Subject: [Shop-talk] This is why I don't work in IT, was: Re: Entirely not shop related, but...

From: Scott <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:44:41 -0500

Okay, bought new Win8 discs.  Bought new Samsung 250GB SSD.

Put SSD in laptop, works. Installed Win8, works.

Win8 is not 'activated', because the discs I purchased appear to be for 
an upgrade, not a clean installation, according to the popup when typing 
in the activation key.

I asked specifically that question at Best Buy when buying the 
discs--can I put a NEW HD in my laptop, NO CLONING and install this Win8 
set? They said yes. There's nothing on the packaging that says 
'upgrade'. Not that it matters, but I suspect my solution is illegal, so 
I'm staking out the moral high ground now.

I don't want to clone anything from the old drive to the new one. I have 
the cables, but they (the drives) are different capacities, and last 
time I tried that it all went bad. I also don't want to risk any malware 
going from the old drive to the new one.

I'm inclined to say screw it and just use the Win8 on the laptop in its 
unactivated state--it seems to work fine. Am I risking jail time or 
anything else awful? I assume I cannot return the Win8 set to Best Buy 
and buy the 'right' set.

On a side note, there are no Win8 video drivers on Dell's website for an 
E6400, and the display randomly shuts off, but then it did that on the 
old HD, too, but only after I installed Win8.

This is why I avoid IT stuff on my own. Is the 'right' solution to clone 
the old drive, and if so, can any one recommend a web tutorial written 
as if for a five year-old, but that is also comprehensive? I'd need to 
clone an 80 GB drive to a 250 GB SSD, and I want the bare minimum 
necessary to be kosher with those Redmond bastages.

And Dell sucks. All hail Lenovo. This crap never happened on our Lenovo 
machines.

Scott
_______________________________________________

[email-masked]
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive

---

From: Peter Murray <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2012 16:10:46 -0500

Scott-

Best Buy won't accept returns of opened software, unfortunately.

Do you have the original XP (or Vista) discs that came with your Dell? It
would likely have been sold with an OEM license for one of those (check
under the E6400's battery for the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) and
installation key). If you have the COA but no discs, let me know which OS
it is, and I can get you an ISO. If no COA, then we venture towards the
more grey area, though you already have a legitimate installation of
Windows there already, no? You could do an absolutely minimal installation
of that and "upgrade" it from there. It appears that XP, Vista and 7 are
eligible for the Windows 8 upgrade.

Some info here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33642_7-57505867-292/upgrading-to-windows-8-what-you-need-to-know-faq/

Cloning from a smaller drive to a larger drive should be pretty trouble
free. I do that regularly with Clonezilla and GParted, both of which are
free, and you can get both of them on the "Ultimate Boot CD". Search for
"UBCD". It will even boot from a USB stick, if you are short on writeable
CD media. I can put together some docs for that if you would like. For that
system, it should be very easy - I have done it here at my office. It is a
multi-step process - install the source drive, clone it, install the new
SSD, restore it, then expand the resulting restored partition to the full
size of the new drive.

I have been happier with the Dell Latitude D- and E-series systems (of
which I have purchased over 75 in the past 3.5 years) than the Thinkpad
systems I purchased in an earlier life. That said, there are always lemons!

-Peter

On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 3:44 PM, Scott <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Win8 is not 'activated', because the discs I purchased appear to be for an
> upgrade, not a clean installation, according to the popup when typing in
> the activation key.
>
> I asked specifically that question at Best Buy when buying the discs--can
> I put a NEW HD in my laptop, NO CLONING and install this Win8 set? They
> said yes. There's nothing on the packaging that says 'upgrade'. Not that it
> matters, but I suspect my solution is illegal, so I'm staking out the moral
> high ground now.
>
> the cables, but they (the drives) are different capacities, and last time I
> tried that it all went bad. I also don't want to risk any malware going
> from the old drive to the new one.
>
> anything else awful? I assume I cannot return the Win8 set to Best Buy and
> buy the 'right' set.
>
> E6400, and the display randomly shuts off, but then it did that on the old
> HD, too, but only after I installed Win8.
>
> the old drive, and if so, can any one recommend a web tutorial written as
> if for a five year-old, but that is also comprehensive? I'd need to clone
> an 80 GB drive to a 250 GB SSD, and I want the bare minimum necessary to be
> kosher with those Redmond bastages.
>
> ______________________________**_________________
>
> [email-masked]
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.**html<http://www.team.net/donate.html>
> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
> Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/**options/shop-talk/**
> [email-masked]<http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]>

