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Posted by: spare time toys Nov 23 2004, 12:45 PM

Our home computer will just lock up and you have to shut it off to fix it or it will just shut down on its own whild you are in the midst of doing something. Last night it just died. I was on the club and the monitor went blank then it had the little flashing dash in the upper left corner. It would not do anything else so I unplugged it. This morning I plug it in and turn it on and all it will do is show the start up screan with the processor info. Any ideas other than replacing it. Yes im at work now posting this and will be here untill midnight. Fun Fun

Posted by: djm914-6 Nov 23 2004, 01:41 PM

My next home computer will be a Dell. That's all we use here at work and I find them well built. Dell also has some killer sales.

Posted by: davep Nov 23 2004, 02:20 PM

You may only need to replace a part or two. Fans (processor & power supply) fail over time. Power supplies fail as well. Brand name computers (Dell & HP) use custom parts and you might as well replace the whole thing. Generic computers are much more flexible, and components can be replaced or upgraded with ease. I build all my own computers. Dell does not sell units with the AMD processors, and they are the state of the art today (along with lower prices).

Posted by: SirAndy Nov 23 2004, 02:59 PM

i bought a HP pavilion 6 month ago. cheap, fast and good quality ...

Andy

Posted by: davep Nov 23 2004, 03:20 PM

Isn't a pavilion just a fancy tent?

Posted by: redshift Nov 23 2004, 03:37 PM

Sounds like heat got to you somehow... dirty fans may as well be fanless.. if you get a blinking cursor, it sounds like disk stripping got ya.. unbootable sytem.

I build my own, but when I have done installations I have used Dell, they have nice machines, and excellent support.


M

Posted by: joea9146 Nov 23 2004, 03:53 PM

Iwould go with an HP the Dell service has really gone down hill lately

Posted by: seanery Nov 23 2004, 04:36 PM

both gateway and dell have sub $400 systems right now.
For a hundred bucks more you can make it a Pentium 4 instead of the Celeron chip.

Posted by: Sammy Nov 23 2004, 05:28 PM

I bought a new puter 2 weeks ago at fry's.
1.8gh+, 128 mb ram, 40 gig HD, modem, LAN, everything except the monitor for $179. (why does everyone keep calling me cheap?)
I stuck in an extra 512mb ram and my CDRW drive in place of the regular CD drive it came with. This thing screams. It came with lindows but I installed XP pro. For that price I can throw it away if something goes wrong.

Onliest real problem is that is has onboard video which aint quite up to radical gaming. It has a slot for an 8x AGP video card, that's next. maybe for X-mas.

Look at me, I sound like a puter wonk

Posted by: Sparky Nov 23 2004, 06:56 PM

I'm building and selling Shuttle XPC's. I like the small form factor and the gee whiz effect when people see them. my current machine is a SB51g with a p4 2.8GHz 1GB Ram , ATi Radeon 9800 for video, 120Gb harddrive and a 52x Cd burner. Aside from teh monitor I picked up everything for right around $500 at MicroCenter. Small fast and fun, Just like I prefer my cars!!!

My best,
Mike D.

Posted by: McMark Nov 23 2004, 07:20 PM

I've never met a Windows user (non-techie) who hasn't had a computer eat itself to death at least once. I've never met a Mac user who has.

My Grandma had a Mac for about 4 or 5 years and I never went out to fix it. My aunt bought her a new Windows machine replacement that's died twice this year alone.

I'm not claiming absolute truths, all I'm saying is that from my perspective more people have a more positive experience with a Mac.

Posted by: Series9 Nov 23 2004, 07:30 PM

Posted by: spare time toys Nov 23 2004, 07:36 PM

I thought Mac software is extreemly limited I know the kids school uses them but about stuff like turbo tax and banking???/

Posted by: Series9 Nov 23 2004, 07:41 PM

That time is largely in the past. I've never had anything but Macs. In the past, there were some minor problems with compatibility, but for the past five years, it has become virtually seamless (IMHO). In every day use, it's FAR superior to anything else. If you have special programs you want to use on the Mac, check with your software supplier.

Posted by: skline Nov 23 2004, 08:51 PM

Bring your computer (Just the tower) with you when you come up here, I can take a look at it and tell you what you need, I may even have the parts here to fix it and you can take it back with you. If not, Fry's is one offramp away from me and you could go over there and pick one up.

Posted by: skline Nov 23 2004, 08:52 PM

Oh, And if you are interested in a MAC, I have one you can look at and see if that is what you want.

Posted by: anthony Nov 23 2004, 10:16 PM

That new G5 iMac with the 20" widescreen flat panel is freakin awesome.

