Comments on: How to get the most from your new laptop http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/ Blogging in the real world Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:03:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: About Eight http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-79915 About Eight Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:40:40 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-79915 <strong>About Eight...</strong> An interesting post by a bloger made me ...... About Eight…

An interesting post by a bloger made me ……

]]> By: Jack http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-27417 Jack Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:12:46 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-27417 <strong>portable apps music player...</strong> (Blogger now has backlinks - very similar to the trackback feature in Movable Type..A Trackback is one of three types of Linkbacks,... portable apps music player…

(Blogger now has backlinks – very similar to the trackback feature in Movable Type..A Trackback is one of three types of Linkbacks,…

]]> By: Phil http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-23240 Phil Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:03:34 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-23240 Hi Steve A good warning. All laptops though with a Vista licence will come with restore discs or will have the option to create restore media to allow resetting the laptop back to factory defaults with the original OEM install of Vista. I'm assuming those that follow this tip will have this media to hand, and will have taken backups of any user data. Vista OEM on laptops should work fine with the tool provided to take a backup of the OEM license key. Vista install media is new enough to contain the necessary drivers for current hardware to allow it to install, although some hunting on the manufacturers website will be required for updated drivers as the info on the link mentions. I think your XP compatible laptops are just suffering from old XP install media that doesn't contain the drivers to allow it to boot into text mode. Getting the necessary drivers and using NLite to slip stream them in should resolve that problem. This is a particular issue at the moment with SATA equiped PCs and trying to install XP. You either need to switch the SATA interface to compatible mode (via the BIOS) or use NLite to slip stream in the SATA drivers from Intel (Intel Matrix Storage) to allow it to boot up into Text mode to then go onto installing Windows XP proper. Hi Steve

A good warning.

All laptops though with a Vista licence will come with restore discs or will have the option to create restore media to allow resetting the laptop back to factory defaults with the original OEM install of Vista. I’m assuming those that follow this tip will have this media to hand, and will have taken backups of any user data.

Vista OEM on laptops should work fine with the tool provided to take a backup of the OEM license key. Vista install media is new enough to contain the necessary drivers for current hardware to allow it to install, although some hunting on the manufacturers website will be required for updated drivers as the info on the link mentions.

I think your XP compatible laptops are just suffering from old XP install media that doesn’t contain the drivers to allow it to boot into text mode. Getting the necessary drivers and using NLite to slip stream them in should resolve that problem. This is a particular issue at the moment with SATA equiped PCs and trying to install XP. You either need to switch the SATA interface to compatible mode (via the BIOS) or use NLite to slip stream in the SATA drivers from Intel (Intel Matrix Storage) to allow it to boot up into Text mode to then go onto installing Windows XP proper.

]]> By: Steve Cassidy http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-23017 Steve Cassidy Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:05:05 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-23017 Please be VERY careful with this suggestion: there are Vista licences that won't allow you to re-use them in this way; and you will only find out when it's too late. Not something you can try easily, unless you have spare hard drives or a copy of Acronis or Paragon's partition backup... I'm now coming across an era of PCs which are marked as XP compatible, but in fact are only buildable with their own original restore media. An HP DX2250 has an Athlon CPU and AMD/ATi chips throughout: the original retail CD of XP won't load on it. Please be VERY careful with this suggestion: there are Vista licences that won’t allow you to re-use them in this way; and you will only find out when it’s too late. Not something you can try easily, unless you have spare hard drives or a copy of Acronis or Paragon’s partition backup…

I’m now coming across an era of PCs which are marked as XP compatible, but in fact are only buildable with their own original restore media. An HP DX2250 has an Athlon CPU and AMD/ATi chips throughout: the original retail CD of XP won’t load on it.

]]> By: Phil http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-22811 Phil Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:18:08 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-22811 Hi Having had a nice new laptop (Toshiba Satellite Pro) for Christmas I was disgusted with the amount of cr@pward pre-installed. There were Google Toolbars and the desktop littered with links to Amazon, Ebay and others. The system tray had dozens of icons showing a myriad of "value added" programs that resulted in the laptop grinding and groaning on each boot up. Soon sorted using this method http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144783 and a copy of the Windows Visa install disc. You can get hold of clean install media from Microsoft for a handling charge :( or alternatively download it via a torrent, you can get the original Vista SP1 media images using information posted at http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/03/03/download-windows-vista-with-service-pack-1-sp1-integrated-slipstream-x86-english-dvd-image-official-msdn-version-with-torrent/ . Note this is not a cracked illegal version, just a copy of the original Vista setup media to install a clean version of Windows Vista back on to your laptop that you do own a valid license for. Using the method in the first link you can validate the clean install back to same OEM license without needing to contact Microsoft. Hope that helps. Hi

Having had a nice new laptop (Toshiba Satellite Pro) for Christmas I was disgusted with the amount of cr@pward pre-installed. There were Google Toolbars and the desktop littered with links to Amazon, Ebay and others. The system tray had dozens of icons showing a myriad of “value added” programs that resulted in the laptop grinding and groaning on each boot up.

