Dell Laptop for £292.57 Delivered

[Northumbrian]

This was mentioned on Hotuk deals so I thought I'd pass it on. Dell have a new range of budget laptops out, and are offering one for £292.57 Inc Delivery. This is the base spec:

AMD® Sempron Mobile Technology 3500+
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
1024MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemory (integrated)
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
4 cell Lithium-Ion Battery (29 Whr)
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe
Dell v92 Data/Fax Modem

To Order it go to Dell (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p(702)a(60823)g(19472)) and use the following code 305-n0710002 and then drop the warranty to 1 year. Voila. Hope someone finds it useful.

[Gedalia]

Wow that is cheap. An upgrade to an X2 cpu and 9 lithium battery and its still only £350! My sister could use this for uni.

[gertrude]

Shame that it uses Vista home basic and that the other choice of OS is Vista business. Otherwise I would have recomended this to the guy in work who wants something just for browsing etc.

Ah well
G

[allan]

Amazing price, must resist...

[Northumbrian]

Shame that it uses Vista home basic and that the other choice of OS is Vista business. Otherwise I would have recomended this to the guy in work who wants something just for browsing etc.

Ah well
G


Surely for a browsing or office system, vista home basic would be more than adequate?

[lumpy]

My brothers looking for a basic laptop just for the internet and printing photos etc. This looks like a right bargain, got to be worth going for the dual core proc for £35 as well.

Nice spot. Any reason why gertrude above doesnt think this is any good for browsing???

[lumpy]

Oh and another quick question, I couldnt see an option for the resource cd on there, can you just burn this from the image on the hard drive to keep in case of disaster or you just want to wipe the drive and install fresh?

[toadoftoadhall]

Oh and another quick question, I couldnt see an option for the resource cd on there, can you just burn this from the image on the hard drive to keep in case of disaster or you just want to wipe the drive and install fresh?

I bought a laptop from Dell, and yes you can make a install disk from it.

Its no substitute for a real genuine disk tho, they are not as durable.

Also, the disk was made from a .bat file ( text file easily editable ) which deleted the disk image once it was burned. Very dangerous, as if the burn didnt work ( my dvd burner on my laptop is crap ) you lost the chance of burning the image again. So best to edit the bat file not to delete the image, or move the image file somewhere else before burning.

toad

[lumpy]

I bought a laptop from Dell, and yes you can make a install disk from it.

Its no substitute for a real genuine disk tho, they are not as durable.

Also, the disk was made from a .bat file ( text file easily editable ) which deleted the disk image once it was burned. Very dangerous, as if the burn didnt work ( my dvd burner on my laptop is crap ) you lost the chance of burning the image again. So best to edit the bat file not to delete the image, or move the image file somewhere else before burning.

toad

Thanks for that, I got the 5150 bargain last year but ordered the resource cd with it for piece of mind. Dont understand why they stopped doing it??

[rich.steed]

can you unbundle works from these like on the desktop thread?

[gertrude]

I have read in various magazines and on websites that home premium is the best of the bunch, regardless of what you are doing on the machine. Personally, I am happy with Linux, but I am not teaching people to deal with it!!

G

[ArthurDent]

I have read in various magazines and on websites that home premium is the best of the bunch, regardless of what you are doing on the machine. Personally, I am happy with Linux, but I am not teaching people to deal with it!!

G
Just for the record, linux (ubuntu 7.04) works like a charm on these dell laptops.

[Bobo Justus]

Just for the record, linux (ubuntu 7.04) works like a charm on these dell laptops.

Indeed it does www.ubuntu.com/dell

[Ono]

I'm guessing the onboard graphihcs won't handle C&C3?

[Jefft]

Any reason why gertrude above doesnt think this is any good for browsing???

Probably because she has no experience of it.:nuts:The poor soul uses Linux:D

[Uncle Nick]

I'm guessing the onboard graphihcs won't handle C&C3?:lol:

FYI: "hypermemory" cards = like being poked in the face with a hedgehog.

[Nikko2]

Is there anyway you can order this with XP on?

[TigaSefi]

got one for my sister as she going to Fiji for 2 years so a nice basic computer should she drop it in the ocean won't be such a huge write off!! ....

[SR2]

Any one now how much this weights? I couldn't see it on the site.

Cheers

[springer]

Any one now how much this weights? I couldn't see it on the site.

Cheers

About twenty minutes.

[mezza]

I think it's 2.8kg (from memory). So a bit on the hefty side.

