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Question about Laptop & Vista or XP

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  V0lt 
#1 ·
The biggest and most important question I have is if I buy this laptop, will it run ok if I reformat the hard drive and install Windows XP Home Edition on it? That is what I have on my desktop here.

That brings up another question I have because I need to know if the sales person was BSing me or not. He said that XP Home Edition might not work on this laptop because the drivers were made for the Vista. I wanted, and still do for that matter, to buy another XP and reformat the hard drive on the laptop and do a clean install of the XP I would buy. Why is it that it would not work? I just didn't understand his explanation about the drivers wouldn't be there for XP because they are new and different drivers for Vista. I am one of those people out there that likes my hard drives partitioned and don't want all of that trial-ware that they stick on the machine, so I have always just reformatted and started clean by installing the OS myself and that way I get it installed the way I like it. Actually, I am kind of a bit** when it comes to stuff like that. If anyone can explain to me what he was talking about and let me know if it was BS or not I would greatly appreciate it.

I will let you know up front that I have no knowledge about laptops at all, except for the bare basics I would guess. I have used desktops for well over 20 years now though and can even replace or add my own hard drives, sound cards and such as that. Have never messed with a motherboard and really don't want to.

I am wanting to buy a laptop to use on trips. I do not need it for any kind of business or anything, just want to access the internet for information and email and such as that.

I saw one today at the local Best Buy. This is it. They are selling it for $599.99 It has 4 USB ports and the guy told me that I could also connect to a data port via modem. I would also be buying a cool deck (or whatever it is called) to have the laptop sitting on it to keep it from getting too hot.

What I want to know is if this is a good buy and about right for a laptop for my needs? Is Gateway any good? What all do I need to know about laptops? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I need to buy this by the end of the week if it is a good buy and such.

They have the memory I would need on sale and it would be another $50.

Full Specifications: Gateway MX8738 Laptop Computer
CPU and Memory Processor Brand Intel
Processor Class Pentium Dual Core
Processor Speed 1.73 GHz
Installed Memory 1 GB
Memory Technology DDR II SDRAM
Cache Size 1 MB

Storage Hard Drive Capacity 160 GB
Included Drives DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM
CD Write Speed 24 X
CD Rewrite Speed 16 X
CD Read Speed 24 X
DVD Read Speed 8 X
DVD Write Speed 8x (DVD±R), 2x (DVD-R DL), 2.4x (DVD+R DL)

Display and Graphics Display Size 17 in
Display Type TFT active matrix
Graphics Processor Intel GMA 950
Resolution 1440 x 900 pixels

Battery Type Lithium ion

Communications and Networking Modem Speed 56 Kbps
Network Support Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g

Software Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

Connectors Interface Provided S-Video, VGA, Phone line, Ethernet

Warranty Information 1 year warranty
Base Warranty 1 year warranty

General Product Info Input Devices Touchpad, Keypad
Included Sound Card Sound card
Weight 7.3 lbs
Also known as Gateway MX8738, Gateway
Manufacturer Part No. MX8738
Dimension 1.4 in x 16.1 in x 10.9 in (HxWxD
 
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#2 ·
He wasn't BS'ing you- there are some newer laptops that have no compatible XP drivers because they were made to work with Vista primarily.

That said, the laptop in question apparently does have XP compatible drivers available, but maybe not from the drivers cd that comes with it. From a google search for "MX8738 with xp", I found the following: http://www.vincentwagner.com/DrGizmore/

Supposedly, these drivers are for that laptop and should work with XP.
 
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