Hi everyone

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 1525. It comes with Vista but I was planning to get rid of them and install Ubuntu. Later I'll try to sell the MS-license back to Dell and ask for money or more years of guarantee

Unfortunately the laptop won't boot from the CD. I switch it on and hear the CD spinning but I can't escape the starting-vista procedure. I'm asked to verify where I am and the keyboard layout etc and after that I'm asked to accept the MS and Dell license agreements. Unless I tick both squares I can't proceed. But if I say yes now I guess I won't be able to sell the MS-license back to Dell

I tried to go to BIOS but it seems that I can't do that either until I have accepted the MS and Dell terms. Please help me withstand the M$-blackmail

Hi dourk
You should probably keep Vista. I've worked with Vista a lot in the last year. It is not the problem that everyone enjoys claiming it to be and there are some things that are easier to do in Windows than in Linux. I doubt that Dell will refund your Vista license. Even if you had purchased a Dell with Linux preinstalled you would not save any appreciable amount of money and it might have actually cost more money.
I recommend that you go ahead and set up Vista. Then you can set up a dual boot system with Linux and Vista. There is a very good chance that you will at some time be glad that you have Windows on the notebook computer.
Bad mouthing Microsoft and Windows is a popular game that many people play. I think that it shows a lack of understanding of Windows and Microsoft and Linux. No operating system is perfect and Windows is not useless. On my own machines I never allow Windows to access the Internet except to install software and updates. Windows is very vulnerable to problems that come in over the Internet. If you use it for other things like recording television shows it does a good job.

Other facts that may help you.
- All of the Dell computers that I have checked the BIOS have the boot sequence set up to use the internal disk drive before the internal DVD/CD-ROM drive. If you want to install Linux you will probably need to change the boot sequence in the BIOS after you set up Vista.

- The Dell BIOS has a bug that makes it difficult to boot from home made CD-RW +R disks. If you want to make a boot CD for a Dell computer you probably need to use a CD-R -R write once disk.

Thenx for replying stress_junkie

I respect your opinion although I completely disagree. I mean I've never used Vista. If you say that they are better if you want to do certain things I believe you. But that's probably the things that I'll never want to do, like recording from TV. So keeping Vista isn't a good deal for me, 50 Euros would be better. But it's not just the money. I think that what MS does is a blackmail, it's wrong and I don't want to reward them for that

Now just to be sure, CD-RW +R are rewritable and CD-R -R are non-rewritable CDs right? Then that's not what the problem was because I did use (try to use) CD-R -R. Any other suggestions people? Come on give me a hand. I'm on holidays, I've got on my hands a new Dell laptop and I can't used it

The problem is what key entry does Dell require to access the BIOS. It's something that has to be entered very quickly after the power is turned on. Some machines require pressing F1, others ESC, or F2; and I think it's F2 for the Dell.

If your timing is not quite right, just start tapping the F2 key right after you power it on, that should capture the BIOS set up.