UPGRADING MY O.S.

[RoBot1ks]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1200 laptop that is running Windows XP Home Edition SP2. I am wanting to upgrade to Windows XP Media Center Edition SP3. (NOT READY FOR VISTA YET)

So far I have made backups of all of my Music, Videos, Pictures, and Programs.

 I really don't know what to do about the drivers for my laptop...like speakers and other stuff. Do I need to make a copy of them, or what?

Thanks,
RoBo

[torque154]

you can get the drivers from dell's website.  I don't understand why you want to upgrade to media center.  it's just a tiny bit slower when putting in discs and not any better but who am I to complain.

[RoBot1ks]

you can get the drivers from dell's website.  I don't understand why you want to upgrade to media center.  it's just a tiny bit slower and not any better but who am I to complain.

Ok so I am going to write down the names of all the drivers before I upgrade because when I install Media Center, it will delete everything off of this partition...so I wouldn't know which drivers to use...Right?

[torque154]

acutally thats not a bad idea.   When looking at the drivers page http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=INSPIRON%201200&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=&impid=  Audio  has only one but like your LAN port has several and I wouldn't know which way your connecting.  If your installing vista or any other OS, thats when reto fitting drivers usually come in.

[RoBot1ks]

acutally thats not a bad idea.   When looking at the drivers page http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=INSPIRON%201200&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=&impid=  Audio  has only one but like your LAN port has several and I wouldn't know which way your connecting.  If your installing vista or any other OS, thats when reto fitting drivers usually come in.

Actually, I was wanting to Dual Boot on my mom's Desktop...Media center and Vista or something.Just t o see which one i like better. Would I need a separate HDD to Dual boot? I really know nothing about it.

Thanks for the link by the way 

[torque154]

no you don't.  there are several ways you can dual boot XP and Vista.  Step one.  This is the easiest way.  insert media center and make a partition however big you want XP to be.  then install it.  restart your PC and insert Vista.  install it to the the rest of your HDD (new partition) and there you go.  Vista dual booted.  you will get a boot manager that you can choose to run XP or vista

[RoBot1ks]

no you don't.  there are several ways you can dual boot XP and Vista.  Step one.  This is the easiest way.  insert media center and make a partition however big you want XP to be.  then install it.  restart your PC and insert Vista.  install it to the the rest of your HDD (new partition) and there you go.  Vista dual booted.  you will get a boot manager that you can choose to run XP or vista

Dang...That sounds easy enough..But there is a problem I thought I would run into..How big do I make the partiiton?

A couple weeks ago I was reinstalling xp home edition for one of my friends and he had two partitions...one big one, and the second one was very small...How would I configure it right on mine?

Another question... Should I try to Dual boot on the desktop or my laptop...Considering my laptop is only like 35gb HDD...I was thinking about upgrading that though

[torque154]

Dang...That sounds easy enough..But there is a problem I thought I would run into..How big do I make the partiiton?

A couple weeks ago I was reinstalling xp home edition for one of my friends and he had two partitions...one big one, and the second one was very small...How would I configure it right on mine?

Another question... Should I try to Dual boot on the desktop or my laptop...Considering my laptop is only like 35gb HDD...I was thinking about upgrading that though

Thats simple.  every 1000 is one GB so XP is about 3-5 GB big so 10 GB should be fine with a few programs.   Vista needs 15 GB to intall so 20Gb or 20000 should be good.  The rest of the space could be swap space or installing other programs.  the plus side of doing it this way is so that when you have to reinstall, you don't need to wipe that partiition.  This may confuse people when installing programs where to put the install directory.  if your going to be using one more than the other.  adjust it so that partition has more space than the other.  the only science is the min. amount of space required. 

I had my laptop dual booting with a 20GB HDD but I don't recomend it if your using it daily run out of space quickly.   you could always use your Home and put it on the desktop. 

[RoBot1ks]

Thats simple.  every 1000 is one GB so XP is about 3-5 GB big so 10 GB should be fine with a few programs.   Vista needs 15 GB to intall so 20Gb or 20000 should be good.  The rest of the space could be swap space or installing other programs.  the plus side of doing it this way is so that when you have to reinstall, you don't need to wipe that partiition.  This may confuse people when installing programs where to put the install directory.  if your going to be using one more than the other.  adjust it so that partition has more space than the other.  the only science is the min. amount of space required. 

