Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 24603 2002-09-14 20:49:00 Laptop O/S Donald M (942) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
79504 2002-09-14 20:49:00 I am looking at buying a Laptop off Trade Me, most don't seem to have an O/S with them. Can I install the O/S using the CD that came with my Desktop PC?

Thanks
Donald M (942)
79505 2002-09-14 21:39:00 Yes you shouldnt have any problems. When installing make sure you select the portable option of the O/S. parry (27)
79506 2002-09-14 22:14:00 You cannot use the desktop OS if it is still installed on the desktop, as it is not permitted to have two installations on one license.

Also if your desktop only has a system restore disk, it cannot be used on the laptop in any circumstance. (fist issue because it wont work, second is above)
godfather (25)
79507 2002-09-14 22:16:00 There could be a couple of problems with this idea. If the O/S that came with your desktop PC uses a recovery style disk then it is unlikely to install on a machine from a different manufacturer. Newer OEM O/S disks seem to look for a serial number located on the computer. There was a thread a couple of weeks ago and I'm not sure if a work-around was found.

The other problem is of course the legal one. You have a license to use ONE copy of the O/S. This means that you can only have it loaded on one machine at a time. That is why you will find a lot of pc's selling without the O/S.
Gorela (901)
79508 2002-09-14 22:17:00 Godfather.

SNAP
Gorela (901)
79509 2002-09-14 23:12:00 Ok now I'm confused, Why then do these secondhand Laptops have their O/S removed? It seems that most are advertised with no O/S.

Can O/S not be resold?

Sorry for being a bit dumb.
Donald M (942)
79510 2002-09-15 00:27:00 They may be ex corporate, and have had their hard drives replaced for security reasons. The OS may have been part of a volume license and it has now been transferred to the new laptop, or sheer laziness, where they cant be bothered reinstalling. godfather (25)
79511 2002-09-15 02:08:00 you could also just buy an OS off TradeMe of eBay as well - or, at the mo, microsoft are giving away windows xp pro that will work for 90 days.

:)
spielburg (747)
79512 2002-09-15 04:34:00 just one small thing which i have seen trip up someone. their laptop has a different bios version for each different OS you use. the laptop originally came out with win98 and he had winME on it. he had a few problems which was fixed once he found a new bios. they had one for each OS, win98, ME, w2k and linux.

just remember to check out manafactures website before buying.
tweak'e (174)
79513 2002-09-16 07:55:00 Tweak'e,

What do I need to check on The Manufactuers Web Site, Which O/S the lap top will handle?

Many thanks everyone for your help
Donald M (942)
1 2