[CLOSED] -Dell 2.6ghz 512MB Base unit £151.57

Ian_2-3

Just had a call from Dell asking me if I wanted the system I hadn't ordered (see previous post). I went staight in to chastising Dell for confirming an order I hadn't placed. Anyway, when I let him get a word in he explained he was the person who had cancelled he order and asked if I wanted a discount. Sorry, didn't ask how much. Time to place the order, ring up to cancel and wait for the discount to be offered for you Dell buyers.

MikeT_3

Good old Dell, still dont seem to be able to get it all together do they

I recieved my £151 base unit a couple of days ago, also they have now sent pdf's for a unit I ordered 12th December.

I think these are quite good value for money, I normally build my own and every time I do it it seems to get harder to get all the latest drivers etc for all the components to work together.

It makes a nice change to get something out of the box, plug it in and have it networked and running in 30mins.
Not much good for gamers I admit but I dont seem to have time for that any more since I started viewing MSE ::)

GDB2222

It makes a nice change to get something out of the box, plug it in and have it networked and running in 30mins.
Not much good for gamers I admit but I dont seem to have time for that any more since I started viewing MSE ::)

Aaaah! Noooooooooooooooo!

You will find that these machines work a hell of a lot better if you reformat the hard disk and reinstall the software from scratch. I can't see how you can do that in 30 mins.

MikeT_3

Well I have a spare 120gig h/drive here so please do tell how a reinstal of the software (as supplied by Dell) will make it a better machine.
Your talking to a dedicated w98se person here with not much experiance of xp so I really am interested, as I am sure are others who bought the same base.

None of the above meant sarcasticly, I really would like to know

COS

Dell refused to allow me to pay cash for two Computers I ordered before Xmas and then they cancelled the order with out reason.

I sent an email to the guy who supposed to had been dealing with my order but never had the guts to respond to my comunications. I made up an email thanking him for the Dells kind offer to send me free two computers - he called me.

I am now the proud owner of two Flat screen Computers
now selling at £1300.00+ NO Charge

Now I have seen this idea put forward on TV by a Magician where you convince people that they are going to give you money, I wonder if I have the power or is it Dells customer service team don't know what they are doing ?

GDB2222

Well I have a spare 120gig h/drive here so please do tell how  a reinstal of the software (as supplied by Dell) will make it a better machine.
Your talking to a dedicated w98se person here with not much experiance of xp so I really am interested, as I am sure are others who bought the same base.

None of the above meant sarcasticly, I really would like to know  :)

Dell set up their machines with loads of software on that you may never wish to use, eg trial versions of McAfee and so on. There are umpteen different ISP catered for. There was a serious error in the Windows XP installation when I received it, which did not allow the Help Centre to function, plus other problems. The system they install is a standardised version that is intended to allow for lots of different hardware configurations. And so on, many times over. You can read all about it on the Dell newsgroups.

All you need to do is reformat the hard disk, then insert the Windows XP CD, reboot and reinstall windows. This will configure windows for your actual hardware. Then install the drivers just for the hardware you actually have. Then install the software you actually use. For example, not many people actually use MS Works, so why have it cluttering up the hard disk?

I have two identical set-ups, one of which I reformatted and one of which I left largely as Dell provided it. The reformatted one loads faster, runs faster, and provides better functionality. To be fair, neither setup crashes very often.

I assume that nobody really need a step by step explanation of how to format the hard disk and so on?

Regards

Geoff

biglugs

COS

Yes a torch does shine when you travel at the speed of light, but only in your frame of reference! For other frames of reference it would depend on the direction in which you shine the torch relative to your direction of motion. If you're interested in more details I think you should look up Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity.

But more seriously I have a question - do Dell deliver a full Windows XP SP2 disk, or just a backup system disk which allows you to restore their installation? I bought a machine for a friend recently, but didn't check what disks were delivered before I passed it on.

GDB2222

COS


But more seriously I have a question - do Dell deliver a full Windows XP SP2 disk, or just a backup system disk which allows you to restore their installation?  I bought a machine for a friend recently, but didn't check what disks were delivered before I passed it on.

Yes, they provide full Windows installation disks.

pwhite8314

Yes, they provide full Windows installation disks.

Not always they don't. They're starting to move back to exclusively providing the recovery media on a hidden disk partition; if your HD needs replacing, then they'll send the CD with the replacement HD. Of course, you can also call and request the CD. I think they're now starting to do this for XP Pro installs, with XP Home due to follow later this year.

MikeT_3

I just fired up the recovery disc sent with my £151 base and its got the following folders:

$oem$
DOCS
Dotnetfx
I386 which is 491 megs, xp home I guess
Support.>tools
Valueadd

CD label is wxpsp2home.

There is also a hidden partition on C: of 4 gigs

I am not familiar with xp so I just assume that its capable of a complete reinstal of xp on a new h/drive without any interaction from either Dell or MS?

My initial reaction now that I have some software installed on this base is that the McAfee stuff slows it down quite a bit with its virus checking etc and I had to give permissions across the firewall to get my other networked w98se pc's to me able to file share.
Other than that its all gone reasonably smoothly.

I removed all the files for signing up with isp's etc.

Not over keen on the base level keyboard, but for the money I am quite happy overall.