Re: OT. Tech advice needed.
- From: "Jinx Minx" <jinxminx2@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 23:11:37 -0500
Piggybacking on Dianne's recommendation, I can also highly recommend
newegg.com if you go the new PC route. Their prices usually can't be beat,
and their customer service is top notch. I've purchased computer parts from
them several times. In fact, I just re-built this desktop with all brand
new parts (except the hard drive) from newegg just last night! I usually
compare newegg, tiger direct, and microcenter.com for whomever has the best
prices, and it's usually newegg. I like to build, re-build, and fix PC's as
a hobby. I'm a geek. I like microcenter too because they have an actual
brick & mortar store fairly close to me and their sales clerks actually know
what the heck they are talking about (unlike Best Buy--never get PC advice
from those 15 year olds). All three are highly reputable online stores. A
quick search on newegg shows they sell 6 Lenovo PC's that come with XP
(albeit the professional version), ranging from $550-$950. I've never used
XP Home, only XP Pro. Pro has everything that Home does, plus a few other
features geared towards business users, such as enhanced security features.
Also, if you do end up buying a new computer, XP Home does not support dual
core processors which are common now, and XP Pro does. I'd buy a Lenovo
over a Dell any day.
If you want to take a conservative route, XP has a "repair" option on the
CD. This will fix any missing files that may have been removed that are
integral to the functioning of XP and it will not delete or harm any of your
documents or other programs. You might want to try that first before
completely throwing the baby out with the bathwater (but I completely
understand doing so--that's how I ended up rebuilding this one!). I'm not
familiar with "PC Relocator", but depending on who your ISP is, they may
also offer an online backup service for you that is included in your
service.
$29.99 isn't too expensive if you'd rather not have the hassle or worry of
doing the wiping wrong if you choose that route. Too bad they won't
reinstall all your old programs back on there for that price too!
HTH,
Jinx
"Dianne Lewandowski" <dianne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:78bkvsF1llo68U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Regarding purchasing a new one: have you tried Tiger Direct? That's
where we almost always get our PCs. They have XP- and Vista-ready
machines. I have not looked at laptops. Have no interest. But they
carry an enormous selection, many "to order", which my new one is.
We simply bought a new hard drive and started from scratch. There is so
much junk that accumulates on a computer and clogs things, that I'd format
and start over. Formatting is easy. Getting everything up and ready
again is the hard part. As long as you have Serial numbers - especially
for XP - that should do it.
And, of course, back up your data if you can. :~) We have a 150gig
external USB for just that purpose. Saved my hide this time around.
Dianne
Olwyn Mary wrote:
As I mentioned the other day, I made the mistake of taking my laptop to a
"professional". It still is not right, and I have my suspicions that
this guy is either incompetent or makes sure the things are not fixed
right in order to ensure repeat business.
Anyhow, I have been thinkng that perhaps I should just wipe off the hard
drive and start over. I do have the original discs for Windows XP Home,
and for the programs I use; for the programs I downloaded, I do have the
serial numbers etc. Also, I have a device I bought when I bought the
laptop around five years ago, called "PC Relocator". I used it to
transfer everything from my then desktop to the new laptop, then when I
bought the new desktop I used it again. I feel I could probably use it
to transfer stuff from this desktop to the laptop IF the laptop were
wiped. (I tried to use it to get my various stuff from here to there
after the "repair" but it said I had already used it.)
I have checked on Google, and there are several tutorials on how to do
it, but I don't know whether I should do that, or just take the machine
to Office Depot and have them wipe it for $29.99.
p.s. As this laptop is five years old, and weighs 8.5 lb without the
plug-in power pack, I have also been considering buying a newer lighter
one. The problem there is I want to stick with XP Home until the next
program, which will supersede Vista, comes out. I looked at a couple of
netbooks, but none of them has a telephone jack - which I sometimes need
if I am staying with friends who don't have WiFi or broadband. Also,
very few of them have cd drives. Now, I suppose I could buy an external
one of each, but that is more stuff to carry, and to buy, so I might be
better off buying a smaller laptop, but, where to get one with XP? Buying
one from Dell seems to be the only option.
I freely admit to being undereducated here - it is simply "not my field".
Any suggestions from the knowledgeable ones?
Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.
.
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