[rich.steed]

just spoken to someone at Dell and they said that they won't supply the laptop without the OS - they could remove works but there wouldn't be any saving :(

[ArthurDent]

just spoken to someone at Dell and they said that they won't supply the laptop without the OS - they could remove works but there wouldn't be any saving :(
You could always not agree to the EULA and return and discs to Dell for a refund. :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6144782.stm

[owenjt]

Isn't this price just for the small businesses option?

[Northumbrian]

Isn't this price just for the small businesses option?

The laptop is aimed at the business market, but if you enter the code in the HOME section, you can buy it from there and keep all your consumer rights etc.

[owenjt]

The laptop is aimed at the business market, but if you enter the code in the HOME section, you can buy it from there and keep all your consumer rights etc.Enter the code where? There's only a search box. Doesn't seem to work for me. Is there a direct link?

[sappho]

The laptop is aimed at the business market, but if you enter the code in the HOME section, you can buy it from there and keep all your consumer rights etc.


dont think it works like that. when you put the code in it takes you direct to the business section no matter what area you are in.

[Northumbrian]

Click on the link in the first post. Then click on the "Shop by E-value Code" link on the left hand side of the dell page and enter then enter the code where indicated. I think it would also work if you again click on the link in the first post, and then just enter n0710002 into the search box.

EDIT: In the top left hand corner it should say: You are here (Picture of Union Jack) United Kingdom>Home.

Definately works for me.

[AdsterUK]

dont think it works like that. when you put the code in it takes you direct to the business section no matter what area you are in.It takes you directly to the machine but doesnt change the part of the site you are on. If it shunted you to the small business section all the prices would be ex-vat and delivery.

[gertrude]

Probably because she has no experience of it.:nuts:The poor soul uses Linux:D

He used it for the whole of the development cycle and still does not really like it.
And there is a lot to be said for Ubuntu now. Anyone could load that onto a PC with absolutely no knowledge of a PC never mind Linux. Once installed, they would be instantly ready to roll. It has matured very well.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to cli for a while just cos I can :thumbs:

Incidently, since others have said basic is acceptable for just farting about with, I recomended this system to my mate.

G

[tbibic]

This really is a cracking deal - once you've upped the battery to 9 cell and increased the processor by one step, as a previous poster said, its only £351!!

Also, the warranty is Business Hardware Support:
"In the event of a problem that cannot be resolved by phone-based troubleshooting, we will send a Dell-certified technician directly to your premises, for timely and convenient PC repairs."

Which is better than the 90 collect and return required to get good prices on Dell products normally.

All that said, it is damn ugly!!!

[daveyb]

You could always not agree to the EULA and return and discs to Dell for a refund. :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6144782.stm
This is a good idea, anyone done it?

I need a spare laptop, but I guess I could reuse a copy of XP retail I have and dont currently use (Linux on desktop machines).

If I'm right the Vista OS basic is worth about £60 I think?

[Ono]

Thansk to OP.

Just ordered one for my local Church :)

[Bobo Justus]

It would be impolite not to buy a couple of these :D

I reckon what makes these a complete bargain is the fact the have D-Sub/VGA out (so you can plug it into an external TFT, TV or monitor etc). That's pretty rare for anything under £400.


Ports, Slots, Chassis

Externally Accessible
(4) USB 2.0 compliant 4-pin ports
15-pin VGA video connector
Network connector (RJ45)
Modem connector (RJ11)
AC adapter connector
Microphone in & Headphone jack
3-in-1 media memory card reader
54 mm ExpressCard slot

Internal Card Slots
1 Mini-Card

Dimensions & Weight
Width: 14.02" (35.6cm)
Height: 1.42" (3.6cm)
Depth: 10.45" (26.5cm)
Weight: Preliminary weight starting at 6.26 lbs (2.84 kg)

Thanks to the OP :)

[john316]

What laptop doesn't come with VGA out? Not seen one in a long time without one!

[allan]

Exactly, I must've set up well over 100 laptops at work of varying makes and costs and I've never seen one that didn't have a vga out. Even the mini ones that have external port replicator still have an onboard vga out.

[Bobo Justus]

A lot of the Toshibas I've used don't have it. I was in ToysRUs today and there was one in there without a VGA out. My last couple of Dell laptops (low budget <£320) didn't have VGA out too IIRC).



Mods

Nice little Flash movie with this Dell laptop here (http://*******.com/24w5ye) -not working. Is there a reason why we can't post T-I-N-Y-U-R-L- links?

