Purchased used Dell Latitiude 640 w/o CDs

[Jim]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if the
Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but all
programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says. Whereas
my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to perpare for
possible problems with XP that would require a installation CD. I have
ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not
know if XP pro is on it.

Thanks for your help

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

In news:66844481-5609-4EAB-B0A2-8859F98CAC66@microsoft.com,
Jim <Jim@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller
> to see
> if the Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it.
> They are
> not


I hope you paid a very low price for it. Without the CDs, you
essentially bought a laptop without any software. You don't have
legitimate licenses for any of the software, and you have no
ability to reinstall or or to change any installable options.

Moreover, if I bought a used computer, the first thing I would do
with it would be to reinstall the operating system and all the
applications cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been
maintained, what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing,
what viruses and spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to
live with somebody else's mistakes and problems, possibility of
kiddie porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do
either.



> but all programs are in good working order and are up to
> date....so he says.


"So he says" are the operative words here. I wouldn't want to
depend on what he says.


> Whereas my son is taking this off to college,
> what is the best way to perpare for possible problems with XP
> that
> would require a installation CD. I have ordered a Dell Resource
> CD
> for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not know if XP pro
> is on
> it.


Again, if it were me, I would buy a WIndows XP CD from Dell, and
all the application programs that he needs at college (not
necessarily from Dell). I'd then format the drive and reinstall
everything. Make copies of all the installation CDs for backup,
keep the copies, and give your son the originals to take with him
if he needs to do any reinstallation or make any changes while at
school.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Jim wrote:
> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if the
> Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but all
> programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says. Whereas
> my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to perpare for
> possible problems with XP that would require a installation CD. I have
> ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not
> know if XP pro is on it.
>
> Thanks for your help


If the eBay seller doesn't have *all* of the software installation CDs
and documentation to go with that laptop, take your money elsewhere.
He's not selling you a legitimate package - unless he's stated clearly
that the sale does *not* include any operating system or software.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

You'll have to contact Dell and order their Dell Windows XP
Reinstallation CD designed for your specific Dell computer.

Welcome to Dell Support
http://support.dell.com/home.aspx

Welcome to Dell Community Forums
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/

Also see:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=cc_general&message.id=69650

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jim" wrote:

| Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if the
| Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but all
| programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says. Whereas
| my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to perpare for
| possible problems with XP that would require a installation CD. I have
| ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not
| know if XP pro is on it.
|
| Thanks for your help

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Jim.
If at this moment everything seems to be working on the Dell, notebook, before wiping the hard drive. You should copy the Dell Drivers folder to a CD, for reinstallation purposes. The folder is located on the laptop at the following location:
C:\Dell\Drivers
Then you need to go to Dell Support and check for upgrade downloads for the model that you have.

If you have a CD writer or DVD player, you will need to buy some third party program to get them to run. For the OS you will need to buy a new copy of Windows.


--

Add MS to your News Reader: news://msnews.microsoft.com
Rich/rerat

(RRR News) <message rule>

<<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>


"Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message news:ePgJaYdmFHA.2180@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
In news:66844481-5609-4EAB-B0A2-8859F98CAC66@microsoft.com,
Jim <Jim@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller
> to see
> if the Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it.
> They are
> not


I hope you paid a very low price for it. Without the CDs, you
essentially bought a laptop without any software. You don't have
legitimate licenses for any of the software, and you have no
ability to reinstall or or to change any installable options.

Moreover, if I bought a used computer, the first thing I would do
with it would be to reinstall the operating system and all the
applications cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been
maintained, what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing,
what viruses and spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to
live with somebody else's mistakes and problems, possibility of
kiddie porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do
either.



> but all programs are in good working order and are up to
> date....so he says.


"So he says" are the operative words here. I wouldn't want to
depend on what he says.


> Whereas my son is taking this off to college,
> what is the best way to perpare for possible problems with XP
> that
> would require a installation CD. I have ordered a Dell Resource
> CD
> for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not know if XP pro
> is on
> it.


Again, if it were me, I would buy a WIndows XP CD from Dell, and
all the application programs that he needs at college (not
necessarily from Dell). I'd then format the drive and reinstall
everything. Make copies of all the installation CDs for backup,
keep the copies, and give your son the originals to take with him
if he needs to do any reinstallation or make any changes while at
school.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

RRR_News wrote:
> Jim.
> If at this moment everything seems to be working on the Dell, notebook, before wiping the hard drive. You should copy the Dell Drivers folder to a CD, for reinstallation purposes. The folder is located on the laptop at the following location:
> C:\Dell\Drivers
> Then you need to go to Dell Support and check for upgrade downloads for the model that you have.
>
> If you have a CD writer or DVD player, you will need to buy some third party program to get them to run. For the OS you will need to buy a new copy of Windows.
>
>

As far as buying the copy of windows, student usually get a significant
discount if they buy through the university.

gls858

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

In article <66844481-5609-4EAB-B0A2-8859F98CAC66@microsoft.com>,
Jim@discussions.microsoft.com says...
> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if the
> Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but all
> programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says. Whereas
> my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to perpare for
> possible problems with XP that would require a installation CD. I have
> ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not
> know if XP pro is on it.

