Re-build questions

[PCFL]

Not sure this is the best forum area but will give it a try

A friend has acquired a couple "high end" desktops and several laptops as the result of a business going under and has asked me if I could make these PC's usable for home use. She has a home PC that she would like to have all her files migrated over to one of the desktops.

These acquired PC's appeared to have been set up for local networking and I see Windows XP professional on the one laptop that I have been able to power up. The laptop has the XP professional logon sequence that requires the user to supply a password but loaded to one of the former users with no entry in the password area. I am not sure if I will be able to log onto the other PC's without a password. No start up or recovery disks are available.

Keep in mind that whatever I do I do not have a budget to do this so shareware or freeware is the way to go. As I am doing this for a friend that can not spend any money to get theses PC's up and running for home use. I may get a PC or laptop for myself out of this volunteer work so I am willing to spend some $ if necessary to achieve this end.

My first inclination would be to re-format the hard drives and simply start from scratch so as not to have to deal with all the unknown programs and data on the hard drives.

The questions that leads to are:

Can I do a destructive format of the hard drives without logging into Windows XP professional?

If I reformat the hard drives I will have to re-install an OS. Can I do this without the expense of buying a new OS out of the box?

Should I try an alternate OS to Windows in the event I have to part with big $ to re-install an OS?

With reference to migrating over the programs from the home PC, can I simply remove the home PC HDD and install it into one of the acquired desktops? Then change the boot order to have the reconfigured PC boot and operate from the transferred HDD. Will there be compatibility issues with the software/OS if I try to use a transplanted HDD as the primary drive in a foreign computer?

That should get me started. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[minsonngo]

You can use this to wipe out the drives: http://dban.sourceforge.net/


After you do this... you will need to repartition the HDD and reinstall the OS on it.



If you try to transplant a HDD to another machine you need read this: Repair Reinstallation of Windows XP (using XP CD)

Post #3 is should help.

[Alaron]

Welcome to PCMech. I'll answer your questions.

1. Yes. Simply set the BIOS to boot from CD, pop in a Windows/Linux CD and follow the instructions for reformat the drive and install the new OS.

2/3. You will have to buy Windows if you want to use that. You can use Linux instead of course, but that involves a lot of re-learning how to use it. Probably easier to pop for $90 for a Windows disc for each system. I'd say the cost of Windows is worth it for a free system.

4. You would need to do a Repair installation of Windows if you want to boot the system from a different hard drive. Of course that would require a Windows disc. It would be easier to wipe the new system's hard drive and reinstall Windows fresh. Then install the 'home' PC hard drive as a slave and copy the data you need.

Hope that helps.

[PCFL]

Thanks for the rapid replies

Minsonngo - I have used the Boot and Nuke with success before and that is a good suggestion. I just wasn't sure I could load the program if the PC's were in protected mode with windows XP professional. I should be able to get to the set up menu with an F key on start up, I would imagine.
-Your second suggestion got me thinking that my friend should have her recovery or OS disc for her home PC. So I am thinking I could reformat/nuke the acquires PC's HDD, then install the OS from her home PC. This raises questions of compatibility with loading the OS on a foreign computer. If this was possible, I could then install her older HDD as a secondary drive and she could access the old hard drive and migrate over her data at her leisure.

Alaron- Thanks
1- Could I load her home OS onto the acquired PC with the use of the recovery disc supplied with the home PC?
2/3- Good point if 90.00 would be all it took but I have 2 desktops and 3 laptops of unknown potential at this time. Friend doesn't want to spend any $ so I will try shoestring first. Is Linux difficult to use for the average 10year old (fiend’s kid) surfing the net?
4- I can do the slave install as indicated earlier, probably a good idea. Can I do a repair/ install on the new acquired PC with the recovery disc from the home PC (that we a breaking down)? I am guessing not as the manufacture’s usually make the recovery discs to be PC specific, but I am not an expert.

Where do I find free OS ?

[flanzig1]

If the recovery disc is from a name brand like Dell/HP/etc, then no it won't work on the aquired PCs.

[minsonngo]

Where do I find free OS ?

Here are some.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

http://www.debian.org/

[PCFL]

ubuntu sound pritty slick. debian paints a nice picture as well.

Any opinions or experiences using ubuntu as an operating system? Sounds like it can do everything that Windows can do and is compatable with Windows programs. What is the downside? Does it have good OS management utilities?

Is it true that the need for antivirus protection is greatly reduced while using alternate OS ?

[Alaron]

Check out our three Ubuntu Guides here: http://www.pcmech.com/article/installing-ubuntu-linux/ here: http://www.pcmech.com/article/window...nsition-guide/ and here: http://www.pcmech.com/article/config...mizing-ubuntu/

[PCFL]

A couple quick follow up questions:
If I do a destructive re-format and then re-install a new OS (Windows XP or LinuX) will the OS's auto detect all the components/hardware or will I have to load drivers for the monitor, keyboard, video cards, audio cards, modems, ...

Can this be a problem working with an older laptop and desktop?

I found that one of the laptops have a wopping 8 Gig hard drive (and that is the newer one).

[Alaron]

Windows will load generic drivers for the video/keyboard/mouse. You'll have to look around online for the correct drivers so you can have sound, a modem and all the video options. The manufacturer's website would be a place to start.

Ubuntu does a good job of finding drivers for everything right away. But there is always the possibility that something won't work and you'll have to hunt for Linux drivers. These can be tough to find, so its something to consider going with Linux.