new lap top, help required

[big bad lindz]

Hi guys,

My current lap top is slowly giving up so I am looking at getting a new one.  I do not play games or watch movies, mostly used as a home office and surfing.

My question is, as I currently have  Notron security and MS office if I buy a new lap top are these transferable on to a new lap top.  I have already backed up  all my files onto an external hard drive will Norton & office also be transferred onto the drive so when I load them onto a new lap top I will have them. I dont know what lap top I am going for and what systems will come with it. but I dont want to be badgered into buying something by sales people for something I already have.

 

[SpringDon]

If by by backup you mean imaged then the applications will transfer. If you’ve just copied files then you need the installation disks (or licence key to download them)

[strimmer_13]

Scrap Norton and get eset antivirus anyway. 

Usually I find you'll need the original key for office, and once pretty sure I had to ring to confirm about the process, but ive not had to do anything in years. Mines ancient and needs a crank to get it going so I might see what's on the market. 

Also open office (I think, without booting the pig up) will allow you to read and edit office files, just incase Microsoft try and charge you. Its a free download and a very good office alternative. 

[old'un]

Usually the software on a laptop or desktop will come bungled with the machine OEM, the licences that came with the machine/software are not transferable, even if you do a clone of your original drive and transfer it to the new computer you may get a warning of un-licensed software because windows update does not recognise the configuration of the PC.

I had this problem when I upgraded my hard drive to a SSD and some extra RAM, it came up with windows not validated, so I phoned Microsoft and told them it was a self build computer and I had just upgraded the hard drive and they sent me a free copy of windows 7 and new serial number.

As strimmer_13 said, ditch Norton its rubbish and hogs resources, I would also recommend Eset antivirus, but windows also has its own antivirus software which is also good

Open Office is an excellent replacement for Microsoft Office.

Mind you if you buy a new computer you may get all the software you require bungled together with a windows 10 computer.

[grrclark]

A file backup won’t transfer the software, it will just preserve the files.

If Office and Norton were OEM licences, i.e. bundled with your original PC then in theory they wont transfer, but there is always ways.

if you bought them separately then they can be moved easily, just need the activation codes/keys.

I agree with comments above re Norton, don’t bother with it.  Plenty free anti virus options that are as equally effective. 

[GingerCat]

You can always down load open office. Its just the same and free. Used it for a while otherwise use your key when you get a new laptop, its often on a sticker or can be found if you use Google. 

Not a fan of Norton as it used to slow things down so binned it. Lots of av software for free out there thats as good  

[big bad lindz]

thanks for your reply's guys. I wont be able to get into a PC world until Thursday at the earliest so I will see what they say.

You mentioned Open Office, I take it is all compatible with word and my existing files when transferred over onto new laptop  will work ok

 I only use the lap top for basic home office type of letter writing and some spread sheets photos & surfing the net. The mrs has all the house keeping stuff on Money which I think we still have the original codes for although may be out of date now. Thanks about the security info I will bare that in mind.

I suppose it is what you get used to and to make a  change may take a bit of getting used to.

Cheers, BBL

 

[discobob]

Oooooh - Money - now that is old - unfortunately it isn't available any more and hasn't been for a number of years 😞

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Money

Edited July 13, 2020 by discobob

[enfieldspares]

Don't, please, buy at PC World. Buy at Argos. They aren't quite as "return friendly" as were Staples but I'd never use PC World ever. I've a lifetime licence on MS Office Home and Student 2013 and you just go to Microsoft's website and re-activate it on the replacement laptop. If it has a trial version of MS Office pre-installed it can be a faff when that trial ends as you start to think the laptop is no longer working with the Office you've the lifetime licence for. But I eventually sorted it.

[243deer]

It will be worth exporting all your money files into csv format that can then be imported into Open Office, Excel, Google sheets etc. in case you cannot get it running on the new laptop.

http://moneymvps.org/faq/article/258.aspx

p.s. you might be real lucky and find someone in PC world that knows what they are talking about - the majority of them do not.

[GingerCat]

Open office words with Microsoft Office. Never had an issue with compatability. 

