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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:28 pm 
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I may be in the market for a new Win 10 desktop computer. I may get another Velocity...they have been my last three purchases. But I'm also looking at other brands. There are many out there, like Dell, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and Acer.

Has anyone had good or bad experience with any of these? If so, I would appreciate your input.

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:32 pm 
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If I were to buy a desktop instead of building there would be no question. It would be an Asus.

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:04 pm 
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Intel i7 vs AMD Ryzen 7?

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:59 pm 
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I have had great experiences with Dell. I have purchased at least 7 or 8 over the last 20 + years with no major issues. I found the machines highly functional with great technical support the few times it was needed. In fact I just bought probably my last PC (I'm 86 years old) two weeks ago. It's a Dell Alienware gaming machine with fantastic equipment. I really love it.


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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:36 pm 
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Thanks, Joe. I'm 84 and this will probably be my last PC also.

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:27 pm 
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bbarry wrote:
Thanks, Joe. I'm 84 and this will probably be my last PC also.


I think it's fantastic that you and Joe are comfortable with computers at 84 and 86 years young! When my father was that age, I tried unsuccessfully to get him to understand how to use a computer because he was interested -- he just couldn't get the hang of it. He was also stymied by programming the VCR, though, so I shouldn't have been surprised. ;-)

And I wouldn't be so sure that these will be your last computers, either. I'll look forward to your report on a new PC in 4 to 6 years. :-D

I'm just a spring chicken approaching 67 years old, by the way. :-P

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 Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:41 pm 
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I would be looking at buying Windows 11 computer....it will not go obsolete on you. Almost all my systems are AMD but they are all restricted to Windows 10, which really makes it difficult as far as I am concerned.
I do like Asus myself, but it really comes down to what is in the computer, and what you want to do with it.
(Only 81 here)

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 3:36 am 
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bbarry wrote:
Intel i7 vs AMD Ryzen 7?

I'm partial to AMD as I think they give more bang for the buck than Intel. My main runs a Ryzen 7 8 core/16 thread CPU.

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:39 am 
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@ Jay and BillG: I've always thought highly of Asus. Would you believe that Amazon shows 30 pages of Asus desktop computers? The most expensive one is $10,600, sorta out of my price range.

@ joemonte: My sister has always used Dell computers. In fact, while my Velocity computer is broken, I'm using her old hand-me-down computer. It was not top of the line and is slower than molasses, but it is reliable.

@Steve: Thank you for the 'old age' compliment. I went through the same thing, wanting to teach my Dad how to use a computer. But he wanted no part of it. He was an accountant and could use an adding machine so fast that it would almost be smoking. And I use an adding machine like I do a keyboard....only one or two fingers.

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:04 pm 
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Well, Jay, I just ordered a new Asus desktop computer via Amazon with following specs (it was on sale...$400 savings):
- Ryzen 7, 8-core 16-threads processor (frequency 3.8GHz)
- 64GB memory
- 1TB SSD
- 2TB HDD
- Windows 10 Home
- 8 USB ports, etc. etc.

The only thing it doesn't have is an optical drive, but I have a portable one to use. Computer due to arrive Thursday.

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:17 pm 
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bbarry wrote:
Well, Jay, I just ordered a new Asus desktop computer via Amazon with following specs (it was on sale...$400 savings):
- Ryzen 7, 8-core 16-threads processor (frequency 3.8GHz)
- 64GB memory
- 1TB SSD
- 2TB HDD
- Windows 10 Home
- 8 USB ports, etc. etc.

The only thing it doesn't have is an optical drive, but I have a portable one to use. Computer due to arrive Thursday.

Sounds nice! The only issue I can see is that it is Windows 10 Home. This will probably cause issues as to using an image backup from the old system as the Windows versions won't match as I mentioned in another thread. You may need to install all your software again.