Movie here (http://i.dell.com/images/global/siab/swf/index.swf?basePath=images%2fglobal%2fproducts%2fflash%2fvostronb_1000%2f&country=us&language=en&segment=bsd&customerSet=04&xmlPath=xml%2fen%2fus%2f&blank=blank&cssPath=css%2f&imagesPath=images%2f&isCollapsedOnLoad=false&containerURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dell.com%2Fcontent%2Ftopics%2Fsegtopic.aspx%2Fvostronb_1000_popup%3Fc%3Dus%26cs%3D04%26l%3Den%26s%3Dbsd%26~lt%3Dpopup&id=flashID_25ad8c5162834b3fa7d3f4c10e963c43) instead.

[ArthurDent]

This is exactly the same machine as the Inspiron 1501.

[Kryten]

Tiny URL are not allowed because people in the past have used it to hide competing affiliate links that we cannot tell, and also unsuitable material that cannot be posted. So we added it to the censor because of that abuse (Again the minority spoilt it for the majority)

[Bobo Justus]

For those who prefer Dual Core, Inspiron 6400 (search term: N07642) (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p(702)a(60823)g(19472)) for £351inc


Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core T2080 Processor (1.73GHz,533MHz,1MB L2 cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Business
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
1024MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
80GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
6 cell Lithium-Ion Battery (53 Whr)
Dell™ Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-PCI Card (for Dual-Core Processors) edit
Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
65W AC Adapter


Less HDD but more battery and a resource DVD if that's your bag.

[thrakkie]

Cheers OP. Ordered one & upped the spec as suggested.

[tbibic]

Ordered one. Delivery on or before 2nd August. Thanks to the OP.

[staffyman]

Cheers OP. Ordered one & upped the spec as suggested.


Ditto...

Unfortunately destroyed my current laptop last night... :cry:


... so this has come around the right time! :thumbs:

[marke]

looks like it £343.64 now, not free delivery ?

[Bobo Justus]

No, n0710002 still £292 if you reduce the warranty to base.

[JonLaidlow]

What's this TrueLife™ screen technology?

[Bobo Justus]

What's this TrueLife™ screen technology?
It's in case you break your shaving mirror ie you can see you face, the TV, the sun, light bulbs and anything else which might reflect in it. It's horrible but almost every new laptop has it.

[driver8]

^^ get the lighting right and they're great, particularly for pics n movies (imho, of course) but it's a personal choice - I prefer the oldstyle, but my wife loves her vaio.

If you're mainly web & email (rather than pics n movs) then stick to oldstyle. :)

[Bobo Justus]

Seem to be taking forever and a day to ship my laptop. 5-6 days and still in "Pre Production".

[Browntoa]

then within a day it changes status about 4 times and gets shipped

[staffyman]

Seem to be taking forever and a day to ship my laptop. 5-6 days and still in "Pre Production".


Same here...

[davebish]

How would one of these (with the X2 TK53 chip) compare to a compaq Ive seen with a Core 2 Duo T5200? upping this Dell to 2Gig ram to compare with the compaq, both are a similar price. The compaq has Vista Home Prem instead of business and an Intel GMA950 (128MB shared) video card. I wont be gaming on it, just the ususal web/email/dvd writing etc
thanks.

[TigaSefi]

Still in pre production here too.

[ixi]

I ordered on the 12th and mine is still Pre-Production.

[Bobo Justus]

I ordered on the 12th and mine is still Pre-Production.
Been buying Dells for 7+ years and never waitied that long for a standard system. I'll be looking for some money off :D

[TigaSefi]

Been buying Dells for 7+ years and never waitied that long for a standard system. I'll be looking for some money off :D

And how would you go about getting that ? ;)

[Bobo Justus]

And how would you go about getting that ? ;)
I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you :D

Once you get the laptop Dell ain't wanting it back. Fill in the blanks. I have a delivery date of 2 August and that's not changed. I'd only ask for money off if it was delivered after that. Lots of £300 laptops kicking about at the mo but this Dell one is worth the wait.

£300 at Amazon in stock (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00079W7TG/thedvdforums-21)

£300 at Ebuyer in stock (http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/123115/)

[Bobo Justus]

Spoke with Dell and they said the machines were "well into production" and the date would be met and that the website "was wrong".

[TigaSefi]

Cheers for that. Might see some change then this week/next week.

