Re: office & XP
- From: Donald L McDaniel <orthocross@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:49:32 -0700
On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:28:00 -0700, Lady Polite <Lady
Polite@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Good Afternoon.
I recently purchased a used computer that had XP already installed.
OS: XP PRO
VERS: 5.1.2600 SVRC PACK BUILD 2600 )
OS MAIN: MICROSOFT CORP
SYSTEM MANUF: ACER
SYSTEM MODEL: ACERPOWER S280
SYSTEM TYPE: X86 BASED PC
PROCESSOR: X 86 FAMILY 15 MODEL 4 STEPPING GENUINE INTEL 2800 MHZ
BIOS: VERSION PHOENIX TECHNOLOGIES LTD RO1 C 3 3/28/2006
SIN BIOS VERSION 2.3
WINDOWS DIR: C:\WINDOWS
SYSTEM DIRECT C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32
BOOT DRIVE \DEVICE\HARDDISK VOLUME 2
LOCALE:
HARDWARE ABSTRACTION LAYER VERSION "5.0.2600.2180 (X PSP SP2.RTM.040803-2158)
USERNAME
TIME ZONE
TOTAL PHYSICAL MEMORY: 1024 MB
AVAILABLE PHYSICAL MEMORY 655.64 MB
TOTEL VIRTUAL MEMORY: 2.00 GB
AVAILABLE VIRTUAL MEMORY 1.96 GB
PAGEFILE SPACE: 2.26 GB
PAGE FILE:
"Lady Polite", from what I see above, your installed version is
Windows XP, with Service Pack 2 applied.
There is currently no newer generally-available "Gold" version
available to consumers. Yours is the latest released version.
There IS a "Windows XP Release Candidate 2 Refresh" available to
consumers and developers. This version is very close to being ready
to release to the general public, but still needs further bug-fixes
and refinements to be ready. This version is also experimental (i.e.,
"a Beta product".) Be prepared to encounter more than an average
amount of errors while using this product.
I do advise you to wait until Microsoft officially releases Service
Pack 3 to the general public. Then you should be able to purchase a
copy of the Service Pack from Microsoft for shipping and handling, or
download and install it, if your broadband connection is fast enough.
I dont know if the OS is genuine.
Look the laptop over, from all sides: Is there a sticker containing a
string of 25 alpha-numeric characters, arranged in 5 groups of 5
characters each?
This would be the Certificate of Authenticity. If it is there, the
chances of having a legitimate license increase a hundred-fold.
If you can prove a change of authority over the license from the old
owner to you (i.e., "show that the license was properly transferred
according to the Windows XP EULA"), your chances increase to 100%.
IF the person who sold you this computer left the OS on the laptop
without also transferring the installation media, all copies of the
installation media, and the COA, the license was not properly
transferred to you. If he kept the COA and/or the original
installation media, you really don't have a license to use the copy on
your laptop, in which case, you would have to purchase a new copy for
yourself. But neither would he, since the license requires him to
transfer EVERYTHING to the new owner, and REMOVE (i.e., "delete") any
copies from any HD's he owned.
If he advertised this laptop as having the OS installed, you have
every right to take him to Small Claims court and recover the cost of
a new OS. But, more probably, he did it through ignorance of the
terms of the XP EULA (End-User License Agreement).
When I purchase a used computer, the FIRST thing I do is thoroughly
clean the Hard drive(s), whether the former owner says he did or not.
Then I install a new and licensed copy of the OS I desire. That way,
the chain of ownership is always clear: it starts with me, a
properly-licensed owner, and it will pass on intact and according to
the EULA to any new owner I transfer it to.
If I subsequently sell or transfer that machine to a new owner, ALL
the license data is transferred with it, and I wipe the HD before
transferring the machine to the new owner. This is according to the
Windows End-User License Agreement.
I would like a newer version, with a trial
version if possible. Though I have tried to download this from the website, I
have been unsuccessful.
You will not be able to download a copy of XP from Microsoft, unless
you have a Developer License, or buy one (they are available to anyone
who is willing to pay the US300$ or so).
I purchased, new, with the computer Microsoft Office & Bookshelf designed
for Windows 95. Though I have used the office programs with success, I would
very much to upgrade. I tried to go online on the website to download this
free sixty day trial version, with NO success!
A "free, sixty-day trial version" will ONLY allow you to use it for a
total of "sixty" (i.e., "60") days, or "two months", after which you
would have to purchase the software, or take it off your machine.
Office 95 --> Office 2007 is not a valid upgrade path, so you would
have to purchase a full retail (or OEM) license. If you have
school-aged children, are a teacher, or work in an administrative
capacity at any institute of learning, you should be able to purchase
a Student and Family Edition of Office 2007 for less than $175
(probably much less).
Please help me to resolve these issues. I appreciate any response that you
can provide.
The newest version of the Windows Operating System is Microsoft
Windows Vista. However, your machine, as it stands now, is not truly
"hefty" enough for Vista's hardware demands.
You didn't mention the HD size, or the Video/Sound, or whether they
are on their own boards, or integrated with the motherboard. These
are all very important in advising one about an Operating System
upgrade path.
You would need at least 2GB of RAM (System Memory). Your machine
might allow you to install another 1GB stick (if that's how its
configured), or replace two 512MB sticks with two 1GB sticks, or place
two more 512MB sticks in empty sockets, if your motherboard is
configured with 4 memory slots.
This is mainly because most laptops use integrated Video on the
motherboard, with "shared memory" for video processing. "Shared
Memory" are portions of RAM used for Video processing on machines
which have integrated graphics, rather than stand-alone video cards
containing their own GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and on-board Video
Ram. Such shared memory is slower than discrete memory and GPU on the
Graphics board, since the main CPU must do all the extra Video
processing, using memory which would otherwise be available to the
main CPU for other important tasks (such as user-tasks).
On a Video Card containing its own GPU, all the Graphics processing is
offloaded from the main CPU to the on-board GPU and Video memory.
I believe your 2.8GHz CPU would be able to stand up, but Vista really
needs at least one Dual Core CPU. While 2.8GHz is a respectable speed
for a Windows processor, it's "respectability" would certainly
increase if it were a Dual Core CPU at the same speed.
You would need at least an 80GB (or better) HD, with a System
partition of at least half that. Vista must find a minimum of 20GB
free space before it will install, so even a 40GB System Partition is
cutting it close. Supposedly, it only takes up about 10-12GB after
it's installed.
A floppy drive is unnecessary with Vista. It's older technology, and
out-of-date. USB sticks are much easier to use, as well as much
faster (and cheaper per MB), and external USB 2.0/Firewire400/800
drives at 400-480MB/sec are also much faster, while e_SATA drives
allow one to use an external drive at the full speed of SATA
transferals (3.0GB/Sec).
I hope this helps.
Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the correct thread and article.
================================================
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- From: Lady Polite
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