I had my laptop dual booting with a 20GB HDD but I don't recomend it if your using it daily run out of space quickly.   you could always use your Home and put it on the desktop. 

Yeah I think I will try it on the desktop first and see how it goes..Then I will get a bigger and faster HDD for my laptop..so it can handle all of my junk 

I will be buying a new case for the desktop this summer, so it will be a great computer once i am done haha.

[torque154]

I will be buying a new case for the desktop this summer, so it will be a great computer once i am done haha.

Nice.    just remember to take off any HP stickers it has otherwise it's going to corrupt something or destroy your HDD.  :P 

[RoBot1ks]

Nice.    just remember to take off any HP stickers it has otherwise it's going to corrupt something or destroy your HDD.  :P 

Huh?? 

[torque154]

I don't like HP.  I think they make horrible drivers. most of thier software. and HP has been known to have bad HDD.  I don't know anyone who havn't replaced their HDD. 

[RoBot1ks]

I don't like HP.  I think they make horrible drivers. most of thier software. and HP has been known to have bad HDD.  I don't know anyone who havn't replaced their HDD. 

I don't have HP....The desktop and laptop are both Dell. I am getting the case from
http://www.xoxide.com/
but i don't know which one yet

[torque154]

thats pretty cool that it comes with a cold cathoid.  not to mention that it has an estata port up front.  glad it's not a wieird cut acrilic sides.

[RoBot1ks]

thats pretty cool that it comes with a cold cathoid.  not to mention that it has an estata port up front.  glad it's not a wieird cut acrilic sides.

yeah

[PspKicks316]

NO! Ok, I'm not reading the whole thing. I got to the HORRIBLE ADVICE that torque gave. NO, you can't just install XP:MCE and then Vista!!!
When you install Vista, it will overwrite the XP Bootmgr. You will only be able to boot into Vista, you will NOT have an option to boot into XP:MCE.

If you want to dual boot 2 Windows systems like that, the easiest way I have found is by downloading EasyBCD [google it,it's free] in Vista and setting it up so it has XP:MCE in there. It's a VERY easy program to use, and it does EVERYTHING for you. To add a new entry [in this case XP:MCE] all you do is hit new entry and choose Windows XP and which Partition it's on and hit save. Then you'll be able to choose which to boot into when you start up your computer.

[RoBot1ks]

NO! Ok, I'm not reading the whole thing. I got to the HORRIBLE ADVICE that torque gave. NO, you can't just install XP:MCE and then Vista!!!
When you install Vista, it will overwrite the XP Bootmgr. You will only be able to boot into Vista, you will NOT have an option to boot into XP:MCE.

If you want to dual boot 2 Windows systems like that, the easiest way I have found is by downloading EasyBCD [google it,it's free] in Vista and setting it up so it has XP:MCE in there. It's a VERY easy program to use, and it does EVERYTHING for you. To add a new entry [in this case XP:MCE] all you do is hit new entry and choose Windows XP and which Partition it's on and hit save. Then you'll be able to choose which to boot into when you start up your computer.

Really?? OMG I am glad I didn't do it yet. Unfortunately my mom don't want me to do it on my laptop, so ill be doing it on her desktop...go figure.. I have two 160gb hard drives I need to check and see if they work..idk if i can release where i got them from..  .. it was pretty slick though. 

Yeah I like the EasyBCD...checked it out. That is probably what ill be using..Thanks.

[PspKicks316]

You're welcome. I'm glad I got to you before you tried it haha. Don't make the same mistake I've done!

You can also use EasyBCD for adding a linux partition to your Bootloader if you've installed Windows after linux, just do the same thing except choose Linux and it's partition and partition type.
Glad I could help

[torque154]

NO! Ok, I'm not reading the whole thing. I got to the HORRIBLE ADVICE that torque gave. NO, you can't just install XP:MCE and then Vista!!!
When you install Vista, it will overwrite the XP Bootmgr. You will only be able to boot into Vista, you will NOT have an option to boot into XP:MCE.

