I need help with computer dilemma

N/A ^ | 02/24/02 | CDHart

[CDHart]

I work for a 60-bed skilled nursing facility in a very rural area. We are heavily dependent upon our computer network for accounting, medical records and billing to Medicare and Medicaid. The days of paper billing are long gone.

The problem is that we have seven standalones networked to a Windows NT file server. None of us is a computer genius. The small computer firm that was our hardware support split up due to partner arguments. We have found that the PCs they "built" for us have substandard parts. We have had to upgrade modems, keyboards and other parts. We get the bright blue screen that says "fatal error" a lot.

Larger city support companies want to charge an arm and a leg to come where we are. We've thought about buying Dell (I have one and I love it) off-the-shelf, but have been told that most support companies don't want to work on them if you don't buy from them.

Does anyone out there have any recommendations for us? All help is greatly appreciated.

Carolyn

[Mago]

Are your workstations running Windows 2000 or Win XP? You're much less likely to get blue screens with these operating systems. Windows 95/98 have significant memory management issues.

What part of the country are you in?

[Skooz]

First, upgrade to Windows 2000 Pro. It is much more stable and easier to work with. It's also MUCH easier to add someone. The blue screens are a problem. In our office, if we get two or more blue screens we change out the hard drive. That always fixes it.

You will see virtually no blue screens when you upgrade to Win 2000.

[Gershom]

Apple has a whole section devoted to Health Care businesses. It might be out of the question to replace all your computers, but you might find some ideas there.

[Dan Day]

We get the bright blue screen that says "fatal error" a lot.

Welcome to Windows...

For a hilarious parody of Windows, check out WindowsRG. (Shockwave plug-in required)

[chilepepper]

Buying an Apple solution is TERRIBLE advice for a RURAL area, on the par of telling someone to buy a Rover or a Saab in the middle of Montana... Go with what can be FIXED when it breaks, even if the performance isn't QUITE as good (but still good enough for a hospital network if you put it together right to begin with...)

The DELL solution is not a bad one, although I personally put together my own PC's, so I have absolute control over the quality of the components (my dual processor PentiumPro 200 and my dual celeron 550MHz - overclocked from 366MHz - run 24/7 and have so for several years now... running LINUX of course!)

[AppyPappy]

Find a college student to take you on as a school credit project.

[Cable225]

Larger city support companies want to charge an arm and a leg to come where we are

Call up several of them, and have them come out to your site for an estimate. DO NOT give them the impression that you are in any kind of desperate situation.

As someone in the tech field, I'll let you in on a secret. At this point in time, the BUYER holds all the cards. Companies will fall all over themselves giving you what you want to get a job. We are THAT hard up for work.

Make sure they know they are in competition with other firms for the bid, and watch the prices come down.

HOWEVER, you need to be realistic. You want to replace 60 units and a file server. You're also probably going to upgrade some printers, hubs, and switches. You are going to be charged for the units, the licenses, and the tech's time (probably several techs) to do configurations and installs. It's not going to be free. For what I just laid out, you're looking at a minimum of $150K.

I just wanted you to be clear on what an arm and a leg could really mean.

[johncatl]

Buying a Dell or a Gateway won't help you out of your fix, nor will using a college student who needs class credit. You need to find a professional who can support your hardware and software. One of the orignal partners, a similar firm or just an individual like me who supports small businesses and individuals with computer tech. I happen to specialize in the graphics and pre-press area supporting printers, service bureaus, graphic artists and the like. I'm sure that you'll find some capable and competent folks who can help you. With a program like PC Anywhere you can fix problems via long distance and often don't need to make a trip to the site.

[putupon]

I work for a 60-bed skilled nursing facility in a very rural area....We get the bright blue screen that says "fatal error" a lot.

Try and hold out until the 'RATS socialize medicine, then the taxpayers will buy you lastest and greatest system available and keep it upgraded so its always on the cutting edge.

