I need a new printer, want an HP all in one, some spec are saying vista ready, others say vista compatible, others say vista certified – which do I need?! What is the difference?

Ok so my dell inspiron 1525 will not start up windows vista. It is currently on the windows startup repair ‘attempting repairs’ and has been for the last 4hours! Does it normally take this long. What can i do to fix it?

I recently got my mums work laptop, and because it was a work laptop, it is restricted by all the settings and software and what not that the previous administrator used at my mums work. So if I upgraded from XP Professional to Vista Home Premium, would that delete everything? Allowing me to go on MSN and change the user-name and all that? Also, there is Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1, and then there is the upgrade which is cheaper in most places. Can you only get the upgrade if you have the original? Thank you.

If so how?

The existing hard drive has failed. The machine came with Vista preloaded and no OS discs. No recovery disc is available at the moment either.