I know that your Windows XP virtual machine is a concern to you. Still SHOULD not be an issue as you can copy the VM files from the old system to the new. These files would be located at C: Users. There would be two VirtualBox folders. While I don't know for fact my guess is that if you use the same system user name you could these folders to the user folder.

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:27 pm 
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After reviewing all the literature, I wasn't too optimistic about being able to do a restore from my old computer. So I had pretty much planned on installing my software again.....and this time, only installing what I will actually use.

I am worried about being able to regain my Windows XP virtual machine, so I will follow your guide closely. But if I encounter problems, I hope you will be around to provide guidance.

EDIT: If I really wanted to try a restore, couldn't I purchase Win 10 Pro and do an upgrade?

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:52 pm 
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bbarry wrote:

EDIT: If I really wanted to try a restore, couldn't I purchase Win 10 Pro and do an upgrade?


Yes, you can. Personally, I don't see much value in that, though. Reinstalling just programs you use is a nice way to have a clean start.

If you wish to go for the upgrade, you can purchase a license (be careful, though, cheap deals abound and they will generally be for a pirated version of the product) or purchase the license from within Windows:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/upgrade-windows-home-to-windows-pro-ef34d520-e73f-3198-c525-d1a218cc2818#WindowsVersion=Windows_10

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:55 pm 
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To add to Steve's post...

bbarry wrote:
EDIT: If I really wanted to try a restore, couldn't I purchase Win 10 Pro and do an upgrade?

You could even do a clean install of Windows 10 Pro selecting to not enter a product code during the install. After the install you would use an old Windows 7 product code. Last I heard this still works.

Sure, you could upgrade from Windows 10 Home Home to Pro but a following image restore would still fail as to hardware changes. Phone activation MAY solve this but you would have to say that you had a failure and had to replace the motherboard of something like that.

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:19 pm 
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sboots wrote:
bbarry wrote:

EDIT: If I really wanted to try a restore, couldn't I purchase Win 10 Pro and do an upgrade?


Yes, you can. Personally, I don't see much value in that, though. Reinstalling just programs you use is a nice way to have a clean start.
-steve

Clean start is kinda where I'm at right now....that's why I didn't mind doing a complete hardware change (from Velocity to Asus). Over the years, I had really loaded up my Velocity computer with programs and apps that seemed very exciting at the time. But gradually I was only using about 25% of what was on my computer.

Thanks for the input.....

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 Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:58 pm 
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You just have to watch on pre-built machines, sometimes they have the version of Windows (Home/Pro) tied to the BIOS.


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 Post Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:41 am 
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I've never owned anything but pre-built machines. I'm not as talented as you, Jay and others....can't build my own machine.

What's the downside of being tied to the BIOS? Can't ever upgrade or what?

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 Post Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:24 pm 
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bbarry wrote:
What's the downside of being tied to the BIOS? Can't ever upgrade or what?

Unless there is something I don't know (along with everything else I don't know... ;) ) it just means that it won't work on any other system than the one initially installed.

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 Post Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:29 pm 
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If you do a clean install, it may not ask you which version (home/Pro) you want to install. My laptop is that way, if I wipe it out and do an install it will always install Home as that's the version it came with as the key is embedded some place in the BIOS. You can upgrade it (I did laptop to Pro), but if I wipe the drive and do a clean install it will put Home back on it and I will have to work with Microsoft to get my Pro Version back on it.


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 Post Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 3:39 pm 
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Passing through and noticed this thread, a little late. I would have recommended Puget Systems, if you can afford them. Rock solid reliability and unreal tech support. Purchased three systems from them so far and working on a fourth.

By the way, playing with virtual machines again and Linux. Instead of using VirtualBox, I purchased VMWare’s Workstation Pro (Ouch!). Installed six distros of Linux so far, deleted all but the two that I really like, Mint XFCE, and Zorin (actually had to buy that one). Having a ball. By the way, another youngster here, just 68. GG turned 70 in June (I married an older woman).
Take care.
Acadia

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 Post Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:48 pm 
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Acadia wrote:
Passing through and noticed this thread, a little late. I would have recommended Puget Systems, if you can afford them. Rock solid reliability and unreal tech support. Purchased three systems from them so far and working on a fourth.

