Formatting is really easy. One way to do it is to just insert your XP CD and reboot your computer; the CD will boot and you'll be presented with a series of options. It's pretty straight-forward, just be sure to select the Full Format (or whatever) option. I'll talk to a friend (who has actually formatted before) when he gets home for more detailed instructions. I'm sure Futureshop will also do it for you, or someone who knows what he's doing (Ryan's Dad?).
Also, be sure to have your Windows XP install CD and any other CDs that came with your computers which contain hardware drivers and such.
If you don't want to go with Microsoft Office, I recommend Open Office, which is a free suite of programs which pretty much do anything Microsoft Office programs can. It's what I personally use.
I also wouldn't go with Norton, personally. It's so bloated. When I get a new computer, I'll go with something else; I'm just not sure what's good these days. :\
As far as hard drives go, remember that Vista takes (at least) 40 GB of space. So be sure to accomodate that - I don't think a 120 GB drive would cut it, since you'd only have 80 GB to work with; really, less once you get everything onto it.
I went through the little building wizard and came out with this for $1059, from the $599 starting one. The software and everything probably jacks up the price. The graphics card also doesn't impress me, but they didn't offer any option to change that.
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) English OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition SYSTEM COLOUR Jet Black LCD DISPLAY Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800) INTEGRATED WEBCAM NO WEBCAM OPTION MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz HARD DRIVE 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) GRAPHICS CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
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Also, be sure to have your Windows XP install CD and any other CDs that came with your computers which contain hardware drivers and such.
If you don't want to go with Microsoft Office, I recommend Open Office, which is a free suite of programs which pretty much do anything Microsoft Office programs can. It's what I personally use.
I also wouldn't go with Norton, personally. It's so bloated. When I get a new computer, I'll go with something else; I'm just not sure what's good these days. :\
As far as hard drives go, remember that Vista takes (at least) 40 GB of space. So be sure to accomodate that - I don't think a 120 GB drive would cut it, since you'd only have 80 GB to work with; really, less once you get everything onto it.
I went through the little building wizard and came out with this for $1059, from the $599 starting one. The software and everything probably jacks up the price. The graphics card also doesn't impress me, but they didn't offer any option to change that.
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) English
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition
SYSTEM COLOUR Jet Black
LCD DISPLAY Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
INTEGRATED WEBCAM NO WEBCAM OPTION
MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
GRAPHICS CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)