If you want to dual boot 2 Windows systems like that, the easiest way I have found is by downloading EasyBCD [google it,it's free] in Vista and setting it up so it has XP:MCE in there. It's a VERY easy program to use, and it does EVERYTHING for you. To add a new entry [in this case XP:MCE] all you do is hit new entry and choose Windows XP and which Partition it's on and hit save. Then you'll be able to choose which to boot into when you start up your computer.

WTF are you saying.  Vista will not do that.  You have to specify where you want to install it.  I'v done this multiple times.  I'm using the same computer right now. 

[RoBot1ks]

WTF are you saying.  Vista will not do that.  You have to specify where you want to install it.  I'v done this multiple times.  I'm using the same computer right now. 

Whoaaa!! I am getting 
I am really trying to make sense of this stuff.
Haha..Maybe i can send somebody my hard drive and let them do it for me....
Maybe I will figure it out.. Anyway, I don't know that much about this stuff.
i should go away on vacation for a while...too many projects going on right now...Friend's computer, 3 ps2, and a psp i have been working on forever. 

[PspKicks316]

WTF are you saying.  Vista will not do that.  You have to specify where you want to install it.  I'v done this multiple times.  I'm using the same computer right now. 

I'm not even gonna :censored:ing fight with you. VISTA OVERWRITES ALL OTHER BOOTLOADERS WITH IT'S OWN! Regardless of where/what partition you install it on! I've done this too many times to be wrong! I've made the mistake before! you're wrong.

It doesn't :censored:ing matter either. IF BY A MIRACLE the coding in vista is wrong, and that happens, then you're good. If not you need to use EasyBCD or manually edit the bootloader.

[loganbyers07]

dude torque psp kicks is right you cant go in and just install 2 diff operating systems without a boot manager in vista...

[dedafmonteur]

its vista or vista when you installed vista...

i would go for xp pro and ubuntu.
thats what i have

[RoBot1ks]

its vista or vista when you installed vista...

i would go for xp pro and ubuntu.
thats what i have

yeah actually i was starting to look into ubuntu..what are the good and bad qualities?

[noah03ark]

the only bad thing about ubuntu is some lack of apps (note, i said some, like my favorite ones arent for it)
and some interface things are not simple, if you are used to a simple gui that helps you out

for example, when i had it virtualized under my vmware, i needed to install vmware tools

well it was not a simple install program, i had to run several scripts, and being new to ubuntu, i was unsure how to go about doing that


also, a lot of people use the terminal or command prompt in ubuntu, so if you seldom use or do not know how to use that, either learn or dont use ubuntu


confusing? sorry if it is

[dedafmonteur]

- well, gaming aint a big problem. they got a emulator that can play quite a bit of games.
- hardware will work better on ubuntu.
- you got billions of apps that you can just install with a special program (the one noah talked about)
- you can use the virtual box (nice on school if you get my point..lol)
- has open office, MUCH nicer and freeeeee ^^
- NEVER EVER have to reboot, because it never stops....


there is much more but this is a good start

[noah03ark]

all that is true

the pluses are great, so i would sugggest trying ubuntu


i tried it, but didnt like it..thats just me, give it a go yourself

[PspKicks316]

The basic user only needs to use Terminal every now and then, and I caught on very quickly and I use it quite often now.
You have 2 programs to install different applications automatically. The program will download and install it for you. Then, you have the main installer which does system updates. It checks for updates automatically and will notify you of them, asking you if you want to download and install.
Gaming, not sure. I haven't done any gaming in Ubuntu. You can always install VMware for free and install Windows under it, and then play your games through that. Same thing with applications that won't run. You can install WINE [Windows emulator] and run your programs and games under that, but not everything works. I've been dual booting Vista Ultimate and Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron for a few months now [I had 7.10 but updated] and I absolutely LOVE Ubuntu.

Wanna see one of my favorite things in Ubuntu? Go search YouTube for Compiz Fusion

[RoBot1ks]

Hey..I really appreciate yalls help with this 
I believe I will take one of my 160gb hdd I got and put it in my mom's desktop and dualboot Windows XP Media Center Edition SP3 and Ubuntu...and today I figured out how ubuntu was pronounced...ooboontoo...yeah crazy.

[IDontGetHowtoWire]

Honest truth-->  VISTA SUCKS  Stay with XP until it's obsolete, Vista is so slow, I hate it.