Soon sorted using this method http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144783 and a copy of the Windows Visa install disc. You can get hold of clean install media from Microsoft for a handling charge :( or alternatively download it via a torrent, you can get the original Vista SP1 media images using information posted at http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/03/03/download-windows-vista-with-service-pack-1-sp1-integrated-slipstream-x86-english-dvd-image-official-msdn-version-with-torrent/ . Note this is not a cracked illegal version, just a copy of the original Vista setup media to install a clean version of Windows Vista back on to your laptop that you do own a valid license for. Using the method in the first link you can validate the clean install back to same OEM license without needing to contact Microsoft.

Hope that helps.

]]> By: Steve Cassidy http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-22768 Steve Cassidy Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:39:16 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-22768 AVG has had a rough ride lately: the upgrade from the 7.x platform to 8.x "in the field" was very disappointing, with machines slowing to a crawl and some infections just strolling right in. A fresh blank install of 8 is way, way better than an updated 7.x > 8.x, but to get best results you have to rip 7.x right off, run ccleaner, reboot, then put on 8.x I have a down on OpenOffice. I used to recommend it fairly freely, until former Word users started bugging me about things like ways to work with styles & default fonts. Then things got difficult 8( AVG has had a rough ride lately: the upgrade from the 7.x platform to 8.x “in the field” was very disappointing, with machines slowing to a crawl and some infections just strolling right in. A fresh blank install of 8 is way, way better than an updated 7.x > 8.x, but to get best results you have to rip 7.x right off, run ccleaner, reboot, then put on 8.x

I have a down on OpenOffice. I used to recommend it fairly freely, until former Word users started bugging me about things like ways to work with styles & default fonts. Then things got difficult 8(

]]> By: eliezer http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-22750 eliezer Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:13:56 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-22750 I would tend to disagree with the use of Chrome as a browser, Firefox has much more going for it, Adblock, flash block, and the ability to make pictues larges or smaller. Chrome is lacking these things. Also Avira does not compare to AVG which is also free and works better and less obtrusive with ads. Also when I removed Avira, it left some residue on the computer which seems to spring up at strange times. Audacity is Great! should be mentioned. I would tend to disagree with the use of Chrome as a browser, Firefox has much more going for it, Adblock, flash block, and the ability to make pictues larges or smaller. Chrome is lacking these things.
Also Avira does not compare to AVG which is also free and works better and less obtrusive with ads. Also when I removed Avira, it left some residue on the computer which seems to spring up at strange times.
Audacity is Great! should be mentioned.

]]> By: John Gray http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-22748 John Gray Fri, 26 Dec 2008 10:52:33 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-22748 Interesting article, but you don't say from where you can obtain the "fine toothcomb" mentioned in paragraph 2. I shall be very disappointed if it turns out to be a "fine-tooth comb"... Interesting article, but you don’t say from where you can obtain the “fine toothcomb” mentioned in paragraph 2.

I shall be very disappointed if it turns out to be a “fine-tooth comb”…

]]> By: David Wright http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2008/12/26/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-new-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-22729 David Wright Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:51:08 +0000 http://www3.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/?p=4911#comment-22729 Erm, spam comment? :-S I agree with most of the article. VLC is excellent and I have OO.o on my machines - although I keep MS Office on them as well, as I find OO.o is still lacking in some areas; especially importing/exporting MS Office documents. AntiVir is also great, although I would recommend upgrading to the paid for version, as the updates are more frequent and in the last c't test, the paid for version also detected significantly more viruses than the free version! I think Google Chrome is down to taste, and it isn't mine - especially as it seems to randomly give up rendering pages half way through (especially background colours). This is a bug that the original version of Safari for Windows also suffered from, but seems to have been fixed, so I'm guessing the problem is that Google are still using that old version of WebKit. They really need to think about moving to the fixed, later versions of WebKit... Erm, spam comment? :-S

I agree with most of the article. VLC is excellent and I have OO.o on my machines – although I keep MS Office on them as well, as I find OO.o is still lacking in some areas; especially importing/exporting MS Office documents.

AntiVir is also great, although I would recommend upgrading to the paid for version, as the updates are more frequent and in the last c’t test, the paid for version also detected significantly more viruses than the free version!

I think Google Chrome is down to taste, and it isn’t mine – especially as it seems to randomly give up rendering pages half way through (especially background colours). This is a bug that the original version of Safari for Windows also suffered from, but seems to have been fixed, so I’m guessing the problem is that Google are still using that old version of WebKit. They really need to think about moving to the fixed, later versions of WebKit…

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