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

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

"Slowchordchanger" <vogon.jelz@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:OoT1i.3645$o42.3434@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> 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.

"Slowchordchanger" <vogon.jelz@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:OoT1i.3645$o42.3434@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> 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

"Slowchordchanger" <vogon.jelz@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:OoT1i.3645$o42.3434@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> 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.

"Slowchordchanger" <vogon.jelz@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:OoT1i.3645$o42.3434@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> 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.

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/pro...uirements.mspx

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Slowchordchanger" <vogon.jelz@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:OoT1i.3645$o42.3434@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> 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

On Mon, 14 May 2007 06:09:40 -0400, Rick Rogers wrote:
>
> 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"
spam999free@rrohio.com (remove 999 for proper email address)

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

"Leythos" <Void@nowhere.lan> wrote in message
news:1179138745_21957@sp6iad.superfeed.net...
> On Mon, 14 May 2007 06:09:40 -0400, Rick Rogers wrote:
>>
>> 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"
> spam999free@rrohio.com (remove 999 for proper email address)

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

"Slowchordchanger" <vogon.jelz@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:OoT1i.3645$o42.3434@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> 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

"Alan" <inthegalaxy@solarsystem.huh> wrote in message
news:esa3kBilHHA.4624@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> 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.