Serious Computer Issues

[Solecismic]

My current main computer is a Dell. Apparently, from looking at forums, this was not a smart decision. Over the last year or so, I've had the network card fail, the power supply fail, the mouse and the keyboard fail. All these were relatively easy fixes (essentially buy a new part and connect it).

Yesterday, the computer got loud. Figured a fan was failing. I opened it up, rebooted without the monitor, and listened to the fans - all three I could find seemed to be working fine. Not good. I let the computer rest overnight.

This morning, I reconnected the monitor and booted again, it hangs on the screen that gives me the option to go to a setup or a boot device. Neither option does anything. Reading a little, this seems to be a hard disk failure of some sort, because nothing is in the optical drive. The computer is at its normal quiet level - so either the "fan" problem solved itself (unlikely, since it won't boot) or whatever was making that noise died completely (since there was nothing in the optical drive, I think that eliminates it as the source of the noise).

I'm not sure there's much I can do here other than buy a new hard disk or get a new computer. I'm not even sure if I get a new hard disk I have everything I need to put an OS on it.

Advice? If I get a new computer, any recommendations (other than Dell)?

Next problem: my backup computer tells me it has no BIOS. If I choose standard settings to continue, it lets me continue with default settings, generates a few hardware warnings, and starts with the system clock reset. Other than that, it seems to be behaving (in that I'm on the Internet with it), but it's an old computer (still running XP Home) and not much use for work right now.

[PilotMan]

First computer sounds like a complete hard disk failure. Personally, I have had many successes with Dell computers both laptops and desktops.

What kind of computer is your backup? Or better, do you know what motherboard your backup has in it?

[dacman]

2nd computer sounds like CMOS battery failure (looks like a large watch battery on the motherboard)

Edit : Having boutique-built or home-built every computer I've personally owned since the mid-90's I can't personally recommend any brand. I can say we've had far fewer (but not no) problems with the Lenovo desktop's we use at work compared to the previous batch of Gateways.

[sterlingice]

Agree with dacman. Second one sounds like CMOS battery is dead. Simple cheap fix if you can get to it.

SI

[Solecismic]

In the CMOS setup utility, SATA1 is the CDROM, but there's nothing detected in SATA0, which I assume would be the hard disk. I don't see any point in doing anything but getting a new computer - I wouldn't trust this hard disk if it's fixable at this point, and with a three-year-old computer, I might as well use the opportunity to upgrade.

How does this deal look for a basic development computer? My priorities are processor speed and having a good amount of RAM. I don't watch TV on my computer, and I don't play high-graphics games.

Enhance your Lenovo H520s - 57310722 - Black: Weekly Deal | Lenovo | (US)

[Solecismic]

HP ENVY h8-1435 Desktop PC | HP® Official Store

I think I'm down to the Lenovo and the HP linked above. The Lenovo is slightly faster, but the HP is more upgradable and comes with a graphics card rather than the Intel integrated graphics. I think I have to pay sales tax with the HP as well.

[Izulde]

I just got a Lenovo desktop myself a few weeks ago after my large screen Toshiba laptop literally broke apart. I'm quite happy with it so far and mine was a budget model.

I absolutely -hate- HP computers, personally.

[Scoobz0202]

Are you opposed to building your own? You would get real nice bang for your buck for $800 since you have the monitor, keyboard, etc.

[Swaggs]

My last Dell didn't last a year.

It was nice salt in the wound when they called to sell me an extended warranty on the one-year anniversary.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Are you opposed to building your own? You would get real nice bang for your buck for $800 since you have the monitor, keyboard, etc.

I am opposed. I think I should have Windows 8, and time is an issue. I'm going to lose at least a week or two over this as it is.

Aside from hating HP, is there a reason to avoid it? I think it's the best deal at this cost level from what I've seen.

[sterlingice]

Wait? Seriously? Integrated graphics on a desktop? I think you're fishing off the wrong pier with that one.

SI

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Wait? Seriously? Integrated graphics on a desktop? I think you're fishing off the wrong pier with that one.

