just install XP on it.

You should still have the software from the old machines, right? Or is this a new setup?

try tigerdirect.com

I went with my neighbor last weekend to best buy to get him a laptop.  All had Vista on them. I asked the sales guy if they would uninstall this new stuff, Nope.  I asked if it would void anything if we installed XP instaed, and they told us the warranty would be voided.  

Good luck.  

you can go to dell.com and order one with xp on it!!

Quoted: you can go to dell.com and order one with xp on it!!

+1 They will build to your specifications.

Quoted: I went with my neighbor last weekend to best buy to get him a laptop.  All had Vista on them. I asked the sales guy if they would uninstall this new stuff, Nope.  I asked if it would void anything if we installed XP instaed, and they told us the warranty would be voided.   Good luck.

warranties do not cover software to begin with, so no warranty can be voided.

-d

I don't think you need XP..

I don't have Vista yet.. maybe tomorrow.. but from what I have read about it.. Vista has a compatability mode.. just like XP did..

On Vista you can install an application and tell it to run as if it were installed on XP SP2.

www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-compatibility-mode/

Quoted: Quoted: I went with my neighbor last weekend to best buy to get him a laptop.  All had Vista on them. I asked the sales guy if they would uninstall this new stuff, Nope.  I asked if it would void anything if we installed XP instaed, and they told us the warranty would be voided.   Good luck.   warranties do not cover software to begin with, so no warranty can be voided. -d

i can tell you from experience from calling gateway AND dell.  that if you change the operating system on the computer and you call tech support.   if the operating system has changed.   their scripts are written for the operating system included with the system.  

i called gateway with problems with my cd-rw drive at the time.   the system came with ME.  i installed XP on it.   they told me im sorry their is nothing we can do, your system came with me NO XP.  

dell call was about a dial up modem !!

Quoted: I don't think you need XP.. I don't have Vista yet.. maybe tomorrow.. but from what I have read about it.. Vista has a compatability mode.. just like XP did.. On Vista you can install an application and tell it to run as if it were installed on XP SP2. www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-compatibility-mode/

i have had to use compatibility mode on a couple programs on my system running ultimate,   if  xp home would not be available.   This would be your best bet  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I went with my neighbor last weekend to best buy to get him a laptop.  All had Vista on them. I asked the sales guy if they would uninstall this new stuff, Nope.  I asked if it would void anything if we installed XP instaed, and they told us the warranty would be voided.   Good luck.   warranties do not cover software to begin with, so no warranty can be voided. -d i can tell you from experience from calling gateway AND dell.  that if you change the operating system on the computer and you call tech support.   if the operating system has changed.   their scripts are written for the operating system included with the system.   i called gateway with problems with my cd-rw drive at the time.   the system came with ME.  i installed XP on it.   they told me im sorry their is nothing we can do, your system came with me NO XP.   dell call was about a dial up modem !!

Right, they might not give you support for that hardware because a different OS is on there... but it doesn't void your warranty.

-d

Quoted: Right, they might not give you support for that hardware because a different OS is on there... but it doesn't void your warranty. -d

That is correct per Dell. You get no support but if you have a failure the warranty is still in force.

Have the boss get a box that is balls to the wall...

IBUYPOWER

have him steel one from his kid..  and get the kid a new one..

I seem to be hearing alot of this.

Seems alot of people dont think Vista is most powerful

Quoted: Quoted: Right, they might not give you support for that hardware because a different OS is on there... but it doesn't void your warranty. -d That is correct per Dell. You get no support but if you have a failure the warranty is still in force.

The problem is then Dell and HP (and others, but those are the two I have the most experience with) will not give you an RMA number or dispatch someone for repair.  This is illegal according to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, but they still do it.  A customer of ours had to reinstall Windows on 20 servers to get Dell to replace two RAID controllers (PERC4 something or other) in each system.  The total cost of the cards was almost $32k so they hired a lawyer.  That still didn't get Dell to honor their "guaranteed" onsite support.  They had to downgrade to XP on all of the systems to get Dell to dispatch.

