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Posted: 9/5/2001 9:24:57 PM EDT
[#1]
Three hard drives! Wow!
As machines, computers can and do fail. So the big question is, how do you want to go about your process to troubleshoot/fix it? With a mail order computer, you're going to get mail order style tech support. Gateway, Dell, Compaq, HP, etc. they all have different flavors, but it involves you talking on the phone with somebody. Another way to do it is to buy from a local builder. Service varies widely, but at least you can pick their brain a little bit more with "what if's" before you buy. For example, the 'puter dies on you (whatever the reason). Instead of being on hold forever to talk to somebody, you drop the computer off on your way to work in the morning, then pick it up the next day. The 'regulars' apply such as backing up your own data and the like. But it's a different spin on things. Which part of AZ are you in? - Robbie |
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Posted: 9/5/2001 10:14:42 PM EDT
[#2]
Phoenix central. You? I think you're already ahead of me on that one, but thats the route I need to go. I bought this from the Officemax buckpassers originally. I used to wear out the hinges on their door until I had problems and they couldn't or wouldn't help. Got any recommendations for a builder?
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Posted: 9/5/2001 11:30:13 PM EDT
[#3]
Anti-gun Consumer Reports Dec 99 ranks the following computer companies in terms of best support from a survey of 13,300 readers, if all readers were satisfied the reader score would be 100:
01. Dell(76) 02. Micron(72) 03. Gateway(70) 04. Quantex(68) 05. Apple(67) 06. IBM(65) 07. HP(64) 08. Compaq(59) 09. Acer(57) 10. NEC(56) 11. Packard Bell(53) Repair History of reader who own computers that needed repairs since 1996(remember horses don't change thier stripes): 01. Dell(17percent) 02. Apple(18) 03. IBM(20) 04. Compaq(21) 05. HP(22) 06. Gateway(24) 07. NEC(25) 08. Packard Bell(26) 09. Micron(26) 10. Acer(28) Remember your mileage may vary. Good luck. |
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Posted: 9/5/2001 11:38:56 PM EDT
[#4]
Another way to do it is to buy from a local builder. Service varies widely, but at least you can pick their brain a little bit more with "what if's" before you buy. For example, the 'puter dies on you (whatever the reason). Instead of being on hold forever to talk to somebody, you drop the computer off on your way to work in the morning, then pick it up the next day. |
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Posted: 9/6/2001 3:10:04 PM EDT
[#5]
Why "buy" one from any store?? Find a local nerdy teenager who wants a few extra bucks, ask him what sort of machine he'd put together for you, go out and get the components, and have him assemble them and install the software.
Or do it yourself. It's not like it's difficult. CostCo has 40Gb hard drives for around $140. You can buy them mailorder for even less. http://[url]http://www.pricewatch.com/[/url] http://[url]http://www.resellerratings.com/[/url] Use the second site to figure out which mailorder firms are actually semi-honest. Use the first one to find out which ones are cheapest. http://[url]http://www.anandtech.com/[/url] And use AnandTech to find out what components work and which ones don't. If you're totally clueless, they have a forum section you can ask on. |
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Posted: 9/6/2001 3:11:43 PM EDT
[#6]
BTW, a hard drive is the second-easiest component in the world to add to your machine. Just plug a new one in, format it, copy everything from the old drive to it, pull the old drive out, and then take the old drive skeet shooting.
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Posted: 9/6/2001 6:28:15 PM EDT
[#7]
Hey grimshaw. Check out the ars forums. Much info to be had.
[url]http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?a=cfrm&s=50009562[/url] toaster |
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Posted: 9/6/2001 6:31:12 PM EDT
[#8]
Check out the Buyer's Guide at Ars Technica, too. Complete DIY systems for any budget (well, 3).
http://www.arstechnica.com/ |
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Posted: 9/6/2001 7:16:15 PM EDT
[#9]
Here is my top 3.
1.)Dell 2.)Dell 3.)Dell [beer] Of course my home computer is a cheapy but if you want a quality, reliable computer, with nation wide good service and a good web site then this is what you want. At work this is what we tell everyone to buy. My Boss offered to buy me a new HP computer to replace my year or so old Dell and I turned it down. I love their cases to, easy to open and service. Hardware problem is a rare event. Whenever one of my techs starts talking about some weird computer problem the first question I (or anyone of us, actually) ask is, "Is it an HP?" We provide desktop support to about 10,000 PC's at a National Lab. 2/3's Dell and 1/3 HP. Laptops can be HP, Dell, or IBM. HP laptops aren't bad. I think I like IBM laptops the best but I know them pretty well. |
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Posted: 9/6/2001 7:22:33 PM EDT
[#10]
I find that most of the problems are with the users vice the machines.
Hard drives are cheap and easy to exchange. My servers at work are HP, Compaq and Dell - all pretty good stuff. (BTY - isn't #4 Quantex out of business?) |
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Posted: 9/6/2001 7:57:09 PM EDT
[#11]
The worst part is their warranty line. They have a long computerized beginning to make sure the call costs you. then the guy you talk to has to read every last bit of your case file from scratch while you dig the hold music for 20 minutes.This is intentional. They don't give operator numbers or even the location of the call center. I really hate a fucker that will bold face lie to you for any reason. My new goal in life is to convince as many people as I can not to buy HP for their own good. The 24/7 support means 24 days from now we'll think about your problem for 7 minutes.
