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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gregg Sterner who wrote (2209)	3/1/1999 12:02:00 PM
From: wily	Respond to of 110644

>>I would suggest that you get the "Windows NT for Dummies" book.<< Sounds appropriate, although I do have aspirations... Thanks, wily

To: Gregg Sterner who wrote (2209)	3/5/1999 1:18:00 PM
From: wily	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110644

My OS's (also ordered 98) should be here next week. I finally talked to somebody at Atacom that knew something. I kept thinking that the prices were TOO good, and then when their order-confirmation didn't list the items I became paranoid and started insisting on written, itemized confirmation, or I would refuse the shipment. A man named Larry assured me that the OEM designation means that it is not the upgrade version, and he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. I will get a license and a "key" -- ID# to enter when installing, and also a setup disk. He said they only sell the original-install versions with a hardware purchase, or sometimes to repeat customers. He said that it says as much on their on-line catalog, but it doesn't. Man, do I worry a lot. wily

To: Gregg Sterner who wrote (2209)	3/13/1999 10:32:00 PM
From: wily	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110644

Gregg and Richard, I know the suspense is eating at you: My CD's came from Atacom and they seem to be the real thing (but then how would I know). NT came with the 3-disk setup floppy set and the NT CD. The CD KEY (license number) was on a yellow sticker attached to the CD envelope. Plus, there was the large foldout "end-user lecense agreement" printed on heavy (almost cardboard) paper. As Gregg said, there was some documentation on the CD. It was all contained in a clear plastic bag. Win98 came in a tight plastic wrap. There was the "Getting Started" manual. It says on the cover "For distribution with a new PC only". On the cover is also a white sticker with the product key and a bar code. The CD was in a jewel case. "Windows Starts Here" CD in a cardboard envelope. A couple promotional items. Two small paper booklets: End-user license agreement, and Warranty and special provisions for Australia, etc... Feel pretty sure it's all authentic. Tried installing NT. Chose FAT file system. Worked well, except I think it doesn't like my video card. Will only run with VGA settings -- doesn't matter whether I boot to regular or VGA mode. Keep getting errors and it won't let me into "Display" in control panel. My card is not even listed on the compatibility list and the manufacturer is no longer in business. I do have the latest driver, though. I'm benching NT for now until I get another adapter card. I noticed one thing that I liked, though: Running NT, when I downloaded IE4, the download speed (based on actual download time vs file size) was twice as fast as the fastest I had ever gotten before: 2 Mbits/sec (cable modem). Any explanation for that? Looking on Amazon.com, I see that most people (actually all) are trashing the "Windows NT Resource Kit" as a guide or reference. I'm probably going to get the Mark Minasi book "Mastering Windows NT WorkStation 4". I found his "Expert Guide to Windows 95" to be pretty good and the reviews for the NT book on Amazon are great. Thankyou both for your help and encouragement, wily