[email-masked]

---

From: Scott <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:26:11 -0500

I do not have the discs that came with the Dell--Dell didn't ship it 
with discs, and I kept asking Dell for them, they never sent them, and I 
finally gave up.

The Dell does have one of those Windows stickers under the battery with 
a Windows product key on it for Vista. I say 'those' stickers like it 
means something--it's the 2-inch-by-1-inch multicolored one that the 
I.T. guys seem to care about on our work laptops. It does in fact say 
'Certificate of Authenticity' on it in tiny print.

Clonezilla and GParted are what I screwed up an old HDD with, but I was 
trying to go from a larger HDD to a smaller SSD, and I think that's 
where it went south. Everything I Google does seem to indicate going 
smaller to larger isn't a big deal.

Having said that, I would love whatever advice and direction you're 
willing to impart. I was apprehensive the first time I did it--now that 
I've successfully screwed one up I find myself thinking I should just 
check out lenovo.com for a new one. That's quite the phobia I've developed.

I agree about the brands--seems like I've just had good luck with the 
Lenovos, but I know people that swear by Dell, or Apple even. I blame my 
bias on my old office--we used Dell refurbs exclusively, and they made 
me hate Dell and anything refurbished. And I used to seek out refurbs 
before that, and I was pc-brand-agnostic (I mean, they're all the same 
under the hood, right?). I got this Dell because it was soooo much 
cheaper than the Lenovo I wanted and it was the only one besides the 
Lenovo that had the track pad mouse/pointing stick.

If I could get it working right I think I could like it. It's very, very 
light, which I love when traveling, and I even like the keyboard better 
than the Lenovo's.

I'll check out the link, too, Thanks. I'm liking Win8 so far, too. 
Clearly I'm in the minority.

Scott

On 12/3/2012 4:10 PM, Peter Murray wrote:
> Do you have the original XP (or Vista) discs that came with your Dell? 
> It would likely have been sold with an OEM license for one of those 
> (check under the E6400's battery for the Certificate of Authenticity 
> (COA) and installation key). If you have the COA but no discs, let me 
> know which OS it is, and I can get you an ISO. If no COA, then we 
> venture towards the more grey area, though you already have a 
> legitimate installation of Windows there already, no? You could do an 
> absolutely minimal installation of that and "upgrade" it from there. 
> It appears that XP, Vista and 7 are eligible for the Windows 8 upgrade.
>
> Some info here: 
> Cloning from a smaller drive to a larger drive should be pretty 
> trouble free. I do that regularly with Clonezilla and GParted, both of 
> which are free, and you can get both of them on the "Ultimate Boot 
> CD". Search for "UBCD". It will even boot from a USB stick, if you are 
> short on writeable CD media. I can put together some docs for that if 
> you would like. For that system, it should be very easy - I have done 
> it here at my office. It is a multi-step process - install the source 
> drive, clone it, install the new SSD, restore it, then expand the 
> resulting restored partition to the full size of the new drive.
>
> which I have purchased over 75 in the past 3.5 years) than the 
> Thinkpad systems I purchased in an earlier life. That said, there are 
> always lemons!
>
> -Peter

[email-masked]

---

From: Steven Trovato <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:07:15 -0500

Scott,

I have not done anything with Windows 8, but I believe earlier 
versions had another way to activate by phone.  If that is still 
possible, and the version you have/had on that machine is a valid 
candidate for upgrade, then you would just give them the info from 
the sticker and they would give you a way to activate.  I believe the 
original intent was to provide a way to activate without internet 
access.  Again, this information is old and may or may not apply to 
Windows 8, but it might be worth checking into.

