Walmart 1 day sale $298 Laptop

pxc said:
Or just use Magical Jellybean Keyfinder to get the OEM key off the current install and "find" the appropriate xrm-ms license file for HP. Then you can just use a standard Vista DVD, even the 64-bit version if you want. That's what I did on my HP. :cool:
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Or just use Activation Backup and Restore, put it on a USB stick and it'll does all key/licensing stuff for you. Worked great for my Toshiba. :D
 
ryan_975 said:
Or just use Activation Backup and Restore, put it on a USB stick and it'll does all key/licensing stuff for you. Worked great for my Toshiba. :D
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Hmmm.

That saves a tiny download and two commands (three if you don't type the key during OS install). :p
 
pxc said:
Hmmm.

That saves a tiny download and two commands (three if you don't type the key during OS install). :p
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There's also copy pasting or writing the key down. hunting down the license file (granted, if you know where those are stored it's not a big deal), etc. Just run ABR backup from a USB stick before you format, install Vista without a key. Then run ABR restore from the USB stick and you're done.
 
What bullshit, so i wake up at 6 am to go to Walmart, here in wisconsin. No one knew anything so I came back at 7:30.

I ask the electronics guy if they have the 298 dollar laptops, he says yes but they cost $450+ dollars. Apparently in Wisconsin there is a law that doesn't allow them to sell items for under cost.

Did anyone else in Wisconsin or another state come across this at Walmart? What kinda bullshit is this? Is there anything I can do?

Is anyone willing to pick up an Extra Laptop and I'll pay them for shipping costs.

I really need this laptop for school this year and it would be great if someone could do that. Thanks.
 
Any how-to's on how to make an iso that has the ABR info on it so I can make a custom disk for my laptop, and not have to worry about activation?
 
sc0tty8 said:
Any how-to's on how to make an iso that has the ABR info on it so I can make a custom disk for my laptop, and not have to worry about activation?
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Run ABR from a USB stick
Install Vista from an original disc
Run ABR again from the same USB stick.

There's no activation.
 
Look at the bullshit ancient law here in Wisconsin. It prevents me from getting this deal. Message me if your able to get an extra laptop and I'll pay for shipping costs.

If you're looking for the cheapest Wal-Mart door-buster specials on the day after Thanksgiving, it pays to live near the Wisconsin border. It makes it easier to drive across the state line to a store with lower prices in Minnesota or Illinois.

Thanks to the state's minimum markup law, Wisconsin Wal-Mart shoppers pay more on some of the hottest deals on Black Friday - the day on which retailers are said to become profitable for the year - and other highly competitive shopping days. Wal-Mart prints different fliers, with higher prices for their Wisconsin stores, to avoid any chance of violating the state's Unfair Sales Act.

"We follow the letter of the law," said Lisa Nelson, a Wisconsin-based spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. "Whatever the legal price is in Wisconsin, that is what we will charge."

Wisconsin's 68-year-old minimum markup law, which was recently held to be unconstitutional by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan, is widely known for affecting gasoline prices. The case before Callahan was brought by a Kenosha business group against a Utah company with two gas stations in Wisconsin, accusing them of predatory pricing.

Callahan ruled that the markup law was unconstitutional because the state has failed to monitor the system. Wisconsin last adjusted the markup for gas in 1998, moving it from 6% to 9.18%.

But the law applies to other products, as well, banning retailers from selling anything below cost.

That is the part of the law that applied to the Acer laptop computer that Wal-Mart advertised nationally for $348 in a sale on Nov. 2. It cost $428 here. Likewise, a $99 Toshiba high-definition DVD player, advertised nationwide, cost $185 in Wisconsin.

In an ad on its Web site, Wal-Mart included a disclaimer saying the in-store specials featured for Nov. 2 would not be available in all stores and that prices could vary in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Nelson said Wal-Mart hears complaints from Wisconsin residents about the disparity in places where people drive across the state line regularly and see ads in neighboring states, such as the Duluth-Superior area, or near the Twin Cities.

"There is a difference between the fliers in the border cities," Nelson said.
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Sorry to hear about the Wisconsin law. That truly sucks.
 
pxc said:
Why?
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I'm off to try my luck at getting one now. I hope one hour before the sale starts is enough time.
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its a cely with vista. I bet its going to be a dog. Best thing you can do is format install XP and pray you can get drivers:D
 
-(Xyphox)- said:
its a cely with vista. I bet its going to be a dog. Best thing you can do is format install XP and pray you can get drivers:D
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its vista basic. besides, if an eeepc can run vista just fine with an atom processor, a faster celeron can run circles around it. :rolleyes:
 
-(Xyphox)- said:
its a cely with vista. I bet its going to be a dog. Best thing you can do is format install XP and pray you can get drivers:D
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That's a Core 2 based Celeron, and it's pretty fast.
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Congrats to all who got the laptop. I'm a bit jealous. ;)
 
I got 2 this a.m., Had my wife use it to see what she thought. It seems as fast as my 2 yr old dell with a core duo at 2.0ghz, 1gb ram, 60gb 5400rpm hd running xp media. I am giving one to my mother for Christmas, and other is already on ebay.
 
pxc said:
That's a Core 2 based Celeron, and it's pretty fast.
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Congrats to all who got the laptop. I'm a bit jealous. ;)
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True, I will give you that
I will stick with my Vostro black/black is sexy :p
 
Picked up the last one in Carson City, NV. Small town so I showed up at around 9am and snagged it. They had 31 and I'm surprised to hear there were people waiting since 10pm the night before for them, especially in this small town :)
 
Holy crap this lappy keeps surprising me. It has a built in microphone! Not bad for $300!
 