[Deker]

On 13/07/2020 at 11:18, big bad lindz said:

thanks for your reply's guys. I wont be able to get into a PC world until Thursday at the earliest so I will see what they say.

You mentioned Open Office, I take it is all compatible with word and my existing files when transferred over onto new laptop  will work ok

 I only use the lap top for basic home office type of letter writing and some spread sheets photos & surfing the net. The mrs has all the house keeping stuff on Money which I think we still have the original codes for although may be out of date now. Thanks about the security info I will bare that in mind.

I suppose it is what you get used to and to make a  change may take a bit of getting used to.

Cheers, BBL

 

I've just bought direct from Dell, very happy with the spec, I ordered around 9PM on the Thursday and it was with me before 11AM on the Friday.

I have an MS Money v3 & 2005 disks (and probably later versions if I go through my disks) so can either send it across or copy it to dropbox for you if that helps?

Windows 10 now comes with Security Essentials so there's no real need for Norton anymore (and it probably cripples your PC more than an actual virus).

Edited July 14, 2020 by Deker

[Cosmicblue]

Windows 10 Security Essentials is 'OK', but updated infrequently whereas Eset NOD32  is updated twice a day.  Think about how normal antivirus software works - wait until you get infected and then try and do something about it - that's a terrible idea.   

The Eset tools aim to stop you getting infected in the 1st place (and if one is dumb enough to ignore the warnings - clean up the mess afterwards).  

[big bad lindz]

17 hours ago, Deker said:

I've just bought direct from Dell, very happy with the spec, I ordered around 9PM on the Thursday and it was with me before 11AM on the Friday.

I have an MS Money v3 & 2005 disks (and probably later versions if I go through my disks) so can either send it across or copy it to dropbox for you if that helps?

Windows 10 now comes with Security Essentials so there's no real need for Norton anymore (and it probably cripples your PC more than an actual virus).

thanks Deker, I will bear that in mind when I get a new one. Not going to burst the bank I am just looking at something that will coverall my basic home computing stuff.

[big bad lindz]

15 hours ago, Cosmicblue said:

Windows 10 Security Essentials is 'OK', but updated infrequently whereas Eset NOD32  is updated twice a day.  Think about how normal antivirus software works - wait until you get infected and then try and do something about it - that's a terrible idea.   

The Eset tools aim to stop you getting infected in the 1st place (and if one is dumb enough to ignore the warnings - clean up the mess afterwards).  

I dont know if it is because I am from an older generation but I have always been a bit suspicious of  downloading anything for free off the web, someone had to work on building the software package so why give it away are there any catches that you cant see ?? I can be at times an old and a bit cynical *******  but I may be wrong with this. Cheers for the info anyway 

[itchy trigger]

years ago I got an a problem with my then desktop, so took it into the local independent computer shop, they sorted it, then recommended eset,as the best, they used it themselves, so now I run eset, I think its cheap peace of mind at around £18 per annum

[Mr gen]

just a thought, you could upgrade the RAM and hard drive to an SSD in your current laptop just have a quick google of what RAM your laptop was built with and look to double up, this will certainly speed things up. The only thing that might hold you back is if your operating system is 32bit then it will only see 4GB of ram, 64 bit you can add as much as you like , also you could delete your old browsers one by one and reinstall them again without all the registry history. Getting rid of Norton will also speed things up but you must get rid of everything to do with it.

Myself being a tight Welshman, would be looking to try this first.

 

      

[ShootingEgg]

Windows ten will come with defender, moat av softwares will slow your machine down. They are cpu hungry. If you have office maybe worth getting one drive and put everything into that, cloid storage meaning you can access ot on any machine that has Internet connection. I would also advice to use multi factor authentication, just an app on your mobile so when you log in it prompts to say was this you, approve or decline. 

[discobob]

I have a Surface for my laptop now - small, portable, light - and can plug it into my large monitor when I want to do "more". Utilising onedrive sync means you can get an i5 one with 128GB and it will suit your needs for years to come. If you get an office subscription and do the process the right way you can have Office for up to 5 machines for a number of years for very little money. You can even do it all via t'internet in your browser if you want so you don't have to have it installed onto your laptop