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Posted: 9/6/2001 8:03:07 PM EDT
[#12]
Compaq has been pretty good to me. The e-mail support gets back to me in under 30 minutes, and always includes a toll-free number to call if the answer I got in the e-mail was not enough. Lotsa menus and an average hold time around 5-7 minutes, but its not my dime so its not that bad.
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Posted: 9/6/2001 8:20:37 PM EDT
[#13]
While it IS easy to *add* a HD to a PC, one of the most difficult jobs is to replace the boot drive, as this involves a re-install of everything. Yes, there are backup programs available, yada yada, but who are we kidding? Home users to NOT back up their entire drives. You're lucky if they backup their most important files (say, like their Quicken/Money databases, address books, Word & Excel docs, etc.) Most users wouldn't know how to back up their whole drives in the correct way so that it could be restored, and far fewer have actually *successfully* performed a full restore.
That isn't to belittle anyone, as this stuff isn't all that easy for a PC tech unless you've got a nice network setup and imaging software (Ghost or Drive Image Pro). Also, the harddrives at Costco are pretty high capacity and pretty cheap, but they're also SLOW. If you want a high-performance drive, you have to KNOW exactly what you want. That's pretty true with most computer equipment, BTW. My best advice is to buy a CD-R drive, and BACK UP the data from all of your important applications. Do this at least once a month, on a seperate CD each month. CDs cost less than $1, so you have NO EXCUSE for not doing this. Even if your drive dies, and you have to get a new one and have your OS reinstalled (not always a bad thing anyway, especially since most PCs come with tons of resource-eating crap installed), then at least you can restore your data and be up and running pretty quickly. Of course, anything that you feel is critical should also be backed up. If you aren't doing this already, then ask yourself this: [b]What would I lose if my hard drive died RIGHT THIS MINUTE?[/b] Anything that concerns you needs to be backed up regularly. As far as advice on what to buy, ask us. We're essentially "disinterested 3rd-parties" who can give you pretty good advice. For actual hands-on help, find someone privately who will be available to work on your PC long-term. Pay them, and let them know that you will be relying on them if you need help in the future. Most "free" tech support is worth exactly what you pay for it. -Troy |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 4:30:08 AM EDT
[#14]
Once you get through to Gateway's analyst they are pretty good.
There are a few draw backs. For example, not all software, hardware will work unless purchased through them. Anything not purchased through them is unsupported and they tend not to help you after that. I attempted to install NT and it just would not work. These are the reasons the machine is still running 95. I have another box which I purchased with a reputable motherboard, scsi hard drive and controller and NT operating system. The only thing I have had to replace is the power supply. |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 6:06:48 AM EDT
[#15]
[url]www.pcinfinity.net[/url]
1/2 the price of Dell, TWICE the system AND a 5 YEAR WARRANTY, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!!!!!! Nuckles. |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 6:17:35 AM EDT
[#16]
If you want reliability, it might not be the hardware, but the OS.
I use both Linux and MS98SE. I haven't had a Linux machine crash on me in over 3 years. I have a hard time going 3 hours without MS going down. Must be the Lewinsky version... Semper Fi! Ken Little |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 8:10:44 AM EDT
[#17]
Do you have either a UPS or a surge protector hooked up to your PC? By surge protector, I don't mean a power strip.
I'm thinking that either you're dropping your PC regularly or it's getting hit by power surges regularly. |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 8:29:32 AM EDT
[#18]
The powersupply could be causing a surge that is killing the HD.
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Posted: 9/7/2001 8:39:16 AM EDT
[#19]
Gateway is not bad. Right now I have a Gateway as my primary computer and I have A Compaq and a Tiger in the kids room. The Tiger is a K6-2 300mhz and it has broken down over 20 times. Every single component had to be replaced and some more than once. Great prices from Tiger, but mine was a POS. My Gateway 750 has been very good except that it eats up resources like crazy, even with 512 ram it freezes up. Over all I am happy with the Gateway, but I wish that I had a better motherboard that supports the faster memory like Rambus to help keep it from locking up. If you don't have the money to get all the extras, make sure that your new computer has slots/bays to add what you want later on. Good luck with your new computer.
