XP Laptop in a hurry

October 20, 2007 4:09 PM

My dad needs a new laptop, he's far too old to be pissing about with all the problems and incomprehensible interface rearrangements of Vista so he needs XP. I need it by the beginning of November. I'm in the UK

I'm trying to buy a new laptop for my dad's birthday.

It must be

17" screen
Dual Core processor - min 2Ghz
1 - 2GB RAM
DVD Writer
7200 RPM HDD (size isn't that important)
Wireless ready
Windows XP Pro

Available by 1st November (ie. Delivery times of a week or less)

So far, everything I've found either has Vista pre-installed or will take 10-15 working days (2-3 weeks) to be delivered.

posted by missmagenta to computers & internet (13 comments total)

Can you get a copy of XP Pro anywhere? You Could get him a MacBook Pro and install Boot Camp and XP Pro on it.
posted by timeistight at 5:13 PM on October 20, 2007

Yeah, another vote for a macbook pro. Fastest Windows laptop readily available, at a good price, with everything you need.
posted by luriete at 5:40 PM on October 20, 2007

Macbook Pro's are nearly £1k more expensive than other similar laptops, doesn't come with XP and shipping times are 7-10 days.
If I was buying the OS separately and loading it myself, I might as well get a Vista machine.
posted by missmagenta at 5:55 PM on October 20, 2007

Well Microsoft just recently released a "downgrade" to XP from Vista option for most of their suppliers, so it shouldn't be too hard to find if you're willing to order off, say, Dell.
posted by Phire at 5:57 PM on October 20, 2007

Dell delivery times are 10 working days (2 weeks)
posted by missmagenta at 6:06 PM on October 20, 2007

They also don't offer a Vista downgrade option - I asked.
posted by missmagenta at 6:07 PM on October 20, 2007

You can order Dell laptops with XP Pro only through their "Small Business" section. It's a silly distinction as there are no requirements to be considered a "small business." Here's a quick link to the Vostro line of laptops. You can build with either Vista Or XP Pro:
Dell Laptop
They used to have "rush delivery" available. Do they not anymore?
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:24 PM on October 20, 2007

Lenovo (Canada, at least) is really good about sending out XP Pro "downgrade CDs.

I got a ThinkPad with Vista Business installed on it for my lab; I definitely don't feel like servicing a Vista box and we have some strange software that doesn't run on Vista reliably.

Called Lenovo customer support, asked for a XP Pro downgrade CD, when asked why "Some of our scientific software doesn't run on Vista."

The rep chuckled and asked where to send the disks. 4 days later, I got a set of recovery CDs. The website warns that you might have to pay for them, but the downgrade was sent gratis.

Otherwise, look around for something called "XP Black Edition." You'll want to disable a few potentially malignant services and processes, but it's actually a pretty well de-crufted non-licensed install of XP.
posted by porpoise at 9:29 PM on October 20, 2007

You can order Dell laptops with XP Pro only through their "Small Business" section. It's a silly distinction as there are no requirements to be considered a "small business." Here's a quick link to the Vostro line of laptops. You can build with either Vista Or XP Pro:
Dell Laptop
They used to have "rush delivery" available. Do they not anymore?

The 17" Vostro doesn't come with XP. They don't seem to have any rush options (not even on Dell outlet - which are already built)
posted by missmagenta at 1:59 AM on October 21, 2007

DABS has next-day delivery and this seems to meet your spec.

Ebuyer and Savastore are other large hardware vendors and also offer next-day delivery for a small (+-GBP5) premium.
posted by quiet at 2:33 AM on October 21, 2007

DABS has next-day delivery and this seems to meet your spec.

Not quite, processor and HDD are too slow. But Dabs was the name of the place that I was trying to remember, I haven't used them in years because their website is so rubbish but maybe I will find something that meets the spec.
posted by missmagenta at 4:38 AM on October 21, 2007

Good luck! I had trouble with both Dabs and Laptops Direct last month over not despatching laptops in time to meet promised delivery dates.
posted by Idcoytco at 11:47 AM on October 21, 2007

I've never had problems with Dabs, though possibly I'm less picky about website design than you are. I ordered a laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad) a few months ago, it was in stock and arrived the next day.

You don't mention whether price is an obstacle, by the way.
posted by altolinguistic at 8:23 AM on October 22, 2007