Dell computer died

[kidzpca]

RIP on 3/30/08 DON'T BUY A DELL COMPUTER BTW.

I feel like such a fool to fall for thier junk then...live and learn thou.

it was only 4 years old and...

The computer gurus wanted $411 to fix the hard drive from 80GB to 160GB and bring Rom from 1/2 to 1GB

I told them Hell no I can get a new computer HP yet with 3GB Rom and 500GB hard drive for $559 and did.

[ahippiechic]

You can build a badass PC for that much.

[kidzpca]

You can build a badass PC for that much.

You should have been with me when I told them now way! They tried tellin' me I could only get an E-machine....:slap :beamup

[ahippiechic]

Go to Fry's Electronics, if you have one or New Egg and just order the parts and tower. Or you can use the tower you have now probably. I just rebuilt mine for about 410.00 and I have Seagate 500 gig HD, 2.61 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ processor, a Gigbyte MB, 3 gigs of ram, GeForce 6150SE Video card, Light Scribe DVD player/burner, and a new power supply. I kept my old Creative sound card and tower.

My power supply was DOA, but New Egg shipped me out a new one right away when I contacted them.

We just built my DD a similar one and got a tower too and it was around 450.00.

[CLARKS4]

Hubby just built one for a friend that was around $450 tower and all. I like the built ones cause you get what you want.

[Char]

Amen ! lol... After many phone calls with Dell, at least six calls in a month, they talked me right out of buying their computer, and I bought one locally, for $400, with everything I wanted. (didn't need a monitor, had just bought a new 21 inch LCD flat panel)

They kept insisting I would have in-home service, if needed, for free... but, even with my zip, they couldn't/wouldn't tell me who would be servicing me should I have a problem...lol! That should have been easy. Then, they said the 'puters came with 1 Gig of RAM... but, that 1 Gig wouldn't run Window VISTA, that it took 2Gig of RAM to run it... so I asked "So, you guys sell computers without enough Gig's of RAM to run the windows it comes installed with ???" He basically said "well, yeah, I guess so"...LOL! He said to upgrade to 2 Gig's of RAM would be another $100 ! I mean, it just kept going downhill...

I am soooooooo glad I found this one... four months old now, and, not a problem one.

[Char]

Hubby just built one for a friend that was around $450 tower and all. I like the built ones cause you get what you want.

ITA ! :D

[Kyla Kym]

If you bargain shop you can really get some great deals on parts.
I got this the other day on the woot off for like around $19
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5D8000-Wireless-Desktop-Network/dp/B0006J5AAU

And I got this last week shipped for $19 because I needed a new one in one of my old systems.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228&Tpk=27-106-228

Which still isn't a bad price considering it burns DVD & CD's. :)

Or you could just do like I did to get my last computer. I lucked into one at a pawn shop. Some guy was being kicked out of his apartment and needed money to get back home on. They wouldn't buy it from him so I bought it off him for $200 complete with a flat screen monitor. :D It's a system that is set up for gaming. So it's a pretty good system. :)

[PrincessArky]

If you bargain shop you can really get some great deals on parts.
I got this the other day on the woot off for like around $19
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5D8000-Wireless-Desktop-Network/dp/B0006J5AAU

And I got this last week shipped for $19 because I needed a new one in one of my old systems.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228&Tpk=27-106-228

Which still isn't a bad price considering it burns DVD & CD's. :)

Or you could just do like I did to get my last computer. I lucked into one at a pawn shop. Some guy was being kicked out of his apartment and needed money to get back home on. They wouldn't buy it from him so I bought it off him for $200 complete with a flat screen monitor. :D It's a system that is set up for gaming. So it's a pretty good system. :)

hey Darla is that the one that had the crawling bugs in it??? was just wondering how that worked out, sounds like you were able to get rid of them :)

[belle5691]

Amen ! lol... After many phone calls with Dell, at least six calls in a month, they talked me right out of buying their computer, and I bought one locally, for $400, with everything I wanted. (didn't need a monitor, had just bought a new 21 inch LCD flat panel)

They kept insisting I would have in-home service, if needed, for free... but, even with my zip, they couldn't/wouldn't tell me who would be servicing me should I have a problem...lol! That should have been easy. Then, they said the 'puters came with 1 Gig of RAM... but, that 1 Gig wouldn't run Window VISTA, that it took 2Gig of RAM to run it... so I asked "So, you guys sell computers without enough Gig's of RAM to run the windows it comes installed with ???" He basically said "well, yeah, I guess so"...LOL! He said to upgrade to 2 Gig's of RAM would be another $100 ! I mean, it just kept going downhill...

