Does anyone know of...

[Bob Schroeck]

...a good, reputable place where I can purchase a copy of Windows XP, preferably Professional? Peggy and I are looking into getting a laptop, but the places with the best deals install only Vista, at least through automated online ordering.
Thanks!

-- Bob
---------
I intend to be a freak for the rest of my life, and I shall baffle you with cabbages and rhinoceroses in the kitchen and incessant quotations from Now We Are Six through the mouthpiece of Lord Snooty's giant poisoned electric head. So theeeeeere....

[The Hunterminator]

www.amazon.com/Microsoft-...234&sr=8-2
I've bought things at Amazon.com several times and I've never had any problems.

[robkelk]

One of the computer stores local to me still has some copies of XP. (It's the OEM version, so they have to sell hardware with it. Do you need another hard drive?)
I believe they do mail order, but I'm not sure.
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Kokuten]

www.newegg.com

buy the OEM copy. they don't ask, and neither should you.
OEM liscencing is a scam anyway.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[jpub]

Under the XP OEM rules, you only need to buy *any* piece of computer HW. Including a $0.05 screw. --
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"

[Bob Schroeck]

Everyone, thank you. Yes, I was overlooking some obvious vendors.
In case anyone's interested, at the moment we're looking at a Dell Vostro 1700, courtesy of a pointer from edealinfo.com.

-- Bob
---------
I intend to be a freak for the rest of my life, and I shall baffle you with cabbages and rhinoceroses in the kitchen and incessant quotations from Now We Are Six through the mouthpiece of Lord Snooty's giant poisoned electric head. So theeeeeere....

[jpub]

Bob, you may want to check out this site:
www.dfsdirectsales.com
It's where Dell auctions off all their previously-leased stock.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"

[Epsilon]

---

It's where Dell auctions off all their previously-leased stock.

---

I have had nothing but bad experiences with Dell products and services.
---------------
Epsilon

[Xenoproctologist]

My school is an all-Dell facility, and the computer labs average a hardware failure per 25-computer lab every two weeks (usually the power supply, apparently caused by bad capacitors on the motherboard). Honestly, I'd rather have a disease than a Dell. For that matter, I'd say the same of any consumer-grade notebook, plasticky and infested with annoyance-ware as they are.
If I were buying a straight-laptop right now, I'd probably look first at a Lenovo Thinkpad, followed by something from HP's corporate line. Personally, though, I'm rather thrilled with my Fujitsu T2010, though odds are it's probably not what you're looking for.

[Valles]

I can't say I've run a 'corporate fleet' of the things, but I used the same Dell for something like five years with not a single major hardware problem.
So, apparently, mileage may very much vary.

===============================================
"Reseeestunce ees fiutil. Yoo weeel bee Useemooletud. Borg Borg Borg."
===========

===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Morganite]

If people are in the mood to make hardware recommendations...
Could anyone suggest where I could get some ram for this motherboard? www.dealtime.com/xPF-MB-E...X-KM400-RT
I'd like to upgrade to a full 2 gig, and at the moment I'm seeing so much price variation and so many names I've never seen before that I have no idea what's actually good. '.';
-Morgan."Mikuru-chan molested me! I'm... so happy!"
-Haruhi, "The Ecchi of Haruhi Suzumiya"
---(Not really)

[Kokuten]

newegg, Corsair.
www.newegg.com/Product/Pr...6820145505
newegg, Kingston.
www.newegg.com/Product/Pr...6820141429
I would install either of these products with no hesitation. They exceed the required speeds for memory in your motherboard, so you should have zero problems. Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[jpub]

You guys are on crack.
I've been purchasing anywhere between $400k and $1mil of Dell equipment for my facility for the past 5.5 years, and I've had *nothing* but good experiences.
If someone comes to me for computer advice, and they don't want to spend a lot to get a game-tuned PC like an Alienware (which is Dell, BTW) or a VoodooPC (which is HP), and especially don't want to piece-build, I *without fail* advise them to get Dell.
Only recently I've deigned to even consider HP, and that's only because of the company's complete right turn in strategy and their dedicated effort to dominate the market.

Dell's computers are decent quality, they have the best warranties I've ever dealt with, I've *never* regretted advising someone to get a Dell, and I've had nothing but the absolute best experiences with them. There's many reasons they're one of (if not the) biggest computer retailer around, and *quality* is one of the prime reasons.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"

[robkelk]

---

I've been purchasing anywhere between $400k and $1mil of Dell equipment for my facility for the past 5.5 years, and I've had *nothing* but good experiences.

---

You're lucky, then.
My experience with Dells aren't as bad as others' here, but it isn't as good as yours, either. I'm down to one Dell, and it's currently got the lid off and the hard drive out... but the rest of it works fine. (And as long as it's open, it's getting a bigger hard drive.)
Given the choice, though, I'd rather have a genuine IBM. (Not a Lenovo; one of the older boxes.)
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Acyl]

Um, about Dell hardware...
...as far as I understand, it isn't all manufactured in the same place.
I can't really cite facts to back this up, but it's what I've heard from friends and colleagues.
Most of the Dell stuff on sale in the US has good quality control, since they're at least assembled, if not entirely built, in the West. I think the European ones are supposed to be okay as well.
But the Dell machines intended for, say, Asian markets tend to be of lower quality. Those would be put together in Southeast Asia, China, India, and so on. I used to work for a radio station in Singapore that used Dell computers, and reliability was a major complaint among staff.
So not all Dells are created equal.
-- Acyl

[jpub]

Oh, of course it's not all manufactured in the same place. For example, for my laptop at work, there's more than 9 different possible vendors for the *same specification* DVD Writer.
I can't say anything about what the other markets get - I know the US/Canada market, since that's where I am. I also admit that my facility, myself, and my coworkers may get some extra attention, since our goodwill is worth a *massive* amount to Dell - it's a huge feather in their cap to be the supplier for a high-profile scientific project.
I also admit that we tend to work under strict Evergreen plans, which means that a Dekstop/Workstation/Laptop is considered 'spare' after three years. Our servers are supposed be replaced after four, but they've been around for more than six. HOWEVER, that does make us atypical - a lot of places keep their computers in use for far longer than we do, and aren't as strict about keeping machines under warranty. I know a lot of places buy machines with no warranty at all, or keep a machine going for as much as 8 to 10 years.
--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel
"Camaraderie, adventure, and steel on steel. The stuff of legend! Right, Boo?"