Anyone selling a laptop?

M · Post by M » Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:37 pm

Just needs to be able to surf the interweb really and use a mobile interweb access - preferably with Windows XP rather than some horrible crud like Vista that saps all its memory and runtime.

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:03 pm

Look around on ebay for something old and cheap, and chuck Linux on it - that's what I've done. I'm typing this from an old HP with a 1.2ghz Celeron and 256 MB of RAM. You should be able to get hold of something like that quite cheap. The Windows install on this one was utterly FUBAR'd but it runs Ubuntu Hardy Heron very nicely indeed. It was dead easy to install - easier than Windows, in fact.

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:02 pm

Pilsy's your man there Marty.

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:22 pm

Ubuntu Hardy Heron = definitely FTW... My poor Dell laptop, immobilised with a Safeboot lockdown - cue my tech-whizz brother and BLAM, one network install later he was able to wipe the HD, remove Safeboot and now it is happily running about twice as fast as it was with Win XP. Result!!

Mark.

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:47 pm

Glad to hear that one's come back to life, Mark! How are you getting on with the big bird? I found it easier to install than XP (I install XP a lot...) and much faster to use.

Last time I played with Linux was about eighteen months ago - Edgy Eft, I think - and I gave up on it. I'd say it's now ready for the mass market though!

M · Post by M » Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:10 pm

Ooooookayyy, in theory - I mean strictly theoretically this is - how would one wipe a laptop for a fresh install when its one that only boots up when its logged into a network? I might know where I can get a HP laptop (whistles nonchelantly) as its 5 years old and due an upgrade - so it may get "dropped" accidentally.....

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:51 pm

If it only boots from the network, it probably never had a key for a full Windows install. Either way, it's going to be useless when it's away from its network so you're free to experiment without fear of ruining it!

You could buy a copy of XP - which will be pricy, even on ebay - but a five-year-old laptop probably won't be highly enough specced to run it very well.

Why not give Ubuntu a try first? It's free, after all. You can download the iso from the Ubuntu website and burn it to a CD, or you can request a free CD. The install comes with lots of software, including Firefox and OpenOffice, so you can just start using it straight away. Hardware detection varies, but everything on my old Packard Bell works just fine, even the external PCMCIA wireless card.

If you don't get along with it, buy a copy of XP (making sure it comes with the product key) from ebay.

Ubuntu and XP both come on bootable install discs and can format and partition the hard drive as part of the install process.

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:01 pm

Big M wrote:I mean strictly theoretically this is - how would one wipe a laptop for a fresh install when its one that only boots up when its logged into a network?

If it has a floppy drive, make a boot disk from another computer that can run DOS natively (pre Win XP), insert the disc before switching on then when loaded you can format the hard-disk from the DOS prompt.

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:46 pm

Ah but, as I found to my cost, if it's a work machine it may have the boot sequence locked down by a darned Imperial code.

(I mean admin password, but hey Imperial code sounds cooler)

In which case, if the first place the computer looks for an OS is the network or the HD, even if you put in a CD-ROM or floppy before start-up, it wouldn't access it. Unless you know the admin password that is..

Assuming the HD is second in the sequence though, I don't know what would happen if this particular machine is booted while disconnected from the network...

The only way my brother was able to get around the Safeboot/admin lockdown on my machine was to do a remote Ubuntu network install/format from his own laptop.

I'm getting on with Ubuntu quite well so far, although I do have a lot of Windows software I want to use on the machine... so in the long run I'm looking either to acquire a cheap Windows emulator (dependent on how well it works with highly memory intensive programs - any views??), or to reinstall Win XP, as I have a product key - in which case Stu, would you have an XP install CD I could borrow?

I do like the idea of being able to emulate XP... and Win 9x at will, so I can resurrect some old games!

Cheers,

Mark.

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:02 pm

mnde wrote:
I'm getting on with Ubuntu quite well so far

Strange name - it sounds like Nigerian scammer and skimmer software to those who haven't dabbled.

From a security point of view how safe is this product? It seems to me that on an uncontrolled collaborative development such as this with no one with overall understanding and control that things can "lurk" without others being aware?

Jaba · Post by **Jaba** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:16 pm

I have several laptops for sale. I buy and sell them as a hobby but mainly for my own and my family's use.

Ubuntu is fine for people who know what they are doing but for the general user who can just manage to plug and play with difficulty XP is a better bet.

My choices at the moment is for IBM T20 or T23 and Compaq N160. These are Pentium 111 machines around 800 to 1000 mhz
They are all perfectly useable for surfing emails spreadsheets and letters.
Prices are 80 to 125 pounds. All have valid copies of XP except I am not sure if the T20 is a legal copy. It still works though and you COULD buy a licence but Msoft know how to charge.

I use a T20 and T23 here and abroad, they are compact and light and fast enough for me.

M · Post by M » Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:50 pm

mnde wrote:Ah but, as I found to my cost, if it's a work machine it may have the boot sequence locked down by a darned Imperial code.

I don't know what would happen if this particular machine is booted while disconnected from the network....

Bog all - it tells you there is no network detected and goes back into CTRL - ALT - DEL mode to enter a user name and password.

djoptix · Post by **djoptix** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:40 pm

If you're having a go with Linux, I would put in a vote for PClinuxOS. It can require some fiddling to get it on a laptop, though - graphics issues - but once on, I think it's better for a first-time Linuxer than Ubuntu (though Ubuntu is very good, and it's more fun to say).

M · Post by M » Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:06 am

it would appear the bios is password protected - so I think Im stuffed on the ex work laptop route. Would shoving a new HDD in make any difference or do I give it up as a bad job?

Edit: Would Ubuntu work with a mobile interweb dongle?

Sorry - technonumpty here - El-Hose where are you - you know all this stuff?

djoptix · Post by **djoptix** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:27 pm

New HD wouldn't make any difference (BIOS isn't held on the HD) but it will be fiddlable, it might need opening up though.

Ubuntu will probably work with a mobile dongle.