Is a Laptop with Vista Home Basic and 512 Megs of RAM really viable?

[Slowchordchanger]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue
(only form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I
really consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for
purpose here. I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a
similar spec, we called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.
Tony

 

[will_s]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue (only
form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I really
consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for purpose here.
I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a similar spec, we
called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.
Tony

You have not been ripped off, you didnt do your homework and now you are
whining.

 

[Lang Murphy]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue (only
form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I really
consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for purpose here.
I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a similar spec, we
called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.
Tony

My opinion? 512MB's RAM is insufficient for Vista. If you cannot return the
system and cannot beg, borrow, or steal to get the funds to get another
512MB's RAM to get your seat up to 1GB RAM, then... it depends on whether
you're tethered to Windows because of applications. If yes, sucks to be you
(and I'm not insulting you here... that's just the fact of the matter). If
you're not tethered to Windows because of applications, then Linux is an
alternative. Most Linux distros will run acceptably in 512MB's RAM. And most
are free. Ubuntu, SUSE, whatever... plenty of nix fans in this ng... I'm
sure you'll get plenty of responses pointing you in that direction.

Lang

 

[Julian]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue (only
form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I really
consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for purpose here.
I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a similar spec, we
called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.

It is a pity that you didn't do any research BEFORE diving in.

"it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable"

Please do not swim in rivers.

 

[Julian]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue (only
form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I really
consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for purpose here.
I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a similar spec, we
called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.
Tony

Additional 512mb RAM ---> $28

An day busking will cover that.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi Tony,

Vista Home Basic with 512MB of ram will work fine, just don't expect stellar
performance. Some of the 'bells and whistles', like aero, are not present in
this version, therefore the additional overhead required by them is not
present. Keeping the startup group clean should lead to reasonable
performance for email, surfing, and word processing functions. It's not a
gaming platform, nor would I suggest using it for any work with high-end
graphics or autocad programs. Home Basic has lower recommended
specifications than the other versions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/systemrequirements.mspx

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Leythos]

Vista Home Basic with 512MB of ram will work fine, just don't expect
stellar performance.

Rick, "work fine" - does that mean that it will boot, let him logon, and
then look pretty

Yea, performance will suffer greatly - MS historically has understated
the MINIMUM amount of RAM needed for the OS to run "smoothly" and without
excessive paging. Sure, VH will load and run "fine" on 512MB, but most
people will find it unbearable once they start doing anything. Kind of
like running Windows XP with 128MB RAM.

--
Leythos
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.
Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling
a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"
(e-mail address removed) (remove 999 for proper email address)

 

[Rick Rogers]

One of the goals of Home Basic was to run on lower amounts of ram and video
specs. For this reason, much of the eye candy in the other versions is left
out (so won't "look pretty" in the same sense as the other versions). It
will boot, logon, and run the desired programs. My use of the word "fine" is
to indicate that the system will function normally with average response,
nothing spectacular. There will be some paging dependent on use - which is
normal by the way, by design and not the exception - but again this machine
isn't meant for any memory or cpu intensive programs. It's meant for someone
that just wants a relatively cheap machine for email, surfing, maybe some
simple games, and word processing. Keep the startup axis clean and it should
do just that.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Alan]

Hello Slowchordchanger,

You haven't said if you've actually received this machine yet or if it's
still in the production/delivery phase. If you haven't received it and
you're unsure about its performance, just refuse delivery if you don't want
it.

I notice that you're posting from an email account outside the USA; however,
I'm guessing that it's always possible to either refuse delivery from the
shipper or to return it unopened.

Alan

 

[Julian]

Hello Slowchordchanger,

You haven't said if you've actually received this machine yet or if it's
still in the production/delivery phase.
If you haven't received it and you're unsure about its performance, just
refuse delivery if you don't want it.

I notice that you're posting from an email account outside the USA;
however, I'm guessing that it's always possible to either refuse delivery
from the shipper or to return it unopened.

He bought it from a catalog of obsolete* machines.

* at least some of the Toshiba L30 range have already been discontinued.

 

[Jonathan M. \TacticalSniper\ Boyko]

Well, I'm a salesman and I sell the 101 Toshibas as well as 113 - both are
almost the same. With 512 RAM they're definitely not strong buy I believe
they're fair. It obviously depends on what kind of work you use the notebook
for, but if it's things like Office and Internet it would work fair. For
stronger apps you will need additional 512 RAM.

