OS on short notice

SideAffects

So I just bought my new computer, and the plan is to reformat my old PC and give to to my gf's family (well, technically to her dad for his birthday on wednesday). This computer is over 4 years old...pushing 5 or 6. It's 1.6GHz and has 1 gig of RAM, iirc. nVidia 6600GT video card. It was one of the best bang-for-your-buck builds out there at the time. Anyways, I've run XP on it for a LONG time...and unfortunately the source was of questionable legality. I simply turned off automatic updates in the past year so I'd never have to do whatever the current registration procedure is.

Anyways, I need to reformat and I have no idea how I can get around this issue. I'd rather not gift a box to someone that has this issue surrounding it. The PC will be primarily for homework (Star Office ftw) and "some" gaming. Games like Diablo, Quake 2, Civ 4, etc. Nothing too strenuous. Pretty much throws Linux out of the question (plus the family has NO linux experience.

What can I do as far as an OS for this setup? If I simply clean the hard drive via My Computer > Manage, I'm not really giving them a fresh computer. This was going to be a gift for her father, and I don't really think I should turn it into a gift as expensive as a new copy of XP would cost. Any suggestions?

Moe Fwacky

You can either buy a legitimate copy of XP/Vista, use Linux with Wine to run what you can or install the Windows 7 release candidate or whatever they're calling the lastest one which will run until next summer, I think, before forcing you to replace it.

Those are about the only options you can discuss on these boards without breaking the rules.

ArcSyn

Pretty much what Moe said. If you can't spend money, Linux is the only way to go. Otherwise, I've seen XP Home OEMs going for ~$80 online depending on the store you find them at. Or get the Win7 RC and install that and see if it works. Perhaps you can talk them into using that until they buy the full version.

ronya

Seconding Moe Fwacky - old games typically run acceptably with Wine. Civ 4. Diablo II.

I've no idea why Windows XP is still so expensive.

SideAffects

I have no desire to do anything illegal to obtain a copy, I am just looking for advice like "student discounts" at nearby universities, or things along those lines.

ronya

Retail sales of XP ceased last year, though. You'll have to get unsold stock, or second-hand.

There are hordes and hordes of second-hand XP retail licenses floating about, but confirming their authenticity is going to suck.

DHS Odium

Linux really isn't a bad option, if it's set up right. Anyways, XP can be found almost anywhere - legit copies. See if you know anyone working in IT (or students) with access to MSDN, they probably have spare, legit keys you can use.

Crashtard

Honestly, one idea might be to just check craigslist to see if anyone is giving older model computers away with legal xp keys on them. Right now I see about 4 in my area.