Unreliable Computers.

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Paganisterr
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Ak Paganister
It's amazing how unreliable computers are. My Dad has three computers and I have one. Two are Windows XP, one is Windows 98 and the other is a Mac.

Well where should I start. The Windows 98 PC is an old Dell Inspiron 7500 we only use for the internet. It's had lots of viruses that my Dad's had to sort out. (he works with computers for his job so he knows most of the time what he's doing).
After all this we installed newer software and the PC slowed down so much it was ridiclus. So he uninstalled it. After this every time we started up the computer error messages would come up that would make the computer go weird. I don't know what he did to sort it out but the was working on the PC for a while. It works fine now but an error message still comes up but it doesn't effect the computer. I think he's had other problems as well but I can't remember.

One of the Advent XP PC is the most reliable Windows PC. It's had an error once where the computer would turn on but wouldn't load up. We got a tecknition in for this and he fixed it on the spot. It's also had another error the other day where a file was corrupted and you needed to install it on the computer again. I Usually play games on that computer and after that The Sims 2 game wouldn't run properly.

My computer is by far the worst. Is a year two year old Dell Inspiron 8600. It keeps crashing in games (we bought it with the latest graphics card at the time, the ATI 9600 Pro Turbo) and a green or red checked screen would appear. No matter what my Dad did, install newer drivers and software, it wouldn't go away. He spent weeks on it. Then another problem appeared. The mouse kept sticking when you moved it which was extremely annoying. My Dad spent another few days on it and he couldn't find the problem. So in the end he had to reinstall windows XP and don't install the mouse drivers. It worked. This is ridiculus. Why would Dell make a mouse driver that would really annoy people. It would stick in games as well. Well at least the computer is settled at the moment. Some games are alright to play on it as it the red or green screen appears rarely. The thing that stumps me most is that some days the computer plays alright, if i haven't used it for a few weeks and sometimes it plays up or really plays up. The graphics settings on the computer are all wrong. When you say "high quality" it makes the quality lower, when you say low it makes the quality better in some areas ands worse in others. When you wan't to turn on anistrophic filtering it NEVER does it. ITS COMPLETEY CRAZY! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Well the most reliable computer is the Mac Powerbook G4. NO PROBLEMS! 👍

Right so you've heard my experience so let's hear yours.
 
All the problems you have described all come down to PEBKAC. Google the term if you don't know what it means.

Reliability isn't an issue, believe me on that. It's how you set up your computer and the drive image that comes with it that is the issue. You'd be amazed what a quick switch to Linux can solve.

Your issues on the video card all dissolve down to the card's age. Face it, the Radeon 8xxx series is more than 3 years out of date now. The cards are on par with the bottom of the barrel Radeon 9200 in terms of performance. They're no longer suited for gaming - i'd know, I own a R8500 with 128 megs.

What I've noticed though is electronics have seriously gone down the crapper in terms of build quality over the past few years. My laptop has had it's motherboard replaced twice. The hard drive died once, and the screen has more dead pixels than you can count. IBM's tech support will not talk to me any more and they refuse to replace their defective products.

My $500 digital camera also had problems. Within just a few months of buying it, the seal on lens/ccd enclosure started leaking in air. Dust got into it and none of my pics were coming out clearly. They replaced the parts for free, but not the camera. That in itself is odd considerng that the parts cost more than the camera did. It took them a total of 4 weeks and 2 trips to the repair center to fix the issue. The first time, they replaced the LCD because they thought I was complaining about it. They fixed everything the 2nd time though. Either way, I basically have a new camera since they replaced all the major components :D

Network components have been the worst for me though. Over a period of 1 year, I fried four linksys routers. There was no reason to it, they just became non-functional after just a few weeks of use.
 
emad
All the problems you have described all come down to PEBKAC. Google the term if you don't know what it means.

Reliability isn't an issue, believe me on that. It's how you set up your computer and the drive image that comes with it that is the issue. You'd be amazed what a quick switch to Linux can solve.

Your issues on the video card all dissolve down to the card's age. Face it, the Radeon 8xxx series is more than 3 years out of date now. The cards are on par with the bottom of the barrel Radeon 9200 in terms of performance. They're no longer suited for gaming - i'd know, I own a R8500 with 128 megs.

What I've noticed though is electronics have seriously gone down the crapper in terms of build quality over the past few years. My laptop has had it's motherboard replaced twice. The hard drive died once, and the screen has more dead pixels than you can count. IBM's tech support will not talk to me any more and they refuse to replace their defective products.

