Laptop Died... Fix? or Replace?

[Iplayfarmer]

Anyone have opinions on refurbished vs. new? Is it worth the cost savings to get re-furbished?

 

[bonefish101]

Overstock.com has good prices on refurbished, propertyroom.com has great prices if you have a copy of windows already. Id go new for your price range, your not going to save a whole lot by going used plus you will be buying older technology. Stay under 500, there are tons of capable machines in that price range. Check circuitcity.com, they are probably having a sale this weekend. Look for a dual core or better and a couple of gigs of ram or more and you will have a decent machine for your needs.

 

[IslandTractor]

There really are a ton of acceptable machines in the under $700 price range. The issue as always is to define what would work best for you and then make a compromise with price and features. I find Amazon a great place to shop because of the generally reliable customer opinions and discussions which bring out both the pros and cons of different models as seen by actual users.

Here is an example for about $460: Lenovo G560 Series 067999U. Amazon.com: Lenovo G560 Series 067999U Laptop (Black): Computer & Accessories Has Intel Dual Core processor, 4gb RAM and 320gb harddrive. Excellent screen and keyboard. DVD. Solid basic laptop from an excellent manufacturer. As you probably know Lenovo bought out IBM's laptop business about five years ago and they had built the IBMs for years before that. I have owned several of these IBM/Lenovo computers and really like them. The keyboard is second to none which is my main draw. They are also solid machines and don't have a lot of silly frills. The model I noted above is not exactly light at 7.5lbs. That is a good example of what you trade off for the low price. This computer will be just as fast as some of the more expensive ones that are weighing in at 3-4 lbs. If you carry it you might appreciate the lighter weight but if this is a desktop replacement who cares about the extra weight?

 

[dmccarty]

Seems like buying a laptop is a roll of the dice. The laptops I have used at work have all be very reliable and when they have been replaced it is because it was "time" and not because the system was no longer working.

These laptops have all been IBM or Lenovo. Lenovo has consumer grade and business laptops. We get the business laptops. I only know of one system that was a complete POS and that was the T43. The ones at work had lots of problems and the one we bought for home use is now a "desktop" because the battery has died and the power supply connector is iffy to use when mobile. We have managed to get over a years use out of it which surprised me. This is only the second system I have every owned that has broken. And I have owned a bunch of micro/personal computers starting with an APPLE II+ 30 years ago...

With the exception of the T40 and a system that was built with the "best" parts, all of my systems still worked when they were taken out of service. The desktop that died did so when power supply caught on fire. We were lucky in that I was home working on the computer when it burst into flames. Normally I would have been working on our land but it was raining.

I *** MIGHT *** consider a refurb if I could find reliable reliability information on that particular system.

Later,
Dan

 

[IslandTractor]

I have had similar experience with the Lenovo/IBM laptops. I now have four of them around the house. One is my active laptop and the others are functional but out to pasture and now serve as convenient WiFi web access points. One in the kitchen, one next to the TV remote and one that rides in the back of the car. I have outgrown disk space and needed more memory or an upgraded operating system but in ten plus years of global travel I've never damaged or killed one. They are solid business machines without gaming friendly or entertainment oriented features.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I pulled the trigger on a laptop today. I got a free fridge to go with it!! :thumbsup:

I ended up paying $350 +tax for a Toshiba from Office Depot. I bought it online and had it delivered since the closest Office Depot is a 4 hour drive. Shipping was free, though.

Based on the sage advice from TBNers, I compared the lowest priced laptops I could find and got the unit with the best specs. I am amazed how many laptops are available right now for very low prices. This one has a 15.6" display, dual core 2.2 Ghz processor, and 3 MB of RAM. That should work for my needs. If it will do TBN, netflix, and sketchup I'll have all I ever need. A ten key was a must for me, and I'm excited to see how Toshiba's multi-touch track pad works.

The fridge was just for kicks. I was looking around for coupon codes because I hate to miss any kind of discount. The only thing I found that would work was the free Travel Mini Fridge with a purchase of more than $150. It has a warm function. This may become my welding rod storage spot if it has room for welding rods in it. It looks pretty small in the pictures.

 

[dcyrilc]

This one has a 15.6" display, dual core 2.2 Ghz processor, and 3 MB of RAM. That should work for my needs. If it will do TBN, netflix, and sketchup I'll have all I ever need. A ten key was a must for me, and I'm excited to see how Toshiba's multi-touch track pad works.

You should be happy with that. My laptop has duel 2.0 processers and is pretty fast for most things.

 

[IslandTractor]

Sounds like a great deal. I'm sure it will handle the tasks you listed.

I'd mount that fridge on the tractor though!

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Sounds like a great deal. I'm sure it will handle the tasks you listed.

I'd mount that fridge on the tractor though!

Oh, GOOD IDEA!!

I could make the first 3 point refrigerator of TBN!

 

[sodamo]

Oh, GOOD IDEA!!

I could make the first 3 point refrigerator of TBN!

it IS 12 volt

 

[IslandTractor]

it IS 12 volt

Yes, and while I was imagining a fender mount, if he wants a 3pt mount I suppose that would work too.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Yes, and while I was imagining a fender mount, if he wants a 3pt mount I suppose that would work too.

Fender mount might work better. Where this fridge only holds 6 cans of soda, it won't work much as a ballast box.

