To replace a dead XP desktop

[MalcolmInN]

Subtitle : How to transfer an XP operating system to a new computer ?

Oh woe !
Went to switch on my wife's XP desktop
(she has the printer and I wanted to do some more card-model engine shed )
and it is dead

Time she had a new one but does not want to go through the drama of learning a new OS like W8 or whatever.
I have seen a "barebones" desktop on PC World's web site and am wondering how to  / or even if I can / what is involved /
in installing her old drive/OS on a barebones.

The last time I installed an OS was Win 3.11 and Win95 !!
I guess things are a little different now in respect of the M$ protections.
I know there is some proceedure to upgrade a drive or a mb on your existing OS, but can one upgrade a whole machine ?

Aside : I suppose I could nick the printer onto my laptop,
but I think she might suffer withdrawal symptoms if she can nolonger play her fav. games !

Thanks for any thoughts.

[cjdodd]

I would recommend you get a basic PC nothing too fancy. A copy of Windows 7 will be a lot more familiar to her than Windows 8 if moving from XP.

Using one of the spare connectors in the PC you can put the hard drive in from the old machine and then you will see it appear in windows. You can then move across any documents etc.... that are on there.

Most of the the games she likes will still work on XP. Any little local IT guy will be able to help you out if you get stuck.

[Dorsetmike]

Are you sure it's the machine that is dead and not the hard drive? 

You may find a new barebones PC has different hard drive connectors.

I've recently upgraded from an XP machine to one I bought with no operating system and purchased Windows 7 CD, you can set that up to display the "Classic" display  very similar to XP, there is also a free downloadable XP simulator available. Which will be handy if any of your older software won't run on 7.

Cheapest Win 7 I found is at (scroll down to the CDs not the licence only, that can only be used if you already have a Win7 CD)

http://itrevive.co.uk/windows-7-home-premium-key-64bit.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw6deeBRCswoauquC8haUBEiQAdq5zh0uuxZGtQT17G-BDngJ76LFvC9-gVayVfurh5Owpc0UaApv_8P8HAQ

For a new PC try

http://www.ebuyer.com/634850-zoostorm-desktop-pc-7260-3009

ebuyer also do a full range of monitors

[MalcolmInN]

I would recommend you get a basic PC nothing too fancy. A copy of Windows 7 will be a lot more familiar to her than Windows 8 if moving from XP.

Thanks CJ,
Yes, something not fancy is all that is needed, didnt realise that W7 was like that, and anyway I have Vista so it should be familiar to us both then !

(oops, I am about to xpost with Mike , , , >>

Using one of the spare connectors in the PC you can put the hard drive in from the old machine and then you will see it appear in windows. You can then move across any documents etc.... that are on there.

I have a USB ext.drive harness that can take the old drive to give up its documents etc. so should be no probs there, and (fingers xxed) wont need to go inside the new computer and risk disturbing anything !!

My thoughts turned to that 'barebones' cos I have never seen PC World offering that, may be their new, or maybe cos I have not looked at computals for a long time. ( I could be really wicked and put a Linux on it, but I may then need some physical protection lol!  )

It may ofcourse be something simple like the PSU as there is no ( i forget the name) startup beep diagnostic error noises, nor any noise at all for that matter. But if something is dead on the old machine who knows what would be next so she may as well have new !

[red_death]

Doesn't W8.1 now have the classic display as well?

If you want XP familiarity then W7 is definitely the way to go (don't stick with XP which has not been supported with patches for some time).

Cheers, Mike

[MalcolmInN]

You may find a new barebones PC has different hard drive connectors.

Ohhh good point, I had not considered that, yes old drive will be IDE or something, new ones will be SATA ? or something even more modern ??

Thanks for the links, and daughter has had good dealings in the past with ebuyer, so 2 recomends must be good !


So the general considered opinion is for me not to try to persuade the existing XP to accept a new machine ?

EDIT : Wife now home, I think a little familiarisation trip down the road to PC World is indicated (not to buy yet, just for a look )
back later >>

[MalcolmInN]

Are you sure it's the machine that is dead and not the hard drive? 
You may find a new barebones PC has different hard drive connectors.

I've recently upgraded from an XP machine to one I bought with no operating system and purchased Windows 7 CD,

Thanks everyone for a crash course in things to think about modern OSs etc., a great help.

It seems that there are handy little cables to internally convert old drives into modern desktops, so that would take care of needing an extUSB harness/caddy.