EDIT : It is being delivered tomorrow between 12pm-5pm according to Mr Dell on the phone this morning.

[Bobo Justus]

Yeah, just had a call off Walsh Western. Monday PM delivery. Champion!

[ixi]

Ditto, Tomorrow between 12 and 5 :thumbs:

[TigaSefi]

Mine sitting at home now. Thanks Dell!

[staffyman]

Just found a voicemail. I've got Monday AM delivery... :)

[sappho]

price increase today!!

[Herbal]

How much now? My dads got shipped yesterday

[tbibic]

The spec I chose went up £36.

[Bobo Justus]

This is exactly the same machine as the Inspiron 1501.
Can anyone confirm this please? Would be nice to have access to the Inspiron's accesories. Dell are very slow to update their site as to what is and isn't suitable for the Vostro.

[ArthurDent]

Bobo....

To me it looks like they both have the same case / chassis and the internal components appear to be almost identical. Googling around it appears that I'm not the only one to have noticed the similarities : http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=146276

[Dick Long]

Bloke on that US forum says he bought his Inspiron 1501 for $374 (£183!) Grrr :mad:

[Bobo Justus]

Bobo....
To me it looks like they both have the same case / chassis and the internal components appear to be almost identical.
Ta for that :)

Bloke on that US forum says he bought his Inspiron 1501 for $374 (£183!) Grrr :mad:
Yeah, but do you REALLY want to live in the USA?

[Dick Long]

Ta for that :)


Yeah, but do you REALLY want to live in the USA?
Not permanently now though we did live in Southern Illinois for a couple of years a while back. We currently go over once or twice a year and are hoping to arrange things so we can spend up to the 3 months each year allowed to non-residents.

Ever been?

[Bobo Justus]

Not permanently now though we did live in Southern Illinois for a couple of years a while back. We currently go over once or twice a year and are hoping to arrange things so we can spend up to the 3 months each year allowed to non-residents.

Ever been?
Yeah, lived near Boston for 2 years and go back once a year for Thanksgiving. I don't know how that guy got that for what he says (I don't believe him although you can get good deals in the US from Dell because they really fight to live in the US market and their phone agents will do anything for a sale as long as you don't mind posting in rebates too).

I prefer the higher UK prices as we have the NHS :nuts:

[Dick Long]

$399 seems the baseline for US laptops now. Office Depot were doing a reasonable spec Toshiba for that when we were over last month. Not easily accessible to visitors though because of the mail-in rebates :(

I prefer the higher UK prices as we have the NHS
Each to their own ...

[abbott]

$399 seems the baseline for US laptops now. Office Depot were doing a reasonable spec Toshiba for that when we were over last month. Not easily accessible to visitors though because of the mail-in rebates :(


Each to their own ...

I thought Dell were going to sell trough Wallmart over there ?

[Bobo Justus]

I thought Dell were going to sell trough Wallmart over there ?
Dell's thinking about selling to many more places (they do loads now with "refurbished" stock) but I think Mr Walton may be waiting to see if Mr Dell ends up in the big house once the Department of Justice finishes sniffin' around their statements on their finances :p

[Dick Long]

... but I think Mr Walton may be waiting to see if Mr Dell ends up in the big house once the Department of Justice finishes sniffin' around their statements on their finances :p
He's probably got the patience to wait given that he (Sam Walton) died in 1992 ;)

[Quinten]

This is a good idea, anyone done it?

I did: http://www.awooga.nl/dell-icious/

I need a spare laptop, but I guess I could reuse a copy of XP retail I have and dont currently use (Linux on desktop machines).

If I'm right the Vista OS basic is worth about £60 I think?

I only got a tenner for Vista Basic though, and am still waiting for the tenner for Works to come through. Was allowed to keep the media though :)

[rwniel]

I did: http://www.awooga.nl/dell-icious/

I only got a tenner for Vista Basic though, and am still waiting for the tenner for Works to come through. Was allowed to keep the media though :)That sounds like a good idea - any idea what a copy of Vista Business might be worth to Dell?

Robert

[chrisudell]

For those who prefer Dual Core, Inspiron 6400 (search term: N07642) (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://clkuk.tradedoubler.com/click?p(702)a(60823)g(19472)) for £351inc


Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core T2080 Processor (1.73GHz,533MHz,1MB L2 cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Business
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
1024MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
80GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
6 cell Lithium-Ion Battery (53 Whr)
Dell™ Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-PCI Card (for Dual-Core Processors) edit
Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
65W AC Adapter


Less HDD but more battery and a resource DVD if that's your bag.


