PUTER DUMMY HERE

[N3OO]

I just picked up a Dell xps400 in mint condx minus the hard drive from my niece....she called the " GEEK SQUAD" they checked it out and said the hard drive was bad so she instructed them to yank the hd out for her( tossed it , gone)....she had several puters so didn't need to get it fixed.
SOooo I got it now and want to get it running for myself.
Hummm so guess I need a hard drive huh ? Plug it in where the old one was yanked , and install Windows XP on it ?
Can I do it? Can I do it cheap as possible.....as I just want to put it out in the garage to get on the internet , nuttin special at all , just want to get it useable again.
SOOOooo can Bobby do it with you guys help ?
BOBBY Thanks you lol

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote:

install Windows XP on it ?


Pick up a low cost HD from NewEgg or ask friends, many have them sitting around (as I do) and install Ubuntu, cost $0.

 

[AandPDan]

Do you have a CD or DVD drive in it?

You don't even need the hard drive. Use a LiveCD, your choice of linux, Ubuntu is fine.

Download the ISO file and make a CD. Put the CD in the Dell and boot it. That's it, simple (and free).

If you want to do XP, you'll need the software and a valid product key. You'll also likely need to download the drivers from Dell.

 

[N3OO]

humm, will any sata( see , I'm learning ) hard drive work?
Yes I do have drives on both of my puters.
Never heard of Ubunta ( I'm gonna search it out).
I can probably get a copy of XP and it's drivers, but dunno about product key numbers.
Thanks....BOB

 

[AandPDan]

Yes, you can pretty much install any SATA drive.

One more thing about XP, it will likely require you to make a driver disk for the SATA drive so you'll need a floppy drive as well.

Win7 or Vista shouldn't require that.

 

[barlowc]

I have a 5+ year old XPS 400. Using it as I write this. It's been a workhorse running 24x7x365. Other than upgrading the memory from 2 GB to 4 GB and the hard drive from 160 GB to 1 TB it's stock. Mine has a 3.0 GHz dual-core processor. I'm running Windows 7 Professional 32-bit on it.

 

[N3OO]

Well fellas , I'm determined to get this working and feel I'll take a stab at it.
Gonna go to Walmart and check out a drive for $50 or so , them see if I can gather XP and it's drivers together and give it a shot.
Wish me luck.....I'll post in a few days what I got and how I'm progressing.
Thanks to all......BOB

 

[simple_gifts]

Try Ubuntu, seriously. A native install of Windows leaves you a computer with no "real software" on it. Ubuntu supplies word processor, e-mail program, photo manager, choice of several browsers, a chat client, podcast manager, cloud storage option, CD/DVD burner, etc etc, and it installs much faster and easier than Windows.

No spyware, no virus protection required either.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

 

[GrtArtiste]

Originally Posted By: N3OO
humm, will any sata( see , I'm learning ) hard drive work?
Yes I do have drives on both of my puters.
Never heard of Ubunta ( I'm gonna search it out).
I can probably get a copy of XP and it's drivers, but dunno about product key numbers.
Thanks....BOB


I have the same XPS400...XP still runs like a champ. I dual-boot Ubuntu too, but I'm sorry that I upgraded to 10.10 (hate it). Should've kept 10.04. If it's destined for the garage, though...I wouldn't even bother with Windows. I will probably replace the computer when Win 8 comes out and at that time I plan to put Linux Mint on the XPS if it's still running.

 

[sleddriver]

Congrats! I've been given three machines for free: 2 are Dells, one was an 17" G5 iMac. All fixed & running. The Dell Dim 5150 had no HD and a dead PS. But I did get the Dell OEM XP install disk, which has all the drivers. Got her up & running. Go to support. dell.com and type in the service tag #. It'll give you the state/options as it left the factory. You can also get all the necessary drivers & updates from there. You will also find additional info for that model on Dell's user forums.

TigerDirect & Newegg have great prices on HD's.