Posted on 04/11/2014 9:31:26 PM PDT by This Just In
Good evening, Freepers...
Our PC ran on Win XP, and although we continue to use our Dell, I'm in the market for yet another laptop to replace this XP.
There's one particular laptop that's caught my eye today. The Dell Inspiron 17 7000 looks like a decent buy. Would any of you happen to own this model? If so, would you care to share your advice/suggestions? If any of you have some information that would be helpful, I'd appreciate it.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
TJI
You’re welcome. I have one college student using a MacBookPro. The other’s using a Asus with Win 8. I love using the Mac. After each use on Win h8t, I have to take an anger management class just to calm down.
ROFLMAO! Again, thanks ... you have saved me from a fate worse than death.
In 30 years in the computer industry, I never owned a Mac till last December.
Bought a 15” macbook pro and love it. (Late 2013 model).
what i am saying is if you cannot afford the jobs bill (apple) get any make or model out there that has the rem and ram to run whatever you are doing if you are a gamer go for that but if you are joe blow like me that just got a toshiba satellite for a laptop it is great
I’ve used Macs, Dells, Lenovos, Asus’, HP’s, etc. Mac’s my fav, hands down. Nothing else comes close for me. Unfortunately, the price is steep.
Ok. I understand. Thank you.
It tells me that Win 8 is a improved version of Win 7. They are very similar. The problem is Microsoft tried to force people to use the new UI without an easy way to opt out. That's changed. It's now easy to default to the desktop, and essentially have the Win 7 experience with Win 8.
we all do until we get it
:^)
A clear and competent communicator, you're not.
“A clear and competent communicator, you’re not.”
The above video about sums it up.
:^)
Your current PC is a laptop? (Implied in your comment..)
Couple of thoughts for you. Depending on the hardware of your XP machine, you might want to investigate loading Win7 on it as a way to extend its useful life. If the manufacturer lists drivers for Vista for your present machine, odds are really good that you can get Win7 to install and run properly. You can also run Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and it will pretty much let you know whether that is a route you can take. My last remaining XP laptop will be getting a Win7 install (when I get to it..;-) and Vista drivers are available for it, but the upgrade advisor indicates that Win7 has suitable Win7 drivers available from Win Update.
As you indicated later re:WinAte, I plan to wipe and fresh install Win7 (actually, I'm putting in a new hard drive and putting the old drive in an external USB case so I keep my files. After I transfer my files off the old drive - again when I get around to it - I will wipe the old drive and have it as an external backup drive.)
Concerning your later comment about buying a WinAte machine and wiping it for a Win7 install, keep in mind that if you have a concern about warranty, you might be forced to hold off on that until the warranty expires. Having said that, that is exactly what I would do with any WinAte machine that crossed the threshold here.. ;-)
Another route with your older XP machine to extend its usefullness would be to go the Linux route. Most current distros are easy on the eye but there is a learning curve. Again, most distros have a forum with loads of info and help. If your present machine is a single core processor, that might be your best bet. My oldest former XP laptop is now a Linux box for that reason. I was fairly certain that I could get Win7 to run on it but due to the vintage of the hardware, the usability would be impaired (translate: SLOOOW) with Windows 7, but seems fine under Linux (I used the Mint distro - your mileage may vary.. ;-)
And finally, if your present machine is a desktop, consider it an opportunity to do 'I'll build me a brand new box' thing.. You can get barebones collections of stuff from places like Tiger Direct and since you seem to be comfortable with op-sys installs, you can build it any way you like. Put your present drive in as a secondary drive and your files are right there. Again, my process is to copy off the files then wipe the old drive, reformat it and use is as storage. Keep in mind if you do that that many manufacturers have their restore stuff stuck in a second partition on the main drive. If so you will need to delete all the partitions on the old drive and then create one primary partition and format it..
Hope some of this was helpful to your decision process.
I tried looking for complaints on this model but there does not seem to be any. 5 stars and positive comments from those that own it. It also has a touchscreen and up to 1920 resolution. Be careful eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches....
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2013/10/dells-new-2013-inspirion-7000-series-14-15-and-17.html
Great info., NoCmpormiz. Thank you.
I was referring to our desktop. The, “...yet another...” was a morph of the whole desktop/laptop/replace desktop w/laptop idea I had swimming around in my head. You must pardon me. My brain’s running on fumes.
Our second child needed a laptop for college several months ago. Along with this fact, we’re in need of another PC. Rather than replace our desktop with another, I wanted to purchase a laptop instead. You can see how my thread mixed and matched.
The DIY sounds great, but I’ve visited sites such as Tiger Direct. I’d rather stick with the laptop plan. It’s financially more feasible for us at this point. My better half and I don’t have a laptop. Our kids do, though, along with their iPods and iPads. :^) So I thought it would be a more useful/flexible option.
I don’t wish to put another dime into this desktop. I’d rather save all that for a decent laptop. The Mac would be my first choice, but I refuse to drop that kind of money.
I had forgotten about the warranty issue. Thanks for mentioning that.
“...you might be forced to hold off on that until the warranty expires.”
