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    New owner question

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by momofjkg, Feb 4, 2009.

  1. momofjkg

    momofjkg Newbie

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    Never had a computer without a CD drive, so how do you install new programs from a CD?
     
    momofjkg, Feb 4, 2009
    #1
  2. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    1. External USB Optical Drive
    2. Share Optical drive from another computer through network.
    3. Using another computer, copy installation files from CD to USB Mass Storage Device and then install from there.
     
    namaiki, Feb 4, 2009
    #2
  3. whizzo

    whizzo Notebook Prophet

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    some options:

    - you can rip the CD's contents on a different computer, and then copy the .iso file to your thinkpad (via thumb drive or network or whatever) and then mount it with DaemonTools.

    - you can purchase a USB CD drive.

    - you can try to access the CD drive of another computer over a network. not sure if this will work.

    - you can purchase a dock with an Ultrabay/optical drive.

    there are probably other possibilities too, but these are what came to my mind right now.
     
    whizzo, Feb 4, 2009
    #3
  4. Specialista

    Specialista Notebook Geek

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    Who uses CDs anymore? How passé. :rolleyes:

    Most software these days can be downloaded directly off the net. If you bought a retail copy, just download a duplicate copy from the manufacturer's website, then use the product key or license in the retail box / cd to activate the product. If it is a subscription product like antivirus software, you may even snag a few additional months in trial mode!

    The future is the cloud, man! :D
     
    Specialista, Feb 4, 2009
    #4
  5. jonlumpkin

    jonlumpkin NBR Transmogrifier

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    Imgburn and Daemon Tools are your friends. Image your discs to an ISO, and mount with Daemon tools as a virtual drive. Note - you may have trouble with some discs (e.g. Games) as they are "defective by design", and don't image properly.
     
    jonlumpkin, Feb 4, 2009
    #5