-Steve Trovato
[email-masked]

At 03:44 PM 12/3/2012, Scott wrote:
>Win8 is not 'activated', because the discs I purchased appear to be 
>for an upgrade, not a clean installation, according to the popup 
>when typing in the activation key.

[email-masked]

---

From: Battmain <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2012 19:04:49 -0800 (PST)

The windows activation has been upgraded over the  years. Yes, not being able
to install security updates is one problem. Not being able to use the OS is
another. It times out after a while and forces the activation unless their
security stops the auto activation. I used to reformat/reimage lab and company
classroom pcs on a daily basis. Norton Ghost was a wonderful tool. Others have
since replaced it. I hated activating stuff since the code would be logged,
then I wouldn't be able to install again after so many installs/activations.
That would be a problem if I couldn't continue the imaging process late at
night. Eventually enterprise level licensing came into play. That made my life
a little easier, but similar issues there. It is absolutely maddening not
being able to complete a process because of the security. It did not help
being in the office for many hours, tired, trying to get things done for the
next day. 

The best suggestion is to go back to Best Buy and have the item
exchanged for a FULL install version. They will give you grief because the
package has been opened, but if you make a big enough stink, you will just
have to pay the difference in price. If they still give you grief, that old
saying, where there is a will, there is a way. Another alternative is to
purchase a previous FULL version of OS and then upgrade that. Either way, it
will cost a few more bucks. The eye dee ten tee that sold you the upgrade
version should be educated as to the difference between upgrade and full
versions of windows. It has been that way for years. 

Going from a larger to
a smaller drive is not a big deal if everything fits on the smaller drive. 
Disks/CD/DVDs are no longer shipped. Many new PCs come with imaging software
and the images on the hard drive preloaded. You provide the blank CD/DVDs with
a write enable device and it does the creating of the media for you. 
Regards,
B

>________________________________
> From: Scott
<[email-masked]>
>To: Peter Murray <[email-masked]>
>Cc: Shop-Talk List <[email-masked]> 
>Sent: Monday, December 3,
2012 4:26 PM
>Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] This is why I don't work in IT, was:
Re:  Entirely not shop related, but...
> 
>I do not have the discs that came
with the Dell--Dell didn't ship it with discs, and I kept asking Dell for
them, they never sent them, and I finally gave up.
>The Dell does have one
of those Windows stickers under the battery with a Windows product key on it
for Vista. I say 'those' stickers like it means something--it's the
2-inch-by-1-inch multicolored one that the I.T. guys seem to care about on our
work laptops. It does in fact say 'Certificate of Authenticity' on it in tiny
print.
>
>Clonezilla and GParted are what I screwed up an old HDD with, but I
was trying to go from a larger HDD to a smaller SSD, and I think that's where
it went south. Everything I Google does seem to indicate going smaller to
larger isn't a big deal.
>
>Having said that, I would love whatever advice and
direction you're willing to impart. I was apprehensive the first time I did
it--now that I've successfully screwed one up I find myself thinking I should
just check out lenovo.com for a new one. That's quite the phobia I've
developed.
>
>I agree about the brands--seems like I've just had good luck
with the Lenovos, but I know people that swear by Dell, or Apple even. I blame
my bias on my old office--we used Dell refurbs exclusively, and they made me
hate Dell and anything refurbished. And I used to seek out refurbs before
that, and I was pc-brand-agnostic (I mean, they're all the same under the
hood, right?). I got this Dell because it was soooo much cheaper than the
Lenovo I wanted and it was the only one besides the Lenovo that had the track
pad mouse/pointing stick.
>
>If I could get it working right I think I could
like it. It's very, very light, which I love when traveling, and I even like
the keyboard better than the Lenovo's.
>
>I'll check out the link, too,
Thanks. I'm liking Win8 so far, too. Clearly I'm in the minority.
>(snip)

[email-masked]