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Question

Replacing 7-yr. old desktop Windows XP - What to Buy?

Mar 18, 2014 12:04AM PDT

My wife and I are retired and use our 7-year old Dell desktop every day. Mostly we do online reading, banking, shopping, etc. and e-mail. I also have a Canon digital camera with a Canon program. With XP going out, Dell tech support may not be able to fix problems that develop going forward, so I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Do I continue with a PC or be better off going with a Mac? I realize that the Mac is a whole different species, but it appears that the latest Microsoft operating systems also require some getting used to. If I go with a PC, should I stick with a desktop or get an all-in-one? Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
You can
Mar 18, 2014 12:37AM PDT

buy refurbished business desktops with Windows 7 for less than $200 and they'll be good for another 7 years. Google around for Dell, HP and Lenovo business PC refurbs. Any one of them from a reputable dealer should do fine. Small businesses which are transitioning from XP are gobbling up these refurbs. Happy shopping!

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Answer
In 5 minutes I can get Windows 8 to look like Windows 7
Mar 18, 2014 1:09AM PDT

The move from XP to 7 will take some getting used to so why not move to 8, add CLASSIC SHELL (it's free) and have it all?
Bob

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I just bought a new Dell for a friend in the same situation
Mar 18, 2014 1:19AM PDT

I just bought a brand new Dell Inspiron 3000s-1231 for $300 for a friend replacing a 2006 vintage XP desktop. We got it at Micro Center, but you could probably find it other places as well. I know they have at Dell for about $30 more. It has 4 GB RAM, 500 GB HD (6 Mbps), and a 3 GHz dual core processor. It has 6 USB ports on the back, 2 are USB 3, and the usual 2 USB 2 ports on the front. It has built in WiFi, Bluetooth, and an Internet cable socket. It's a whole lot faster than the old XP PC that had a 2.7 GHz Pentium processor and 1 GB RAM. It came with Windows 8.1 so we installed Classic Shell (which you can download FREE) to make it look very much like the old XP user interface.
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Good luck.

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Don't worry Frank
Mar 18, 2014 1:32AM PDT

Don't worry windows 8 and 7 are not that difficult to get used to you will get used to them easily!

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Or you could
Mar 18, 2014 1:39AM PDT

add a Linux distro to that old computer and keep using it for free. Some of the can be made to look just like XP if you want with really very little to learn and you can have it up and running in a matter of minutes.

Digger