Laptop crash

[Boomer]

Our laptop with XP pro crashed today. All we can find is Vista. Are we in for alot of headaches? Is anyone running vista with Flexi 7.6? How is it with Versaworks/Versacamm? How about Camm1 plotters?Thanks for any info.

 

[Shovelhead]

You can get an XP machine from DELL.

 

[Boomer]

Not a fan of Dell but...May not have alot of choices. We have the disc for our XP pro I am wondering if when we get another laptop we can dump Vista from it and install XP pro.

 

[Shovelhead]

Just wipe it clean.

 

[cgsigns_jamie]

If you wanted to buy another copy of XP you can still get from CDW.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=676321

 

[GK]

A lot of manufacturers are in a transitional phase with the operating systems. I know for a fact Dell is currently offering XP & Vista on their machines with one license key. If you get the system from them setup with XP you can use the Vista upgrade at a later date if you like and use the same key. They call it "Genuine Windows Vista Business Bonus-Windows XP Professional downgrade" It basically gives Dell the right to install XP on a machine still as long as they still make the sale of Vista.

 

[Techman]

Just wipe it clean.

First make sure you have a restore set of cd's You know, the restore cd's that came with yoru lappy. or the ones you are supposed to make..

Then make sure you have all the dirvers for your hardware.
Then and only then can you safely wipe it all and install XP..

I do this XP restore every now and then. I do it for profit because it is not a fast deal the first time. But once done you get all the cd's you need to do it again all you want.
Use everst to get a list of your hardware. Then do a back search for your drivers. Often the Vista drivers are actually a XP driver renamed.

 

[zgraphics]

I Buy A Laptop That Ran Vista, And Hated It. So I Downgraded To Xp And Works Great.

 

[Boomer]

We are going to try the reformat path. We have the cd's from our original XP.pro. I have used a pc with Vista neat bells and whistles. But I don't want to take a chance with it on a weekend in the middle of a job. I know Xp works and want to stay with it.

 

[ahollow]

Rather than reformat, why not buy a new dirve and use that? The reason is that then the old drive, if it's not completely hosed, can be connected using a USB adapter, and you'll be able to get your files off of it. You will still need to do a complete reinstall on the new drive, but at least the old drive files, driver, etc are still available. A wipe and they are gone forever.

Just did this on a desktop unit that refused to boot. I still amanged to salvage all the files off the drive.

 

[Boomer]

The mother board fried estimate to replace was $600.00.We have hard drive connected to retrieve files,got lucky on that part. Working on a new Dell custom built, bare bones OS since we have XP pro CD we can install.