I am soooooooo glad I found this one... four months old now, and, not a problem one.

For myself, I wouldn't believe their claims of in home service. After $1,700 on a Dell Laptop for our office, and 6 different remote rebuilds, They told us that they won't send anyone out in person till we have exhausted all other possibilities (after 6 rebuilds--Id say we have exhausted all other possiblities). AND that was after paying an extra $250 for extra service calls due to the New Vista problems in the laptop.

[Kyla Kym]

hey Darla is that the one that had the crawling bugs in it??? was just wondering how that worked out, sounds like you were able to get rid of them :)

I was wondering if anyone was going to ask me about that. LOL
You know I had that thing tied up in trash bags with bug spray inside for months! I finally about a couple of weeks ago took it outside and opened it up. All that was left was a few hollow husk. I left it so long in that bag just to be sure that if there was any eggs they would have time to hatch and die. I'm so glad I didn't ruin it with the bug spray, because it's the best monitor I've ever had. :) And it's cootie free!!!! :D

[ahippiechic]

Then, they said the 'puters came with 1 Gig of RAM... but, that 1 Gig wouldn't run Window VISTA, that it took 2Gig of RAM to run it... so I asked "So, you guys sell computers without enough Gig's of RAM to run the windows it comes installed with ???" He basically said "well, yeah, I guess so"...LOL! He said to upgrade to 2 Gig's of RAM would be another $100 ! I mean, it just kept going downhill...


I ran mine duel boot, with XP and Vista with 1 gig of ram for a long time and never had any problems with it. I think they just wanted to sell you more ram.

[dv8grl]

Our computer that we had for alittle over 4 yrs just died this past Sat.
Went to BestBuy & got an open box GATEWAY for $500. I'm still getting used to VISTA & all the new tabs & whatnots on this damn thing! :)

I'm still hoping that we can fix the old computer for the price of a new harddrive. DH says thats pretty much what it needs, but can't guarantee it would heal the computer.

[Willow]

Our computer that we had for alittle over 4 yrs just died this past Sat.
Went to BestBuy & got an open box GATEWAY for $500. I'm still getting used to VISTA & all the new tabs & whatnots on this damn thing! :)

I'm still hoping that we can fix the old computer for the price of a new harddrive. DH says thats pretty much what it needs, but can't guarantee it would heal the computer.

My first computer was a Gateway. That's what we were taught on when I was in business school. My parents bought one for me as a gift when I finished school. I liked it but they paid way too much for what I got. My mother had a catalog and called and purchased it over the phone and she doesn't know anything about computers so it wasn't her fault. They paid over $1200 for a computer that didn't even come with a sound card or speakers. It only had 16 color and not much ram. I used that for a few years and then bought an HP and that works fine but it's a little slow. My son has that in his room now. We just bought an emachine in February. It's Vista which we are still getting used to. One thing I don't like about it is that sometimes if you are not at the computer for a while and then you come back and try to open the browser again it won't let you. I don't know why it does that. We have to restart it because it won't let you do anything. Sometimes it will let you open the browser but then it never brings you to the page that you want to go to. It just says connecting but you never get there. I don't know why it doesn't that. This is the only computer that has done this. I don't know if it's something to do with vista or not.

[Char]

I ran mine duel boot, with XP and Vista with 1 gig of ram for a long time and never had any problems with it. I think they just wanted to sell you more ram.

ITA ! That was my point to him... and I wasn't buying it !

