Do you have an e-machine?

Former Fetus

[Former Fetus]

Hi! It's me again, the technologically-challenged mom.

My Dell Dimension has been warning me for weeks now that it is about to go to the big junkyard in the sky. Since it is 4 years old, my husband is insisting that I get me a new PC. Problem is, righ after Christmas shopping, the last thing I want to do is to spend more money. But then, I can't get much done with a PC that keeps freezing every 10-15 min!

I have been pricing PCs. Originally I wanted to get another Dell, so as to use my monitor, mouse... But they are not cheap. Earlier today we were at a Walmart Supercenter and my husband noticed an emachine package, PC and monitor, for $400. It sounds good: intel processor with dual core, 3 GB RAM, 1 TB hard drive. But, when I googled emachine, it scared me to death! You get the idea that they don't work, and that every call to tec support costs $199!

So, here is the question: do you own (or know some one who owns) an emachine? Can you give me any feedback?

If it helps, what I need the PC for is mostly word processing (occasional power point or spreadsheet), internet surfing, and storing and organizing photographs. I loved Windows XP, so much that I refused to replace my PC as long as Vista was the only choice. But more than one person has told me that Windows 7 is very similar to Windows XP. And no, I am not interested in changing to a different OS, at my age I have enough trouble just changing from one Windows version to another.

Thanks

[lonestar]

I bought an e-machine for $300 about 3 years ago when my Dell crashed. Got it because it had Windows XP and I didn't want Vista.

I like it better than I thought I would...but I don't do a lot except email and internet.

[AlbertWang]

Here is my advice (very similar, but slightly different than others):

1) Turn off the machine, unplug it, disconnect all the cables, paying attention to where they go (most only fit one place). Open up the case. Vacuum out any dirt using a shop vac, etc. Once you have all the dust bunnies vacuumed, blow out any remaining dirt with canned air. The inside of your machine must be 100% dirt free.

2) Reassemble. Go to the internet, download, install & run Malware Bytes, it is free. Get rid of any viruses &/or Malware

3) Next, download & install CCleaner, again it is free. Go to the tools tab, analyze & fix your registry.

4) Next, go to the tools tab in CCleaner, and look at the start up menu. Disable almost everything (don’t delete, just disable so that you can turn it back on if you discover you really need it.

5) Next go to tools tab in CCleaner, look at the uninstall tab. Uninstall every anti-virus program except Malware Bytes (I’ve heard of machines with three different anti-virus programs installed, they don’t run worth a hoot)

6) Next, go to the Run Cleaner tab on CCleaner. Run the cleaner, it will remove all kinds of garbage from your disc.

7) Exit CCleaner, go to the internet & download & Install Microsoft Security Essentials. It is free.

8) Now run the de-frag and disc clean up program.

And your machine should run better than when it was new......

[goat granny]

I had a gateway that was about 8 years old when I got a new one...to clean out the tower, my son used a straw to blow our the dust...it kept moisture from getting into the tower...but he blew into the straw carefully in puffs if I remember correctly...I could not believe the dust inside the tower...

[AlbertWang]

“My Dell Dimension has been warning me for weeks now that it is about to go to the big junkyard in the sky.”

Just re-read your post- what kind of warnings?

[writer33]

I prefer the e-machine light. I’m watching my saturated fats. :-)

[TomGuy]

I have had good success with laptops and desktops from Tigerdirect.com

In fact, I just got a BlackFriday/CyberMonday Gateway i5 with 4gb Ram [I added another 8gb for $28] and 1TB hard drive. It was $479, but they have raised the price some since.

I have had it about 3 weeks and am satisfied with it for home use. I am still getting to know Win7 — and it does test my patience.

I also got a 24” monitor for $119.

I luv BlackFriday/CyberMondays. I always seem to find some good deals.

Check tigerdirect.com and some of the other online computer places. They are still having some pre-end-of-year deals. Costco has some nice prices too.

[lonestar]

I’m watching my saturated fats.

Mine are growing on me!

[TomGuy]

The new one will likely come with a new mouse and keyboard anyway, but if you like yours better, you can still use them.

Check the specs. They are no longer coming with some of the 'typical' connections of former generations. Some only have USB connections for monitor and mouse now.

The Gateway i5 I bought only has PCI Express slots. I purchased a regular pci TV card at the same time. I didn't realize until I opened the case that the TV card didn't fit in any of the slots. So, I had to buy a TV card with a PCI Express configuration.

[RichardW]

Why not just get a Toshiba laptop? You can plug the monitor into it and an external keyboard. We’ve been doing that for nearly two months now and takes up a lot less space. I paid $499 for a 64 bit machine and it works just fine. Surprisingly, it is much easier to work on a laptop than a desktop. You can swap memory and hard drives out in a couple minutes. When I’m not using it, I just put it in the “sleep” mode and wake it up when I’m ready to work again. I have two good Dell desktops gathering dust right now but I really don’t need them anymore. I think I would pass on the low end E-machines. I do second the Dell outlet center though. I bought the last two there dirt cheap.

[writer33]

That’s why you need the e-machine light. Because with it, you’ll never have to worry about what you’re eating when you use it. Throw the scale away and stroll to the keyboard with confidence, knowing your e-machine light has got your back. LOL!

