Yesterday I went and bought myself one of the cutest little laptop computers! It's a Compaq Netbook and weighs 2.6 pounds! Small enough to take with me in my purse!

Anyway, I bought a preset up one and got it home and got help from my service provider setting up my wireless connection. I was happily using it all evening last night, watching DVD's before going to sleep.  

There is one minor thing that was bugging me though. Whenever I closed the lid and reopened it, I had to click on an icon called "Owner Locked" to get to my desktop. No password, just having to click on it. Like I said, nothing major, but highly annoying to me.  So I set out to try and get rid of it.

At the bottom left on the screen is an icon called "easy access", so I decided to click on it. Left clicking didn't do anything, but right clicking opened up another window with some options.

Imagine my surprise when my computer started to talk to me telling me "WARNING! YOUR LICENSE IS NOT VALID FOR THIS COMPUTER!"

I went back to the store today. The tech was away, but a tech associate looked on the computer and it showed that the key was valid and that Windows 7 had been activated and it had the "Genuine" icon.  They went to check the Window's license key against the one on the bottom of the computer to find that there is no license key sticker on the computer.   They told me that it must be on the box (which I had left at home).

I figure if the license is valid and activated and managed to download the updates without a problem, I would just leave it as is rather than being without it for a week (next time I could get there would be next Saturday).

I got home and looked at the box and there is no Windows License Key on it either. 

I called the store back and told them that I do not have a license sticker at all.  The guy said that after I left he went back and checked out a few other preset up models and they all give that warning, and none of them have license keys on the machine or the box.

He thinks that HP may have made a mistake when setting them up.  So now I'm waiting for a phone call back to see what is going on.

In the meantime I may be using a pirated operating system :(

Well, at least I get to keep my crown as the most jinxed person when it comes to anything electric.  For some reason I'm hugely jinxed when it comes to buying anything electric. Things either have problems from the get go, or soon after I buy it, or very soon after the warranty expires. This computer makes me 100%!

You can put the crown away.
What you described has nothing to do with you.
In fact you said yourself in your message title. HP Screwed up.
(Unless you changed your name/handle to HP and were being frugal ;) in having the PTB at Rendo to change it for the forums ::biggrin::)

I got a lovely little Gateway netbook earlier this year. 11.6 inches with a nice bright screen and Windows 7 64 bit full version. I haven't had a day's problem with it, but the first thing I did upon turning it on was to get rid of all the junk Gateway had preinstalled on it. I do it with every computer I've bought that I didn't build myself. Too much garbage hogging up the hard drive that I'll never use ;o).

Hopefully they'll get you squared away soon :o). And you're not REALLY using a pirated OS. You bought the thing in good faith that Windows was included with the computer. It's implied that you will use the computer, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. But I would worry if they don't make it good really, really soon.

Laurie

Quote - I got a lovely little Gateway netbook earlier this year. 11.6 inches with a nice bright screen and Windows 7 64 bit full version.

I only got "Windows 7 Starter", but I love it! It's so similar to XP and you don't get any of those annoying popups like with Vista!

Don't worry about using a pirated OS; you bought the machine in good faith.  It's the retailer's problem to sort out, not yours. 

I got a lovely Toshiba netbook with Windows 7 Starter whilst we were away on holidays (the netbook I had bought fell over - stopped working - so we had to get a replacement because we just had to get on FaceBook!! :biggrin:) - jeez, technology is so cheap in the States compared to Oz.
I'm a bit baffled with the Starter thingie. Like, I had to download a special app in order to change the desktop image - you'd think they'd include something like that in the OS - but (like Laurie) I had to delete a lot of rubbish that came with it, like a trial version of Office and a whole bunch of stuff from the BestBuy techie mob.
Weird.

Other than that, Win7 Starter does seems more stable than Vista by far... absolutely amazed at what I can run on this thing! Poser 7? CS3? Blender? Wow!

I can even run Poser 8 on mine so long as I use the low priority trick bb let us in on ;o). Wings 3D runs like a dream on it, so I can model on the go! :-D Mine's a little more like a laptop than most netbooks are - full OS, 2 gigs of ram and a nice sized hard drive. I've even heard it called a 'nettop' before, tho it really is a netbook - no optical drive ;o). And it's a big netbook, but it just squeezes inside my purse...lol.