The resource CD does not contain Windows XP, it's just drivers and tools
specific to your system.

If there person doesn't have the resource CD's then the laptop is either
stolen or gotten through some other unethical means. As the laptops I've
bought over the last 3 years have all come with a Dell branded OS CD or
a Windows XP OEM CD, if he doesn't have it, then don't buy it.

If you do buy it, once you purchase a valid OEM or RETAIL XP CD you can
wipe and reinstall XP and the resource CD will be very handy.

I would never accept a computer from an auction without wiping and
installing the OS myself, you never know what they've installed on it to
spy on you.

--

spam999free@rrohio.com
remove 999 in order to email me

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message
news:%237Ji%232cmFHA.420@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Jim wrote:
>> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if
>> the Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but
>> all programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says.
>> Whereas my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to
>> perpare for possible problems with XP that would require a installation
>> CD. I have ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell
>> but I do not know if XP pro is on it.
>>
>> Thanks for your help
>
>
> If the eBay seller doesn't have *all* of the software installation CDs and
> documentation to go with that laptop, take your money elsewhere. He's not
> selling you a legitimate package - unless he's stated clearly that the
> sale does *not* include any operating system or software.
>
>
> -
> Bruce Chambers

This is not necessarily the case - some Dell systems now come without
reinstall CDs, but with the facility for making them yourself. This is
apparently supported by the OEM license agreement.

I guess this saves the manufacturer ... ten cents?

-pk

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Patrick Keenan wrote:

>
>
> This is not necessarily the case - some Dell systems now come without
> reinstall CDs, but with the facility for making them yourself. This is
> apparently supported by the OEM license agreement.
>


I'd heard (but never personally seen) that this was a practice of Dell
in some markets. However, had that been the case, don't you think the
seller would have said so, rather than implying that he simply no longer
had the CDs?


> I guess this saves the manufacturer ... ten cents?
>

Something like that.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message
news:O2ZaMNpmFHA.3572@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Patrick Keenan wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> This is not necessarily the case - some Dell systems now come without
>> reinstall CDs, but with the facility for making them yourself. This is
>> apparently supported by the OEM license agreement.
>>
>
>
> I'd heard (but never personally seen) that this was a practice of Dell in
> some markets.

I've seen it a number of times and Dell has apparently picked it up from
other manufacturers.

Dell also is doing this thing now where new machines don't have keyboard or
mouse ports (ONLY USB) so if you already have a keyboard you like and it
isn't USB... too bad.

> However, had that been the case, don't you think the seller would have
> said so, rather than implying that he simply no longer had the CDs?

My reading is that he checked with the seller and the CDs were 'not with
it', so I didn't feel there was enough info to be sure if CDs were shipped
or whether they used the make-them-yourself-if-you-realize-you-need-them
model.

With some of these systems, they also pre-load the recovery console to the
hard disk. Of course, if you need to run the recovery console because of
disk problems....


>
>> I guess this saves the manufacturer ... ten cents?
>>
>
> Something like that.

In case you can't tell, I'm not a fan of this model.

-pk

>
> --
>
> Bruce Chambers
>
> Help us help you:
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
> You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
> both at once. - RAH

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Patrick Keenan wrote:

>
> In case you can't tell, I'm not a fan of this model.
>
> -pk
>
>


No argument there. I've always refused to purchase any laptop computer
(desktops, I build from scratch) that doesn't come with a proper
installation CD. The sales clerks always seem quite shocked to learn
that such a lack could be a deal-breaker. Their managers are also
somewhat disappointed to learn that they've permanently lost my business
for their habit of selling sub-standard goods. But until everyone
starts "voting with their wallets," this despicable practice of not
providing a full installation CD will continue.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Jim wrote:
> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if the
> Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but all
> programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says. Whereas
> my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to perpare for
> possible problems with XP that would require a installation CD. I have
> ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not
> know if XP pro is on it.
>
> Thanks for your help

Okay

Depending on how old the laptop is on the bottom if it there should be a
service tag. a small combination of numbers and letters. You then need
to go to the dell website and in the support section somewhere you can
enter this service tag. All the software/drivers etc that are specific
to THAT laptop will be display. You can then download the installation
files and make cds or store them on some sort of storage. Else you can
just visit the site whenever you need an update.


Hope that helps.

Zankhna

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Jim wrote:
> Hi just bought a used laptop off ebay and wrote to the seller to see if the
> Resource CDs and other installation CDs are with it. They are not but all
> programs are in good working order and are up to date....so he says. Whereas
> my son is taking this off to college, what is the best way to perpare for
> possible problems with XP that would require a installation CD. I have
> ordered a Dell Resource CD for the computer for $10 from Dell but I do not
> know if XP pro is on it.
>
> Thanks for your help

ps you should have to pay for the resource cd as like I explain 2 secs
ago its available for free on the web!

Zankhna