# How much does the latest windows cost?



## babydays (6 Feb 2007)

Recently bought a Dell computer but now need to buy windows to put onto it. 

The husband thinks it will cost approx E200 - can this be true? Can it really be soooooo expensive for it?

If so where can I get the best (legal!) deal for it?


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## johndoe64 (6 Feb 2007)

babydays said:


> Recently bought a Dell computer but now need to buy windows to put onto it.


 What was on it when you bought it?


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## jhegarty (6 Feb 2007)

babydays said:


> Recently bought a Dell computer but now need to buy windows to put onto it.
> 
> The husband thinks it will cost approx E200 - can this be true? Can it really be soooooo expensive for it?
> 
> If so where can I get the best (legal!) deal for it?



[broken link removed]


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2007)

Try Micromail.


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## dam099 (6 Feb 2007)

babydays said:


> Recently bought a Dell computer but now need to buy windows to put onto it.
> 
> The husband thinks it will cost approx E200 - can this be true? Can it really be soooooo expensive for it?
> 
> If so where can I get the best (legal!) deal for it?


 
How recently? Dell were doing offers for free or cheap upgrades to Vista with many of their PCs for the last few months?

Although did I see in another thread you bought from the Outlet store in which case they maybe didn't offer it on your PC?


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## babydays (6 Feb 2007)

Yes I got it from the outlet store - tks to those to directed me there!

It has on it: 
Genuine Windows&"174; XP Home SP2
Adobe Reader 8.5.8
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI 60 day trial
Tiscali Pan Euro ISP
MS LOGO lable for Win XP
Corel Snapfire Starter Edition 


not that I know what any of that is!!!!

The computer is for my mother (aged 74) who is used to using the regular word windows deal so I don't want to confuse her by changing things.


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2007)

Before you _Vista _you should at least run the  to ensure that your _PC _is capable of running it. I read on in the _Irish Times _last week that _Gartner _estimate that only c. 15% of existing _PCs _will be able to run it!


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2007)

babydays said:


> It has on it:
> Genuine Windows&"174; XP Home SP2
> 
> The computer is for my mother (aged 74) who is used to using the regular word windows deal so I don't want to confuse her by changing things.


If it already has _XP Home SP2 _then why upgrade?


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## johndoe64 (6 Feb 2007)

babydays said:


> It has on it:
> Genuine Windows&"174; XP Home SP2


It already has windows, maybe your husband was getting confused with MS Office?


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## babydays (6 Feb 2007)

Clubman - perhaps it's now patently clear I know nothing about this stuff!!!

Is XP Home SP2 the usual software that most of us use? 

ps. she does a lot of word processing, uses e-mail a lot and wants to be able to video Skype.


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2007)

_Windows XP Home SP2 _is just the operating system. It doesn't really give you much in the way of applications other than _Internet Explorer _and some other stuff. What do you mean by _"software that most of us use"_? If you mean for "office" stuff like word processing, spreadsheets etc. then unless you already have it you probably want _Microsoft Office_ but I would recommend that you at least try out OpenOffice first since it's free, largely compatible with Office file formats and more than sufficient for most people's needs. Other than that it really depends on what the _PC _will be used for.


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## CCOVICH (6 Feb 2007)

Be aware that you need an awful lot of hard drive space to run Vista (c. 20 gb I think) and at least 512mb of RAM.  Unless you have what I would consider to be a fairly 'high end' machine, I don't think you should upgrade.


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2007)

As per _CCOVICH's _post above - many _PC _manufacturers and retailers have been giving away vouchers for _Vista _with _PCs _that are not of a high enough spec to run the new operating system (possibly other than in basic mode). Run the upgrade advisor and unless you really need to upgrade stick with _XP_ for now would be my advice.


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## ninsaga (7 Feb 2007)

You can get Vista in Mexico for about $10


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## Jareck (7 Feb 2007)

Petermack

Do you have a link for the Vista upgrade offer from Dell, have had a look on their website and can only find links regarding checking if your pc is capable of running vista, not one offering a free upgrade.  (Bought my pc in November so would be very interested in getting free Vista!)

Thanks


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## DrMoriarty (7 Feb 2007)

I'd second CCOVICH & ClubMan's _caveat_. Remember _ME_?  


> If Windows won't start following your installation of Windows Me, you may need to uninstall Windows Me to deal with the problem.


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## Guest120 (7 Feb 2007)

Petermack said:


> When I received the Vista upgrade it contained a printout of my P.C spec and P.C serial number. When you load Vista it asks you for your P.C's serial number and wont load if the serial number differs.



Thats the thing about an OEM licence, the licence can't be transfered from one machine to another even if the original machine is not in use anymore. They are quite restrictive.

Speaking from a professional point of view I wouldn't touch Vista for home use for another 12 to 18 months, workwise I wouldn't touch it at all.


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## ClubMan (7 Feb 2007)

Bluetonic said:


> Speaking from a professional point of view I wouldn't touch Vista for home use for another 12 to 18 months, workwise I wouldn't touch it at all.


Same here. In fact I reckon that most of the machines that I use on a regular basis would stuggle to run Vista even though they are perfectly fine running _XP _or _GNU/Linux _for everything that I need to do. One the other hand I might buy shares in _CPU_, hard disk, memory and video card manufacturing companies in the hope that _Vista _is a success.


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## Towger (7 Feb 2007)

BTW: If you are talking about MS Office. The menus in the latest version (Office 2007) are totally different to the older versions and will confuse experanced users. However for new users they are much more simple!

The OEM trade prices are :
Vista Home Basic €79.00
Vista Home Premium €125.00
Microsoft Office Basic 2003 €159.00
Microsoft Office Professional 2003 €239.00

+ VAT
Towger


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## speedfreak (7 Feb 2007)

That link doesnt include Dell systems...this is the Vista Upgrade link for dell systems

[broken link removed]


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## Jareck (8 Feb 2007)

Great thanks Petermack & speedfreak!


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