Pre installed

Berne

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Hi All,

I want to know what the advantages or moreso the disadvantages are of buying a computer with XP preinstalled, its been my experience that more than a few issues cannot be accompolished with this type of XP.
Ive only had XP for two years and looking to the future I was curious how others around the forum felt about my experience to date?

Think of update conflicts causing crashes...
Think of task scheduler not working and all that entails trying to right this....
Think of prompts from the OS asking that the user install CD's to make right many tech tweaks that may occur from time to time, and of course not having the tangible CD's as XP is preinstalled...
Think of the system restore function not working from the get go....


Lastly as an XP enthusiast and promoter would my computing experience both offline and online be easier, more efficient and neat if I was to buy XP from Microsoft direct?

Im wondering now that if this is the 'way to go'!, would it be possible to clear my system completly and install a new XP system?

Berne...
 
well i have a pc with xp pre installed. i have a disk so i can re install how ever many times i want which is an advantage. the only disadvantages to buying a pc with xp already installed are a bunch of bundled software they give you (if its from a pc shop) and usually a locked bios so no overclocking. most of the software can be removed so its basically the same thing. it doesnt matter where you buy your copy of xp from... as long as its brought legally then it will all be the same. what os do you have atm?
 
Hi Dude,

I bought my computer from a computer store, like yourself with XP preinstalled so my post is first hand experience, no discs though came with the pc..?

What are your thoughts on the problems I outlined above?

I did get the bundle of software some good some not so, I just remove the unwanted software easily done.

I guess to have a comprehensive answer we need someone who has tried both preinstalled and disc installed really.

So you think if I wanted to, it would do no damage if I was to format the hard drive ( having saved the necessary ) and install XP bought from a store in disc format?

If you have time advise on the issues listed above with regard to your own experience: re : the hitches I have encountered.

Thanks for the reply,

Berne...
 
i have tried both discs and pre installed. i have my own copy of xp on a computer next to me. i cant really see any difference apart from the pre bought has lots of pc recovery stuff which is v useful . not all pcs come with discs from shops so it just depends if its a decent make. it wont do any damage to format the hdd and install xp from disk. if i had the choice, id just pick which ever option was cheaper as i dont see any really big differences between pre installed and disc versions of xp.

as for your problems above, i think a re install seems best. if your pc didnt come with a cd then try and get hold on an xp disc. things like system restore do not stop working unless you disable them or spyware has taken over. either way a fresh copy of xp seems to suit you. as i said above, there arnt really many differences to pre-installed and new from disk installations. if you want to install a fresh copy, then buy an xp cd and format. if you want to stick, then ill try and help you fix your problems above.
 
Hi Dude,

Hey thats good advice and if I can get my current XP preinstalled to function normally, then I would of course keep it, but I dont know if you have the time to stick with me until the problems are solved, however having said that if you still think you could solve it, then let me know.

Again thanks for the advice.

Berne...
 
first of all why would you want task sceduler? ... im sure theres other apps on the net that are just as good
secondly, id check if system restore is on. you can do this by right clicking my computer, going to properties, then system restore. make sure the box is unticked. the next thing id do if you havent all ready is clean up your pc a bit. get some good spyware progs such as adaware and spybot s & d. also delete any stuff you dont want and do a disk defragment just to clean your system up a bit. as for the update problem and the cd problem i think you need to explain some more
 
Well the thought of not having to manually activate programes sounds good.

About sys restore, I got that wrong, I meant Smart Restore, which is supposed to make a copy of all the present files and settings on the pc, so that in the event of a crash all data is saved from the date of the datasave, kind of a roll back function to the time before the crash...I think? Anyhow this funtion comes with the bundled software and has not worked from the get go! Just in relation to this, is it worthwhile and or difficult to reformat another section of my harddrive ' re-partitioning is what Im thinking about ',
so I will always have a fallback in the event of a crash instead of having to take two days to reinstall everything?

If I can safeguard the data on another partition, and my normal partition was crashed could the saved partition be copied to the normal after the normal was formatted?

I am now seeing ways to cope with preinstalled...

Berne...
 
its easy to create a new partition. ive just made one as im going to install vista. theres serveral programs like partition magic to do it. if your pc did crash and you had all your data on another partition then you could recover it by re installing the os on the crashed partition and then accessing the backup partition. or you could re install on the backup partition and then delete the messed up partition. you could also buy equipment to copy the data off the hdd and stuff like that but its a lot of hassle. i'd personally make a backup partition and manually copy my data onto there whenever i felt it was right.

as for the smart restore program, ive never heard of that so cant really help. theres not much you can do anyway if it was bundled software. if it doesnt work then it doesnt work.
 
Hi Dude,

Generally speaking I learned from your advice, parition magic will teach me valuable information thanks for the tip.

Overall I am going to continue with preinstalled.

Thank you for the advice.

Task scheduler would save time and contribute quite a bit to a smooth running computer if it worked.

Your addiction can only be good for your personal knowledge base.

See you around the forums.

Berne... :)
 
i found a free task scheduler on google. just look around. in time you will learn more and you will find cool programs. just like i am. cya around :)
 
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