SI

I guess (and hardware is not my bailiwick) that the Intel graphics use RAM rather than its own memory, but it's some sort of a separate card. Performance is apparently not that bad, but far below a decent GeForce card.

I'm leaning against the Lenovo in part for this reason.

[sterlingice]

Those desktop specs make me a little sad. Put it next to this laptop, for instance:

HP Pavilion dv6t-7000 Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC | HP® Official Store

Specs are fairly similar and and it's cheaper. Heck, the laptop has a better CPU, 2 GB less memory, comparable graphics, but about half the hard drive. Oh, and it's a laptop. And can be carried around and all that.

Also, I wouldn't get Win 8 unless you were looking to get a touch screen for your monitor and I think we're still a year or two away from that being standard.

SI

[Solecismic]

Why get a laptop, though, if you don't want to carry it around? I have very large hands, so even a PC keyboard is a little small for me. And I've never been comfortable with touchpads. I have a nice monitor.

Since I've never tried Windows 7, figured I might as well jump in somewhere...

[sterlingice]

If I'm plopping down that kind of money for a desktop, I'm looking for non-integrated graphics, trying to get a i7, and then maxing out my hard drive and memory specs from that base. If that's too much, then I sacrifice the i7 down to an i5 before I give up the dedicated graphics.

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Why get a laptop, though, if you don't want to carry it around? I have very large hands, so even a PC keyboard is a little small for me. And I've never been comfortable with touchpads. I have a nice monitor.

Since I've never tried Windows 7, figured I might as well jump in somewhere...

You can still plug the keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc into a laptop- it's just like a desktop. I know I do at home (or did in Indy when I had the space). But if you have no utility for carrying it around, the point is moot.

SI

[sterlingice]

Also, I haven't gone shopping for a computer in over a year so maybe things have changed in the market. Whenever I'm looking to make a baseline, I head over to slickdeals and hit all the weekly ads to see what stands out:

Computers Deals - Slickdeals.net

SI

[Fidatelo]

I like the newer HP laptops we have at work (EliteBooks). I actually prefer my EliteBook 8460W to my MacBook Pro (2008) in every way except the screen.

Lenovo makes nice laptops.

I don't know much about desktops.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

If I'm plopping down that kind of money for a desktop, I'm looking for non-integrated graphics, trying to get a i7, and then maxing out my hard drive and memory specs from that base. If that's too much, then I sacrifice the i7 down to an i5 before I give up the dedicated graphics.

SI

That's pretty much why I like the HP for the price. I did want to make sure the i5 was quad core, which this is.

Mostly, though, I just want something I can use happily for at least the next three years without worrying about some basic failure. This Dell has been a worry from very early on.

[sterlingice]

Just a quick glance at Slickdeals yields this:
HP ENVY h8-1520t Desktop + 23" HP W2371d LED Monitor: i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad Core CPU, 8GB DDR3, Radeon HD 7570, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi N, 460W PSU, Windows 8 $750 + free shipping - Slickdeals.net


$750 + free shipping

specs:

• i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad Core CPU
• 8GB DDR3
• Radeon HD 7570
• 1TB HDD
• DVDRW
• WiFi N
• 460W PSU
• Windows 8

For $10, you get a second monitor (I like the two monitor setup but if you don't have room, it's pretty useless). You cut your hard drive in half (2TB to 1TB) and lose 2GB of mem but you get a graphics card that's twice as good and you bump up to an i7 instead of i5


SI

[sterlingice]

Unless a lot has changed in the last 2 years, most desktops and even a lot of laptops are designed by Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc but they're all Foxconn parts and Foxconn assembled.

They're basically very similar white box computers with different logos slapped on them. I'd be hesitant to do the "I'll never buy X" again because companies X, Y, and Z all pull from the same parts bin.

SI

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Holy crap. Today I'm at my mom's & fire up her computer. It's a Dell. It gets into the Bios & gets hung up with the status bar about 1/3 the way. I rebooted... same thing. I hit F2 & it continued on. She said it happened to her today too. Yesterday it was fine. I told her I would leave it up & for her to backup everything she wants.

