got a free pc that needs fixin'

[cueball]

someone i ride the train with gave me a dell inspirion pc that was several years old (circa 2002 she thinks). anyway, it has xp on it and when i start it up, it doesnt completely load for me to function, but once the desktop appears and the icons, etc, the pc reboots.

i am guessing that i need to reformat the hard drive and reinstall xp. the problem is that i dont have an xp disc. i basically just want this pc to function as an internet machine for my kids. that way i can surf too.

any ideas where i can get an xp disc and how much does xp retail? you can Pm me or shoot me an email..;)

also any technical suggestions are welcomed. i know the pc has 256MB of SD ram and it is a PIII processor. I dont know the MhZ of the processor.

[Ckb69]

Hmmmm .
PIII , probably 800 -1300MHz , PC133 ram .
Have you tried booting into safe mode ?
Restatrt and keep hitting the F8 key before the splash screen appears , select "safe mode" and see if it will load without restarting .

You can get XP home OEM disk , for ~$89 from Newegg or Tigerdirect .
XP Pro will set you back ~$140 .

You could get either from Dell at twice the price .... :rotfl:
The drivers are avilable for free at Dellsupport . Just type in the service code that is on the laptop .

If you really want to test the hardware , download a Linux iso and burn it to disk( most distro's have live versions that run off the cdrom ...) .
You can then see if the machine boots without spending `$100 to find out you ALSO have bad hardware .

And , you might find out that the hardware is fine and that you no longer see the need to spend ANYTHING since you have a better OS for free . :thumbsup:

[CMSurfer]

Dells usually have the OS CD key on the side of machine.

If it's there, just borrow someones XP cd, and reinstall using your cd key. Make yourself a copy of the CD.

I take it you didn't ask there person who you got the computer from if they had any software or documentation with it?

[OhioYJ]

any ideas where i can get an xp disc and how much does xp retail? you can Pm me or shoot me an email.

As mentioned above, if it still has a CD key sticker attached the lap top, you can use just any XP disc.

XP new, is about $100. Linux is free. (http://linuxgator.org/home/index.html)

[Cherokee Man]

If you have a friend that is in college they could probly score an xp disk for you super cheap.

[PB2]

I'm not sure if a Dell that old has a restoration partition or not. Take a close look at it when it boots up. If it mentions Restore or Restoration, and to hit a certain key, then running it can put it back to the way it was when it originally came out of the box.

[CMSurfer]

I'm not sure if a Dell that old has a restoration partition or not. Take a close look at it when it boots up. If it mentions Restore or Restoration, and to hit a certain key, then running it can put it back to the way it was when it originally came out of the box.

If you have a restore partition, IIRC you need to press Ctrl+F11 on bootup to access the restore app.

If you think the machine's from 2002, I doubt it has it though.

[Ckb69]

If you have a restore partition, IIRC you need to press Ctrl+F11 on bootup to access the restore app.

If you think the machine's from 2002, I doubt it has it though.

x2 .

I have no problem using a Dell XP home disk to reinstall on most any Dell PC or laptop . It never asks for a key , either . This despite multiple f-disk and format routines to insure a clean slate after severe infections .

I probably fix 10 machines a month for friends , family , co-workers , etc ...
The ones I convince to try Linux almost never come back .

Those who stick with windows come back far more often , due to careless/clueless surfing and email handling .:rolleyes:

Cueball , if you were closer I would look you up . I could have that laptop cleaned and updated in a couple of hours , for the paltry price of a 12 pack of Yuengling ! :cheers:

[cueball]

Cueball , if you were closer I would look you up . I could have that laptop cleaned and updated in a couple of hours , for the paltry price of a 12 pack of Yuengling ! :cheers:
heck, i'd give ya a whole case.. btw i was incorrect with the model.. it is a dimension not an inspiron.. when i read 'laptop' that made me double check. not that it matters for software..

i will see what i can do. i'd rather keep xp but i will have to find a disk.. my other (primary pc) is an xp machine. i am not a convert (yet).

[b1pig]

i've had that happen on two PCs to me. both, the capacitors were swelled up, and on one a few were oozing... bad motherboard.

[OhioYJ]

The ones I convince to try Linux almost never come back .

Those who stick with windows come back far more often , due to careless/clueless surfing and email handling

Funny how that works. I had this PC that I fixed, cleaned the bad stuff off, gave it back to the customer, less than 2 weeks it's back, fix it again, give it back to the customer who this time says he'll keep his room mate off of it. Comes back a third time, so I install Linux on it, left a Windows partition, for some of his DJ software, but made sure Windows has no access to the internet at all, and it could not be made to have access to the internet (I broke out the hex editor, it has NO access to the internet). After 6 months he called me with his first question, his new USB keyboard does not work in Windows, but it does work in Linux...... :D

Since that point forward, I haven't hesitated to install Linux to a customer's machine, everyone honestly loves it, most everyone picks up on it right away. My mom isn't exactly good with computers, and I just got done building her a new machine, which runs Linux, she loves it, especially since it opened a bunch of old files that she needed, that Microsoft Office wouldn't recognize on her work laptop.

I explain to people there are a few short comings in Linux, but it's overall advantages out weigh the very few negatives, but the ones that do try it love it in my experience.

[cueball]

well, there were 3 users set up on the pc and the 3rd one let me log in all the way with no issues. i am trying to get the wireless adaptor to work, but i think that is just bad. i set up the drivers but it is not recognized in the pc.

i just want to get it set up so the kids dont monopolize my pc when i want to be on it. if i get tired of trying to fix it, i will just get a known working one (or try to build my own),

[CMSurfer]

i will see what i can do. i'd rather keep xp but i will have to find a disk.. my other (primary pc) is an xp machine. i am not a convert (yet).

Do you have an XP disc for your primary machine? Just use that and use the cd key on the new one if it asks.

[CMSurfer]

I guess I don't get the Linux thing... I installed it a while back, used for a day and haven't used it since... I don't think I'd recommend it to an average home user...

I can't understand how the customers you have get so much spyware in Windows... I have nothing more than a router and using XP's built-in firewall and never have any spyware issues.

[JeepBSU]

I use Webroot Spysweeeper with Anti-virus, put it on after having Norton and McAfee and I loved it! My dad's the network/IT admin for a local title company and that's what he uses (well along with alot of other things..)

Has the XP on this machine even been updated recently? And I agree don't you still have the XP disk from your primary machine?

[OhioYJ]

I can't understand how the customers you have get so much spyware in Windows... I have nothing more than a router and using XP's built-in firewall and never have any spyware issues.

In all the years I ran Windows I never used a virus scanner, never had a problem.

It comes down to the users not being un-educated, or gullible maybe? PCs that I get usually have problems because of one of two things, either the user decided yeah they'll install this software to play free games, or click here for a free Xbox360, or they believed the links that said free porn. There are both free games and porn on the internet, but neither require you to install software. If they would just learn they don't have to click or open everything, they'd be much better off.

I guess there is the third category, either those with a questionable copy of Windows that can't be updated, or those who don't ever update.

Update and surf smart, and typically you'll never have a problem (At least with viruses and spyware, now BSD, and random crashes, you're on your own... :D).

[cueball]

Do you have an XP disc for your primary machine? Just use that and use the cd key on the new one if it asks.
unfortunately, when i got my pc built, windows xp was put on it but i do not have a disc.