To explain it a different way, how are you going to get Dell to send you a replacement part or dispatch if you can't get past the first level tech support moron?z

Dell UK don't care either way. All they want you to run are the Dell diagnostics which boot from their own partition on the drive and are independent of the version of Windows/Linux/Whatever you are running...

(PCs with XP are still available from Dell anyway.)

My Suggestion:

Call Dell/Gateway/HP (whoever "floats" your boat per se)

Ask for the business "dept". VERY FEW businesses are going to upgrade to Vista in the near future because of the cost of deployment.

The people on the phone I am sure will know exactly what to do and get a good laptop with XP on it.

"Brick & Mortar" stores like CircuitCity, BestBuy and such, they cater to the "Moms & Pops" who have no idea (usually) of the difference between Vista and XP and just want something to get on the internet. Thus, they will carry what is easiest to put on the shelf, which right now is the newest OS, Vista.

On the flipside, most businesses will RARELY shop for their computers in BestBuy. They call a major OEM like Dell, and get a computer with the exact Operating System they need. Dell & Gateway know this, and they will put XP on a desktop/laptop for your boss.

The other option is to buy from Dell's outlet store.  Those will still have XP on them and are discounted more than the regular ones.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Right, they might not give you support for that hardware because a different OS is on there... but it doesn't void your warranty. -d That is correct per Dell. You get no support but if you have a failure the warranty is still in force. The problem is then Dell and HP (and others, but those are the two I have the most experience with) will not give you an RMA number or dispatch someone for repair.  This is illegal according to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, but they still do it.  A customer of ours had to reinstall Windows on 20 servers to get Dell to replace two RAID controllers (PERC4 something or other) in each system.  The total cost of the cards was almost $32k so they hired a lawyer.  That still didn't get Dell to honor their "guaranteed" onsite support.  They had to downgrade to XP on all of the systems to get Dell to dispatch. To explain it a different way, how are you going to get Dell to send you a replacement part or dispatch if you can't get past the first level tech support moron?z

That is when you ask for a manager, or you call your rep at the company. I had a tech support guy that wouldn't replace a PSU on a server that has been killing PSU's about every 3-4 months. He accused me of trying to obtain PSU's for other servers that were out of warranty. I hung up, called our Rep... within 4 hours I had a tech at our office with PSU's in hand and the tech did some more diagnostics and he replaced the motherboard along with both PSU's. Apparently something along the line was frying the PSU's. I have yet to have a bad experience with Dell.

-d

Quoted: I seem to be hearing alot of this. Seems alot of people dont think Vista is most powerful

People don't want to deal with the myriad of patches that will be released to fix all of the crap that turns out to be not working or incompatible. Personally I'm not installing Vista for another 6 months at least. Our office isn't planning on going to Vista for at least 8 months out.

-d

you call your rep at the company

I've done that many times with Dell without any luck.  I've even talked to their manager dozens of times.  They have a very high turn-over so we get switched from one Mexican rep to another.  The manager suggested that we find someone that speaks Spanish natively to get service from Dell small business group.  I don't know anyone that speaks Spanish so that was a dead-end.  With our guaranteed next day response, I've waited more than 18 months for a replacement part.  With the last big order I placed, Dell sent the wrong monitors and it took 22 months of fighting to get an RMA #.  After sending them back, Dell only credited us for half of the monitors.  Other than when the item works out of the box and doesn't have a problem, I have never had a positive experience with Dell.  They simply don't care.

Back to the original topic, if you don't or can't follow their tech support script exactly then they will not help you.  When, for example, they tell you to click on the "Start" button at the bottom left and you mention again that you ordered the system w/o an OS, you reach an impasse.  In effect they are violating the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act because, as an example I saw last month, a power supply issue is in no way caused or related to the installed OS.  The last system I ordered didn't have the extra RAM we paid for so I spent many hours fighting Dell without luck.  Because I was unable to tell them what the screen said under System Properties under the Windows Control Panel, they refuse to ship the RAM even though the system was bought without an OS.z