The thought of using Windows h8t causes me to twitch.
Great info. Thank you.
Couple more thoughts before I go to bed... (wife will kill me when she gets up and I'm still snoring - we have the grandkids for the weekend, if that makes any sense.. ;-)
Depending on your comfort level, check EBay for Win 7 laptops... There are a lot of them - new, refurb, used, off lease-- all depends on your price point but you will avoid the WinAte feces, and won't cost as much as new-from-Staples-or-Dell... Just as an example and by no means a recommendation, just a quick search, finds this 'refurb' with Win7 Pro (try to stay away from the Win7 Home - although that's still better than WinAte - again, that is my bias, you mileage again may vary ;-)
HP EliteBook 8730w 17 Core2Duo Win7 NVidia Laptop
EBay says they have close to 1400 listings of new Win7 laptops, another 1100 manufacturer refurbs and 3300 'seller refurb' units and 5000 used in the US. (I exclude outside US listings.) Some of these they list as refurbs were originally Vista machines returned off lease and re-brained with Win7. You can get a lot of laptop for a lot less money that way, and it still has decent specs - not a top of the line screaming gaming machine, but certainly well suited for home use and still with a lot of life left in them.
If you've bought on EBay you know how to navigate, if not read the description carefully paying attention to both what is said and what is not said, don't assume anything and ask seller a question to clarify any doubts. Watch the feedback percentage and the number.. Don't buy from someone that just signed up last week. ;-)
Of the 4 laptops in this house, I bought one new, and the other 3 came off of EBay, one was a lease return that had been returned to it's original configuration which included a MS Office Pro install which made it a good deal.
Possibly Amazon will have some, although I don't check there often - they hit me for that NY sales tax gouging. Although you sometimes can find good deals on Craigslist, I don't recommend that avenue..
And good luck.. ;-)
They give you a choice of factory installed (always best) 7 or 8 on two of their laptops, but I can't recall which ones.
Keep one thing in mind, though.
The product life of XP was extended again and again because of huge corporate use.
It will not be a surprise to anyone if they shut down support for Windows 7 on a much faster schedule, say, one or two years after Windows 9 comes out.
One more thing.....
I bought the Inspiron One with Windows 7 about 2.5 years ago.
It's a desktop, all in one screen and computer, with Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and printer.
No set up at all.
Just unpack, plug in, and everything fires up by itself.
It has run almost perfectly.
I had one problem with a McAfee security scan, but the Inspiron self-diagnosed a Hard Drive error, showed me how to fix two lines of code, then it ran perfectly.
Another time, when I logged in, the screen went black.
That was trickier, but I finally figured out how to start the self-diagnosis, it showed me what to do, problem solved.
I pre-paid 3 years for the most expensive maintenance contract, and I have never used it.
I will keep renewing my maintenance contract and McAfee contract until they stop supporting Windows 7.
Unless you MUST have a laptop, the all in one Inspiron is a thing of beauty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTYet-qf1jo
The above video about sums it up.
WOW! That really nailed it. I tried setting up a new laptop for a friend which had Win8.
ARRRRRGH!
Thankfully, Win8.1 came out and I was able to finish the task.
It appears the Microsoft has finally been bitten in their rear by their own hubris.
Thanks for posting the link. While trying to use Win8, I was beginning to think that senility has finally overtaken me! And I used to work corporate desktop support back in the Win95/98/NT era. I started on computers with CP/M-86 and DOS 2.11.
I’ve had Dells, HPs, put-togethers, even that Gateway company.
I finally broke down and bought a 15” MacBook Pro about 18 months ago for portable use. With the MS Office pack, it’s pretty much seamless if you can get over the slight differences between the way the graphics interface works (icons, symbology, terminology).
Newest Update Windows 8.1 Update for x64-based Systems (KB2919355) Download size: 887.6 MB
Now The Stupid Goobers at MICROCRAP not only developed an OS where you can't shut down Cloud if you are on limited or measured bandwidth but they come up with this crap? I just bought this machine last month brand new because MICROCRAP stopped support on XP which worked fine on my only available way to go on line which is Dial Up.
The Browser on WINDERS 8 is a buggy as a $10 Motel. Issues that had been resolved in earlier IE editions are back such as the infamous disappearing text when you try to correct a sentence. You start typing and if you look down you'll notice you are also erasing your work. I've lost count of the "Can't Display This Page" screens per day.
The more I use the machine the more problems caused by MICROCRAP poor design of their TABLET type OS WINDERS 8 pops up. An 888MB Download would also hit Hughesnet customers real hard. MICROCRAP needs to dump this Piece Of Crap OS and go back to what was basic and reliable for all. I wouldn't have WINDERS 8 if it were free. I'd pay $100 to have the support back for XP though.
I've bought four previous machines with Microsoft OS from 98/2 to this. I was a happy customer with 98/2 I had on my first machine and XP I've had on three machines. This is my last MICROSOFT OS. This OS does not belong on a desktop. I don't care how many work arounds there are it stinks and the layout still sucks. The ones who approved it for desktop to be put on the market should have been fired.
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