 

[dmccarty]

Just need room to mount the laptop......

The operator might need real time advice from TBNers.....



Later,
Dan

 

[IslandTractor]

Just need room to mount the laptop......

The operator might need real time advice from TBNers.....



Later,
Dan

More than once I have used my iPhone to ask a question while in the seat with engine running. .

 

[sodamo]

More than once I have used my iPhone to ask a question while in the seat with engine running. .

Maybe that's one reason he wants an iPad?

 

[Reg]

I agree. Craigslist is a good place to look. I would want one that had all the original documentation and systems disks so you can essentially wipe the hard drive clean and reinstall everything.

I see IBM/Lenovo T41 or X60 or similar very good quality machines going for $100-200 just because someone got a new machine just to be upgraded to Windows 7.

If the hard disk works AT ALL you can usually mount it with something like SATA-wire and get all/most everything you had off it.
I bought something a bit fancier than SATA-wire from New-egg, it plugs into the USB port and can interface SATA or ide drives - $19.99 IIRC.

A really GOOD alternative to a used machine with all the original docs and install disks is one WITHOUT all that outdated encumberware.
Download UBuntu 10.10 or Debian 6.0 for FREE and have something that is CURRENT and STAYS current. Not only that, it is FIXED by the community, not just ignored or waived with mealy mouthed excuses about backward compatibility or fixed in an upcoming release.

Oh yeah, openoffice has all the word processing and spreadsheet stuff you could ever need, including microslop file format compatibility for those of us who have to work with the output from Messysoft's oriffice (deliberate spellings).
Again, all included, no $300 plus "office suite" to buy.

Beware firefox on Debian - for licensing reasons it is called Iceweasel (-:
The same add-ons and plug ins work with it the same way, just a name/license issue.

 

[Reg]

I used this Firefox add on over the holiday season to buy stuff. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/the-camelizer-price-history-ch/

The add on tracks the price of items on Best Buy, Amazon, and Newegg. It only goes back a year or so but for the things I was shopping it was very accurate. It can be helpful deciding on when to buy as well as the best price.

I also noticed prices at Dell, Best Buy, Amazon, and Newegg would often change. Usually prices would rise on Friday and drop on Monday. Cheapest prices, like airline tickets, were in the middle of the week with highest prices on the weekend.

EDIT: Once installed the browser has to be restarted. You will see a little Camel in the bottom right of the browser frame. Click on the Camel while viewing a product on Amazon, Newegg or Best Buy. The browser will split in half and show a price history of the item at the three stores.

Later,
Dan

I just tried that, then something weird happened;
When I re-started Firefox my password was requested for TBN, but of course I don't remember it because I had asked Firefox to remember it for me.
So I opened up Tools>Options>Security>Saved Passwords>Show passwords
to see what it was and it was there.... Hmmm, OK, I'll give it that one.
Then the tab that I had my e-mail on, similar thing except it had apparently lost my username too.
That is just TOO suspicious - for ME.
So I disabled and uninstalled it.
Re-started Firefox, I (& my password) is remembered everywhere I need to log-in.

Not raising an alarm, but I am changing all my passwords WITHOUT the camel thang.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

If the hard disk works AT ALL you can usually mount it with something like SATA-wire and get all/most everything you had off it...

I got everything I needed from the old hard drive. I still can't bring myself to sell it, though. I had a lot of personal information on that laptop. Even deleted stuff isn't really deleted.

 

[dmccarty]

I just tried that, then something weird happened;
When I re-started Firefox my password was requested for TBN, but of course I don't remember it because I had asked Firefox to remember it for me.
So I opened up Tools>Options>Security>Saved Passwords>Show passwords
to see what it was and it was there.... Hmmm, OK, I'll give it that one.
Then the tab that I had my e-mail on, similar thing except it had apparently lost my username too.
That is just TOO suspicious - for ME.
So I disabled and uninstalled it.
Re-started Firefox, I (& my password) is remembered everywhere I need to log-in.

Not raising an alarm, but I am changing all my passwords WITHOUT the camel thang.

That did not happen to me.

But I do not blame you for being paranoid. They ARE out to get you. Hopefully not the Camalizer.

My assumption is that Camalizer IS reading what I look at on NewEgg, Best Buy and Amazon. That would help them collect prices.

Later,
Dan

 

[Reg]

That did not happen to me.

But I do not blame you for being paranoid. They ARE out to get you. Hopefully not the Camalizer.

My assumption is that Camalizer IS reading what I look at on NewEgg, Best Buy and Amazon. That would help them collect prices.

Later,
Dan

I believe that too.
I am not paranoid, just realistic.
I don't know at what point the cameliser installer has been compromised and I don't particularly care - the copy I got did something bad - removing it returned my system to it's previous non bad state.
The installer and/or the package may have been hi-jacked, maybe the web site itself.
=============================
For little more than idle curiosity I may create a virtual machine (build a cage) to let it run wild in and see what happens.
Trouble is I would then have to build some number of fake identities to use fake logins at various sites.

I could get caught doing that, it might be very hard to explain away.
Despite some pure intentions I could get into some serious trouble.
So maybe I won't go any farther with it.
=================================

OK, if anyone else tries this thing and gets similar weird symptoms I can only suggest removing it before entering any uernames or passwords at sites requiring logins - for which you had firefox remembering your login credentials.