My Dell is fine (knock on wood) & it's about 6 years old.

[cougarfreak]

I'd avoid HP like the plague. I had two fail in 32 days. Never again. It drove me to a Mac. But the only gaming I do is OOTP and I will eventually get FM.

[Scarecrow]

Jim -

If you're not scared off by a 'refurbished' computer, here's one similar to the one you posted from hp: HP Envy h8-1437c

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Just a quick glance at Slickdeals yields this:
HP ENVY h8-1520t Desktop + 23" HP W2371d LED Monitor: i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad Core CPU, 8GB DDR3, Radeon HD 7570, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi N, 460W PSU, Windows 8 $750 + free shipping - Slickdeals.net


$750 + free shipping

specs:

• i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad Core CPU
• 8GB DDR3
• Radeon HD 7570
• 1TB HDD
• DVDRW
• WiFi N
• 460W PSU
• Windows 8

For $10, you get a second monitor (I like the two monitor setup but if you don't have room, it's pretty useless). You cut your hard drive in half (2TB to 1TB) and lose 2GB of mem but you get a graphics card that's twice as good and you bump up to an i7 instead of i5


SI

This deal had expired, but there was another similar deal that's supposedly still active. I tried to make the order, but the web site wouldn't accept it.

So I tried the online chat function with their sales staff. That wouldn't work. Then I tried calling their sales number - got a message saying "Exit point not passed" and the phone hung up - twice.

I'm beginning to see why people don't like HP. What if there's a problem with the PC? There's no way to contact them.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Then I tried calling their sales number - got a message saying "Exit point not passed" and the phone hung up - twice.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

Beats me. Sales seems to be a dead area with their phone system right now.

[Julio Riddols]

I don't know what it is with me, but I have never had a hard drive fail, never had a motherboard burn out, never lost a card or a processor, nothing. I have had to replace a power supply once and 2 monitors. I have a computer with a 13 GB hard drive in it that still works just fine. I've never had a video game system stop working for me either. It's like I have an electronics guardian angel.

That said, I highly recommend building your own or going with something with a rep for reliability like Lenovo. Considering graphics appear to be a concern, build your own seems to be the best bet.

[sterlingice]

I've hard hard drives die but for the most part, been pretty fortunate

SI

[Solecismic]

I did finally go with the HP. I had a choice between a free 27-inch monitor or $125 off - went with the latter. I don't *need* a new monitor right now. The chat representative said someone had inadvertently placed a block on incoming sales calls for a few hours.

I'm just glad that my first instinct when I heard that noise coming from the computer was to back up some key folders on an external. Otherwise, that may well have set me back months. This will probably cost me 2-3 weeks, assuming I can get VS2008 running on Windows 8 (which seems to require installing Net 3.5 before trying to install VS).

Obviously, I don't need the touch stuff on Windows 8. But I think in this day and age it's the right move. I will eventually need to understand how younger people use technology. Go back to 1980, when I made my first sale, and try explaining to a kid why he should give up his joystick for a mouse.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

My current main computer is a Dell. Apparently, from looking at forums, this was not a smart decision. Over the last year or so, I've had the network card fail, the power supply fail, the mouse and the keyboard fail. All these were relatively easy fixes (essentially buy a new part and connect it).

Yesterday, the computer got loud. Figured a fan was failing. I opened it up, rebooted without the monitor, and listened to the fans - all three I could find seemed to be working fine. Not good. I let the computer rest overnight.

This morning, I reconnected the monitor and booted again, it hangs on the screen that gives me the option to go to a setup or a boot device. Neither option does anything. Reading a little, this seems to be a hard disk failure of some sort, because nothing is in the optical drive. The computer is at its normal quiet level - so either the "fan" problem solved itself (unlikely, since it won't boot) or whatever was making that noise died completely (since there was nothing in the optical drive, I think that eliminates it as the source of the noise).

