Been a long-time PC'er and now I've got my eyes set on a Macbook Pro. The aluminum unibody gets me hard and I always find myself wandering back to the designated Apple section in Best Buy, just to check em out. The refurb Mac's on Apples site is most likely where I'll throw down, when time comes. Pretty stoked. Has anyone bought a refurb from Apple? I hear good things.
I have, but it's been quite a while. It's about what you'd expect, and generally they refurb them to be about like new, but make sure you read about exactly what you're getting. My sister bought a refurb iMac through Apple for very cheap, that was even cheaper because it only had a basic CD drive or something like that, couldn't even read DVDs (which we knew ahead of time from the description, so it was fine). Most recently, I used it to get a refurbished iPod Touch, which is still working flawlessly since I bought it a year ago. Honestly I think iPods are where their refurbished section is most useful, because there's only so much that can go wrong with an iPod as opposed to a computer, and you save a decent amount of money. Ultimately, if you're thinking refurb I'd definitely go for it, just know exactly what you're getting into, double-check what warranty comes with it (I believe you get the same warranty as new items, but I'm not sure), and make sure you closely look at the specs in the description, as it will very possibly be different from the new models of the same computer, like my sister's iMac.
Same here. I've purchased my last 4 iPods as refurbished units, and not only were they under 1/2 the price, they've never failed. I ended up giving them away to wives, friends, etc, and never had one die.
Bought my Dell Inspiron E1705 3 years ago and still runs faster than most other computers I have been on. Intel Core2 Duo 2.0Ghz processor with 2GB ram and NVIDIA 512MB graphics card (1920x1200 res.). Upgrading the DVD drive to a BluRay come Feb. Still running XP Pro and have had no problems with it. Also, I hear the new MacBook Pro's are really nice, but Im biased because I was raised on Dell.
I have a Presario M2100, and it's been going on strong for almost 5 years now. There's something wrong with my power jack. I would say that I'm 85% sure it's just the power jack, and 15% sure it's something else. For the experts around here: 1)How much would it reasonably cost to have this repaired 2)I'm pretty good with my hands; do you know any guides that I can find online? I have a lot of tools available. Any help would be great.
Yeah, it's probably the port on the system board where the power plugs in. It's loose. My Dell does the same thing. I used to be able to get around it by wiggling the jack from the power cord until the charging light lit, then letting it alone (putting something on it to hold it in place) until it charged. Now it's to the point where it won't charge at all because that port is really loose. These guys have a page about it. I live fairly close so I might take mine there. I have a newer laptop I've been using so it's not an emergency for me. As far as replacing it. I know there are replacement jacks out there, but I'm not good enough at soldering. You might be. If you can take the laptop apart and know how to solder, it's probably easily doable. You could also replace the whole system board, but I priced the board for mine (not a presario) and it was like $400+, which is too much for an old laptop like mine.
Go find that old dude that runs the now defunct TV/Small Appliance Shop, and get him to do it. He could probably do it in his sleep, while you wait, and it'll cost you very little. Unless you're worried about any kind of warranty, but if that were the case, then this would probably count as a warranty issue.
I just bought a macbook in March and love it so far. I had two Dell Inspirons shit out on me in about a year and a half before I got the Mac, and the only problem I've had so far is the mouse is kinda weird, but Apple said they can fix it for free if I ever set up an appointment. I would definitely recommend a Mac.
Hey I am having a problem with a Dell D630. Instead of a DVD drive, I have a 2nd battery in that slot and that's where my problem starts. I have win7 64 bit installed on the machine and when I point at the battery logo in the notification area, it shows battery 1 not present, battery 2 XX% remaining. Both batteries will run the machine if the other is removed, so they both work. When I plug in the machine to charge, it shows the same (1 not present, 2 present) but adds "plugged in, not charging". Removing the main battery, but leaving the 2nd, will change this to plugged in, charging. Removing the secondary battery, but leaving the main battery and checking the status shows 1 not present, 2 not present. This is plugged in or not plugged in, the main battery is never found. The charger works, as the machine runs with both removed and just AC power. Any ideas? Pressing the status button on the batteries shows 4 out of 5 lights (good) on the main and 5 of 5 on the second (great). Tech support chat didnt have an answer for me.