This has also gone up in price, its now £387but has 2Gb RAM!!!

I went for this

[Bobo Justus]

I'll definitely be asking for money for that Vista Basic. I hate Vista anyway but the experience on this laptop (just got it an hour ago) is horrible. It's so annoying. I moved a 800mb file from the SD card reader and you would of thought Vista I was trying to turn the moon around its axis FFS. Vista's too ******* nosey and wants to scan everything you do which brings this laptop to a standstill. And I thought Vostro's didn't come loaded with crap? This is full of it. I've removed all 3 partitions and installed XP. It's such a relief to see XP (http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/898/xpmv1.jpg) being installed :D

Anyhoo, very nice bit of kit. It's got an old IBM feel to it which I like. The screen is also not glossy in the slightest and needs the brightness ramped up to the max. All in all a very attractive item.

XP drivers here (http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&osl=EN&catid=-1&impid=-1&servicetag=&SystemID=VOS_N_1000&hidos=WLH&hidlang=en) obviously if you go down the XP route have everything at hand and maybe think about not deleting the Dell partition until everything is up and running. Not that I'm suggesting Vista could ever be up and running :nuts:

[marke]

This has also gone up in price, its now £287 but has 2Gb RAM!!!

I went for this

£387 :thumbs:

[rwniel]

This has also gone up in price, its now £387 but has 2Gb RAM!!!I went for thisThat's the model I went with - seems like a nice balance between cost and power for everything other than gaming. You get a firewire port as well so I'll be able to use it with my camcorder.

Robert

[Bobo Justus]

>Returning OS and other rubbish


Further to you Email below, I have raised a Credit request for Microsoft Vista Basic operating system DVD -£14.44 and Microsoft Works 8.5 CD - £4.81. Your reference number for total amount
of £22.94 is...


Pleased with that but when I think just how many Works CDs I've binned! :razz:

[Quinten]

:thumbs:

[Bobo Justus]

What settings did people change/make to use the Vostro 1000 with their Sky Netgear router? Works fine on my Belkin but I got a 2nd laptop for a mate and his Sky router is its usual rubbishness (always gave me problems with USB dongles).

Getting an "Acquiring Network" with good signal but can't connect. I'll need to spend an hour on it. So many things to do in such little time!

[Rob_Baker]

>Returning OS and other rubbish


Further to you Email below, I have raised a Credit request for Microsoft Vista Basic operating system DVD -£14.44 and Microsoft Works 8.5 CD - £4.81. Your reference number for total amount
of £22.94 is...


Pleased with that but when I think just how many Works CDs I've binned! :razz:


Vista basic £14.44?!?! the cheeks!

[Lonners]

I can't see these anymore, is the offer over?

[TigaSefi]

What settings did people change/make to use the Vostro 1000 with their Sky Netgear router? Works fine on my Belkin but I got a 2nd laptop for a mate and his Sky router is its usual rubbishness (always gave me problems with USB dongles).

Getting an "Acquiring Network" with good signal but can't connect. I'll need to spend an hour on it. So many things to do in such little time!

My Vostro 1000 refuses to connect to my netgear!! Absolutely won't have it!

[Bobo Justus]

My Vostro 1000 refuses to connect to my netgear!! Absolutely won't have it!
Still on Vista? That Netgear really is a nasty bit of kit if you use a lot of different dongles or anything that it doesn't like. I'm going around tonight/tomorrow with my notes on other stuff I did for him (2 Belkin dongles, a Netgear dongle, and a mini-PCI wireless on a Toshiba laptop) and I'll sort it then. IIRC I think I had to change the settings on the Netgear (and the password) because the Netgear didn't seem to like things connecting that were new to it.

I don't know why that is but that's the notes I have. I'll get some screen grabs if I get it sorted and post here. If anyone gets it going please post your settings. If this is serious problem (drivers etc) then a temporary dongle will sort it in the short term. Something along the lines of this from Amazon (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=thedvdforums-21&site=dvd) (or Play.com (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://playcom.at/thedvdforums?DURL=http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/615573/Belkin-802-11g-Wireless-USB-2-0-Network-Adapter/Product.html)) Those are OK as long as they work first time. I carry one around with me all the time and never have problems but some folk do.

[TigaSefi]

Still on vista. Yeah it's looking like I might need to get a different cable router which aren't ten-a-penny like ADSL.

