Dumb Question #1, Re: Laptop Preloaded with XP Home

CityK

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Okay, so I have a cousin who recently bought (despite my advice not to) a Toshiba laptop, preloaded with XP Home, from FutureShop. Although I didn't bother to enquirer as to what the final price tag was (in order to save giving myself a stroke), she said that she got it for a good price (which I highly doubt, as any half ass saleperson in the world should be able to read the "sucker" moniker stamped across her forehead) and because it was a demo model. At this point in time I think everyone's alarm bell should be going off (sort of just like Homer's "Dental plan...Lisa needs braces....Dental plan....Lisa needs braces"...Yet, in this case just substitute in "Demo model" and "cousin needs functional laptop").

Installed on the bloody thing were all kinds of lame demos etc. Additionally there were 5 or 6 profiles set up, of which a couple just won't delete properly. Files and drivers seem to be scattered everywhere. There's like a thousand stupid ass services running too, half of which I have no clue as to their function and would have to spend some time at Blackvipers site to figure them out. Her internet connection seems to drop out unexpectedly at random times too.

I have been given the charge of correcting this situation. Personally I would like to return the stupid thing, but that unfortunately is not an option available to me. So, being as it is, I would be far more comfortable by just wiping the drive clean and, starting from a clean slate, properly configure the machine for her.

Problem -> laptop only comes with those Restore CDs, and not the actual XP Home CD. Additionally (but much less of a problem, and really just a hassle then anything else), I would have to download the 3 trillion post SP1 hotfixes for her.

Statement -> I thought I read somewhere a long time ago (but not in a galaxy far, far away) that if you got a Laptop/Desktop preloaded with XP, you could approach the retailer and ask for a legitimate copy of XP and they where obliged to provide access to the original XP discs for you to reinstall the OS.

Question -> Have I been smoking crack again, or is such a possibility exist. I really don't want to ferret every little ghost out of that machine.
 

Buck

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I don't know about smoking crack, but I'm for using the restore CD in order to get the appropriate drivers needed to support all of the proprietary hardware on that laptop. Most of those demo apps were separately installed for the demo machine, which should not install during the restore process.
 

CityK

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Demos and profiles begone, yes. But I'm just concerned that the restore CD will still include a lot of the "bloat" (example: touch pad drivers and services, Ati hotkey system tray thingy etc etc...)
 

Buck

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It true, that you'll have to disable a few minor apps that load, but that is much easier then trying to find the correct drivers for all of the hardware.
 

e_dawg

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My suggestion is to wipe the HD and install a fresh copy of W2k straight up, no chaser. Go to the Toshiba support page an download all that model's drivers. Apply SP4 if it hasn't already been slipstreamed into your copy of W2k. Done. The Restore CD's IMO are junk. I did this with my formerly unsusable Sony VAIO laptop and it works like a charm.
 

Will Rickards WT

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I would also like to know as my in-laws bought an HP desktop and the thing is dog ass slow. I'm not sure what the problem is but I really suspect the hard drive. One of these days I have to fix the problem and being able to obtain the copy of XP would be helpful.
 

SteveC

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CityK said:
Demos and profiles begone, yes. But I'm just concerned that the restore CD will still include a lot of the "bloat" (example: touch pad drivers and services, Ati hotkey system tray thingy etc etc...)

IIRC from my parents' Toshiba, all the extra programs and utilites were listed under Add/Remove Programs in the control panel, so they should be easy to remove.
 

CityK

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Even if downgrading to W2K was a legal option, I know she wouldn't go for it - XP has won her heart over with all its purrrttty colours and soft, fuzzy graphics.

I, like Will, also suspect the HDD is substantially contibuting to this machine's pokey behaviour. But I'm sure the messy software environment sure as hell is playing its part too.

I think I'll call Microsoft Canada once I get her licence number type stuff and see what they say.

CK
 
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