Can the Windows OS's from Wal Mart Be Used To Completely Reformat A Computer?

Question

My grandfather was given a computer from the community college he works at when they bought new ones. He wants to use it as a home computer, but the college's security log-in program is still on the computer. I know that we need to reformat the computer with a new operating system in order for him to use it, but I need to know whether the update versions of Windows OS at Wal-Mart can do the job or not. They don't allow you to return software for anything but another copy so I need to know before I buy it.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Upgrade edition will not work. You need to buy the complete edition which will likely be vista now since xp is hard to get. It will cost over $200, and if the computer is not running vista now, it will be a lot slower than it is now. Older computers do not run vista well, (if you don't have at least 512 ram, it will not run vista at all).

If he only needs to do basic web surfing, typing, etc. I would use Ubuntu linux which is free to download and use. Forever.

Answer 2

If you've got the full version of windows (and it is a bootable cd) then just pop it in.. you may need to change the bios so the machine will boot from CD.

Make sure you've got the serial number for the product and it should work just fine.

Good luck!