The phone calls with him got really funny... he was too, hmmmmm, 'dense' to get it ! And even the ad in the catalog I was looking directly at while we ere talking, said "Free delivery"...lol, he said delivery would be $29.95 !

[klutzie56]

I have a dell with 18.6GB I kept getting low disc space so had another hard-drive installed. This one he labeled E. It has 37.2GB. I am having a hard time getting things to the E drive. I really don't have that many programs and have put all my pictures on the E. I am wondering does anyone know how to get things to automatically go to the E drive.
Java is a big one I would like to get on the new hard-drive.

[justme23]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience... but I gotta tell you... I would recommend a dell to anyone who didn't think they could build their own. I *LOVE* my dell. My husband can and has built ours in the past and he usually prefers to do it but I wanted a specific monitor that was just too much to spend by itself so we got it as an add on for my dell. This thing is SO nice.

Also, according to my husband, 4 years is a very nice lifespan on a prebuilt computer that never gets opened and tweeked by the owner. I know ppl think they are supposed to last forever... but in reality, ppl typically upgrade or buy a new one after about 3 years. And they would prefer you to buy a new one, that's why they are so much cheaper.

Good luck w/ the HP, I've yet to meet one that didn't have to spend a lot of time in the shop but I honestly hope that yours doesn't.

[whatever]

My dell is 4 yrs old, and works great. Had memory added last year. Get afew problems (viruses, spyware etc) all of this would be the fault of the user IMO however. Any computer is apt to get a virus if you are not careful.
I'm not knocking the OP by any means. Just saying that gateway or whatever kind you get can get bugs. JMO

[vicky122]

I can't tell you how old my dell is and I have never had a problem with it. So I am sticking with dell Hp I have never heard anything real good about them. And we wouldn't know how to build one.

[ElleGee]

I have a dell with 18.6GB I kept getting low disc space so had another hard-drive installed. This one he labeled E. It has 37.2GB. I am having a hard time getting things to the E drive. I really don't have that many programs and have put all my pictures on the E. I am wondering does anyone know how to get things to automatically go to the E drive.
Java is a big one I would like to get on the new hard-drive.

Java ,I believe, HAS to be installed on the same drive as Windows. Any essential software is better off on the C drive (such as drivers).. There is some software that you CANNOT put on another drive b/c it needs windows to work and you really cannot swap file essential stuff from a different drive.

[PrincessArky]

I was wondering if anyone was going to ask me about that. LOL
You know I had that thing tied up in trash bags with bug spray inside for months! I finally about a couple of weeks ago took it outside and opened it up. All that was left was a few hollow husk. I left it so long in that bag just to be sure that if there was any eggs they would have time to hatch and die. I'm so glad I didn't ruin it with the bug spray, because it's the best monitor I've ever had. :) And it's cootie free!!!! :D

woohoo thats great to hear :)

[flute]

aww we had a hp pavillion & LOVED IT ~ got a dell now it's just a few months old - like it.

eMonster SUCKS - OMG HATE/LOATHE/DESPISE it.... :O :O :O

[erijane]

RIP on 3/30/08 DON'T BUY A DELL COMPUTER BTW.

I feel like such a fool to fall for thier junk then...live and learn thou.

it was only 4 years old and...

The computer gurus wanted $411 to fix the hard drive from 80GB to 160GB and bring Rom from 1/2 to 1GB

I told them Hell no I can get a new computer HP yet with 3GB Rom and 500GB hard drive for $559 and did.

I say get a MAC!
http://www.expotv.com/Apple-MacBook-Pro-MA600LLA-154-Notebook/1b-mhL

[tracey74]

also outletpc.com has some cheap parts and I buy from them often and have never had a problem with anything Ive bought. Ive bought power supplies,keyboards,speakers,mice,etc and their shipping is reasonable and sent usually by UPS I have a gateway from 2000 that was suppose to be new and wasnt but I manage to still keep it running to this day(it needs upgraded badly I wanna gut it and redo it) I also have a emachine(which are made by gateway) and was given to me by a friend last feb and have not had any problems with it. someday I will upgrade this one also(it has xp on it).