[libbylu]

Long story short try a total restore back to original before buying.
I am running an XP emachine I bought at Walmart. I did a total restore back to original settings about a year ago. It is running like a champ.
The techs I have talked to like XP. Something about it running faster without the added programming baggage you don’t get much for. I have to use XP for work. Get this. I could use windows 7 but the site I work on won’t let me in with IE8 or above, can’t find W7 with IE7. Have a new W7 sitting in the closet, bought before I did the total restore.

[Politicalmom]

I’ve had one for several years. I just replaced the fan, but it’s otherwise going strong.

If it has the power you want, I’d go for it.

[smokingfrog]

Directron Value Line

Built with all off the shelf components.

Choose your Windows OS version (extra), or just install free Linux.

[lonestar]

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

2 coffee measures ground espresso coffee

2/3 cup boiling water

Make a strong extract of espresso with coffee and boiling water. Measure ½ cup and cool.

3 packages (8 ounces each) softened cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 package (8 ounces) semisweet chocolate squares melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In large bowl beat cream cheese, sugar, and eggs until blended. Beat in sour cream, chocolate, espresso concentrate and vanilla. Pour into lined springform pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until puffed at sides. (soft center will firm up during cooling) Cool, then chill 3 or more hours until firm in center. Remove side of pan.

CRUST

Crush 24 chocolate wafers into fine crumbs. Mix with ¼ cup soft butter or margarine and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon until crumbly. Press into 8 inch springform pan

[chuckles]

I agree with the "blowers" here. Heat could very well be the culprit on an old machine. I work on the neighborhood puters here and most of them have so much dirt and hair inside, I could knit a sweater. Many of them working in the dirt for awhile have a noisy fan running about half speed on the CPU or power supply. I just take them to the garage and use the air compressor to blow them clean. Be sure to stick a finger on the blades of the CPU fans to keep it from over revving.

If that doesn't do the trick, you have 2 more possibles before buying a new puter. I always get some good virus software( like AVG) and Malwarebytes, Update and run to clean up what might be there. My preferred option is to format C: and do a clean install however. Years of CRAP have clogged and corrupted the original setup and can't really be cleaned to the point of "like new". Uninstalling doesn't remove about half of the stuff the install put on so it just makes things run better to fresh install, IMO.

All this depends on you, however. Some people don't like to spend hours reinstalling their stuff, so they may just use an old backup to restore the disk. You will be just making the disk the same as the backup, so if you weren't happy at backup time, you won't be happy at restore time. Also, many people just have the money and it burns their pocket till they hit Wally World. For $400, you should be able to beat an E machine. They are good for what they are, but they aren't much. If you had a computer savvy buddy, and offered him/her $400, I bet they could build a heck of a box and keep your monitor and stuff. The box I have put together is an old case, $25 MB that was discontinued at Fry's, $39 CPU and $60 for memory from Ebay. I recently added a $39 PCI Express Video card so I can have 4 monitors with Win 7. I still use XP however cause I am having trouble getting Office to pick up all my email accounts in Win 7. Just try the air cleaning for 15 minutes of work to see if that helps. If you have never cleaned it, I give that a 50-50 chance of helping. Heat will shut down a CPU in a few minutes. I have also seen dirty memory slots cause trouble. Take the strips out and blow the slots ans use an eraser on the gold contacts on the strips. Reinstall firmly with a good "click" in the slot. I have pulled and reinstalled more than once to fix erratic trouble. As a matter of fact, on my own box, I bought my memory on Ebay and installed them and had a boatload of trouble untill I cleaned the slot and reinstalled. The old memory worked fine, but I went to DDR2 from DDR and used the 2 other slots that had been open.

[TheBattman]

I wanted to get another Dell, so as to use my monitor, mouse

Why would you need to buy a Dell to use your current monitor and mouse? Dell doesn't use proprietary connectors. My home Apple PowerMacintosh runs a Dell UltraSharp 19" monitor I have had for years. No problem.

[JohnD9207]

When in doubt clean it, run antivirus software, last case reformat the hard drive. Killing it is painful but better than buying a new one. The new windows works fine if your computer can handle it, if not buying XP on ebay is not a problem.

[Little Pig]

Her machine is only 4 years old, and a Dell. Pretty much guarantees it will have had a USB keyboard and mouse, per my original post (and I think you meant keyboard and mouse, not monitor and mouse).

I’m surprised you could still find a regular PCI card; they’re really old tech now, and most motherboards don’t even have the slots anymore, especially the boards for the Intel i-series processors.

[Little Pig]

Also, to be honest, I hadn’t seen PS2 connectors used since around 2003. It was therefore a surprise when I got here to India, and the University where I work had only PS2 keyboards and mice.

[pops88]

I bought our first desktop in 1995. After numerous crappy, affordable HP/ Compaq machines for each of 3 family members, I bought an E-machine during a period of tight finances. That was 7 years ago and it’s still working quite well. We’ve had many desktops and laptops, most of them chosen by me after lots of research. Our best machines have been a Gateway (built to specs overseas), Toshiba (2 laptops), my E-machine desktop and my daughter’s gaming machine built by a college student and bought off Craig’s list. Sony has proven to be over priced crap. Acer was bargain basement crap. More recently, I look for the hot items on tigerdirect or the really nice machines Bestbuy showrooms want to flush out for the newer models. Hubby got a great deal on a Toshiba that way. If an E-machine is what your budget can afford, I wouldn’t necessarily turn my nose up at it.