I'm not sure there's much I can do here other than buy a new hard disk or get a new computer. I'm not even sure if I get a new hard disk I have everything I need to put an OS on it.

Advice? If I get a new computer, any recommendations (other than Dell)?

Next problem: my backup computer tells me it has no BIOS. If I choose standard settings to continue, it lets me continue with default settings, generates a few hardware warnings, and starts with the system clock reset. Other than that, it seems to be behaving (in that I'm on the Internet with it), but it's an old computer (still running XP Home) and not much use for work right now.

For the first pc, on a Dell, press F12 when it gets to the Dell splash screen and you should see a diagnostics option. Does it fail on the HD test or does it even see the HD?

If the HD is fine, then a fan that goes high is usually the power supply or system board, the system board a bit more than the power supply though.

Second one I agree, the CMOS batter is probably bad. Those cost about $10 and are easy to replace.

I always buy Dell desktop pc's and HP laptops. In fact, I just ordered a new Dell XPS 8500.

We have HP, Dell and Lenovo at work and I hate working on the Lenovos. Personal preference I'm sure. The Dell laptops have been horrible and the HP's much better from a technician standpoint, the same goes with desktops, the Dell's seem better than the HP's we have.

My daughter's Dell desktop is 12 years old and mine is 7. Both have been very good pc's, but like cars.. some people have issues with just about every brand out there.

I also made sure to get Windows 7 on the new pc, our company is hopefully skipping Windows 8, as this point, I really don't care much for it.

Good luck with the new pc though, keep those FOF 2014 game files safe!!!

[JAG]

Just one person's experience of course, but the last new computer I bought was an HP as they had a great deal going (before that I expected to replace a Dell with another as I had a good experience with then). It's been 6 or 7 years and I've had zero issues, never had to deal with their tech support (which from the stories here may be a good thing). I've thought about replacing it but it's still working pretty well so the motivation is low.

[Solecismic]

I've had one day with the HP. Windows 8 is quite a trip. I find I'm throwing a lot onto the task bar and not liking the app world very much. Getting my software environment right is quite a task as well - so far, my printer is causing the most grief.

I learned an interesting trick on a tech blog... A couple of blogs recommended removing the faulty hard drive, wrapping it in a couple of freezer bags and sticking it in the coldest spot in my freezer.

After 12 hours, I took it out, put it back in the old computer, and it booted. After a few minutes, the hard drive began making those grinding "bad fan" noises again, but I was able to get quite a few files onto a thumb drive before it failed again. And the procedure should work again if I've missed anything.

The theory is that one common cause of hard disk failure is loosening of internal connections. If you freeze the drive for a while, cold contracts the metal, so the loosening doesn't cause contact amongst pieces that shouldn't make contact. The drive does warm up quickly when in use, so it doesn't work for very long.

[RomaGoth]

From my experience, Dell computers just suck. We had one that barely lasted 2 years (we hardly used it or it probably would not have lasted that long). I am not a fan of HP laptops as they tend to run really hot, but HP desktops have been pretty good for us over the years. My work laptop is a Lenovo and has run fine for almost 2 years. Last year I replaced my 5-year old personal Lenovo laptop with a Samsung and so far the thing is a gem.

Moral of the story = don't buy an HP laptop or a Dell anything.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

From my experience, Dell computers just suck. We had one that barely lasted 2 years (we hardly used it or it probably would not have lasted that long). I am not a fan of HP laptops as they tend to run really hot, but HP desktops have been pretty good for us over the years. My work laptop is a Lenovo and has run fine for almost 2 years. Last year I replaced my 5-year old personal Lenovo laptop with a Samsung and so far the thing is a gem.

Moral of the story = don't buy an HP laptop or a Dell anything.

My HP laptop runs hot on its discrete graphics card, but I rarely need that so I run it on the internal Intel graphics chip (with one of those USB-fan cooling pads under it) and it's perfectly fine.

It's also ohhh...gotta be at least 3-4 years old at this point.