[Bobo Justus]

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4258/billgatesmugshotjs2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Vista basic £14.44?!?! the cheeks!
..was in ASDA last night and they had Vista Ultimate for the a great price of err.... £293.97 :nuts:

[staffyman]

I'll definitely be asking for money for that Vista Basic...

XP drivers here (http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&osl=EN&catid=-1&impid=-1&servicetag=&SystemID=VOS_N_1000&hidos=WLH&hidlang=en) obviously if you go down the XP route have everything at hand and maybe think about not deleting the Dell partition until everything is up and running. Not that I'm suggesting Vista could ever be up and running :nuts:


I'm going this route also, however have not done this kind of thing in years (formatting and re-installing Windows).

Would I need all of those drivers in that list? I upped the specs to the Dual Core Athlon and the largest battery, but the rest I left as they were.

A fun weekend is in store for me I think...

[Bobo Justus]

Dead easy. XP will do everything for you from step 1.

Restart the machine and F2 or F12 it and set it to boot from the XP CDROM (the DVDROM drive). it'll then boot to the XP disc. Press a key when asked to do so. Windows will then offer you up a few options. if you want to delete (I think) the 2 partitions do that then you'll have no partitions or complications and only one space to put XP (so nothing else to choose from). You really can't go wrong up to there. If it offers to format choose quick format.

XP will then install (40mins) and restart quite happily without any of the Vostro drivers. You'll have pretty good use of the machine but of course you need the drivers to get everything going as it should. The drivers I downloaded came to 161mb and they were:

ATI IGP Xpress 1150 (Dell code R156746.exe)
Broadcom 440x 10-100 Integrated Controller (Dell code R154493.exe)
Chip Set ATI SMBus (Dell code R134875.exe)
Conexant D330,HDA,MDC,v.92,modem (Dell code R147115.exe)
CPU AMD Processor Driver (Dell code R135384.exe)
Dell Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Mini-Card (Dell code R151517.exe)
Input Dell Touchpad Pointing Stick (Dell code R155586.exe)
SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio (Dell code R153908.exe)

Obviously, you don't need all those if you're not bothered about some of that (modem etc) but I always install everything required by the system because that way you tend to keep a backup of the driver for when you might need it.

Dell XP Vostro drivers (http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&osl=EN&catid=-1&impid=-1&servicetag=&SystemID=VOS_N_1000&hidos=WLH&hidlang=en)

You'll need quite a few updates for XP depending on your disc if you've not got a newer version of XP so it's best to pop an antivirus app and firewall in before going to Windows Update (http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&osl=EN&catid=-1&impid=-1&servicetag=&SystemID=VOS_N_1000&hidos=WLH&hidlang=en) for those updates (which'll offer you up some new Dell drivers from time to time too).

XP Antivirus free (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=aff)
XP Firewall free (http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=dbtopnav_zaav)

[marke]

getting back to the bargain in question is there any deals on laptops still running ?

[staffyman]

Dead easy. XP will do everything for you from step 1.

...



Wow. Thanks for writing all of that Bobo, that's really good of you.

It doesn't seem too daunting a task now.

The XP copy I own is a recently purchased OEM version with SP2 so, hopefully, it'll be (reasonably) up to date.

I may even give this a go this evening.

Thanks again for your post. I'm sure it's going to come in really useful! :thumbs:

[Bobo Justus]

Wow. Thanks for writing all of that Bobo, that's really good of you.
No worries :) Even if it has SP2 it may still need around 80 updates.


Sorted the Sky Netgear this afternoon. 20 minutes of my time. Reset the router, renewed the password and killed the Dell wireless application (the little bars next to the clock, click on it and untick where it says let this do wireless or something and hit apply). Windows then takes over on the wireless. That sorted it. Dunno what caused it but glad it's done and out of my hair.

[Johnr]

Well I sold the Dell Vista Basic CD, COA and Vista Sticker for around £30 on eBay (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-582776-5826355) give or take a few quid for fees etc!

I really don't understand the COA actually. The 'rip' is a security measure yet it is already 'ripped' from the factory anyway :|

[jaminb]

just seen this, is it still available?

Are there any other similar deals. I just need something functional (not a gamer or IT worker!) but best value for money obviously, so anything vastly underpriced will do.

[Ali X]

you need to snap these offers up as soon as they come, they dont last long mate

[Alan b]

As this is no longer available at this price I'm closing this.

Closing