Also we had a quick tour of Win8.1, very helful guy, and swmbo didnt look too fazed , - in fact I think that may be something else long gone in the mists of time, the trauma of just about everything changing when changing the OS !
Also, as Dmike showed and the PCW man aswell, the differential cost of a Windows installation vs, a licenced thing is not as rip-off as it once was.

It looks like she may be having an all-singing all-dancing modern desktop and I may get a barebones just to get familiar with things again ( shhh dont mention Linux )

All very educational, thanks everyone,,
followed by fish&chips brought home and a bottle of wine,, cant be bad

[DELETED]

Personally I would be very careful about a jump from XP to windows 8 or 8.1.  It's a huge leap and I personally find 8 and 8.1 abhorrent systems to use.  I would shoot for windows 7 personally, but buy the package rather than the free version.  I bought the package for my last netbook as silly restrictions on customising appearance etc really infuriated me.

I'm not adverse to technology, but on a PC I want PC software, not tablet appy style.  Windows 8 is just infuriating in it's layout and how you find (or can't find) things.  Just simple little things like not having a start bar, having to search for everything using a not very user friendly "app", lots of teeny tiny things which just drive me mad other wise it's OK and I could maybe understand it on a tablet as it's more like android.  Upgrading to 8.1 was really not worth it, it's not that much different (still no start bar, not even a regular way of shutting down), sold to me as a 1h upgrade but took 12h to complete so I never went back.

I just could not get a replacement laptop with Windows 7 on it 18 months ago.  For a desktop I'd find a local PC builder and go that way.  These days computers are cheap enough on the high street, but you usually get 10x the spec you actually need and it'll be obsolete almost just as quick as you take it out the door, I'd personally get a PC built to my own needs with the software I want rather than stuck with laptop manufacturers defaults.

[Lawrence]

Hi Malcolm, as has already been said, Microsoft no longer supports XP, this means there are no security updates and you leave yourself open to abuse from the www.

Windows 7 is pretty stable now and a lot more 'comfortable' for those moving up from XP.  Windows 8 is still, despite having been out long enough, full of glitches and seems to have never-ending updates to try and get it to operate in a stable mode, despite all the updates there are still a raft of issues with it (and please don't get me started on the dog that is the mobile version for tablets etc!!)

I would still recommend, for the mean time, spending money on good hardware loaded with Win7, you will have a nice fast machine that has lots of backward compatibility to older windows versions built in.
You may also want to consider getting yourself a nice cheap HP wireless printer which simply connects to your wireless hub in the house and once set up you can print to it from your laptop, smartphone or tablet.  Really pleased with the one we got and it means I don't have to go upstairs to put the PC on to print something out now 

[Geoff]

Malcolm I honestly think Windows 8 is the way to go never go backwards with operating systems that way they last you longer, the first windows to be dropped will be windows 7 before Windows 8, I run Windows 8 on 2 machines and have no problem with it, and I boot straight into desktop mode, I have put a start button on my desktop which was free and it just works like normal Windows.

Good luck with your choice.

[MalcolmInN]

I've recently upgraded from an XP machine to one I bought with no operating system and purchased Windows 7 CD
,,,
Cheapest Win 7 I found is at (scroll down to the CDs
,,,
not the licence only, that can only be used if you already have a Win7 CD)

Do you mean one of the 4 at the bottom of that page 44.99 and 49.99 ?
They all seem to need a COA whatever that is and I dont understand
" Purchase includes ,,,, The C.O.A label has been taken from a decommissioned PC."

Yet again M$ totally confuses I

Ahhh, more postings,  from RST, Lawrence and Geof,  whilst I was typing the above, thanks guys  >> going to read now  >>

[Bealman]

As a slight aside, regarding sharing the printer, wifi printers are super cheap these days and you can print from anywhere in the house from multiple computers - of course you'll still have to go there to get the bit of paper! 

[MalcolmInN]

the package rather than the free version.

Errr ?

[MalcolmInN]

As a slight aside, regarding sharing the printer, wifi printers are super cheap these days and you can print from anywhere in the house from multiple computers - of course you'll still have to go there to get the bit of paper! 

I did have WiFi on this laptop, but as there was nothing else nearby I turned it off a year or 3 back, , , dunno how to turn it back on ! lol!

[MalcolmInN]

Malcolm I honestly think Windows 8 is the way to go never go backwards with operating systems that way they last you longer,

On the other hand, if you always use the OS one before last you will be safe, because all the ne'er-do-wells are busy writing malware for the latest OS.
ie.dont jump into Win10 until Win12 is on the market.
That way you can go from Win3.11 to Vista without ever having a virus or trojan or whatever , now if that dont tempt providence I dunno what will LOL!