Would you do this? And a question for PC savy ppl lol..

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Ok, I have been trying to think of what else to get the girls for C'mas but they have some insanely expensive items on their lists...well Remy does, Holly said she isn't "doing" a list this year?! Remy wants a laptop on her list, but DF and I have discussed this and we think that is one purchase that will wait until she is a little older/responsible like 13 or 14. I did think however that we could "gift" the girls DF and I's old desktops (we both upgraded to laptops in college last year). They are both Dells and around 3-4 yrs old..both work great and are just sitting in a corner collecting dust since they are no longer hooked up to the internet (we went wireless). I know lots of young kids have their own PCs these days, but it just seems like a big responsibility for a 6 and 11 yr old so I am hesitating. I just think it would help Remy with reports and projects for school (we have microsoft word and all that educational programming on both from college) and we thought we'd buy some learning games for Holly to put on hers. Plus we have the Photoshop CS4 software (DF is a graphic artist) that we could add. Does it sound like a good idea to you? I know they won't care that they are used verus brand new PCs lol as long as they have their own computers.

Also how do you "take the software back to basics" like as if it was new without all the added stuff on it..most is programs are not age approp. for kids. Then it will be like they are "new" and we can readd the Microsoft Office and PS software as well as any games and have plenty of room left over for them on the memory.

[mrodgers]

Just one note, it would be illegal to leave Microsoft Office programs and Photoshop on the computer and give it to them. I don't know if the license is transferable or not. If you give them Office and PS, you would have to purchase it for yourselves again.

Not that I care about software piracy, but just wanted you to know that it would be piracy if you did that.

[remyandhollandsmommy]

Originally Posted by mrodgers

Just one note, it would be illegal to leave Microsoft Office programs and Photoshop on the computer and give it to them. I don't know if the license is transferable or not. If you give them Office and PS, you would have to purchase it for yourselves again.

Not that I care about software piracy, but just wanted you to know that it would be piracy if you did that.

How would it be piracy? I bought the software programs and we can have them uploaded to several PCs (both our laptops have them as well). And I can tell you after spending almost a thousand dollars on that software they can kiss my behind before I rebuy it lol!

[Imzadi]

Originally Posted by mrodgers

Just one note, it would be illegal to leave Microsoft Office programs and Photoshop on the computer and give it to them. I don't know if the license is transferable or not. If you give them Office and PS, you would have to purchase it for yourselves again.

I think that's ridiculous. It's within the same household. The computers have never left the premises. PLUS, the PCs are going to the minor children of the original owners of the PC, meaning the adults still own the PCs.

OP, you sound like you would be responsible in watching the kids as they play on the pcs. It might be fun to set them up on Christmas eve when the children sleep, with big bows on top.

You would have to reformat the hard drives with the original start up operating disks the PCs came with. There are also parental control programs. Like, you can set yourself up as an Administrator, with a password, so the kids can't accidentally get into operating system functions and start playing around with them.

[CathrynRose]

That's not piracy. It's still being used by the same people who used it before.

If when your machine starts up - you start hitting, what is it? F10? It's your BIOS settings.

Just go through all the F keys. One of them is your BIOS, and it will have your option to restore factory settings.

I think it's F10.... or is that safe mode? I'm tired, and am engaging in Reisling.

[CathrynRose]

Don't make me turn my computer off to figure it out. Now, it's bothering me that I can't remember off the top of my head.

[N.Bailey]

Originally Posted by remyandhollandsmommy

How would it be piracy? I bought the software programs and we can have them uploaded to several PCs (both our laptops have them as well). And I can tell you after spending almost a thousand dollars on that software they can kiss my behind before I rebuy it lol!

Programs can transfer with the computer legally if the program is not on another computer at the time of the transfer.

Unofficially however, I can't see anyone arresting you for using them on your own home computers. I can't even see how anyone would know that. Just don't choose to register the program if prompted after it's reinstalled.

As for redoing the computer, type in reformatting in a google search and print out step by step directions. Make sure you have all your original discs though, especially the drivers (though they be downloaded from the web, but it's more work).

I also see no problem gifting a used item if you feel the kids will appreciate it. You know them better than anyone else, so go with your gut.

Basically for reformatting, all you really need to do is put the operating system in DVD drive and reboot it. It will probably take it from there giving you step by step instructions. Some manufacturers make recovery discs which are easier to work with, but I just prefer the way Dell handles it all and you get the full operating system on 1 disc.