My $500 digital camera also had problems. Within just a few months of buying it, the seal on lens/ccd enclosure started leaking in air. Dust got into it and none of my pics were coming out clearly. They replaced the parts for free, but not the camera. That in itself is odd considerng that the parts cost more than the camera did. It took them a total of 4 weeks and 2 trips to the repair center to fix the issue. The first time, they replaced the LCD because they thought I was complaining about it. They fixed everything the 2nd time though. Either way, I basically have a new camera since they replaced all the major components :D

Network components have been the worst for me though. Over a period of 1 year, I fried four linksys routers. There was no reason to it, they just became non-functional after just a few weeks of use.
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Woah, did I say ATI 8600 Pro? I mean't a 9600 Pro Turbo.

I'll have a look at PEBKAC. My Dad's very careful with software...
 
Indeed PEBKAC.

I've been running Windows PCs for 5 years now. They work until my girlfriend gets on the computer, then they break. Neither my now-defunct 233/Win98 machine nor my current Althlon2200/WinXP machine ever cra

*fzzzzt*
 
We often called it ES2o. Equipment Superior to Operator. Or "the nut that holds the chair in place"

I've been sitting on Windows machines for some time and have yet to go back to a manufacturer with it. Then again I rarely add software to any machine once it's running the way I want it too.

My biggest problems over the past year have all related to windows service packs and security upgrades.

AO
 
Yeah, I used to have to frequently format my old computer, because I experimented a lot. Now, I do only minor things and try to only keep the programs that are useful, on my newer computer.
 
Well, everybody knows what I run (iBook, in case you don't), and of course, no problems here. :)
 
Sage
Well, everybody knows what I run (iBook, in case you don't), and of course, no problems here. :)
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Then again, there is no PEBKAC with you. Give the same iBook with the same configuration to my sister and I can bet you that it'll run into problems ;)
 
Although a lot of problems are user generated, I think a lot of blame has to be pointed at the operating system in certain cases.

I've had my PC for 4 years now. For 2 years I was running Windows ME and it was a nightmare. I reinstalled it on about 6 occasions because it was just so horribly unstable. It would hang at least once day. No matter what driver upgrades I got or O/S updates I installed it wouldn't run for more than several hours without needing a forced reboot. I've heard similar stories from other users.

But when I upgraded to Windows XP, all that changed. It runs very smoothly now. I don't think it's needed a forced reboot since I installed Windows XP.

Microsoft get a lot of stick that they deserve, but I think they're due a bit of credit for finally releasing a usable and stable desktop O/S.

One thing I have learned is not to rely on the drivers that come with the operating system. Just because Windows recognises and automatically installs drivers for new hardware, doesn't mean you should stick with those drivers. Go to the manufacturer's website and get the latest drivers.

As for Mac reliability and ease-of-use, I don't know. I've not experience with Macintoshes. But I remember one incident where someone was trying to save stuff on a Zip disk from a Mac to give to me. He had just ranted on about how superior and easier to use his Macintosh was over my PC and then spent about an hour trying to get his Zip drive working. He spent about an hour downloading drivers, rebooting his machine, checking settings etc. before he got it working. I almost bust a gut laughing.


KM.
 
Well my Dad says that his Mac is harder to use than Windows. Some menus are fiddly. I've seen it myself.
 
The only problems I've ever had are usually things that are what I've done to it. After a reboot, however, it works fine. The only problem I've ever had with hardware is my graphics card, which overheated after I put it in between to other card that got pretty hot, and I guess couldn't ventilate properly. It works fine now, I just lubed up the fan with motor/gear grease I got from my XMOD :lol:. The computer I have now hasn't had any hardware problems, and the only software related one I can think of would be the installation software for my keyboard that doesn't want to appear. Oh and my soundcard, the stock soundcard didn't work properly and now the one I just bought after christmas doesn't work either. Real weird, only the the main/central jack works...same problem with the last one.
 
Ianbiz
Never ever buy Dell.
end of story.
Click to expand...
Wrong buddy. Several people here have had dells with no probs. Explain what happened that made your experience bad. I could probably place a good wager that it was just a bunch of user errors that caused your problems in the first place
 
theGTfreak
It's amazing how unreliable computers are. My Dad has three computers and I have one. Two are Windows XP, one is Windows 98 and the other is a Mac.

