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Want a Toshiba, but needs to install another Windows

post #1 of 13
8/26/05 at 12:32am
Thread Starter 
Hello,

I'm looking into the market of notebooks, searching the best one for my needs. Since toshiba is a great deal in many ways (performance-features-price), i think i'll buy one. But i really need to know one thing before: is toshiba a good brand to reinstall a different version of windows? I mean, i'm not american (i'm from Brazil, so i speak portuguese), and will need a portuguese version of Win-XP, but my previous experience with compaq was horrible: various parts of the notebook just wouldn't work without the original drivers, and the original drivers could only be found in the quick restore cd (so i had to re-format my pc all the way, and stick with the english version of win-95, not the portuguese one).

I'm really looking forward toshiba, but i'm also afraid of buying something that will be a really headache.

(in brazil the market for notebooks is just awful - cant buy any notebook that doesnt cost at least 5 times the price i'd pay if i buy one from the u.s.)

Is toshiba the best brand to buy in this case? Or is there any other one better? Please, think that i need something good, pretty (well, my dad is buying one for himself, and he wants one pretty - he hates ibms and dells pcs - just to ugly for him) and easy to find/buy.

Thanks, and excuse me the bad english
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post #2 of 13
8/26/05 at 12:35am
I'm 99% postive that Toshiba USA offers notebooks in portuguese...

if not..you can download the indiviual drivers needed for the notebook after you have installed your version of XP.
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post #3 of 13
8/26/05 at 5:44am
toshiba is a great brand and i think that it is a good one for you. drivers can be had form the toshiba site and that shouldnt be a problem at all in installing your own windows.
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post #4 of 13
8/26/05 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
Geez, couldnt find any notebook from toshiba usa in portuguese and/or with a brazilian (abnt II) keyboard.

If you find it anywhere, post me a link, please.
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post #5 of 13
8/26/05 at 2:29pm
keyboard...that may be an issue
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post #6 of 13
8/26/05 at 2:53pm
I use a us keyboard here in Chile and can get all the ç ñ and all with one keystroak more than if it were a spanish keyboard. The trick is setting the keyboard settings to internation english as opposed to US english. Then by hitting the ' followed by the c I get ç. Point is, even getting an english keyboard you can adjust the settings in widows to make it act like a international keyboard.

Look into Toshiba Latin America or Europe to see if you can get just a keyboard. I'll bet there's at least a spanish one that has teh same keys.

As for the drivers, they may be available on the toshiba latin america site for the model you're looking at getting. If not, they are available on tosh's US site for download, so you shouldn't have any problems slapping a portuguese windows in there and getting all the drivers in. Some of the Tosh-ware might end up in english, but judjung by you're english that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
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post #7 of 13
8/27/05 at 1:27pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah... But the keyboard is a problem if it's not in portuguese abnt II. To me is not an issue, but my dad doesnt speak nor read english, and never used an american keyboard. I used one years ago and it wouldnt be a big deal, but in my desktop i use the abnt II keyboard. So, changing keyboard style all the time isn't that great (trust me, i've done this years ago, and its a pain in the ass when you start using the other pc and have to search the keys because your finger just go to the wrong place). And my dad would have to learn this. Yeah, it'll be a problem (not a huge one, but...)

Anyway, as you already said, changing the language version of windows wouldn't be a problem at all. But will the drivers (made to work with the english version of windows) just work? That's still the main doubt. As you can see, i'm really afraid of this (yeah, just happen to have bad memories from my last compaq presario... ugh)
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post #8 of 13
8/27/05 at 5:32pm
Is the Brazilian keyboard different from the Latin American spanish one?
What model laptop are you looking at? I know that the Tecra A4 and most of the satellite series is available here in Chile with the spanish keyboards (and drivers in spanish). If the keys aren't different in comparison to the brazilian keyboard, I'm sure you will be able to find a spanish keyboard. As for the drivers, I don't know. Have you looked on toshiba's page in brazil to see what models they offer? at least for those you will be able to get a brazilian kb and drivers in portuguese (even if you buy the laptop in the US and then switch it over).
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post #9 of 13
8/27/05 at 5:47pm
I just noticed that in portugal you can get pretty much the entire satellite series (M30, 40, 50, 60) so I am prettty sure you would be able to get a replacement KB from them in portuguese for any of these models. I also noticed most of the drivers there too, but it seems that in the end many are in english. That shouldn't matter much since once the computer is set up, there's not much need to change the settings inside the drivers, as most of if can be done throught he windows interface or teh Toshiba ware, which looks to be available in portuguese.

So, why don't you tell us what you are looking for (which models or what characteristics) so we can help figure the rest out (where to get the kb, chack out the drivers availabliity and all).
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post #10 of 13
8/27/05 at 9:30pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I searched for an image of the ABNT II Keyboard (and thats surelly a brazilian layout, because abnt is a brazilian version of ANSI - abnt is "associacao brasileira de normas tecnicas" wich means, in english, brazilian association for technical normatization).

Here it is (hope you can see the keys, the way they're arranged in the board and all):

As you (hopefully) can see, the keys are a bit different than other keyboards in other countrys.

In Brazil, the toshiba's site is awful: there isn't any international model for notebooks (like tecra, portege, no A75, M40, etc). Look for yourself: http://www.semptoshiba.com.br/site_n...frame_note.asp
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post #11 of 13
8/27/05 at 9:40pm
I did take a look earlier, that's what led me to look in Toshiba protugal.

The KB is slightly different from the spanish ones I'm used to looking at, so the next step will be figuring out what laptop you're looking for and seeing about getting a replacement kb from portugal (or maybe in brazil).
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post #12 of 13
8/29/05 at 1:19am
Thread Starter 
g00nter, thanks for being so kind to reply all my silly doubts. I'm really looking forward to buy one new notebook to me and dad (well, actually he's buying, but that's not important).

I'm looking right now to a M45-S265 or the M45-S165 (the last is cheaper, and got what i really want/need: dvd-rw, 15" wxga trubright at least, 512mb ram, at least 60gb hd - 5400rpm, in this case 80gb, and a centrino core, or some Intel not so power-hunger cpu). The M45-S265 is a must, but the only really difference is the Centrino/Pentium M processor. Other thinks would be good, like a better gpu (games, watch dvd), but they're not the most needed feature.

But are you positive that i am (or the authorized service is) able to change the keyboard from the original to the abnt or some other version? Man, that's heavy... I couldnt imagine a way that this "operation" may work, but if you say so...
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post #13 of 13
8/29/05 at 3:08pm
Matter of fact just yesterday I pulled my whole laptop apart becasue of a sound problem. The keyboard is very easy to remove, you just have to find out where all the pressure snaps are and get them open, hopefully without scratching the surrounding plastics.

Have you contacted a toshiba repair facility near you and asked them? Just tell them that you already have the computer and want to know if they can sitch the keyboard for you and how much it'll cost.

Like I said, the rest of the drivers are available to downloard form both tosh usa and tosh europe in portugal, so you could just install a windows from brazil, load up the drivers and then you'll be set.
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