stationchief

That might work, but I'm a lil' shy about installing ActiveX add-ons and stuff I don't exactly know about. There's lots of freeware utilities that'll scan your memory, along with the rest of your system, and tell 'ya what type you have, how much, and in which slots.

You either look up the laptop's technical info on the manufacturer's 'official' website, or you open it up yourself and visualize what's in there. It should just be a screw you take out and a lil' plate to pop out to see what memory you have on the back of your laptop. If you attempt this, just please be sure to unplug it and take out the battery first.

Sheesh. Gimma a chance to get some sleep. I figured no one's gonna log on so I just went to bed.

Anyone?

Since it's gettin' close to BF (you can almost smell it!), who's up for a chat about BF? What IM software do you use and what's your screenname? So 'ya know, posting that info here signifies you allow us to IM you and give you a shout when we see you online. Here's mine: AOL IM: ChfBehring I'm not online often, usually during the evenings. Feel free to IM me when I am if anyone has any teckie questions about computers, TVs, cameras, or whatnot, or if 'ya just wanna chat about BF. So, what's yours?

Then I will Walmart.com direct link: Acer 14.1" Aspire 4520-5803 Laptop PC w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor TK-53 And the tekkie specs from Global Acer: Aspire® 4520 Technical specifications Not a bad deal at all for a dual-core laptop, and less than $600 makes it even better. The memory should be enough for Vista, however it's not cheaply upgradable as both memory slots are taken up. The graphics are OK as well (GeForce Mobility 7000) depending whether or not it's gonna be a heavy duty/gaming/graphics machine. Time will tell depending on exactly how you're using it. But it's a great everyday laptop. If 'ya wait 'till BF someone might have something that matches that very closely for a lil' cheaper. If you want a more supercharged up machine and need on right now, here's the next step up: Acer 15.4" Aspire 5520-5912 Laptop PC w/ AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor TL-58 A lil' faster, bigger screen, twice the memory, and 40GB more hard drive storage for about $130 more.

Wish I could buy a brand new laptop and make my company eat the bill for it. Sure they can. That's what they're there for. Just gotta make sure you have an open memory slot to begin with when you buy the laptop. You can still upgrade if all the memory slots are taken up, it's just more expensive that way. I don't think they celebrate BF specifically, but they always have some sort of big specials goin' on right around the 4th quarter, which is right about now. Not too long ago there was a coupon code to get something like $200-400 off your Dell order. Dunno if it's still goin' on now. Look around GottaDeal and you'll find some Dell offers.

Yes, I agree it can be done. You can take one PC's OS, and everything on the hard drive, and transfer it into another computer whether it's either desktop or laptop. But it's also very risky if you don't know exactly what you're doing. AHEM. Class, let's begin 'PC Teknobabble 101': See, you can't just copy the OS and everything on one PC's hard drive straight to another PC. Windows keeps track of alot of data about the computer it's originally installed in, so if alot of major specs change suddenly (different type of processor, chipset, amount of memory, yada yada) you'll confuse your OS and at the very least it'll be bogged down regardless of how fast the new PC is. Windows doesn't know exactly when it's inside a new computer. A few things need to be done with the registry, the virtual memory, and a bunch of other stuff to let Windws XP know it's in a new computer now. You can either find software that'll do that for 'ya or have someone from the BB Geek Squad or another tekkie transfer it. Also, hopefully the new hard drive in the laptop is as big or larger than the desktop PC's. 'Ya can't copy what 'ya don't have room for. Just thought I'd chime in just in case anyone else gets any ideas about doing the same thing. Thank you for your attention.

I just might try that. I'll wear my GottaDeal t-shirt when I walk up to a WM store manager tomorrow and ask if they have the BF ads in yet. THEM = ME = Would you really be considering some form of walmart-ish style BF t-shirt or something? Something along the lines of 'I got the Wal-Mart BF ad early from ... GottaDeal.com!'

