Just for clarity, I thought I'd try to highlight some of the errors and misconceptions in your lengthy email.
On Sun, 5 Dec 2021 at 03:16, richardkolacz...@hotmail.com <richardkolacz...@hotmail.com> wrote: > the option of FreeDOS 3.0 is not always available There is no such thing as FreeDOS 3.0 and never has been. Maybe someone at HP made a mistake but it does not exist. > the G7 version always had FreeDOS 2.0 There is no such thing as FreeDOS 2.0 either. It does not exist. > it is not possible to reinstall Windows on a larger (or another for that > matter) PCIe M.2 SSD This is not true. You can reinstall it or you can copy it, whichever you prefer. It may be that your PC cannot take a larger disk but that is a different question. If you wish to *move* Windows to a bigger disk, you could do this: * get a cheap external drive such as a USB hard disk * boot from a Linux USB key * use GParted to copy your Windows install to the external disk * remove your small internal disk * fit a larger internal disk * boot from the Linux key again and copy your partitions back. Resize as needed. * boot from a Windows USB key and repair your boot record so it's bootable > Various manufacturers/vendors of PCIe SSD would not be willing to state they > would offer a refund for purchase of a new larger SSD M.2 if it turns out > that the operating system could not be migrated to the new SSD. No, they won't. If their kit is fine but you don't know how to do it, why should they give you your money back? > Similarly, the few software houses (with OS "clone" capabilities) completely > side-stepped the issue of refund if their software failed to "migrate" the OS > to a new larger PCIe SSD). They can't. They don't know that hardware incompatibilities or user error will stop it working, so it is not possible for them to 100% guarantee it will work. > It turns out, after reading about the thousandth google search result on the > matter, that the "formatting/installation process" to have an operating > system on a PCIe M.2 SSD is "proprietory/custom" for each computer > manufacturer Not true as far as I know. I've formatted several of them, some repeatedly, and never used a vendor tool. Sounds like someone somewhere is lying. > AND Windows will not support what is needed to allow cloning of the > operating system Not true. > (BECAUSE the format of a PCIe SSD is custom). Not true. > As a spare part I could not buy from HP a larger capacity PCIe SSD (with > windows) - in fact when was available, just to replace the existing 256 GByte > drive was about US$950 (more than what I actually paid for the laptop). It is generally a bad idea to buy spares from a system vendor this way because of the expense. > I gather that buying Windows already installing on a PCIe SSD A Windows install is tailored to that PC. They can't be sold pre-installed. > has to be much more expensive than the separate purchase of Windows and PCIe > SSD No; because it doesn't exist. But a manufacturer's spare is not the same thing. > because of the "complexity" involved of installing an OS onto a PCIe SSD > (whereas an OS on a SATA SSD is relatively easy). They are 100% as easy as each other; they are the same process. > After using the laptop with Windows booting from the PCIe SSD - running > Windows from a SATA SSD is so very slow (like about a minute compared to a > few seconds). Shouldn't be, no. The difference in my experience is tiny. > So I am "window shopping" for a "better laptop" than what I have at present > and from my experience it is better for me to have the factory preconfigure > "everything" rather than messing around with saving a few dollars and trying > to do things myself (eg install OS on PCIe SSD, RAM memory upgrade that is > truely compatible (speed, voltage) etc). In my extensive experience -- over a third of a century -- the reverse is true. It is far *far* better to learn to do this stuff yourself and as a result it will save you thousands and a lot of grief. > As a side note, apparently the main market for HP computers with FreeDOS > installed is CHINA. Large use of pirated OSes because it's not illegal there. Also, several domestic Linux distributions which are improving fast and leapfrogging Western ones: Deepin, Kylin, etc. > I hope to hear soon from Jim Hall regarding "what's up" with the HP FreeDOS > 3.0. You've been told already but you apparently refuse to accept it. It is a typo or something. This product is not real, does not exist, never had and probably never will. -- Liam Proven ~ Profile: https://about.me/liamproven Email: lpro...@cix.co.uk ~ gMail/gTalk/FB: lpro...@gmail.com Twitter/LinkedIn: lproven ~ Skype: liamproven UK: (+44) 7939-087884 ~ Czech [+ WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal]: (+420) 702-829-053 _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
