Posted on 06/19/2015 2:43:57 PM PDT by onyx
A huge thunderstorm ripped through here four days ago. It blew out my TV and my computer. My small town only has a Walmart and an Office Depot. I would prefer to go buy a new computer at Walmart. I'm thinking a laptop would be a better purchase. I have no idea how to install it on my own. I'm thinking of asking a clerk to come home with me to install it and I will pay him $50. I need this new computer installed before the start of our FReepathon on July 1
I will also need one that I can operate with a mouse. I need serious suggestions and price is extremely important.
I am truly at a loss. Attempts to shop online using my iPhone are about as productive as my attempts to successfully post here using my iPhone
My dearest FRiend in the whole world, penelopesire, and her husband Allen were just here and they both confirmed that both my computer and TV ARE KAPUT!!
Which brand and model? I'd like to buy it today. Vicksburg Mississippi Walmart No secrecy here.
P S. I have lost everything on the old computer. I guess that means I would have to start from scratch to install the colored font thing right? I am such a novice I am just absolutely overwhelmed. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. God bless you all.
Did you install Classic Shell?
Once I did that, I haven’t had too many annoyances with the 8.1 interface. The performance is much better with 8.1 though, I haven’t had any problems in that department at all.
Get a new power supply at a local repair shop. They have surge protection built in.
I like laptops. You can get a cheapo at Walmart in the $300 range.
Don’t panic about the information on the hard drive. It is still there. You can get a USB adapter to read the hard drive
Better question is, ‘what were you doin’ on that computer, dude?’
Lol.
Boogieman brings up a good point. Don’t buy anything Celeron. Insist on Intel. Costs a little more, but worth every penny. And get as much speed and as much memory as you can. You’ll be glad you did.
I’m probably on my 20th computer. I’ve progressed from Win 3.1 through Win 7. I buy and install all the computers for myself and my office. I still have several Win 98 computers operating in limited circumstances (Payroll and Shipping).
I used to get all Gateways, but recently have acquired a Toshiba laptop from Costco. I also bought a heavyduty Gateway that I use as a server for my little network at work. I had my computer consultant set that up.
Most recently I purchased 2 Win 7 desktops — one for home and one for work. I had those built especially for me by a business here in town called Milwaukee PC where they service and sell computers of all types. I bought those new desk tops there because I did not want to purchase Win 8, or 8.1, due to advice here. I’ve been very satisfied. MPC put on all the software that I needed and I just took them home and to work and just plugged them in. Milwaukee PC even transferred all my files for me.
My expertise is non-existent, but I’m so sorry that happened to you!
No. I’ve seen a few people say it solves the problems. I keep a ‘clean’ computer and, frankly, 8.1 is so bad for desktops I expected Windows to put out a patch to fix things like that imbecilic charm bar.
I would never buy an HP computer. I’ve had a couple of those, and they were nothing but trouble. I do like HP printers, but my favorite printer is a Lexmark.
Win 7 is still available. Either with a custom build, and sometimes right off the shelf. I’ve seen them at Costco as recently as a month ago.
My house’s network used to be wired and I can’t tell you how many nic cards got fried. My house network is wireless now. My first surge suppressor is in the breaker box. The tv and all the computers are now on their own Ups. I get APC Ups on auctions for almost nothing. I have 3 1000 VA units and one 3000 VA unit. Most places surplus them when the batteries wear out.
Hi AB,
Lots of good suggestions on this thread; and I know you’re a computer expert that could also offer suggestions to dear onyx who needs assistance.
Best,
SC
Our Salsa buddy is Tijeras Slim *sp*
No answers on the computer.
I just bought a new laptop. I love laps because they are portable. I had my old lap (DELL) for 6 years and it just died.
Bought an HP WITH 1.7 GHZ, 1 TB HARD DRIVE,AMD A SERIES, 8G MEM, WINDOWS 8, BEATS AUDIO. Big learning curve on windows 8, but slowly I am managing. It was pretty easy to set up and have my security software installed, etc. It was scary at first but I just bit the bullet, followed the instructions and everything went great.
YOU can do it.
I get a discount at work, I don’t game, don’t need much. I have a work laptop for work that I bring home, so this is perfect for me. I also have a tablet as well. I really love laptops.
yep, tis true!
I recently obtained an HP Z420 workstation. I replaced the video card with an AMD Firepro 5100 and a cheap 7.1 sound card.
Run’n Win 7 and it’s happy as a clam!
I run 3 monitors for my desktop and could not be more pleased with it’s performance!
“Is there a local college, or tech school, that might have a student interested in earning a little extra cash?”
This.
I once had a computer-clueless friend who did exactly as afraidfortherepublic recommended, and it worked out great for my friend. He called the local high school and they connected him with a great computer -savvy kid. Worked out great!!
Nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said!
Too late to the thread—2L2TT—should be a FReeper acronym!
My sister had lightning strikes twice. Once across the street and once in a neighbors yard. Both times it shorted out her computer and a printer/scanner. No surge protector could have helped. Even her phone line was melted. I think she must be evil.....
Laptops come in different screen resolutions from 1024 to 1920. Bigger is better.
You also need to look at the graphics device they have. Can you read the text without reading glasses? I have 20/20 but my work Dell desktop has a lousy graphics card and I need my reading 1+ glasses. Using my home pc I do not need them.
Dell also only has a 300 watt power supply. My new home desktop pc has a 850 watt power supply to run the graphics card I put that says to use as a minimum a 400 watt P/S.
Check the number of ports and where they are located. Example the network cable. Mine is on the leftside but toward the front instead of where I would like it to be in the back of the laptop. Some Dells I have used put it on the right side. It depends on your desk and what else is on it. You want more usb connections. Mouse, keyboard, flashdrive. Also look at the keypad. Do you have one for numbers on the rightside. The touchpad is it located in the middle or offset. Since you will be using this you should check out the ergonomics.
You can also get a docking station and plug a big monitor in and a keyboard and put the laptop off to the side.
Example here: http://www.pocketables.com/images/2008/05/19/targus_universal_dock.jpg
Since you found out what lightning can do I can only suggest unplugging the pc in the future whena storm comes along. Surge protectors can help for spikes but lightning is too much to handle.
You can buy Windows 7 if you want on Ebay. 100+ pages of sellers. I have on 2 occasions this year for about $50.
Correction. I bought 1 copy of Windows 7 Home Premium with SP1 64-bit Operating System thru WalMart online for about $100. It is what I have on my new pc I put together in May.
http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/windows-7
Get it at Best Buy instead of Walmart. Have the Geek Squad desk set in up in-store for you then the only other thing you will need to do is tie it to your network and the Freepers can help you do that over the phone.
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