I have an Acer laptop with an i3 chip and the standard amount of RAM, probably 4GB that I bought in 2011. Just over a year after I bought it, and just weeks after the end of warranty, the hard drive died.
I'm wondering how hard it would be to buy a new hard drive and install Ubuntu or something like that. Is it possible?
If so, how much of a pain is it to set up drivers? Would I have to manually install drivers for nearly everything (USB ports, wireless receiver, etc)?
posted by KokuRyu
on Jan 10, 2013 -
13 answers
Getting the dreaded "Required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing" during Windows 7 install, but no drivers are working!
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posted by lattiboy
on Jan 2, 2013 -
7 answers
How do I best set up Linux partitions & mount points on my old netbook with limited storage capacity?
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posted by Edogy
on Jun 5, 2012 -
12 answers
Please help me restore Mac OS on my wife's MacBook! I am pulling my hair out.
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posted by Dr. Wu
on Apr 11, 2012 -
13 answers
I cannot get my 'one click' Wordpress install, hosted by iinet to work, with one or many clicks.... Can you help me troubleshoot, as I have a deadline to meet.
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posted by MT
on Feb 11, 2012 -
10 answers
I'm home over Thanksgiving break and my mom wants some house work done. Fun! But, I don't know how to do it. So, dearest MetaFilter, how do I install molding on the corner of a wall? (Picture on the inside.)
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posted by 47triple2
on Nov 25, 2011 -
13 answers
Looking for tips and resources around using a SSD for a Windows XP Pro boot drive, cloned from my existing XP installation.
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posted by schmoppa
on Aug 18, 2011 -
11 answers
Sharp AR-M620 driver no longer installs on windows XP, it used to!! Now, no printer shows up at all. Any idea why this is happening?
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posted by Guyatoffice
on Aug 18, 2011 -
0 answers
My computer was running increasingly slow, so I after trying various fixes (defragmenting, CCleanup, Malware, Antivirus, removing old files and programs), it was suggested I reinstall Windows, which I did. Its original speed has returned.
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posted by CollectiveMind
on Mar 20, 2011 -
8 answers
During this holiday break I'm going to be purchasing a domain name and migrating a University department's WordPress.com blog over to either WordPress.org or Blogger. I need help deciding which (Wordpress.org or Blogger) will be the best way to go based on the blog's needs and the capabilities of its authors.
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posted by iamkimiam
on Dec 22, 2010 -
9 answers
Have an existing install of REDHAT on a first partition, I have created a second partition and am trying to use GRUB to install a second OS (happens to be another version of redhat). Please help, or ask for more details if needed. From the GRUB command line how do I make it install on a selected partition.
posted by samuel1613
on Dec 17, 2010 -
7 answers
I'd like to do a clean install on my iMac 24" with Leopard. I have routine backups with Time Machine and a recent CarbonCopy of the hard drive. After the clean install, the only information I want to access is my saved emails. How can I save or access or import old emails?
posted by midwestmainer
on Oct 9, 2010 -
1 answer
I'm purchasing a computer. It requires Win7 Ultimate and I have a choice as to how that happens.
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posted by davcoo
on Sep 9, 2010 -
9 answers
Question about re-installing OSX and copying files over from a backup—but without using Migration Assistant.
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posted by blueberry
on Aug 27, 2010 -
4 answers
MacBook Pro freezes (spinning wheel) during system install (10.5) -- what to do?
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posted by dead_
on Aug 24, 2010 -
4 answers
Have you ever installed and used
Emacs org-mode? Can you please help me try it? The instructions
here are ambiguous, vague, and complicated. I am an Emacs neophyte, so it would be awesome if someone could explain this slowly to me!
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posted by koeselitz
on Aug 23, 2010 -
10 answers
In the apartment I'm moving into, each room has a wall sleeve (just below the window) for an air conditioner. We tried installing one of my air conditioners in there tonight, and it's too small to fit the space. It mostly fills it, but even with the fins on either side of the air conditioner pulled out, there are still spaces above and below. Does anyone have any advice on how to properly install the air conditioner?
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posted by gchucky
on Jun 25, 2010 -
11 answers
I have a HP Mini 110 with a 160 GB HD running Ubuntu. I'm pretty happy with it, but I don't really need all that space (currently I'm filling a tiny portion of it) and would prefer a faster boot time. What kind of improvements in speed should I expect if I swap out the hard drive with an SSD? What is the level of expense and difficulty involved in the install? Would I be better off just getting a newer notebook with an SSD already installed? What is the best source for a suitable SSD?
posted by Artw
on May 10, 2010 -
15 answers
I just bought
this LG monitor, and after I got it home and unpacked it I realized it (of course!) came with an installation CD. Problem: I'm using it with my netbook, which doesn't have a CD drive.
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posted by insectosaurus
on Mar 29, 2010 -
12 answers
My Dell M65 laptop has been thoroughly rinsed by a virus infection. I've tried everything I can, but I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and completely reinstall windows. The laptop does have a restore partition, so I'm planning to use that.
What do I need to think/do in order to get back up and running as quickly as possible?
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posted by alby
on Mar 21, 2010 -
8 answers
I did a clean reinstall of Windows 7. When I did, rather than creating a small "recovery" partition, it designated an entire separate hard drive a system drive. Now if I want to use the built in drive image program it insists I back up both...when I just want to back up the OS. Can this be changed? If not, if I use a third party image program can I just back up the C drive?
posted by jmf2525
on Feb 8, 2010 -
4 answers
Oh no! In the aftermath of a wicked virus I went in and manually deleted the corrupted files, one of which happened to include the driver I need to install new software.... I think....
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posted by wild like kudzu
on Jan 23, 2010 -
4 answers
I have some questions about adding and removing windows components and other software without the CD's. Non piracy related I hope.
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posted by Not Supplied
on Jan 23, 2010 -
5 answers
I have a desktop PC that came with Ubuntu Linux, and have never been able to get it to work with my ISP. So I can get some use out of this box, I want to put Windows XP on it. This will be the first install of Windows on this machine, which Windows XP package do I need to buy to get all the pieces I need (ie all the codes and crap so I can register with MS so it will work longer than a month). Keeping cost as low as possible is good too. Thanks.
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posted by ackptui
on Jan 4, 2010 -
8 answers
Help me save time and frustration reinstalling my programs/settings after a fresh Windows install / upgrade / etc.
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posted by Alabaster
on Nov 14, 2009 -
4 answers
Attention Linux gurus of MeFi: Attempting to set up an old Dell Latitude CS laptop as a Linux system (Xubuntu) for a coworker. Massive installation headaches ensue thanks to missing hardware. Any suggestions?
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posted by caution live frogs
on Sep 1, 2009 -
6 answers
Which one of the multitude of Linux distros should someone who's never used Linux before give a go?
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posted by n3rt
on Aug 18, 2009 -
34 answers
How to simply create an install image for Win2K and place it on the network for another computer to install from?
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posted by mcarthey
on Jul 13, 2009 -
8 answers
I bought
this vise on Amazon but it didn't come with any screws. Can you advise me on how to install it on my wooden workbench?
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posted by GregX3
on May 29, 2009 -
6 answers
Does software exist which will allow me to use my PC's DVD drive as an external USB drive for my netbook?
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posted by whir
on May 20, 2009 -
8 answers