Most of the time with store retailers you're stuck with what comes in the box. Which nowdays is Vista all around. If 'ya want an XP OS, or anything other than Vista, you gotta buy a second OS installation CD and I don't think Vista can downgrade well so it's gotta be a full version. The only way around this I know of is to buy from Dell who is one of the last manufacturers that offers XP or Vista as a choice. Check the other thread to read about other options available to 'ya if you're stuck with Vista. (OEM CDs, eBay, or just buying more memory).

I am ready! It's my checking account that's not.

Checkin' in and ready to rock! (Surprise everyone!)

I have a pair of really good quality surround sound earphones I use for my music that cost me $20. It all depends on the specifics of what yoy're looking for.

Doh. http://www.greensmilies.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/smiley_emoticons_doh.gif Anyhoo, it's inevitable that Vista will eventually become the standard for all newly purchased PCs. Maybe with the release of the first service packs that fixes a good portion of the compatability issues, and as technology becomes cheaper while more memory/faster processors becomes more the standard. Remember all the complaints about XP when it first came out and how long it took for it to grow on everyone. And no one better get me started on Windows ME (first and only warning ). I'll give Vista the credit it's due, but until it impresses me I'll be demanding XP.

Fry's Electronics has some good deals every weekend as well as one of the better desktop and laptop deals on BF. Most weekend deals have rebates, unfortunately. Very sorry to hear that. Did you purchase some sort of extended warranty with it it? Some have theft protection.

True. You can buy legit copies and licenses of every PC OS from Vista to XP all the way down to ... version 1.0! Ah, the IBM PC memories. If you do take this route, remember to be careful and check into these things first before you agree to buy. Don't wanna buy a bad copy or a pirated license.

Due to customer demand, most major companies, especially Dell, are really pusing hard to make XP available to everyone who wants it pre-installed for as long as they possibly can. But I agree, time is running out. End of next january for us non-system builder license folks. Perhaps when the first Vista service pack becomes readily available to us cunsumers maybe we'll start warming up towards Vista. But 'till then, let's keep those copies of XP comming as long as possible.

Break out the 'Let's Get Ready To Rumbllllllllllllle!' MP3 music track. I'm ready!

We wish, huh? Some of us could use a good shot after waiting in line for over 12 hours. I think last year a few folks on these boards make a small fortune by going from store to store with a food cart selling food and drinks to the line waiters. That wasn't a bad idea.

62 days, folks! Tick tock! Tick tock!

That's how our local Wal-Mart was last year before it became a supercenter. They give out maps an hour before the doors open to guide everyone to each doorbuster item located throughout the store (CS desk for desktop and big-screen LCD TV, table around the corner for digital camera and other item, etc). That limits individuals to one or two doorbusters and makes it so one person can't buy everything. One problem I noticed was the limit of items they could have. When we bought a laptop a few years back, folks were buying 3 or 4 laptops at a time. That peeved alot of people off and we barely got the last one. I think they're limiting doorbusters now to one unique item per individual. This year is gonna be very interesting because that local WM where the wife works became a 24-hour supercenter earlier this year. This blitz-day is gonna be WAY different and folks might not be used to the new way of doing things. Let's hope things go smoothly, however I'm expecting chaos to ensue.

I'm hoping for that as well. I need both a laptop and a desktop. Gotta wait in line somewhere else on BF to get what I need for the desktop (the more important of the two), so I need a different game plan for the laptop.

CD burner and DVD reader combo drive, I believe. Reads CDs and DVDs, but just burns CDs and not DVDs.

Really? I hadn't noticed many 'free' services or goodies handed out. You can 'buy' extended warranties and such, but not much in free extras. Typically, even the cheaper ones should be able to do that over the internet, but I'd recommend the previous mention of upgrading to at least a total of 1GB of RAM memory. Vista is a resource pig. What's his radio talk show? Maybe we can call in and say hi and Brad can do a GottaDeal promo stunt? Yes, we hubbies are very clumsy, aren't we?

They will. They always do. Last year's sales were on 17" ($80), 19" widescreen ($130) and 22" widescreen ($200). Expect more this year.