Laurie

"Wings 3D runs like a dream on it, so I can model on the go! :-D"

And there's so many times, like when waiting for something to happen at work, netbooks are great in that you can just open them up and do a bit of modelling - it's all there, almost like you're home, except people come up to you at work and ask you what you're doing, so you do want to sort-of be careful what you're working on... :lol:

I'm so chuffed with the battery life on mine - turned the screen brightness right down, and I can get almost six hours out of a single charge... WOW :woot:

Quote - In the meantime I may be using a pirated operating system :(

A call or email to HP by the store tech will get you a product license key to go with your laptop's serial number.  No biggie.

Weren't you the one who had to install your own Dell system board on a recent laptop? I still can't get over that...

Quote - Weren't you the one who had to install your own Dell system board on a recent laptop? I still can't get over that...

I've had 2 very bad experiences with Dell.

Here they accuse me of using a pirated operating system that they told me to keep and install, and even helped me to install.
[ http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2684977

](http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2684977)And here where they had me taking apart a laptop with a Phillip's Screwdriver!

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=2662509&ebot_calc_page#message_2662509

Never again! 

Acadia,

There is nothing for you to worry about since the tech guy saw Windows 7 is activated and the “Genuine” label… (your legit).
That “easy access’ thingy that is telling you otherwise is just one of many HP installed useless bloat-ware.
I just purchased a Compaq notebook last week and love it, but not until I uninstalled the extra HP stuff.

To fix your lid closing problem (which also annoyed me), click on the little battery icon in the lower right of the taskbar.
Choose “more power options”, and in that window you can set what happens when you close the lid, sleep (which is what it is doing now), shut down, or do nothing.

Thanks for that!

I really do like the computer!!  I'll give that battery icon a try and I'll go and uninstall some of the things they installed.

Not really sure what I don't need though.  Any suggestions on what I can delete?

Hmmm, that depends, Acadia. I got all these utilities from the Best Buy techie crowd which they thought were a good idea to have and use to keep the netbook running smoothly, but I already use other stuff like CrapCleaner and proggies like that that are free, and the BestBuy thingies were all trialware so I sort of decided I didn't really want to pay money for something I didn't want. Rather spend the money on shoes.... real or virtual.

You'll usually find an AOL software thing and some anti-virus trial like Norton which I wouldn't use if someone tied me up and threatened me with nasty virus infections: Norton slows everything down so MUCH. It's such a hog... plus you have to pay for it. And there's heaps of excellent free antivirus programmes out there, like Avira and like that.
Oh, and invariably you get some trial Microsoft Office version... that gets un-installed quick-smart. My last Office version - one that I still use - is Office 2000. It's clean and does everything I need it to. And I know how it works.

Some Toshiba stuff I left on because it didn't take hardly any space either on the hard drive or in memory. I'm willing to be educated whether it's essential or not. Toshiba Bulletin Board... probably some driver update thingie. HP might have something similar.

“Any suggestions on what I can delete?”….

Not sure of everything they install on the little netbooks, but really anything in the “Uninstall a program” control panel that says HP,( like HP easy access, HP updater, HP Power plan, Help, Document reader,etc).

A lot of trial versions of games (which includes some software called “Tagent”).

The trial version of Norton….ditto what Robyn just said!

Trial versions of Microsoft Office stuff.

HP installs a lot of software from CyberLink which is for burning and playing DVD’s.
Since Windows 7 Starter doesn’t come with Windows Media Player or codec’s, unless you have something better, you’ll probably want to keep that.

If you set your folder options to see hidden files, you will see a folder under C:/ named "HP".
That contains backups of all the drivers and software installers for everything HP put on your computer, so that gives you a “reinstall safety net”.

i have a Compaq, dual core laptop that I bought and it had Windows Vista with a free upgrade to the full Windows 7.
I took the free upgrade and love it!

The little icon is annoying but for this system, I'll put up with it...lol.

My laptop has as much speed and memory as my desktop and if I need more space I use my external drive.
Now I can sit in the front room with Mom while I do my Poser work. :)

What is the little trick BB taught to run Poser 8?

Quote -
I'm so chuffed with the battery life on mine - turned the screen brightness right down, and I can get almost six hours out of a single charge... WOW :woot:

ASUS still seems to be the king on battery life with models going upwards to 14 hrs. I've got an older one that was rated for 5 hours and only get about 3 1/2 - 4 hours with it. Avoid a lot of the store ASUS models, such as BestBuy, because they have oddball configurations that don't do as well.

Turning off wireless, when not needed, also saves battery life

Anything containing the word 'trial' could be likely removed; since that means it's going to remove itself after a few weeks.
You could get Open Office, which is to Office as Gimp is to Photoshop; workable, free, but depends on what you want as to whether it's 'for you'...

