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Windows Forum / Windows XP / Basics / October 2007free OS instead of windows?
Hi, I have an older ME machine that was using just as a spare. All of a sudden, I turned it on and the mouse when moved, will not do anything, there is NO arrow either. Strangly too, the Icons on desktop look bigger and different as they do when in safe mode. I have used this windows ME for about a year now; but seldomly. just when other one is tied up to surf. I got it at a yard sale no disks included. SO my question is this. Can I uninstall the windows ME OS and reinstall a free OS (if there is such a thing)-I am gonna try to salvage this pc if possible. If not possible, I would like to give to someone but want to wipe out any information and files I might have put on there while in use. ANy ideas? PS I posted to ME newgroups but this question is more on OS....WIndows vs other (free) Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Marcy Simpler to resurrect the mouse. Is the computer a desktop or laptop? Is the mouse wired or wireless? Does the keyboard work OK?  SignatureHope this helps. Gerry ~~~~ FCA Stourport, England Enquire, plan and execute ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Hi, I have an older ME machine that was using just as a spare. All of > a sudden, I turned it on and the mouse when moved, will not do [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Not if he has no media with windows on it. > Marcy > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >> >> Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Darn....I new that I should have included this very important info. The mouse works fine. I tried another wired mouse from my other pc which was being used at the same time and the mouse did NOT work. I even tried putting in a working new microsoft wireless mouse with new batteries. and it did NOT work either. SO trying 3 different mice did not find the problem. I wish it were that easy. This desktop pc is an Emachine ME with only 126 ram /and 20 gig. Nothing to brag about. It freezes many times so I constantly need to restart it. Yes I could just save myself the agravation and give/throw this thing away. But, I want the little info I have on there wiped out and deleted. BUT how am I gonna be able to do that if I can even get the mouse to click away. the keyboard is the only way that I have been able to do some things on it. So keyboard is fine. How much did I pay for this last year??? $10. And as stated, is used maybe once a week for a few hours if that. So, whats your thoughts? thank you for your help > Not if he has no media with windows on it. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >>> >>> Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Sounds like a boat anchor. A 20 GB hard drive has no real value, use a 16# hammer and erase it. Sell the rest at a flea market or give it to a kid. If the floppy drive works, you can get a program called ERASER, which runs from a floppy and wipes everything on the drive and over-writes it beyond recovery [except for the CIA and FBI, if they try real hard}. Eraser - Free secure data erase tool to wipe files on your hard drive Secure Data Removal Tool to wipe, erase and clean files and history including index.dat. www.heidi.ie/eraser/ - 16k - Cached - Similar pages Online Privacy and Email Server manufacturers - Heidi Computers ... Online Privacy, File Erase and Software Server manufacturers. ... Eraser wins 'Best File Shredder Award' with Chip Magazine Germany! ... www.heidi.ie/ - 16k - Cached - Similar pages [ More results from www.heidi.ie ] Eraser Eraser is a secure data removal tool, which allows you to remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it with carefully selected patterns. ... www.tolvanen.com/eraser/ - 5k - Cached - Similar pages SourceForge.net: Eraser Eraser is a secure data removal tool for Windows. It completely removes sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully ... | Darn....I new that I should have included this very important info. The | mouse works fine. I tried another wired mouse from my other pc which was [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] | >>> | >>> Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! > Not if he has no media with windows on it. Actually it sounds like the OP got an illegal copy of Windows. "I got it at a yard sale no disks included." Sure looks like what the OP got was hardware which included a polluted hard disk that she should've wiped when it got home to then install a legitimate OS. > Marcy > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >> >> Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! > Hi, I have an older ME machine that was using just as a spare. All of > a sudden, I turned it on and the mouse when moved, will not do [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Lindows, Knoppix, Linux, etc.. > Hi, I have an older ME machine that was using just as a spare. All > of a sudden, I turned it on and the mouse when moved, will not do [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > PS I posted to ME newgroups but this question is more on > OS....WIndows vs other (free) Let the new owner choose their own OS, free or not. Just wipe the hard drive. www.killdisk.com Sat, 27 Oct 2007 14:24:52 -0700 from Marcy <RM@RMcom>: > Can I uninstall the windows ME OS and reinstall a free > OS (if there is such a thing) Yes, there is such a thing. It's called Linux. There are several variations on Linux. You can find Fedora disks as part of a thick book in your local bookstore, or you can go to knoppix.com to download an install disk, or ubuntu.com to get a free disk (yes, free, without even a shipping charge). That said, even though there are graphical interfaces Linux will be quite different from Windows, so prepare for a learning curve. If you're using MS Office you'll have to replace it with Open Office (openoffice.org), but your documents should be usable. SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com/ "If there's one thing I know, it's men. I ought to: it's been my life work." -- Marie Dressler, in /Dinner at Eight/ > Can I uninstall the windows ME OS and reinstall a free > OS (if there is such a thing) Yup. Put Ubuntu on it and be happy. :) Marcy Free operating systems like Ubuntu or PCLinuxOS require 256mb RAM to be of any value. Memory for older machines is more expensive than for newer ones. Some of the smaller computer stores may have second hand memory you could purchase maybe. Other than that, the floppy and optical drives may well be on the way west too, and the general spec, CPU, Video card may well be below what is required for anything other than ME/Win 9x. A local school may appreciate the donation, giving the kids something to play with, fix or whatever. SignatureMike Hall - MVP http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx Posting Productively.. http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm > Hi, I have an older ME machine that was using just as a spare. All of a > sudden, I turned it on and the mouse when moved, will not do anything, [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Would like to suggest Puppy Linux :) ---Quoted: http://puppylinux.org/wikka/MinReq --- Minimum Hardware Requirements Puppy has been tested on a few very old machines but the best results for the standard release of Puppy Linux to run at a reasonable pace have been achieved with the following: CPU : Pentium 166MMX RAM : 128 MB physical RAM for releases since version 1.0.2 or failing that a Linux swap file and/or swap partition is required for all included applications to run; 64 MB for releases previous to 1.0.2 Hard Drive : None CDROM : 20x and up --- Links: To download free of charge: http://www.puppylinux.com/download/downpage.htm Or purchase to receive by mail: http://www.puppyos.com/download/downpage.htm#Purchase As others have said, there will be a learning curve involved and perhaps some light reading, usually good Wiki ('library' if you will) is available on the respective Linux distribution website. Stuff will just look and feel different :) Ofcourse as Mike Hall pointed out, you may well be better off considering getting yourself a newer machine for yourself to play with and donate this one to a school, and save money on possible hardware upgrades. > Marcy > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > A local school may appreciate the donation, giving the kids something > to play with, fix or whatever. Signature*Reply to newsgroup please. *Your mileage may vary. *Spelling/Grammar errors free of charge. www.google.com search for free operating system SignatureXandros > Hi, I have an older ME machine that was using just as a spare. All of a > sudden, I turned it on and the mouse when moved, will not do anything, [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Thanks so very much for your help-! ! ! ! Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:22:04 -0600 from Xandros <arron.neus*remove*@gmailcom>: > www.google.com > search for free operating system I'm sure you meant well, but it would have been better if you tried it yourself first. Your advice -- which returns 121 million hits -- is about as helpful as "try a library". Sure, the information is there, but the OP already knew that. The issue is finding the needle in that haystack, not finding the haystack. SignatureStan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com/ "If there's one thing I know, it's men. I ought to: it's been my life work." -- Marie Dressler, in /Dinner at Eight/ > Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:22:04 -0600 from Xandros > <arron.neus*remove*@gmailcom>: [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > already knew that. The issue is finding the needle in that haystack, > not finding the haystack. Get a grip. If he does a search for the words "free operating system" he only needs to look at the first 4 - 6 links he doesn't need to search through all 88,100,000 results. Perhaps you need to learn how to use google yourself. SignatureXandros |
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