Posted on 11/14/2008 5:48:59 AM PST by SoftballMominVA
My daughter's PC died last night probably due to a systems upgrade sent by Microsoft. I strongly suspect this upgrade as the culprit as my desktop had the same symptoms after the same upgrade. The cost to fix was about 300. I'm not willing to put that into repairs for hers because she was already having massive other problems.
So, based on everything I've read (largely here) I'm looking for a used Mac.
Is there anyone who would be willing to just look over a couple or three postings that I've found on Craigslist and another site that sells refurbished Macs and give a thumbs up or thumbs down based on value vs. asking price?
I'm not asking for a guarantee, just a general nudge in the right direction and after that it's 'you get what you get.'
The ONLY things she needs the computer to do is
itunes word processing (preferably word/excel from Microsoft) play and copy CD's access the internet via a wired modem
nice to have, but a bonus if it is there is a DVD player
We have about 500 to spend and that's a stretch.
Thanks again
Wow
So your computer updated itself and then Windoze died?
.
yeah, sux huh?
Not surprising.
It's happened to me before too. The difference is that I know how to wipe and reload Windows (augh).
My advice to fellow Windows users is to block automatic installation of downloaded updates or to turn off automatic updates entirely. And beware the service packs.
Basically, I’ve just about had it with Windows. I don’t give a crap about brand loyalty, I just want something that works. Granted I’ve had some very good PC’s over time that have lasted years until I just retired them because they were outdated, but my success is about 50/50
So, here’s my first foray into Mac, and if it works well, it won’t be my last.
Yes, it was a service pack that did it in, Both of our comps died within minutes of installing it.
Note to self, turn off all automatic installation on remaining healthy computers
You can get refurbs directly from Apple. I’d check them out first.
A systems upgrade cannot kill a computer. It can only kill the operating system. Install Linux on her computer. It’s just like a Mac.
Did — the cheapest they have is one for 900 - so far out of our price range it’s not funny.
But that might be an option when it is time to do a planned upgrade
You’ll do just fine with a used iMac, I’m sure.
You can get iTunes directly from Apple for free. I’d go with OpenOffice for an MS Office like suite that’s free. As long as it has a CD-R drive, you should be able to do the CD work just fine.
If you have your own keyboard, monitor, and mouse (from the old PC), you can get a new Mac Mini for only $600, which is a little beyond the price range, but then it’s new and with warranty. You’d want to get a USB modem adapter, though.
Be careful purchasing anything on Craigslist as it’s a free for all there. I think Apple sells refub’d gear with limited warranties - check that first. If not - check out e-bay and look for a store that offers limited warranties.
You are being more exact than I - yes it did kill the operating system. What it did was to disconnect the .dll from the OS, which makes the computer non-bootable.
In my opinion, the comp is in all effect ‘dead’ because it cannot be booted up in any way, shape, form, or manner by someone such as I with limited information
Typing from an Apple refurb now. It was like new out of the box. Checking with Apple is a great idea. From their website you can check their refurb items.
You may want to not consider any notebook with Nvidia’s 8600 graphics card which has been problematic across the board for Dell, Apple etc.
For your daughters needs, any Macbook would be fine. Of course the new one to which is about $1300. Shoot, they may have refurbs of the new unibody model any time now.
Best of all with the Apple OS, you can use software to run windoze if need.
But the Apple OS is not only solid, it’s great across the board.
So check out Apple and you will have a great machine with a guarantee and no worries.
If firewire is an issue, Apple is still selling the older Macbook.
Actually I found a company that sells refurb’d macs. I found one there with an OS X, 512 ram, 80 gb hard drive for about 250. Is that a deal too good to be true?
It had a limited warranty also.
It might make you feel better to buy a mac.....but in the “real” world, no one uses that crap except graphics artists and journalists. Real businesses use Windows.
BTW.....If the Windows update “crashed” the system, you might want to boot into safe mode and simply run a restore point. That will restore the computer to its previous configuration. Of course, I’m assuming that you are running Windows XP.
one other thought....Dell has really lowered it’s prices. You could get a brand new Dell with everything you want for that price range.
A dell inspiron starts at $279 WITH A WARRANTY
Wont boot to a safe mode, wont boot to a saved point, wont boot at all, just comes up, says the .dll is no longer there or something like that, and then automatically shuts down.
I took mine to a computer repair place and even they could not ‘fix’ the problem. So they just reinstalled windows but every since then the computer is not running well at all.
That’s a thought but hubby says that since it has Vista and only 1 GB of ram it will be practically worthless, but, it is a thought.
I’ll second that - their prices are quite a bit lower and based on my experience the quality is excellent.
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