I gave my mom my old desktop...only problem is it sat in a closet for 2 years and in my trunk for a good month or two...and I mean, I really treated it like crap and it has a corrupt file that we need the operating systems cd to repair.

So I mailed her the CDs for it...and of COURSE, the one she needed got broken in half by the post office.

Question is would the operating cd's for my boyfriend's dell desktop (that's a little newer) work on my older dimension...and if not, how can I get a new one? I googled but nothing...

My mom just wants to do email..lol....help us!

3/6/2008 4:16:46 PM

is it the same operating system?

if yes--then yes

if no--then probably still yes, but not certain and not legally.

3/6/2008 4:24:25 PM

I think they are both dimensions...but his is a 5100 and mine....is older...Can't remember.

Can you call Dell and get another CD?

3/6/2008 4:31:11 PM

His should work.

3/6/2008 4:32:14 PM

Awesome. I will try it. When I first turned it on, it went to the log on screen and I didn't have the keyboard plugged in yet so I pressed the power switch and plugged in the keyboard...then it wouldn't log back on after that. Kept giving us the repair option.

3/6/2008 4:35:35 PM

PC Linux OS 2007

serious. its so easy your mom can use it. Email and Internet, straight out of the box... nothing to it.

download this ISO, and burn it to a single disc. nothing in the world could be easier to install.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/live-cd/english/preview/pclinuxos-2007.iso

here's the main site for PCLinuxOS

http://www.pclinuxos.com

3/7/2008 11:50:31 PM

Quote :

"I think they are both dimensions...but his is a 5100 and mine....is older...Can't remember."

it doesnt matter what computers they are, it does however what operating system each system is licensed for. there should be a sticker on the back that clearly states a key for XP or Vista or whatever OS was installed originally.

if they're the same, it will for sure work...if not, it's still worth a shot.

3/8/2008 2:55:23 AM

^^WRT to installing a Linux OS onto a computer for someone that is honestly only using internet/email/office ... I installed Xubuntu onto a friend's OLD laptop that had Win98 and had constant issues ... since doing that, they haven't had one complaint or problem. They are using Firefox, and subsequently webmail ... and OpenOffice is installed and suits their needs just fine for the occasional view/edit.

It can be tricky to install/support a Linux install so it helps to know what you're doing, but once installed and working, it's pretty much "fire-and-forget" ... in my experience.

3/8/2008 3:03:17 AM

Even if the other CD works, I would still contact Dell to see if you can get a replacement for the future.

3/8/2008 7:53:35 AM

^Good idea

^^^She had bought a laptop but didn't like Vista. My dell has XP and so does his so I think we are okay using his cd.

We will try it when I go home in a week or so and see what happens. Thank you all for your help!

3/8/2008 2:43:01 PM

it was my pleasure

3/8/2008 2:47:10 PM