Posted by: MrsPnambic Nov 23 2004, 10:32 PM

Well, since at least 95% of personal computers out there are PC's, not Mac's, of course you're gonna hear more complaints about PC's. Plus, I think on average, the people that use Mac's are much more computer savvy (not necessarily smarter... ), and thus less likely to kill the computer.

Why do Mac's have only one mouse button? Is it too confusing for Mac people to have more than one button?

Dell used to have great support. But I heard they sent all their tech support over to India, so you may have problemd understanding them anymore.

I'm typing this on an old 900mhz HP Pavillion, and I gotta say, I've been pleasantly surprised with it. I only got it at first b/c it was dirt cheap from an online auction (UBid) and expected to have to change out half of it in the first 6 months, but all I've done is up the memory and it still works just as good as new. Gosh, it's gotta be at least 3 yrs old now.

I agree with the suggestion to check out Gateway/HP-Compaq/Dell for cheap econobox computers. If you want something really nice, have someone here put something together for you or find a computer store (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA and their ilk don't count) in your area that will build you one. Do you have Computer Rennaisance out near you?

If you want to buy parts and put it together, NewEgg.com has good prices and EXCELLENT customer service.

Posted by: skline Nov 23 2004, 11:20 PM

Wow, she just impressed me. Not many women say things like that. Do not go to Gateway or Dell and buy the cheap computer they offer. I can sum that up in just a few words, "You get what you pay for". The cheap computers you get from Gateway are simply EMachines. If you have not noticed, Gateway closed all their retail stores and bought out EMachines. If peopel saw what they were buying, they would not do it so retail was out for them. They now produce the same crap machines but put their name on it. They have the wrost customer service I have ever seen. I had one and they screwed me around so much I told them to keep it when I took it in for repair. Dell has outsourced even their sales now to India, they lost my vote of confidence. Michael is now must a broker more that a manufacturer. I now tell everyone to buy an HP, they are just up in NorCal and their service is still here in the states.

Posted by: iamchappy Nov 23 2004, 11:24 PM

Mac

Posted by: hargray2 Nov 23 2004, 11:24 PM

I have a Sony Vaio PCV-RZ32G Digital studio thingy. Got it about 14 months ago.
ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!

Posted by: ClayPerrine Nov 23 2004, 11:29 PM

Geeze... you guys know how to hit a guy where it hurts!! :finger2:

Of course I run Windows XP /Windows 2003 Server Exclusively. But then again, I am biased.... I work for Microsoft.


Everyone keep buying new copies of Windows. When the stock goes up, I have more money to spend on 914 parts!!!

Posted by: Series9 Nov 23 2004, 11:39 PM

:finger2:

Posted by: McMark Nov 24 2004, 12:20 AM

Just keep making software that breaks itself and there will be no problem.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Nov 24 2004, 07:36 AM

Actually Mark, you are comparing Apples to oranges here..... The Mac is a great computer, very reliable. But think about this. If Apple had to make software that would run on millions of different hardware conbinations and literally millions of third party drivers, then Apple would have the same problems that Microsoft does. Working here, I realize that there is absolutely NO software that is bug free. It's written by humans therefore it's flawed. But what I do see is that most of the problems we see come from 2 sources. The number 1 problem is ignorance. More calls are made because the users want an appliance. They don't want to read the manual, and they don't want to have to do anything other than turn it on. They don't install virus scanners, they don't turn on the firewall, and they have a tendency to visit any site offered to them in e-mail. So they get crap on their machine.

The number 2 problem is the users are cheap. They buy cheap hardware with poorly written drivers, and then they blame Microsoft when the system crashes.

Macs don't have either of these problems. Apple has strict control over the hardware and drivers, so there is no way to introduce any hardware incompatibilites. They also keep strict control over the software and API calls. When was the last time you saw a software developement kit for the Mac?

As for the stupid user tricks, IIRC, there is only one virus that is out there that affects the Mac. Malware authors target Windows because it has the most install base. It's like building parts for cars. You going to sell more brake pads for Chebbys or for 914s?

As for Linux, I see the same issues that plague Windows becoming more and more prevalent on Linux in the future. Right now, the users of Linux are computer literate people. As it gets installed onto Grandma's PC, it too will be left incorrectly configured and vulernable to a large number of virii. It will also start suffering from the same problems of poorly developed drivers for the cheap hardware out there. Right now if the driver for Linux sucks, someone will write one that doesn't. But when it's installed on Grandma's computer, she won't know why it's crashing, much less how to search the newsgroups to find the latest developed driver.


FYI.. I have run Windows based servers that rival UNIX installs for uptime and reliability. I have XP systems that only get rebooted during a power failure, and I don't get virii or trojans or other malware. But I am a professional, and I know how to correctly configure my systems.


