We have a four year old Dell laptop, we’ve just spent 100+ euros having a new screen fitted and now it has another big problem. Big pb with McAfee, that McAfee can’t fix, told me to uninstall Windows and reinstall, but can’t reinstall. Wondering whether to try Dell helpline or take it to someone or is it too old to make it worthwhile??? HELP!
Thank-you so much Nick…my hero…faints dead away…
Wendy , that’s one of the great things about Linux, you don’t need any anti-virus installed, it’s is designed with security in mind, and is far more secure than Windows can ever possibly hope to be.
So you can stop worrying about all those scans and anti-virus updates, and just sit back and enjoy using the machine.
Regards
Nick
One last (I hope, for your sake!) question: what do I do about anti-virus/firewall stuff. I can’t load McAfee which is what I had on Windows???
That’s great news Wendy. It’s one of the best kept secrets in IT, how Linux - Ubuntu in your case - can save people a lot of money , time and new purchases. Microsoft, Intel and the PC makers are never going to sing it’s praises, as all they ever want to do is sell you another new computer.
Happy surfing
Regards
Nick
Thank-you so much Nick, Steve and Neil! Thanks to you and Ubuntu, I now have second working computer and 'im indoors can browse eBay for fishing reels once again! AND it didn’t cost a penny…woo hoo!
You have restored harmony to the Wise household!
Wendy xx
The other good news is you should see a boost in speed, as Ubuntu is designed to run on older hardware and functions very well on older machines. I don’t think 4 years is really that old for a machine, you should be looking to get at least 5-6 years out of a box. It does however always depend on the usage profile of the machine, and what sort of life it has had.
If you get stuck with installing Ubuntu , ask on these forums as there are many Linux people who will be more than happy to help.
Let us know how you get on.
Regards
Nick
You shouldn’t need any luck, I found it installed OVER the old system very well. Just take your time and think about it - I don’t think you’ve anything to lose.
Do come back if you’ve any questions - I’m a newbie - but that makes it easier to understand any difficulties you might encounter.
Am downloading Ubuntu…wish me luck!
Thanks Steve! I will take a look at it on this computer. The problem with the old one is that I can’t do anything with it: I can turn it on and it asks for my password then just goes to the standby screen or whatever it’s called (sorry!).
Sounds like it’s software or operating system that’s giving grief.
If you can’t reinstall Windows then why not give a Linux variant such as Ubuntu a try, it’s certainly cheaper than a new laptop (FREE) and comes with as much FREE software as you wish to load.
We did it here with an older laptop and an even older desktop and they’re both running sweetly.
Thanks Neil…still don’t know whether to invest more time and money on it!
My G4 Apple Mac stopped starting last year after 10 years of service due to to the main switch failing and I decided that it wasn’t worth repairing. I worked out a cost of £10 per month over that time. It once ran for 14 months without being turned off or crashing and was only turned off as we were moving offices. During this time my son has replaced his PC (by various manufacturers) 5 times. My wife has an original iMac still functioning and running OS 10.3 of the same vintage. I replaced the G4 with a G5 purchased via ebay for 240 euros which is 6 years old.