[Cable225]

OOOPS! I read your post wrong, and got the 60 number confused. You only need seven units and a server. Drop the price by about 120K.

Allow me to expand on my previous point. Depending on the age of your current equipment, you may be able to get away with simply upgrading the OS to Win2K. However, if your units are less than PIIIs with 128MB ram and 20GB hard drives, Win2K is not going to be an efficient solution.

One other thing, the Linux crowd should be on here shortly telling you that's the way to go. From what you're saying, your user base consists of healthcare workers. They are simply not going to be able to make the adjustment to a UNIX-based OS, and you're probably going to need ongoing support from a UNIX/Linux guru to maintain your server and network.

[Jhoffa_]

The small computer firm that was our hardware support split up due to partner arguments.

Can you contact them individually?

Maybe you can give your favorite of the partners your computer buisness..

[AAABEST]

Welcome to Windows...

90% of the time, repeatedly getting the blue screen indicates hardware problems.

[chainsaw]

You want to replace 60 units and a file server.

I think she said severn stand alone PC's Networked, not 60. It was 60 beds.

The problem is that we have seven standalones networked to a Windows NT file server.

[B Knotts]

My two cents (disclaimer: yes, I'm a "Linux guy"):

PC hardware is getting really bad as far as quality control. At my company, we built most of our machines, and bought a couple of Dells. We've had components go bad on almost every one of the machines.

In other words, I'm not sure that buying a particular brand of comptuer is going to make much difference.

On the blue screens, yes, I'd say that's just part of running Windows. Is it happening primarily on the workstations? If so, then going to Windows 2000 may reduce the problem somewhat, although it will cost you a bit of money.

[Utopia]

If you buy cheap, you buy twice.

[Glenn]

Have you checked to see if their is a cooperative in your industry? Try some of the trade associations your facility belongs to. It's not an uncommon thing for smaller enterprises to leverage their buying and support in that way.

[MarkL]

The problem with Dell (usually) isn't that a local dealer doesn't want to work on them... It's that they can't get parts or reimbursed for labor under warranty, except in a few situations. I work for a VAR (value added reseller) and we do sell Dell computers, but we're only authorized to perform warranty service for three of our clients, at their insistance. Due to Dell's nation-wide service contracts, any other dealer who wants to provide warranty service has to pay a pretty hefty fee to get authorized for each client they want to provide service to (I believe that it's in excess of $5000).

Now, back to your issue.

You mention that you've got a small network in a rural area, and that support providers want a lot of money to come out to you. Unfortunatly, the only two options that you have are a) Pay the Price. or b) Get someone locally (possibly in your organization) trained on your hardware and software to help you.

As far as new hardware goes, you are quickly coming up on a problem: Except for business class computer systems, all of the major manufacturers are switching over to Windows XP, which IMHO is still far too new for business use. You can still get Windows2000 or in some cases, Windows98SE on the business class systems. Unfortunately, the Business Class systems (HP Vectra, Compaq DeskPro, Dell Optiplex) are more expensive than the comsumer grade systems (HP Brio or Pavillion, Compaq Presario, Dell Dimension). However, on "White Box" systems (clones), you should still be able to get what ever you want.

Probably your best bet would be to go to the nearest city, ask around different small businesses, especially those in the same or similar line of work, and find yourself a reliable dealer. Then bite the bullet on the cost... In some cases, if you're willing to lease the equipment, rather than buy, companies like Compaq will make really great deals on financing. Another possibility to save some money is that Novell is having a special on their software that the dealer should be willing to pass along to you. Their new NetWare for Small Business package has a 15% discount to dealers, to help cover the cost of the installation. The problem is a) that you will have to learn a new server OS, which could be both expensive and somewhat daunting, and b) there's a good chance that since you're running an NT server, the hardware might not be powerful enough for NetWare 6.

Anyway, I'd be happy to discuss these things in more detail via email.

Mark

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