have we all had it with lousy offshore phone tech support, or what????

First let me say that what follows is not a flame, blast at you
personally or any such ill-mannered thing. I just disagree....

If you went the $299 route then you got an OEM version of XP which,
unlike the retail version, M$ will not allow activation on any other
machine but the one it was installed on from Taiwan unlike with White
Boxes and Retail versions of XP which can be transferred to and
activated on another machine if removed from the prior machine.
Upgrading. Probably a mute point since all GW, Dell and EMachine OEM
copies of XP are Bios locked to that specific machine anyway. Also M$
does not support OEM versions of XP. M$ sends you back to the OEM for
OS support. That's in India by the way.

What we are trying to get across here is that these $299 systems from
Taiwan are throw-a-way systems. I think we all agree on that. That's
fine if you got the $299 every time you want to upgrade since that
means a new system when dealing with most proprietary built OEMs from
Taiwan. With the White Box, you only have to deal with the component
specific to the upgrade instead of having to replace the whole $299
system. As Shooter said, cheaper in the long run to invest a little
more in the short run. And you get an extra added bonus with the White
Box. The guy that built your computer will most likely be the one
giving you your support not some 3rd world flunky half way around the
globe that doesn't speak-en-zee the language.

BTW, I just upgraded my PS from a 300W to 400W. I was able to choose
from all sorts of suppliers because the PS and MB connector is industry
standard instead of some proprietary OEM concoction.

Again, I agree with Shooter and can confirm from my own experiences
that its cheaper in the long run to invest a little more in the short
run.

I agree wholeheartedly with you on one point though my friend.... You
said "trusty Win98SE". That is exactly how I feel about 98SE. I loved
that version and hate the fact that M$ will shortly be dropping its
support for it. Make sure you get a copy of all the updates/upgrades
for 98SE from the M$ download site before you can't get/find them
anymore.

With Respect,

NIK

*** Email Address is a Spam Trap, Do Not Use ***





Charles Hawtrey wrote:
In article .com,
says...
The sale of ****ty computers is a multiple-faceted problem, and to
blame Gateway alone is inaccurate.

Yes, multi-faceted problem. Let me just throw one more facet into the
mix:

Early this year I finally had enough of trusty Win98SE and decided to
upgrade to XP. My options were, buy a copy of XP for a hundred-and-
something dollars (don't remember the exact cost at the time) and go
through the hassle of installing it myself -- or buy a new eMachines
with XP preloaded for $299. Guess which one I did?

My desktop systems are all conglomerations of parts some almost if not
over ten years old. I have IBM AT era keyboards, early 1.44 floppy
drives, Adaptec 2940 SCSI cards. A case and PS can last a long time,
the case until standards change.

And I always format and reload a system as soon as I get it. I have
learned the hard way it saves time in the long run.

The fast turnover of PC systems is actually slowing down somewhat, as
the software is maturing, unless you are a hardcore gamer or are using
it as a server or serious workstation. And it's irresponsible to just
throw out a computer. I always pull the boards and if nothing is
salvageable, I give the boards to a recycler and the chassis goes for
scrap metal. I tend to salvage the fans and IEC connectors out of dead
supplies as well as sometimes the caps.

Some good reading...

http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm


wrote in message
ups.com...
Sorry but I don't understand. Please explain "Paging".

Thanks,

NIK

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snert wrote:
Only if you are experiencing paging otherwise you're wasting your money.