 

[Doris Day - MFB]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue
(only form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I
really consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for
purpose here. I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a
similar spec, we called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.
Tony

Tony,

If cost is an issue and you're going to be running with 512MB RAM, you might
want to look at an alternative. Ubuntu makes a very viable alternative and
will run really well with 512MB of RAM. It might even allow you to run
Beryl, giving you a 3d desktop that Aero can't compete with if the graphics
card in that laptop allows it (most modern ones do). On top of all that,
you'll have access to over 20,000 free software packages that are installed
with the click of a mouse. With Ubuntu, you'll get pretty much what 95% of
computer users require (email clients, firefox web surfing, open office
suite, music players, cd/dvd burners, image editors, instant messaging,
etc. and more). All of these will run in a stable and secure environment
and very quickly. It is hugely configurable using many different themes and
window managers. And it'll cost you nothing to try it. A LiveCD is
available that will boot your computer into Ubuntu without writing anything
to your harddrive to allow you to test it. A simple click on an Install
icon on the desktop will install this operating system on your harddrive
should you choose to do so. The LiveCD can be downloaded as an ISO file and
burned to a CD-R, or you can order one that will be shipped to you free of
charge.

http://www.ubuntu.com

Hope this helps and gives you another option to investigate.

Love and Kisses,
Doris

 

[Nina DiBoy]

My wife ordered a Toshiba L30 101 machine from Littlewoods catalogue
(only form of credit we can access) the machine comes with 512Megs RAM
it appears from all I've read and discussed that this spec is not viable
and that we need to either buy at least another 512Meg or pay to have
Windows XP installed. We cannot afford either of these options, I
really consider that we have been sold an item which is not fit for
purpose here. I understand Dell have recalled their machines of a
similar spec, we called the Toshiba contact provided by Littlewoods but
Toshiba just offered to install XP at extra cost. I'd be very grateful
for any informed opinion on this as I feel we've been ripped-off.
Tony

Hi Tony. I have to admit I've never tried it myself, but it sounds from
the likes of this article below that you'll be OK.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=247

--
Priceless quotes in m.p.w.vista.general group:
http://protectfreedom.tripod.com/kick.html

Most recent idiotic quote added to KICK (Klassic Idiotic Caption Kooks):
"It would be nice if there was a check to see if you were running an
activated/validated version of Windows before you were allowed to post
in any of these news groups. If you're not activated/validated your post
automatically gets deleted.
That would get rid of the Linsux Luzzzzzzzzers once and for all."

"Good poets borrow; great poets steal."
- T. S. Eliot

 

[Slowchordchanger]

You have not been ripped off, you didnt do your homework and now you are
whining.

I beg your pardon!!!!!! - your attitude is part of the problem my
friend, We like many people at the bottom of the financial heap don't
have the luxury of choice, my wife went for the only Laptop that we
could afford via the credit system offered by a Nationally known
catalogue firm. The folks who buy items like this from Littlewoods and
Kays catalogues don't do so because they have the option of scanning the
marketplace and going for the best deal, they go what they are offered
as there is no other option. I consider that under the circumstances
it is immoral for such a company to market a machine such as the one my
wife ordered without some warning that the machine will not work
properly without approximately £100 - £300 worth of upgrades. I find
it very hard to accept critism from those who do have sufficient funds
to shop around to those of us who don't.

 

[Roy Coorne]

... I find
it very hard to accept critism from those who do have sufficient funds
to shop around to those of us who don't.

Well, I belong to the large group of users who don't have sufficient
funds to shop around as they wish. This means that I have to carefully
study the specs of any items *before* I am going to buy. And there is
so much advice around in the newsgroups and forums and on web sites
devoted to the selection of an appropriate computer.

Roy

 

[will_s]

I beg your pardon!!!!!! - your attitude is part of the problem my friend,
We like many people at the bottom of the financial heap don't have the
luxury of choice, my wife went for the only Laptop that we could afford
via the credit system offered by a Nationally known catalogue firm. The
folks who buy items like this from Littlewoods and Kays catalogues don't
do so because they have the option of scanning the marketplace and going
for the best deal, they go what they are offered as there is no other
option. I consider that under the circumstances it is immoral for such a
company to market a machine such as the one my wife ordered without some
warning that the machine will not work properly without approximately
£100 - £300 worth of upgrades. I find it very hard to accept critism
from those who do have sufficient funds to shop around to those of us who
don't.

I am not made of money and before I let go some of my hard earnt cash I ask
questions FIRST.

 

[Guest]

Hi Tony,

I was having almost the same question and I found this that thought might
help you: http://thevistaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=13818&hl

For the rest, I found equally annoying posts that are "useless after the
fact" and try to insult people's past decisions that took them to their
current position. In someway I wish they find themselves in a similar
position later, and they are too attacked by wiser people.

Equally useless are detail references to ubuntu. They miss the question.
Trying to evangelize at any post is not what OpenSource is about.

Daniel