wireless is hopeless. I did that, and installed the wireless driver to the PB, so I could go online with that and download the rest of the drivers. Thanks for everyone's help

Hello Bondy,

I built myself some while ago now. I want to get another but am torn between a PC and a MAC. I am so pis-ed off with the in ya face Microsoft. Not to mention being obliterated by spam and virus, Trojans etc. I spend half my time just coaxing it along to try and keep it working. I may just get myself a cheap laptop until I make up my mind. If I have another PC I can get some planned for external ssd Solid State Disks to transfer the stuff I want to keep onto and not have to worry about not getting on-line. Need to go back to basics really. But can't really when I have only one PC. Need something to use as a kind of switch table to move my stuff from the ssd to the new computer and then off load onto a separate disk. Perhaps on of the two in the desktop PC?

I came into wireless just a year to soon. Another year and there was virtually no set up'ing to do. It was all more or less auto'.So I kind of blundered my way through and having to do it all myself including every little digit of the wireless set up. I kind of lost heart when things started to go wrong. Three times I thought the router/modem was broken as I could not get on-line. That is how little I knew of radio. Each time I would think , YES!! I have cracked it, the modem part would appear to stop working. I now know I only had to reboot the modem and it would have been tickady boo! I had no problems with the set up of the radio side, including the keys and MAC's etc. I has a mental picture what should go where and the problem was I took so long in set up each time by the time it was set up the bloody modem was not working! It's got so I do not trust myself to set a wireless system up now. Not too sure if I have forgotten something and I am broadcasting to the world, you know.

And what you say about wireless systems being different. The first I had was 54Mbps. The second was similar but seemed to work faster. The last one was the same speed as this I have now. I think if I could set it up on a new clean machine with no other preset wireless con-fig' of any kind I could do it. But Those problems and other personal problems knocked my confidence for six. And I am just finding my feet now.

Least ways, if I have a spare, I can try things out which I couldn't with just one.

Hey, I must be burning your ears! Sorry.

Take care my friend............

The laptop I just got was only £20, all working except the battery is as good as dead and the wifi range isn't brilliant (20 metres max), but hey, if you know the right people, and especially those who either upgrade, or have no sense of money, you can make yourself a fine deal, look around. What anti virus do you use, I use AVG free and malwarebytes antibytes, and they seem to sort everything out. PS. Some wireless routers can deal with more than 54mbps, but to take advantage of this, you need to make sure you're wireless card is up to the job, because most on the market for about £10 are only 54mbps, but to be honest, it's enough. Take care

Hello Bondy,

will have to stop meeting like this, people will talk!

I am not in a circle of friends with computers. It seems I am the only anorak round here. No one understands when I start talking about the simplest ref' to computing, or software, whatever. You see the glaze come over the eyes! I know I am on a looser from then on. Do you know, I liken it to cars. I could not get enough of engines when I was in my teens and twenties. It is the same with computers. I just want to look under the bonnet to see how things works! I do not know of another copunutter like me round these here parts. The boys and young men I know with a computer do not do computing of any kind. They use it for games. But as they are, after a while you are just chasing 'scores'! 'I got one more than you now'. That sort of thing and boy is it boring. It is not computing in any sense of the word.

I wanted to move to AVG a month ago but I could not get any updates. I still have the same problem with the less than perfect spyware doctor + anti virus. But I had to put something on and I already had a disk of it. AVG is the one I would choose. Not hear of the other one you mention.

I used to have Kaspersky, and Lavasoft. But I used Kaspersky for three years and for the last two months I used it I had none of the several Trojans and virus' stopped from getting on my machine. It may have been one virus which stopped the kaspersky from working right?

As you go through the anti virus of various kinds, they can only be 'top-dog' for maybe three years before some smart arse sends a Trojan version it knows nothing about and it is down hill from there?

I tried to run Kaspersky, lavasoft, and spybot, plus Regcure. But I had serious compatibility probs with the spybot. It did not like lavasoft and visa versa.

I am not sure if I will have a reg cleaner on the new one, because I think it my have been my lack of knowledge when I first got it which could have screw up and possibly trashed some of the important reg files. I do not now, but when I first got a reg cleaner it seemed just too complicated to sort out the paths and what is right and or wrong with this etc ............so I just clicked clean all. Wrong perhaps but I was trying to do my best.

AVG has anti spyware doesn't it? Next time I will buy the antivirus as I did originally or download a free version and see if I can get a CD as well. Only started doing that about 18 months ago.

When I started I had a rough idea what I was doing. Now I know enough to plan better than that. So I will keep a hard copy of all apps on my machine and keep a list of any problems I have had with it/them. I know I have too much on my machine in terms of apps and updates. But, after a really nasty Trojan hit almost three years ago I started downloading anything, not always knowing what it did just to see if it would help with similar graphics problems I am having now actually. It did not help. And after a nasty virus 4/6 months ago I can not un-install hardly anything. There is a kernel corrupted and it could be that which is the problem.

As well as that, I will be the only one to use my next computer and the upgraded one I have now. I let a friend's son borrow it half a dozen times, and he goes to sh-t sites and alters all my controls, I will put a password on and leave it on. I noticed all my problems stemmed from the first time I allowed him onto it. The problem was, if anything went wrong, instead of telling me he would try and put it right when as with all his other mates they use a computer for games. No respect you know? Just click on here, don't matter is it screws up it aint mine?

I am going to make a drink soon. Sorry this is so long.

Take care.............

Don't worry, something to do on a long tuesday night. AVG free edition is really a great program, and it updates every day. If it comes up saying that there's an error, just go onto AVG program files, and delete the CTC or CFT files, cant remember which, and all is fine again. Malwarebytes is a really good program, that just does an extra thorough clean of your system, or it can do one in about half an hour. Yes,AVG does have anti spyware in it. Kids hey. Hope you have a nice drink, and have a good evening.

Hello Bondy,

Still haven't made my coffee yet.

I may well try them and I can check them out on their sites? I actually downloaded AVG four times. But I could not get it to finish installing as it could not reach its site to update. I have an Archive of CR4 stuff which can stay on my destop I have at the moment.

As I was just saying to caramba, I rather like the Asus EEE 901. Supposed to be really well build and yet light. I get a couple of computer mags so will sit down with them and trawl through and check the specs etc.

I am going to make that drink now!

Tace mate............

BTW what are you doing with that animal in your Avatar? Is it a pig with its ears pushed forward or, a rabbit?

I think that it's a panda with its hands over its eyes, Its from the internet somewhere. Take care...

Regards

I think the discussion deserves *****