Well where should I start. The Windows 98 PC is an old Dell Inspiron 7500 we only use for the internet. It's had lots of viruses that my Dad's had to sort out. (he works with computers for his job so he knows most of the time what he's doing).
After all this we installed newer software and the PC slowed down so much it was ridiclus. So he uninstalled it. After this every time we started up the computer error messages would come up that would make the computer go weird. I don't know what he did to sort it out but the was working on the PC for a while. It works fine now but an error message still comes up but it doesn't effect the computer. I think he's had other problems as well but I can't remember.

One of the Advent XP PC is the most reliable Windows PC. It's had an error once where the computer would turn on but wouldn't load up. We got a tecknition in for this and he fixed it on the spot. It's also had another error the other day where a file was corrupted and you needed to install it on the computer again. I Usually play games on that computer and after that The Sims 2 game wouldn't run properly.

My computer is by far the worst. Is a year two year old Dell Inspiron 8600. It keeps crashing in games (we bought it with the latest graphics card at the time, the ATI 9600 Pro Turbo) and a green or red checked screen would appear. No matter what my Dad did, install newer drivers and software, it wouldn't go away. He spent weeks on it. Then another problem appeared. The mouse kept sticking when you moved it which was extremely annoying. My Dad spent another few days on it and he couldn't find the problem. So in the end he had to reinstall windows XP and don't install the mouse drivers. It worked. This is ridiculus. Why would Dell make a mouse driver that would really annoy people. It would stick in games as well. Well at least the computer is settled at the moment. Some games are alright to play on it as it the red or green screen appears rarely. The thing that stumps me most is that some days the computer plays alright, if i haven't used it for a few weeks and sometimes it plays up or really plays up. The graphics settings on the computer are all wrong. When you say "high quality" it makes the quality lower, when you say low it makes the quality better in some areas ands worse in others. When you wan't to turn on anistrophic filtering it NEVER does it. ITS COMPLETEY CRAZY! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Well the most reliable computer is the Mac Powerbook G4. NO PROBLEMS! 👍

Right so you've heard my experience so let's hear yours.
Click to expand...

Great. That's all I needed to hear. People prasing that overrated and overpriced piece of shiny thing, the MAC.

What do you expect, from old computers running today's software. Anything will crash on them, because they are way too old. Stuff changes, and even the most common things need more memory to run.

MACs, in the other side, give you problems from the day you buy them. The internet works like crap on it, and programs randomly crash for no reason.

Btw, all you need for a better internet, and no complaints about how my computer sucks, this and that, is Firefox+Adware+a good virus scanner.
 
Slippery
Great. That's all I needed to hear. People prasing that overrated and overpriced piece of shiny thing, the MAC.

What do you expect, from old computers running today's software. Anything will crash on them, because they are way too old. Stuff changes, and even the most common things need more memory to run.

MACs, in the other side, give you problems from the day you buy them. The internet works like crap on it, and programs randomly crash for no reason.

Btw, all you need for a better internet, and no complaints about how my computer sucks, this and that, is Firefox+Adware+a good virus scanner.
Click to expand...
mmm, gotta love biased opinions with no solid basis.

In my family, we've had 2 mac desktops and 1 mac laptop over the past 5 years. . The ONLY problems we've encountered on any of the 3 machines up to now were due to the hard drive of our 8 year old PowerPC failing at the end of it's lifespan. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with macs depending on what they're used for. I've said it before, and i'll say it again. 95% of computer problems are because the users don't know what the hell they're doing... or they're running the absolutely horribly coded OS9.

That said, I've also had 7 or 8 windows boxes in the family, and i've got 2 laptops and my desktop running a dual boot with linux. The only problems I ever get with any of my computers - whether they be my 10+ year old compaq, my 8 year old laptop, my bro's macs, and even my sister's computers are ALWAYS because of user error.

Somebody needs to start a tech support company where the answer to 90% of the questions is "If you continue going to every site you see, and opening every email you get, just turn it off and step away from the machine." Better yet, I'd like to see a computer manufacturer that provides hardware support only.

That's another thing that pisses me off. People complain that it's the company's product when in 90% or more of the cases, it's just the user doing something very stupid.

You shouldn't complain unless the hardware physically fails. In the case of my laptop, i've had the mobo replaced twice, the hdd replaced once, and the battery replaced. All because of shoddy workmanship on this particular model by IBM.