BTW, if you lost any of the CDS, I heard Dell will replace them for you for no charge. I can't verify that, but it would be worth the try if that's your situation. Oh, and it's a pain in the you know what, but as you're reinstalling everything and it asks if you want to reboot your computer, always choose yes. It takes longer, but it's so worth it if something were to go wrong because you didn't.

Doing the updates once everyone is reinstalled is VERY time consuming, but if they're going to be online, I highly suggest you do them all.

[CathrynRose]

OOOooo...look what I found:

Laptop Factory-State/Reformat Tips
If your laptop gets really messed up and you would like to start from scratch, each manufacturer has a different procedure for reverting to the fresh-from-the-factory state or doing a clean install. The following list is not complete, but is as accurate as I can make it from my personal experience.

Dell -- Older Dells came with CDs for the OEM version of Windows, drivers, and some of the installed applications. Starting in mid-2004, Dell has been shipping their laptops with a utility called Dell PC Restore by Symantec. This utility is on a partition on the hard drive and can be triggered by pressing Ctrl+F11 at the Dell BIOS startup screen for XP laptops, and by pressing F8 after the BIOS screen (like you would to get into Safe Mode) and choosing the system recovery option on Vista machines.

Toshiba -- Older Toshiba laptops came with a restore DVD with the original factory configuration on it. Newer ones come with a recovery partition that can be triggered by pressing and holding the 0 (zero) key as soon as you press the power button, and the releasing it when you see the Toshiba logo.

HP/Compaq -- Older laptops from these manufacturers shipped both the original factory image on a four-CD set and an XP OEM reinstall CD. However, I have found the restore CDs to be buggy, and in my experience they often don't work (they often freeze at the same point each time). Newer ones use a recovery partition that can be triggered using F10 or F11, depending on the model.

IBM/Lenovo -- All of their recent laptops can be restored by pressing the blue Access IBM or ThinkVantage button at the top of the keyboard at the IBM BIOS boot screen. This will launch you into a multipurpose utility; you'll have to choose the restore option. This is a lengthy (2-3 hour) process; leave plenty of time for it. The recovery utility is on the hard drive; you can receive backup CDs for free if you request them within the first thirty days or if your hard drive dies while under the IBM warranty, or you can burn discs yourself using a utility. AFAIK, here's no way to get a regular Windows CD from them.

Sony -- Sony is another manufacturer that puts a restore utility on a hard drive partition. You can access it by pressing F10. Sony's recovery CDs (if you accidentally erase the recovery partition) are very expensive (although you can burn a backup yourself), and doing a clean install is often not an option becuase they don't provide drivers for all their proprietary hardware.

Gateway/eMachines -- Newer Gateways (and I would assume eMachines too) include a recovery partition/utility that is triggered by pressing F11. You can make a backup of it. I have seen their driver support
to be somewhat spotty, although not as bad as Sony's.

Acer -- They have a utility called eRecovery that you can use to restore the system. It can be triggered from within Windows or by pressing Alt+F10. They provide a Windows utility to burn CDs.

Averatec -- They provide restore CDs, but I'm not sure of their nature.

Micron -- I've never seen the restore process on these laptops, and I couldn't find much information on their site, so I don't know what it entails.

[CathrynRose]

Originally Posted by N.Bailey

Programs can transfer with the computer legally if the program is not on another computer at the time of the transfer.

Unofficially however, I can't see anyone arresting you for using them on your own home computers. I can't even see how anyone would know that. Just don't choose to register the program if prompted after it's reinstalled.

As for redoing the computer, type in reformatting in a google search and print out step by step directions. Make sure you have all your original discs though, especially the drivers (though they be downloaded from the web, but it's more work).

I also see no problem gifting a used item if you feel the kids will appreciate it. You know them better than anyone else, so go with your gut.

Basically for reformatting, all you really need to do is put the operating system in DVD drive and reboot it. It will probably take it from there giving you step by step instructions. Some manufacturers make recovery discs which are easier to work with, but I just prefer the way Dell handles it all and you get the full operating system on 1 disc.

BTW, if you lost any of the CDS, I heard Dell will replace them for you for no charge. I can't verify that, but it would be worth the try if that's your situation. Oh, and it's a pain in the you know what, but as you're reinstalling everything and it asks if you want to reboot your computer, always choose yes. It takes longer, but it's so worth it if something were to go wrong because you didn't.

Doing the updates once everyone is reinstalled is VERY time consuming, but if they're going to be online, I highly suggest you do them all.

All we've done is argue the past 2 days....