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Posted: 9/7/2001 9:04:03 AM EDT
[#20]
Quoted: [url]www.pcinfinity.net[/url] 1/2 the price of Dell, TWICE the system AND a 5 YEAR WARRANTY, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!!!!!! Nuckles. |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 9:24:08 AM EDT
[#21]
Dell or
Toshiba if you must have a prebuilt computer but remember in trying to be competitive on price they have to cut corners somewhere.If you have an ATX case then just build your own.Get the best motherboard,processor,HDs,video card,etc,etc you can afford and put it together yourself.It's not rocket science,any monkey can do it(like me;)).You will have individaul warranties on each component and get the best of the best in components.Go to some geek site and do some research and just start replacing the shit that is in your existing system by the time you are done your CPU and motherboard will be outdated enough to justify upgrading to the newest best thing. sopmodm4 |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 8:39:11 PM EDT
[#22]
Quoted: While it IS easy to *add* a HD to a PC, one of the most difficult jobs is to replace the boot drive, as this involves a re-install of everything. I'm not sure what planet you're on, but on mine, it took me about half an hour (almost all of which was listening to the two drives grind merrily away as the files got moved), and I did it completely by accident. I just used "Explorer" (formerly known as "File Manager"), and dragged-and-dropped c: onto d:. Oh, Win 95 OSR2 in case you were gonna ask. When I swapped the drives around later, I discovered that the second one would boot up just like the first one. Embarassing as hell, since the old porno wallpaper that I'd carefully removed from the first drive came up in front of a neighbor who was helping me install a new network card. . . . |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 9:20:56 PM EDT
[#23]
Quoted: [url]www.pcinfinity.net[/url] 1/2 the price of Dell, TWICE the system AND a 5 YEAR WARRANTY, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!!!!!! Nuckles. This is what I ordered from them last week. it should be here by Wednesday and i'll post a review. so far i'm very disappointed in their lack of customer service. it has taken the last three days and a threat of turning my bank and visa on their asses just to find out the status of my order. AS to the no questions ask warranty,well that's not what i've now been hearing from people who have had problems with them in the past.PCI seems to pull the "well it was working when it left here, so if it not working now you must have caused the problem and thats not covered under the warranty". if i knew then what i know now about this company i would not have order from them. mmk Simbadda-1-0831 PC Chips M817 AMD Athlon 1.4GHz 512MB DDR Memory 40GB Hard Drive 64MB GeForce2 MX400 12x10x40x CD-RW Mid ATX USB Case 32-Bit Sound 56K V.90 Modem 1.44MB Floppy 10/100 NIC Keyboard Scroll Mouse $599 S/H Included Buy Now! |
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Posted: 9/7/2001 11:01:01 PM EDT
[#24]
Dell!!!!
I got one for me and one for my dad over 2 years ago and they are very reliable. Their customer service has also been at the top for many years. |
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Posted: 9/8/2001 12:10:05 AM EDT
[#25]
Reliable computer? What next, a bridge to Hawaii?
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Posted: 9/8/2001 1:56:59 PM EDT
[#26]
Dell!
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Posted: 9/8/2001 4:54:47 PM EDT
[#27]
Build your own computer!!!
thats the best way to go, when you put it together, you understand how it works, and its easier for you to fix, Tech support retards are too tough to deal with. plus each individual computer part will usually have a warrenty |
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Posted: 9/8/2001 7:57:22 PM EDT
[#28]
[size=6]Dell[/size=6]
If you want it to work, don't want to "tweak" it all of the time and want good service. I tried lots of brands before I found Dell. I wouldn't get anything else. We have 12 systems and have had trouble with one in the past 5 years. They came out and replaced a bad modem the next day. |
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Posted: 9/9/2001 5:46:15 AM EDT
[#29]
I have to add another big pitch for Dell. My laptop I originally adopted here at work had a bad floppy drive. Once I finally fought through the bureacracy here to get the proper work order documentation in (this took over two weeks and a few angry phone calls) I get a call from a Dell rep in Seoul. This lady that calls me speaks perfect english. She says she understands I have a floppy drive that does not work. She confirms my computer info. She asks me for instructions to get to my location. I explain I am like two hours from downtown Seoul. She says it did not matter - they would send a delivery guy to my destination immediately. I give her directions to the gate nearby. She gives me a phone number. I get a call about 2 hrs later saying the guy is in town - could I meat him at the gate. I say I will leave right now. She asks me to call her if I have any language barrier problems. I get to the gate as the guy pulls up. I sign for a brand new disk drive, give the guy my broken drive. I am back in the old HMMWV within 2 minutes of arriving at the gate. A half hour later I get a call from the lady in Seoul asking me if everything went alright. I ask her to marry me (just kidding).
My next computer will be a Dell. With all of the customer service problems I have had in my life - I will gladly pay twice as much for that kind of service. I still can't believe they sent someone out on such a long drive for a free replacement of a part on a what is likely a two year old machine. BTW - never buy Sony computer stuff. Next time I get some down time, I may put an open letter on here asking for tech help from some of you folks. Nothing is worse than paying 20 bicks for service - on a phone call you are already paying intl long distance on - only to have a tech take up 20 minutes realizing you have done more and no more than he does and give you an extremely unsatisfying answer in conclusion. Oh well, I need to go home and sleep. Just had to throw a good word in for Dell. They have earned my loyalty. Adam |
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Posted: 9/9/2001 6:53:00 AM EDT
[#30]
Am I the only Mac user?!?
Dual Processor G4. OS X (10), unix with a candu coated shell. Doesn't Crash. Not as much software in the low-mid end category, but I get my work done!! Zaz "I have given up trying to understand people in favor of mocking them." |
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