All that said, my next rig may very well be a mac on the basis that all I really ever do on my desktop nowadays is surf, burn ISO's, download/listen to music, touch up photos for my gallery, and write the occasional essay. They make almost no noise whatsoever, they support SAMBA server, and there's almost nothing to go wrong that I'd have to troubleshoot. The only thing that will keep me on a windows rig is the fact that I'm more used to the Windows environment.
 
In surveys, Dell is the most reliable Windows PC.

My dad runs Windows XP Proffesional on his Mac so he can do his Visual Basic stuff away from his desktop. Even with windows running it, it still has no problems. The only problem is that it isn't designed to run Windows so it's really slow.
 
Ianbiz
Never ever buy Dell.
end of story.
Click to expand...

If the story is in "The Big Book of Complete B*****cks".

I have had a Dell PC for 5 years with no problems at all. My father is using a Dell that fell off the back of a truck. Literally.

On the other hand, if you want to talk sh**boxes, let's talk about HP laptops.

By and large, a computer will work reliably, so long as the user has a clue what they're doing. If they don't, their administrator should lock them down. My wife can open e-mail, and look at our photographs (read only) and browse the web. That's it. She can't install anything, can't run anything, ActiveX is disabled. She doesn't have problems now. I have admin rights, but I know what I'm doing. My XP Pro machine, much as I hate the operation of the OS, has blue screened once in the last five months. My Dell would do it about once every three to four months, and then I fixed that (it was a problem to do with starting 2000 Pro with a CD-RW in the writer, which I fixed with a firmware upgrade to the drive).

Most problems with computers are (as has already been said here) down to what we call a keyboard-seat interface failure.
 
Slippery
Great. That's all I needed to hear. People prasing that overrated and overpriced piece of shiny thing, the MAC.

What do you expect, from old computers running today's software. Anything will crash on them, because they are way too old. Stuff changes, and even the most common things need more memory to run.

MACs, in the other side, give you problems from the day you buy them. The internet works like crap on it, and programs randomly crash for no reason.

Btw, all you need for a better internet, and no complaints about how my computer sucks, this and that, is Firefox+Adware+a good virus scanner.
Click to expand...
You're so great at making friends – first, you complain that this site (which has a great UI design, by the way) is too difficult to use, and now you go on a totally baseless rant full of BS. "…and program randomly crash for no reason" – yeah, sure buddy. :rolleyes: And FYI, "Mac" isn't an acronym – maybe some day I should start typing "M.I.C.R.O.S.O.F.T." just to piss people off.
 
GilesGuthrie
If the story is in "The Big Book of Complete B*****cks".

I have had a Dell PC for 5 years with no problems at all. My father is using a Dell that fell off the back of a truck. Literally.
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Have you even had a Dell machine that hung at POST because the PS/2 keyboard was not recognized? I had this problem on 2 seperate Dimensions, and my father had this problem on his Dell at work. (They were the older, almond-colored ones.)
Most problems with computers are (as has already been said here) down to what we call a keyboard-seat interface failure.
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Amen.
 
skip0110
Have you even had a Dell machine that hung at POST because the PS/2 keyboard was not recognized? I had this problem on 2 seperate Dimensions, and my father had this problem on his Dell at work. (They were the older, almond-colored ones.)
Click to expand...

No. I've never actually encountered any PC at any time that has failed POST because of the keyboard. Is the keyboard even tested in POST? I know that a lot of PCs will come up with the comedic error "Keyboard failure. Hit F1 to continue", but I've never seen a PC fail POST because of it.

IBM and Compaq servers went through a phase of that between 2001 and 2003, but I think they've cracked it now.

And come to think of it, I cannot remember a single warranty claim on a Dell desktop. And that includes the 800 I helped to roll out at a previous job, or the 50 that are currently running in this office. I have observed problems with the laptops, and their hardware, but then I have consistently been impressed with their on-site maintenance performance, so the damage of that has always been mitigated.
 
The new Packard Bell is working fine.

By the way has anyone crashed more than 6 computers in school/work. I'm aiming for my 7th in a fortnight, :D
 
I've crashed one school computer once. Another time one computer went completly weird so I turned if off. IT WOULDN'T TURN ON AGAIN! I thought, O.K... I'll just move away and forget about it. The I.T technition was trying to fix the PC for 2 days!

Not surprised as the PC's are from the stone age there. The school should just buy a new PC to save paying out for people to fix it all the time.
 

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