Operating systems - Page 2

Roy · 12-04-2005, 18:00

Quote:

Anyone got any tips on how to do a backup quickly?

Yup - external hard drive. I have 2 solutions for this, 1 tiny ibm thing which is usb2 and has a 40gig laptop drive in it and 1 5 1/4 external drive bay that takes full size 'large' hard drives. These things are not that expensive really, especially when you consider the time it takes you to do backups to cd!

Hmmm... thinking again... I am laptop based so I have to go external hard drive, cheapest and fastest option for you is to shove another drive in your computer and copy everything across.

entwisi · 12-04-2005, 18:25

If you are shoving another disk in the PC then why noy just stick Linux on that, No need to repartition the main drive at all. Disks are dirt cheap nowadays, £60 will buy you oodles of space. If you want to put it in an external USB case they are ~£30.

Mandrake will also repartition automatically and add the bootloader etc. It is probaby one of the easiest installs going. I reckon on about an hour start to finish including all the software, Office suites, Browsers, Email clients, Games, etc.

Jason, I too think you won't get the license or disk for your £30. In other words, it will be a dodgy copy. One where when you connect to update you will be blown out at best, reported to FAST at worst.

ian

WillowTheWhisp · 12-04-2005, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason

Decided to get xp on it,got a guy coming out tomorow to do it.

Is this a professional guy? Would a pro sell a dodgy copy? That's not a very nice thing to do.

jason · 12-04-2005, 20:20

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow and what happened.

Jason

Neil · 12-04-2005, 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Is this a professional guy? Would a pro sell a dodgy copy? That's not a very nice thing to do.

Not many pro's would do the job for £30 even without supplying the software.

entwisi · 13-04-2005, 07:35

I agree, a pro should be looking at £30/hour minimum for his time, Installing Windows is at least a 2 hour job.

Neil · 13-04-2005, 07:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by entwisi

I agree, a pro should be looking at £30/hour minimum for his time, Installing Windows is at least a 2 hour job.

The old PC has Windows Millenium on it so i would agree with your 2 hours. XP might run slow on the PC as well. What sort of spec is the PC Jason?

entwisi · 13-04-2005, 10:04

I've run XP on as low as a P2 266 with 128M ram. It was OK when it was running but some stuff took a while in starting up.

jason · 14-04-2005, 11:15

It took him about an hour and a half or so to install windows xp professional edition,Norton antivirus/firewall and the broadband,and all my dads hp office etc.
My parents are now happy with everything!!
I also have a boot up disc now as well!!

So it has all worked out ok.
......But thanks for your input!!

Jason

Neil · 14-04-2005, 11:16

So it was a dodgy copy then

jason · 14-04-2005, 11:33

I can go to windows update and update no problems,what does it matter as long as the bloody thing is working!!
It's just like having a dodgy copy of an album downloded off the net.

Anyway i'm done with this one!!

entwisi · 14-04-2005, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason

I can go to windows update and update no problems,what does it matter as long as the bloody thing is working!!
It's just like having a dodgy copy of an album downloded off the net.

Anyway i'm done with this one!!

At the moment you can get updates but it doesn't take long for Microsoft to notice multiple PCs with the same serial number connecting for the same updates from multiple IP address's. Then they block that serial number and you are stufffed.

Also I find it strange that people are prepared to pirate so much software . How would you like your employer dropping your wages to 1/10th of what they are? Software has been written by someone who does it (on the whole) as a method of employment. It has normally taken years of training and a lot of time to produce software of commercial quality. By pirating it you are taking money out of that persons/companies pocket.

Neil · 14-04-2005, 13:24

With profits like those below Microsoft could sell its software for a tenth of its current prices and still make good profits.

Microsoft Profit Up 11%; Forecast Is Mixed

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 22, 2004; Page E05

Microsoft Corp.'s quarterly earnings rose 11 percent over the comparable quarter last year, but projections for the current quarter were mixed.

For its fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30, the company announced a profit of $2.9 billion, up from $2.6 billion. Revenue was $9.2 billion, up from $8.2 billion.

vorlon24 · 14-04-2005, 15:07

Irrelevant.

BT could give everyone free local calls and still make a profit, as same exchange calls do not cost them anything.

Pirate software/music is theft, and it doesn't matter how many statistics you can churn out

entwisi · 14-04-2005, 19:55

I'm actually surprised they are so low. I used to work for a bank. This year they put in profits of nearly twice what Microsoft have done. For a company whose software is sold worldwide and is commonly accepted as the most popular OS in a market of how many billion people £2.9 billion is peanuts.

Vorlon is quite right though, it is theft. I always said, someone who is prepared to steal software has done the same as someone who breaks in and steals your TV. Yet one is deemed 'acceptable' teh other we scream at our politicians that they aren't being punished enough.