Can this Work?

sipp · ‎03-10-2010

Friends got an old laptop (from e-bay?) A guy offered to wipe it clean for them and did but then got sick and they don't know if he died or what- (seriously) but they did get the laptop back with nothing on it- They want to use it for downloading and storing pictures only- not as an "operating" online machine- and they asked me if I knew anybody- Well I don't except for these forums -- and you've helped me out - so they have an old set of discs - and the laptop does charge and all- the stickers on it say it's an IBM vista or xp compatible with 3 gb (but that's all I know about it-) Can they use their discs to install the operating system and needed drivers? Will that work? (they say TIA) (cause I'm no tech!)

p.s. they just said it's a Levnovo IBM thinkpad- and has an ATI graphics sticker on it.

Brittany-QVC · ‎06-14-2015

Moved:

This post has been removed by QVC. Sorry - this post contains a link to another retailer. Okay to re-post recommendation without link.

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

It might work, but I wouldn't do it. I don't know the status of the computer or the discs, but if the computer is in good shape and the old sets of discs you've mentioned actually contains an operating system (you didn't say what was on the discs, which makes a difference) then it could work. They won't only need the discs, though. Every install of an Operating System needs a registration code to register it. If they do not have that code or that code is associated with another computer, they may not be able to get the OS registered and running. If that's the case, they could spend the money to buy a new OS, but I wouldn't waste the money on the brick they bought.

Lenovo has many different types of Thinkpads, so I have no idea how new or old that machine is or the condition of the hardware. They could put a new OS in and then find out the CPU is bad or that it doesn't have enough RAM to run the OS. Honestly, if someone isn't computer savvy, I wouldn't recommend buying a used laptop. Heck, I built my own computer from the parts up and I wouldn't buy a used computer. You can buy a three year-old car and still get many years of use out of it. You buy a two year-old computer and it's life is half over. A computer should be expected to be replaced every 3-5 years.

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Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

This computer needs to be recycled. Please do not spend anymore $$ on it.

I buy Western Digital hard drives from Amazon for file storage, because they have a three year warranty. You can find a 1TB drive on their site. You want a new drive from 2015.

I use Google photos, unlimited,online storage for my pictures . My pictures go from the camera in a tablet or a phone to Google. All you need is a gmail account.

https://support.google.com/photos/?hl=en#topic=6128818

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

@Nuttmeg wrote:
This computer needs to be recycled. Please do not spend anymore $$ on it.

I buy Western Digital hard drives from Amazon for file storage, because they have a three year warranty. You can find a 1TB drive on their site. You want a new drive from 2015.

I use Google photos, unlimited,online storage for my pictures . My pictures go from the camera in a tablet or a phone to Google. All you need is a gmail account.
https://support.google.com/photos/?hl=en#topic=6128818

If they only want to store files, this is a good solution. I keep an external hard drive I use for storage and backing up my computer and it works very well for me. It's much cheaper and smaller than buying a whole new computer meant only for storage and backing things up.

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Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
@Nuttmeg wrote:
This computer needs to be recycled. Please do not spend anymore $$ on it.

I buy Western Digital hard drives from Amazon for file storage, because they have a three year warranty. You can find a 1TB drive on their site. You want a new drive from 2015.

I use Google photos, unlimited,online storage for my pictures . My pictures go from the camera in a tablet or a phone to Google. All you need is a gmail account.
https://support.google.com/photos/?hl=en#topic=6128818

If they only want to store files, this is a good solution. I keep an external hard drive I use for storage and backing up my computer and it works very well for me. It's much cheaper and smaller than buying a whole new computer meant only for storage and backing things up.

I use Carbonite as my primary storage. I have a two crazy programs that can and do shut Windows down anytime. I need a safe place to keep my files, if I have to redo Windows.

I do like all the "free" cloud storage at Amazon, Google, and some at Apple.

sipp · ‎03-10-2010

I told them what you wrote- they say they have old windows discs etc from an old computer that they recycled already- they just wanted to store photos on it- not in the cloud. They wouldn't be spending any money on it- they don't care if it would work online- just that it could store and show picutures ( I guess kind of like those frames you buy that run on a thumb drive- but in that case - just on that laptop. So I asked what discs they have and it's for the Microsoft XP operating system on the old Dell.) so I don't know if they'll proceed or not. ( I don't know if the "dell" discs would work on a lenovo- I guess it's pretty old other than the infor I already gave you before but I also don't know what they paid in the first place for it.

Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

@sipp wrote:
I told them what you wrote- they say they have old windows discs etc from an old computer that they recycled already- they just wanted to store photos on it- not in the cloud. They wouldn't be spending any money on it- they don't care if it would work online- just that it could store and show picutures ( I guess kind of like those frames you buy that run on a thumb drive- but in that case - just on that laptop. So I asked what discs they have and it's for the Microsoft XP operating system on the old Dell.) so I don't know if they'll proceed or not. ( I don't know if the "dell" discs would work on a lenovo- I guess it's pretty old other than the infor I already gave you before but I also don't know what they paid in the first place for it.

Windows XP expired in early 2014,and It no longer gets security updates. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/end-support-help

You can not use Dell drivers on a Lenovo computer, because the hardware is different.

Your neighbors need to know the model name and number of this system so they can find drivers. This will help them find the right operating system, and they would need to buy a copy.

Lenovo does have information on their support site that can help you find the model name and number of this computer.

gardenman · ‎03-09-2010

@ChynnaBlue wrote:

It might work, but I wouldn't do it. I don't know the status of the computer or the discs, but if the computer is in good shape and the old sets of discs you've mentioned actually contains an operating system (you didn't say what was on the discs, which makes a difference) then it could work. They won't only need the discs, though. Every install of an Operating System needs a registration code to register it. If they do not have that code or that code is associated with another computer, they may not be able to get the OS registered and running. If that's the case, they could spend the money to buy a new OS, but I wouldn't waste the money on the brick they bought.

Lenovo has many different types of Thinkpads, so I have no idea how new or old that machine is or the condition of the hardware. They could put a new OS in and then find out the CPU is bad or that it doesn't have enough RAM to run the OS. Honestly, if someone isn't computer savvy, I wouldn't recommend buying a used laptop. Heck, I built my own computer from the parts up and I wouldn't buy a used computer. You can buy a three year-old car and still get many years of use out of it. You buy a two year-old computer and it's life is half over. A computer should be expected to be replaced every 3-5 years.

Just a note about the registration code. There should be a sticker somewhere on the computer with the registration code on it. Every copy of Windows comes with a sticker that's supposed to be applied by the manufacturer/builder.

I wouldn't recommend buying a new operating system. It would cost you about as much as a good used computer from Newegg or a similar retailer. You can buy a refurbished Dell desktop computer on Newegg for $75 that even comes with a one year warranty which comes with the operating system (Windows7) already installed. Alternative ways of storing the photos would include a cheaper smartphone, they sell for $30 and up and needn't be activated to just use as a storage device. Most mp3 players also have photo storage capabilities. Each of those options let you store photos and view them.

Since you've already got the laptop and discs, you can try using it to see what happens, just don't expect too much. You might get lucky and it'll work. You're unlikely to hurt anything, so if you don't mind potentially wasting some time, give it a shot and see what happens.

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