Netbook

Learned the hard way: Windows XP restore on netbook (with broken screen, cheap cheap cheap on Craigslist) requires working primary screen for XP registration.  At least I can get a new screen on ebay.  And it appears Windows 7 doesn’t have this problem (will find out soon).  Linux works, but it’s ugly.  Hackintosh would probably work if I could be bothered.

Knew this one already: if you sell a computer on Craigslist, wipe the hard drive first, because you may not sell it to someone as honest as I am.  (If you buy a computer on Craigslist, see if there’s anything interesting there before restoring it.  Like, say, MP3s, or maybe documents with bank logins!)

Any software you get on a purchased computer, that does not include the original disks, is stolen.  And may be virus-infected or configured badly or just plain unnecessary.  So pretty much any computer you buy should be restored to factory settings if possible.  Windows makes this a royal horrible pain in the tuchas.  With OSX it’s simple.

One thought on “Netbook”

  1. It turns out that if you actually unplug the broken screen (requires dissasembly of the device), it is often smart enough to figure out that it needs to use the external screen.

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