Quote - Anything containing the word 'trial' could be likely removed; since that means it's going to remove itself after a few weeks.
You could get Open Office, which is to Office as Gimp is to Photoshop; workable, free, but depends on what you want as to whether it's 'for you'...

I don't plan on using this Netbook for much other than to cart around with me to waste time when waiting for things like appointments. So basically it will be for email, watching DVDs, playing hidden item type games and bugging you guys!  ;)
 

EDIT:  Speaking of bugging you guys!  I've never had a wireless connection before.  What's the secret to getting a wireless connection outside? I automatically connect when I'm at home, but when I was outside yesterday and checked for wireless connections I saw lots, but I was asked for a code, which I didn't have, every time I tried to connect to one.

My cell phone works inside and out without me having to look for connections and enter codes when outside.  So how do I do the same with my laptop?

Based on what I see on TV or commercials, all I should have to do is open the lid and turn it on and I'm connected to the internet.  But that's not happening.

LOL...all the wireless networks surrounding you are apparently secured. Most wireless home networks are - it would be kinda silly not to secure them nowdays ;o). You might have better luck in a city somewhere where you'd probably have a chance at finding one around a public building who might be broadcasting a wireless signal for free. But those are rare.

You can buy 3G or 4G data plans for them, sort of like you do for your cell phone, but that starts to turn into real money ;o).

Laurie

I don't know about Windows 7, but in a major OEM (HP, IBM, Dell, etc) installation of XP the license key will NOT match the sticker on the case-all machines sold by that manufacturer had the same license key (called a 'Royalty Key').  The actual product key was in a file in the setup disk or hard disk image. 

You can reinstall XP using the key on the case, but you will need to contact Microsoft if installing SP1 or higher.  Reinstalling from the manufacturer's restore disk  should restore the original key.

More on-topic, a lot of Restaurants around here have unsecured networks for customer use.  I have a friend who mooches wireless access off the restaurant across the street...

What I use for mobile broadband is Virgin Mobile broadband to go, they just revamped their plans and for $40 month you get unlimited time/data and no contract (woooo).  You can either get a USB style 'dongle' (heh) for around $75 or if you really want to get fancy they have a portable hotspot (or mifi) for $129, with that one you can share your connection with others (if you want).

I use mine mainly for business so I can connect up to our networks when a server cries for help or a user needs some handholding :)  and it's worked quite nicely, speeds aren't as fast as home but for what I need it's great.  My wife has also 'borrowed' it from time to time so she can do stuff on her netbook at lunch...just wish she'd tell me when she does so I don't go crazy thinking I left it someplace.... (sigh)

Quote - EDIT:  Speaking of bugging you guys!  I've never had a wireless connection before.  What's the secret to getting a wireless connection outside? I automatically connect when I'm at home, but when I was outside yesterday and checked for wireless connections I saw lots, but I was asked for a code, which I didn't have, every time I tried to connect to one.

My cell phone works inside and out without me having to look for connections and enter codes when outside.  So how do I do the same with my laptop?

Based on what I see on TV or commercials, all I should have to do is open the lid and turn it on and I'm connected to the internet.  But that's not happening.

Canada right? check with your ISP - here in Ontario, Cogeco run Hotspots round town for those of us that pay for the upper tier packages.

While we're on Windows 7 and computer tricks- is there a way to selectively disable the screensaver while certain programs are running? I had my screensaver kick in once during a P8 render, and it ended with me having to move the mouse constantly for a half hour while the render finished, screen constantly fading out to black the whole time. Now I've turned the screen saver off, but really don't want to keep it like that.

(I'm running Win7 Enterprise (64-bit) and Poser 8 SR3.)

There is a problem with one of the Microsoft service packs that does cause the issue you are having.  My sister had that problem with her Compaq laptop after getting her automatic updates.  I called Microsoft support, read them the key on the bottom of the laptop (which they said didn't match her OS), read them the large key on the registration screen (which they said wasn't a valid key) and was then told to buy a new OS.  I found out from a friend who had the same problem, that it is a Microsoft problem and pointed me to a link on their website which described the problem and how to fix it.  Can't remember where it was now, as this happened a couple of months ago.

First choice is to have your retailer fix it for you.  If you end up going through Microsoft support, don't let them give you any crap about it. 

Al

Retailer's not an option- it's a custom-built system. However, you may have given me enough info to research the solution on my own. (When I finally get some free time to do so...) Thanks!