Bottom line to this. USE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, AND WHAT YOU ARE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH USING. I personally would like to see you buy more Microsoft software, but if it doesn't work for you, that's fine too. Microsoft makes an Office suite for the Mac.

Posted by: Lawrence Nov 24 2004, 07:47 AM

Owned a Mac once. Never again... I need a real computer, not a freaking toy, or something for designed for artists. I need something I can fix myself, troubleshoot myself if need be, and that actually is recogized in the majority of the computer world.

Mac certainly wasn't it back then... and I'm not stepping back into the previous century again. It gets old hearing about how crappy Windows is. Just not true anymore. Every computer needs a firewall these days. Keep your system up to date with Windows Update and antivirus software, and you're pretty darned secure.

Heck, there's a reason that our best defense networks aren't run on Apples.

-Lawrence

P.S. Want a computer you can understand? Pick up a copy of Computer Shopper magazine and build your own!

Posted by: Red-Beard Nov 24 2004, 07:54 AM

Wife needed a reliable, inexpensive, already configured computer that would run out of the box, and require minimal effort to keep it running.

Dell with XP. It runs and runs and runs. Total cost was under $400 and included Norton Anti virus. It's been running a year with no problems.

Posted by: Part Pricer Nov 24 2004, 08:19 AM

Umm...Clay...

Doesn't Microsoft require you to add a disclaimer to that type of statement saying that those opinions are your own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Microsoft?

Posted by: joea9146 Nov 24 2004, 08:35 AM

Probaly not running on microsoft either .... most likely a stripped down Unix OS

Posted by: skline Nov 24 2004, 08:40 AM

I agree with Clay 100%, I do support for over 300 users and 99% of the time it is PEBKAC. User error. I have about 10 MAC users and they have problems too from time to time as well. Why would they give me a MAC to learn if they didnt need support. Sure, the MAC is a good machine, but like Clay said, there are more Windows users than MAC users, therefore you will have more problems with Windows users. James, your $400.00 Dell came with only a 3 month subscription to Norton Anti virus, you must have updated the subscription on that. Those machines have their place, but unless you are an informed user, you will get adware and other crap on your computer just browsing the web. The computer I am on has not had one problem since I got it last January and I spend a lot more time on it than most people.

Posted by: Part Pricer Nov 24 2004, 08:43 AM

Actually Joe you may be surprised.

Years ago, I led the team that migrated the USMC from a Vines-based system to --CLASSIFIED--

Posted by: skline Nov 24 2004, 08:44 AM

Not so, I went to do a job out at March AF base and they were on a microsoft system, all the workstations and thier servers. Not one MAC on the whole base unless it was a personally owned machine by someone stationed there. My oldest daughter was stationed out at NORAD in Virginia and every system she worked on was MS based also.

Posted by: ClayPerrine Nov 24 2004, 08:59 AM

The only way to prevent users from screwing up their computer....


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Posted by: skline Nov 24 2004, 09:03 AM

Thats great!!! I love it. I am going to print that and give it to all teh support teams at my clients offices. I would almost bet, some of the users want to order some of that equipment.

Posted by: jfort Nov 24 2004, 10:09 AM

i have a mac and a pc in my office and use both. mac wins hands down.

Posted by: scruz914 Nov 24 2004, 10:32 AM

I'd take Scott up on his offer. Even if your computer is a few years old it may still be worth keeping if it can be easily fixed. There are a lot of parts that fail and can be easily replaced for little money. Save buying a new machine until you absolutely need one. The longer you wait the better.

-Jeff

Posted by: Rhodes71/914 Nov 24 2004, 11:56 AM

Started on an Apple 2, forced to use Windows based machines for years, finally able to go Mac last year. I would get...


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Posted by: skline Nov 24 2004, 01:52 PM

Funny you guys all talking about MACS, this might age me a little but the first computer I had to fix was an Apple Lisa. How many remember that one?

Posted by: Red-Beard Nov 24 2004, 01:52 PM

Scott,

Nope, a year. And she has had no problems, no adware, no bugs, etc. I also keep the O/S and the virus protection up to date and we live behind a router/firewall. I had SP/2 installed before most people. I also support about a dozen machines...

Not perfect, but there are lots of easier targets out there.

James

Posted by: Red-Beard Nov 24 2004, 01:56 PM

The Lisa never went anywhere. Apple _could_ have been the dominant computer. It was in the Early 80's. But they made a corporate decision (after all of the Apple clones - like the Franklin) to keep the architecture closed and all hardware would be supplied by Apple only. It virtually killed the company.