You don't need a CD to restore to factory.

Your drivers will restore to factory, too - so you don't need to worry about those, either.

It can be done in the BIOS.

[Imzadi]

Originally Posted by CathrynRose

If when your machine starts up - you start hitting, what is it? F10? It's your BIOS settings.

I think it's F10.... or is that safe mode? I'm tired, and am engaging in Reisling.

It's either F8 or F10. But, I don't think the older computers are capable of this. I thought they could pnly be reformatted with the start up disks that came with the computer. PLUS, MS Word will probably automatically load with the reformatting.

OP, you might not need Photoshop. There is a simple Paint (& draw) program loaded into the accessories.

[N.Bailey]

My computer is older than '04 and I'm not happy to hear that Dell is putting out restore discs now (not even discs, just on a separate partition - which means, you need to burn that to CD to make your own copy).

I'm not sure if a reformat would wipe out that partition or not and if you're not sure, make sure you burn that cd before going any further. I guess if that partition won't be effected by a reformat, you could probably get away with not burning a copy.

[N.Bailey]

Originally Posted by CathrynRose

All we've done is argue the past 2 days....

You don't need a CD to restore to factory.

Your drivers will restore to factory, too - so you don't need to worry about those, either.

It can be done in the BIOS.

Not my computer (prior to '04). We're not arguing either, we're debating.

My Dell requires the operating system to be in the tray while you boot (and since the OP has Dell computers she may too, IF they're prior to '04). Once the partition is formatted, and the operating system reinstalled, you then have to put in your driver disc and check the drivers you want to install.

[N.Bailey]

Originally Posted by CathrynRose

All we've done is argue the past 2 days....

You don't need a CD to restore to factory.

Your drivers will restore to factory, too - so you don't need to worry about those, either.

It can be done in the BIOS.

BTW, in case you missed it on your global warming thread, someone said you were the cause of global warming because you're so hot.

[themarquis]

it's a great idea and as a computer person I support it 100 percent!! the kids will love it!

As for the responsibility, the best way to build responsibility is to give responsibilities. They'll love their "new" computers and you can talk to them about being careful, no food and drinks next to the computer, no messing with settings, etc. and I'm sure they will work very hard to follow these rules (with reinforcement by you if necessary). Plus, well, they're old computers -- not completely worthless, but not fragile priceless objects

On piracy: it depends on your original license. If you are right that you have a license where you can install more than one copy (quite common with academic licenses) then you're fine. Otherwise, you might still be fine: 1) I couldn't tell from your post whether you're talking about software that already lives on your old computers or that was sold with the old computers, in which case it's already licensed to be there or 2) personally, I consider it a moral gray area and I'd be fine with it as long as the software is used by the same family in the same household (obviously a personal decision, though.) HOwever, do be careful w/ some of the software where you may only have a single computer license and you may not be able to install on another computer (the license key may be rejected or something).

On "wiping" the computers, I'm not sure what cathrynrose is talking about, but putting the BIOS back to the original state will not do anything to the software (BIOS only does stuff to basic hardware of system). However, she may be right that on *some* systems, there is a key to press on boot up (will flash onto screen very quickly) that will do some sort of setup or repair of windows. You can use that, but it might wipe everything (including some factory-installed software) so be careful.

Another way to take them back to the original state is to use windows' System Restore. I think you can find it in the control panel. If that is set up and working properly, you can set it to put your computers on a time machine all the way back to when you first got them!!

One more point: when you're in system restore, do check and make sure it's set up to work properly. Because with two young kids messing around with these systems, you're going to NEED system restore!

I don't use system restore myself, but there are some other options for you like backup software that will store an "image" of your system at a certain point in time and you can basically click a few buttons and magically go back to that point. Believe me, you are going to need something like this! Because installing all the software and whatnot on the computers is a pain in the butt, and you don't want to have to do it more than once!

Best of luck -- what a great christmas gift! Your girls will have so much fun and learn so much on those computers!

[CathrynRose]

Originally Posted by N.Bailey

Not my computer (prior to '04). We're not arguing either, we're debating.

My Dell requires the operating system to be in the tray while you boot (and since the OP has Dell computers she may too, IF they're prior to '04). Once the partition is formatted, and the operating system reinstalled, you then have to put in your driver disc and check the drivers you want to install.

Debating. Okay.

She said her machines were 3-4 years old. I think she should be able to do it from her BIOS, if this is correct.

HOWEVER - I will say - of all the machines I've worked on, I've never worked on a DELL.