Be sure that you have all the latest drivers for Win7 from Dell. I have an Asus that had something similar, that was resolved with a recent driver update. Win7 is still pretty new, so it's taking some time for all the drivers to be sorted out properly.
Nobody mentioned Thinkpads? I don't know what Lenovo has been doing about build quality and warranty since they took over the line from IBM, but my X60 is almost three years old now, still in standard warranty and built like a tank. A plus, if you're into that, is that the laptops work great with Linux (almost no non-standard obscure hardware).
I'm looking for a new laptop, preferably somewhere around the $500-$700 range. I wouldn't be using it for a whole lot of stuff. Mostly just writing papers and surfing the internet. I don't play any computer games or download an extreme amount of music. I'll probably have 1000-2000 songs on Itunes, but that's about it. I've been looking around a little bit, and so far the one that's kind of caught my eye is the HP G60T. I know basically nothing about computers, that's just the one that seemed decent to me. Anybody have an opinion on that one? Or have any suggestions for other laptops around that price? Again, I don't use it for a ton of stuff, so I figure it won't be that big of a difference which one I get. Any help would be great. Thanks.
Pretty much any new computer will do what you're asking. It doesn't have to cost you $500-$700 either, the low end $300 computers from Dell and HP will do. My recommendation would be Lenovo, especially the Thinkpad line, for reasons above your post.
To echo the above post, if you are buying a Lenovo stick with the Thinkpad line. My father has one of their ideapad notebooks and the quality seems worse than the thinkpads. I don't know if there are real differences in reliability, but the intangible "this is well-made" feel you get with the thinkpads isn't there with the consumer line.
I have a Dell XPS M1530 laptop. It constantly runs hot. The fan died on it before, and Dell replaced it (I have the killer on site service plan), but now I hear the fan functioning and it's still hot. I currently have it on my lap on top of an ice pack I keep in the freezer for my knee, but there's got to be a better solution. Any ideas?
Did you make sure there's nothing running that's constantly pegging the machine at 100%? Hung processes sometimes do that. If it's not something the laptop is doing software-wise, it may be anything from dust buildup inside to a loose heat sink. You tried putting a vacuum or canned air to the air exhaust/intake?
Also, maybe turn down the CPU rate in your power settings. And be aware that some laptops are just designed very shittily, and have heat issues. As in, ALL the time.
Why, hellooooo.... My parents laptop (hp Pavilion dv4000) has become a bit of a mess-it has all manner of problems that are causing it to run slowly/incorrectly. I tried downloading some anti-virus software to see if that would help, but the problems are so bad it won't even let me do that. I think my only option is a destructive recovery (it's worked for me in the past), but I'm having trouble. I've tried accessing the recovery menu using F10/F11 at start up, but it doesn't give me the correct menu. I also tried going in through 'All Programmes' in XP, but the only HP files in there seem to be related to the printer they have installed. I do however, have 2 discs-one is labeled 'Operating System CD-service pack 2', the other says 'Application and Driver recovery DVD'-are these what I need? I went on hp's own forums and posed the same question and was told by this one guy that the discs are the right ones, but I trust you guys more. Any help is appreciated.
Sounds about right. Put in the disk labeled Operating System. Then what you want to do is access the boot menu using F10, F11, or DEL. Pick boot from CD/DVD drive and follow the instructions. If any of the hardware doesn't work after you've installed, use the second CD to install the drivers. Usually the display will look crappy and the internet won't work, but not always. If you wanna take it a step further, uninstall the bloatware so it starts up and runs faster.
Thanks for the advice matey. What do you mean by the above? It'll look crappy for how long? How do I sort that? Apologies for being thick.