Hi,

I am new to Swiss and live in Zurich. I am interesting in buying a Laptop for Home entertainment purposes.

I found that the Sony, HP laptops come with Windows XP or MCE 2005 but the specification only says - Windoes MCE - D/F/I. Does it mean I cannot change the language to English? Kindly clarify.

cheers
Raj

Basicaly it comes with 3 disks D/F/I version of windows which is pre installed.
I would use Steg computers they are doing English Windows or use XP pro.
Im sure ther are a few IT bods that can explain it better.
STEG Computer Software Windows


DC

Thanks DC for the Pointer. I just browsed thro. Steg computers site. As you said, HP Laptops are listed with English option. But all the Sony ones are only listed with D/I/F. But I am more keen to buy a Sony.

Not sure if buying a Sony laptop means I cannot have an Eng based Windows OS!! That may be a costly mistake.

Any pointers , any one please??

have you looked at apple laptops? multi language is available built in.

other than that, dell also offer english windows. if you want sony, i think its gonna be harder. you could call their customer sales line on the sony store. maybe they could help?

I wouldn't touch a Sony with a bargepole. I had a Vaio several years ago, and the power went after a few months. I sent it back to repair, and when it came back it worked for a couple of weeks then the same thing happened again. I sent it back again, and this time it only lasted a few days before the same problem occured. I sent it back altogether about 5 times with the most time working being about 3 weeks. In the end, they agreed to replace it, and after about a month, bang went the new one. After getting this back from repair, the display went. Altogether it spent more time not working and being repaired than working.

After the years warranty was up on the first Viao, they even had the cheek to say "it is out of warranty" even though the notebook had been replaced a few months earlier.

In the end I just chucked it away and vowed never to buy another Sony.

I see on the "other side" you've been recommended Pixmania. Do be aware that everything's coming from France for them and your keyboard might be AZERTY

I think that all Toshiba laptops are multilingual and you select which language version of windows you require when you first switch it on.

I decided not to f about, and decided to go for dell for the first time ever. I thought I would regret it but actually not a bad decision. English windws is available on the swiss site.

Also MUCH cheaper to order a laptop via http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/de...=ch&l=en&s=gen

than UK site. A year ago a order an Inspiron 9400 and it cost around CHF 2K, and when compared on the UK site, exactly same spec, a day later, it was £2K !!! At 2.2.5 to the £ that time, that was cleearly a massive difference.

Rip off britain again !

Well I am suprized that no one here has mentioned our site! After giving you guys a great price on a cool system... pffftt :-)

Anyway, I would be glad to help you out with your laptop buying. Send me a message to my business address and I'll give you various prices for what you require. All in English, software, plus free delivery and setup in your home.
www.pcdesigns.ch
PCDesigns

Ahhhh... now rather than wade my way through all the toppreise.ch German-only results (where are the stores in French on that site?), this sounds like a better idea, for when I can finally retire this old clunker.

if your really that desperate for a sony with an English operating system. Ask your supplier if they can drop the cost of an orerating system. Then order an english version and install it yourself. Just make sure your new sony laptop has the specs for your desired operating sytem (never know with sony )
Regars

I would be pleased to offer you a price on a laptop with the specs you need. And, if you wish to do a trade-in, you can save some money as well. Email me at support@pcdesigns.ch or send me PM.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not the smartest idea unless you like hours of hair pulling.
If you buy a new laptop with the software preinstalled, the drivers are supplied preinstalled. If you get disks, chances are the languages for the drivers are still in German, FR, IT.
If you simply think you can buy a laptop, a new version of Windows and simply format the hard drive, where are you going to get the drivers for all the internals? MoBo, sound, finger pad, LAN, WiFi, screen, chipset, etc, etc????
You can search the internet for all those after you reformat, but are you sure your LAN will work directly from Windows to get you on-line to find those drivers?
If you plan to reformat with VISTA.... OH man, you're in for a suprize, Vista has 40% driver support for 2006 equipment, before that, good luck, after that, not much new gear has Vista drivers on board.
My opinion! Some people like the challenge, others prefer the service from specialists like us. Choose your method before you buy, not after.

A smart person who wipes and reinstalls searches out their drivers beforehand and burns them to CD so they can at least get started with the machine before obtaining the most updated versions, etc.

Very true indeed, but not everyone is this savvy... AND, some people just can't be bothered. When they want a new product, they don't want the headaches of going through all that work.

I reckon anyone who is prepared to wipe the disk and start from scratch is already savvy... or exceedingly over-confident

The most important thing is support. Computers break down from time to time. As far as I understand Vaio's are serviced in Belgium and the support is lousy. HP's are good but often come without recovery disks. Dell is cost-effective but is only available online and no one comes round to fix your computer.

PC Design looks like an interesting option. I got my computer from a local dealer who comes round to fix it.

Remember if you opt for Vista there may be incompatibilty with some software, e.g. virus scanners, I Tunes.

Very valid points!
After sales services are very important. Who delivers to your door? Who comes to your house for service? Who speaks English properly and goes the extra mile to make sure you are happy?
Only one place I know of and would recommend...

You would be suprized how many people have called and said... "I stuck in the disk, did the format, but now my mouse, keyboard, and screen don't seem to work... HELP!!"

most manufacturers, including Sony, have device drivers for their machines on their support sites.

The mistake some people make is letting windowsupdate install new I/O and motherboard drivers

Yeah....shame about the games availability though, and all that software and those files I already have in Windows format. I'm sure Macs are perfectly great computers. But the devil you know.....

In fact, would buying a Mac help? Do they have inbuilt settings for all languages, or are their keyboards always in the US/English standard?