Some models have a built in mic and webcam, HDMI, and digital media slot according to the big fold-out "Begin here" instructions.
 
Luke_Skywalker said:
Did anyone else in Wisconsin or another state come across this at Walmart? What kinda bullshit is this? Is there anything I can do?
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I learned this when the $98 HD DVD player deal was around, wasn't $98 in WI! It's life, go write your congressman!

That's about all you can do.
 
I see a shitload of these on Craig's List already for $400+ this morning. Scumbuckets, I tell ya... ;)
 
If anyone gets an extra one is willing to sell it to me + shipping cost I would appreciate it. I need a laptop for college and I just found out that Wisconsin has some retarded law against below costs sales :< I learned this after getting up after only 4 hours of sleep.
 
okay. Picked one up, but I get BSOD when trying to install XP (gotta get rid of vista crap).... anyone figure out why this happens?
 
the BSOD happens during windows setup when booting from the XP cd. Are you saying I have to load drivers before XP boots? If I gotta try to slipstream some obscure driver to get XP to install, I'm gonna understand why this was $298.
 
anyone else find it kinda annoying/odd theres no external volume controls?
Also be curious to hear if you can get XP to load up on it
 
Paully's5.0 said:
I learned this when the $98 HD DVD player deal was around, wasn't $98 in WI! It's life, go write your congressman!

That's about all you can do.
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Pretty much. I live in HI and even for food, we don't get the conus advertised prices (ie we paid $5.99 for $5 footlongs for a while and all those pizza deals you see on TV get marked up when they come to HI).
 
yevaud said:
the BSOD happens during windows setup when booting from the XP cd. Are you saying I have to load drivers before XP boots? If I gotta try to slipstream some obscure driver to get XP to install, I'm gonna understand why this was $298.
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so this "might" help,
look in the bios and assuming it is a sata drive see if their are different modes for the drive, change the mode to something like ide, try again
 
FYI...there is a program called "decrapifier" that might help in cleaning out all the junk.
 
goud said:
so this "might" help,
look in the bios and assuming it is a sata drive see if their are different modes for the drive, change the mode to something like ide, try again
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I appreciate the help, but no dice. First had to figure out how to get into bios (F10) since they didn't put that on the splash screen. Once there, I thought I had been transported back to 1993. I've seen more bios options in a 1993 Pacard-Bell!! I was lucky to get to change the boot order.

I updated the bios thinking I would give that a shot. The bios update was disappointing. What the hell was that wizardPC holding in his hand during the Bios update? That was disturbing.

I guess I'll pull the HD, install XP on it in a different laptop, then do a sysprep and reinstall in the compaq to see if I can get it to boot XP.
 
OK, guys. Not a big deal. I spent maybe 3 hours while watching college football uninstalling all the crap, defragging, installing office 2007 and all the programs I like, defragged again and it runs vista basic fine.

Some people just hate vista for the sake of hating vista. :rolleyes:

Oh and the BIOS does suck. I can't find an option to change the allotted RAM to the integrated graphics. external sound controls are right in front of you and brightness controls are excellent.

It took 3 hours of my time when I would have been watching football anyway and this laptop is VERY smooth. Plus, it's socket m and you can get a C2D for ~$50-75 on ebay. It's something I'm probably going to do when the 1yr warranty ends.
 
Cold Dark Shadow said:
I know about those but dont seem to work without actually clicking on the sound control slider which kinda defeats the purpose of having the keys. i like having physical buttons lol
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The volume buttons work for me just fine. Play some music in Media player and turn it up all the way. Then minimize it and use Fn-Pg Down to tell if the music is lowering in volume. The keys work just fine for me.

To get a notification of the volume level on the screen is install Microsoft IntelliType and select "Multimedia Keyboard" as my keyboard. That allows you to have onscreen volume level notification.
 
ok im fuckin retarded, i thought i was hittin Fn but i was hittin ctrl, didnt realize it til i looked down at it :p
 
fuelvolts said:
OK, guys. Not a big deal. I spent maybe 3 hours while watching college football uninstalling all the crap, defragging, installing office 2007 and all the programs I like, defragged again and it runs vista basic fine.

Some people just hate vista for the sake of hating vista. :rolleyes:

Oh and the BIOS does suck. I can't find an option to change the allotted RAM to the integrated graphics. external sound controls are right in front of you and brightness controls are excellent.
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Look at the driver settings.

fuelvolts said:
It took 3 hours of my time when I would have been watching football anyway and this laptop is VERY smooth. Plus, it's socket m and you can get a C2D for ~$50-75 on ebay. It's something I'm probably going to do when the 1yr warranty ends.
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What's the fastest c2d we can fit in this? That would sweatin the deal.

Cold Dark Shadow said:
ok im fuckin retarded, i thought i was hittin Fn but i was hittin ctrl, didnt realize it til i looked down at it :p
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It happens. My FN and Ctrl are backwards on this laptop. You'll get the hang of it.
 
Any 667 fsb socket m C2D. This is an "older" laptop C2D. Newest is Socket P which is 800/1066 fsb 45nm design (smaller chip).

I think the fastest is 2.3 ghz, but that chip is stupid expensive. I found a 1.73 C2D on ebay for about $25 shipped.
 
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