Pete Simmons
04-19-2008, 8:14 PM
So I have a 5 or 6 year old Dell.
Needs memory but type required is expensive.
So why sink $$ into old machine.
So lets just buy a new mother board, cpu and some memory and upgrade the whole thing for maybe $350.
Glad I am doing this when the laser is not real busy. Also a good lesson on having a backup plan for the day you will need it and of course have a large laser order.
Turns out when you buy that great deal from Dell you are getting a very limited version of Windows. In my case it was double bad as I bought it just prior to XP so it came with ME then a free upgrade to XP.
Well first to load your copy of windows you need to start with Me and then load the XP upgrade - a few hours at best.
It gets worse - The Dell version of Windows is to be run on a Dell supplied Mother Board ONLY per an agreement with Microsoft.
So install your copy of windows on your new MB system and call Microsoft to activate it and guess what - NO GO.
Am I upset? Not really. I just want to have a solid good running system. Turns out I traded some marble engraving to my parts supplier for a real copy of Windows.
What have I learned? I have often wondered how Dell can sell a system with Windows cheaper than I can buy the hardware? Now I know. I bet they do not pay $20 for each crippled copy of Windows they sell.
So to all you Dell owners out there with your Windows system disks in hand ready for the day you need them - WATCH OUT! you may be surprised.
Needs memory but type required is expensive.
So why sink $$ into old machine.
So lets just buy a new mother board, cpu and some memory and upgrade the whole thing for maybe $350.
Glad I am doing this when the laser is not real busy. Also a good lesson on having a backup plan for the day you will need it and of course have a large laser order.
Turns out when you buy that great deal from Dell you are getting a very limited version of Windows. In my case it was double bad as I bought it just prior to XP so it came with ME then a free upgrade to XP.
Well first to load your copy of windows you need to start with Me and then load the XP upgrade - a few hours at best.
It gets worse - The Dell version of Windows is to be run on a Dell supplied Mother Board ONLY per an agreement with Microsoft.
So install your copy of windows on your new MB system and call Microsoft to activate it and guess what - NO GO.
Am I upset? Not really. I just want to have a solid good running system. Turns out I traded some marble engraving to my parts supplier for a real copy of Windows.
What have I learned? I have often wondered how Dell can sell a system with Windows cheaper than I can buy the hardware? Now I know. I bet they do not pay $20 for each crippled copy of Windows they sell.
So to all you Dell owners out there with your Windows system disks in hand ready for the day you need them - WATCH OUT! you may be surprised.