Chris why not sell the laptop with Ubuntu ? why Windows?
On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 9:17 PM, Chris O'Regan <[email protected]>wrote: > This weekend I tasked myself with installing Windows on my laptop. The > screen is busted (dead CFL bulb, most probably) but I have someone who > is interested in buying it from me on condition that we can fix it. > The internal CD drive is dead, but I was able to hack together a USB > CD-ROM. I had an XP Home CD and a valid code for XP Home on the bottom > of my laptop. I figured it wouldn't take long to load Windows, patch > the system and install the drivers. I could hand it off to my buyer > who would then see if it could be repaired. > > So I boot the Windows XP CD and wait...wait...wait...After some time > it complains I have a virus. Huh? I wiped the drive with DBAN! How > could any virus survive that?! I boot to FreeDOS, tinker with the > partition table, make sure that it looks good and try again. > Reboot...wait...wait...wait. You have a virus! WTF? I keep trying > different things but the end result is the same. You have a virus! > *Sigh* There is an error code, so I search for it and find a Microsoft > knowledge base article that explains the error. One of the reasons for > this virus message? Because I booted the installation media on a USB > drive and the CD does not load a USB driver. You couldn't tell me > that? Why couldn't you just load a USB driver?! Grr... > > Fortunately my sister has the same laptop as me. So, I borrowed her > working CD drive and installed it in mine. This time the Windows XP > installation disk loaded fine. I start the installation and format the > 80G drive with NTFS. And it formats. And formats. And formats. WTF? > Why does it takes over an hour to format a friggen hard drive?!?!?! > > Anyway, the OS finally loads and I reboot and Windows loads. I try to > log in and it tells me I have to register it first. Okay. Let's > register over the Internet. Sorry, that didn't work. Hrmmm...maybe it > didn't set up my Internet connection. I replug the network cable into > the router and reboot. Still have to register, it still doesn't see > the Internet. I try other things, rinse and repeat. How am I supposed > to register over the Internet if it won't let me set up the Internet > connection?! > > I finally click on the button that takes me through the process of > calling a real human and I notice that the key I entered is not there. > Hrmm...I click a button to re-enter it. Type...type...type. Invalid > key. Huh? Check...check...check. Invalid key. WTF? I check the key > several times and I typed it in correctly. It dawns on me, the key on > the bottom of my laptop is a "Gateway Windows XP Home" key and I am > trying to install "Microsoft Windows XP Home". Really? Really? You > have to make such a friggen distinction?!?! > > *Sigh* So Windows is still not working and even though I have a valid > license key I may have to resort to piracy in order to get this stupid > thing activated. Why?!?!?! > > > Two weekends ago I got my new laptop. I inserted a CD into the drive > and rebooted. Ubuntu 8.10 loaded and while I browsed the Internet it > installed itself on my computer. Thirty minutes later, I rebooted and > I had a fully-functional system. No whining, no complaining, it just > installed. It just worked. It didn't complain about viruses, it didn't > asking for validation. > > It. Just. Worked. > > > Chris > _______________________________________________ > mlug mailing list > [email protected] > https://listes.koumbit.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mlug-listserv.mlug.ca > -- Tired of WindowsXP? try Ubuntu! http://www.ubuntu.com/ MLUG - Montreal Linux User Group http://mlug.ca/cms/en/blog/denny
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