By the way, playing with virtual machines again and Linux. Instead of using VirtualBox, I purchased VMWare’s Workstation Pro (Ouch!). Installed six distros of Linux so far, deleted all but the two that I really like, Mint XFCE, and Zorin (actually had to buy that one). Having a ball. By the way, another youngster here, just 68. GG turned 70 in June (I married an older woman).
Take care.
Acadia

Hi Bill, nice to see you stopping by. I don't do Linux all the time but, when I do, my goto is Mint. I totally forgot about Puget Systems. They DO have a good reputation.

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 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 2:35 pm 
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jaylach wrote:
I know that your Windows XP virtual machine is a concern to you. Still SHOULD not be an issue as you can copy the VM files from the old system to the new. These files would be located at C: Users. There would be two VirtualBox folders. While I don't know for fact my guess is that if you use the same system user name you could these folders to the user folder.

After sitting for 3 days, my old Velocity computer started up. Before it crashes again, I am trying to copy key files to a flash drive for use on my new Asus computer (I'm not going to try an actual restore).

At C:Users>BillBarry>AppData>VirtualBox VMs>XP Pro on my Velocity, I found these two files:
- XP PRO.vbox
- XP PRO.vdi

But I'm not sure what to do with them. I plan on following your tutorial for installing Windows XP in VirtualBox, so can you tell me where in this tutorial these files would be installed? Thanks.

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 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 3:23 pm 
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bbarry wrote:
jaylach wrote:
I know that your Windows XP virtual machine is a concern to you. Still SHOULD not be an issue as you can copy the VM files from the old system to the new. These files would be located at C: Users. There would be two VirtualBox folders. While I don't know for fact my guess is that if you use the same system user name you could these folders to the user folder.

After sitting for 3 days, my old Velocity computer started up. Before it crashes again, I am trying to copy key files to a flash drive for use on my new Asus computer (I'm not going to try an actual restore).

At C:Users>BillBarry>AppData>VirtualBox VMs>XP Pro on my Velocity, I found these two files:
- XP PRO.vbox
- XP PRO.vdi

But I'm not sure what to do with them. I plan on following your tutorial for installing Windows XP in VirtualBox, so can you tell me where in this tutorial these files would be installed? Thanks.

You really only need the .vdi file as that is your virtual hard drive. Make a folder anywhere, I use my data drive, named virtualBox then create a folder within the VirtualBox folder named XP Pro. Copy the .vdi file to this folder.

Now create your XP VM. It will default to your user folder but just click the down arrow for 'Machine folder' and select 'other'. Now just navigate to and select the XP Pro folder you made. For the Hard drive select to 'Use an existing virtual hard disk file'. You will get a dialog on which you will have the option to 'Add', use this and navigate to your existing .vdi file and select... just follow the below image... The balloon that reads 'The fille will' should read 'The file will appear here.'.
Attachment:
vdi.jpg
vdi.jpg [ 429.15 KiB | Viewed 3507 times ]


Continue with the process. When done test the VM. Now, if you don't want to mess with the VM settings, rename the new .vbox file that was just made as a backup just in case. Now copy the old .vbox file over and start the machine. It should be just like it was except that you will need to re-install the Guest Additions.

'XP PRO.vbox' file is the machine settings.
'XP PRO.vdi' is the virtual hard drive.

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 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 3:43 pm 
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Thanks, Jay. I printed this page out for when I'm ready. Getting a little excited about the new Acer.....I haven't had a new computer for 6+ years.

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 Post Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 3:50 pm 
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bbarry wrote:
Thanks, Jay. I printed this page out for when I'm ready. Getting a little excited about the new Acer.....I haven't had a new computer for 6+ years.

I thought that you got an Asus... :mrgreen:

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