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OT: PC advice

Bacchus
Bacchus Posts: 6,019
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
My "primary drive" cannot be found. (I am using backup pc now obviously).
It's a Dell desktop about 4 years old. I have upgraded to a large flat monitor. Should I take it somewhere and have a new drive put in, or pull the trigger on a new PC less the monitor? I would like to avoid spending alot if possible.

Please let me know some opinions, thanks!

Comments

  • YB
    YB Posts: 3,861
    Hey Ron I have been buying Gateway and Dell for years but I think this will be my next one.
    Larry

    http://www.visioncomputers.com/items.asp?Cc=WEB-DESKTOPS
  • DynaGreaseball
    DynaGreaseball Posts: 1,409
    How much memory do you have now, and do you know what the speed of your processor is?
  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    Not sure, but again it is 4 years old. It was not top of line (but close) when I bought it.
    I am thinking 733mhz? 512mg ram?
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    If those are accurate then buy a new PC. Memory and speed are cheap these days.

    Vision is on Jimmy Carter - stop in a give them a look.
  • YB
    YB Posts: 3,861
    I spent $300.00 on mine last year and then still had to buy a new one.Being 4 years old I would buy a new one and keep your new monitor.
    Larry
  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    I just hate that I lost my copy of MS office. Most everything else is backed up, lost a pic or two but nothing major.
  • DynaGreaseball
    DynaGreaseball Posts: 1,409
    Since I use my PC for just internet access, and an accasional word or excel document, I use the following rule of thumb: Instead of buying new every 3 or 4 years, I'll upgrade the memeory one time...like going from 1G to 2G and skip purchasing every other time. If you're doing lots of graphics and games, you might need to consider buying a newer, faster one.

    Anyway, you may not have room for additional memory, but it's worth asking about.

    Too bad about the hard drive. You might be able to have a technician recover the data on it, and maybe put it back on your new hard drive... at least ask.

    If your pc is plenty fast, you may not even need to add memory.

    Hope this helps
  • YB
    YB Posts: 3,861
    We lost a lot of pictures when ours crashed now Kaye backs them up.I keep picture on two sites now besides the computer.
    Larry
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    Don't upgrade - your machine is too old.

    Watch for Dell or Gateway, both will at times offer new computers with Vista or XP (XP will soon be gone) but will be suported with security updates until 2012.

    Anyway, often offerings are below $350 w/monitors. Probably can find some others at the $300 to $350 mark. 1 to 2 G mem and good hard size Hard drives.

    Search & watch Dell, Gateway, newegg, fry's during holidays Best Buy, computer store that closed down nation wide but now back as a .com company - can't remember their name.

    GG
  • dls2122
    dls2122 Posts: 66
    As luck would have it our IT guy was in the next office and I asked his advice - he said outside of quick patches and updates he would never put any money into an old machine - to him old is 3 years old. New computers are simply too inexpensive and a lot of times your upgrades cause conflicts with your system and you're back where you started.

    As for MS office, fi you had it registered you can contact Microsoft - a lot of times they can't help you at all, but sometimes, when the stars are aligned just right - they can get you new software or a deep discount IF IT WAS REGISTERED. Anyway - it's a free call and worth the effort.
  • "Sparky"
    "Sparky" Posts: 6,024
    Hey Ron,let me help you out buddy.You know that I am a computer expert :whistle:

    1)Is it plugged into the wall outlet?
    2)Does the wall outlet work?
    3)Are you sure that you have a primary drive?
    4)Do you really need a primary drive?

    I hope this was helpful :silly: :lol: :laugh: :)
    BTW,I got this little Toshiba laptop for around $550
  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    a Laptop would indeed be nice. I already have a wireless network. I could take it out to the egg-barn with me.
  • EggRacer
    EggRacer Posts: 400
    At four years old it's time to build or buy a new one. Keep the monitor.
    XLBGE & LBGE
    North Richland Hills, TX
  • "Sparky"
    "Sparky" Posts: 6,024
    I do love the laptop.My wife also has one and we both use them alot.We don't have any room for a desktop,since we turned our home office into Carson's playroom ;) You can even hook up your new monitor to it :woohoo:
  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
    Fry's doesn't any real good deals right now. Look in the technology section of the AJC. Most stores are in Norcross. HTH.
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    OK I am gonna be the Devil here :evil:

    You know you want to buy a new one, you just need someone to tell you too. So I am telling you to get a new one.

    As for office just but it installed on the new one.

    Get ready for your Vista Experience!!
  • citychicken
    citychicken Posts: 484
    first off what exactly do you mean when you write "My "primary drive" cannot be found."? does your pc not boot into windows? do you get error messages? did you check your bios? it's clear that there are issues going on. but it may not be doom and gloom yet.

    as you may notice, it's very easy for others to spend your money and simply advise you buy new. i submit to you that your 4 year old pc may still provide you with adequate service to simply surf the net. so, you may want to reconsider some of your options before putting that old pc out to pasture, especially considering your last comment - "I would like to avoid spending alot if possible.

    btw, you don't have to spend lots of money to do some very basic troubleshooting. as a matter of fact you can do much of the trouble shooting yourself without spending a penny.

    and most importantly, depending on your situation (you don't provide enough info in your posts for anyone to be making definitive judgment calls)your data on that drive may be fully recoverable even if your pc won't boot to it.

    i'd be happy to provide you more direction if you are interested.

    oh
  • DynaGreaseball
    DynaGreaseball Posts: 1,409
    OK then, You really want a new toy. In that case, I withdraw my suggestion to add memory to your old machine, no matter how fast it is.
  • ewillie
    ewillie Posts: 155
    I had similar problems with Dells after a few years of use. The IT guys act like that's not a problem and you should expect to buy new every three or four years.

    I got tired of it and bought a Mac several years ago and have never had an issue with it. I'm typing this on my wife's Dell laptop while I enjoy a cigar and admire my Egg, so I'm not an Apple zealot like some tend to be, but I really like it. I got the iMac which is all one piece with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

    I'd like to get a laptop too, but it's hard to justify.

    Good luck with your situation, let us know how it comes out. Erik
  • Haggis
    Haggis Posts: 998
    OK, I'll add my two cents . . .

    If your drive can't be found, the drive itself is likely toast. You don't seem to care what was actually on the drive - if you do, there are some cheap steps to try but most recovery operations are expensive.

    But the drive itself is irrelevant to the overall PC. If you are happy with the way it performed, you can easily buy, very cheaply - no more than $50, a new hard drive and either install it yourself (fifteen minutes work) or have it done. Then you have to load everything else - windows and all the applications. That's the painful part.

    So, as someone said (was it the Wolf?): you know you want a new one, so go ahead and get it. If he's wrong, find a local friend who knows how to replace a drive.
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    Yep it was me.. Personally I would have replaced the drive, but that is me.

    I don't want to spend his money, but if you need to ask this question then you are trying to get other to validate a decision you already made.
  • thebtls
    thebtls Posts: 2,300
    If you have a boot CD or boot disk you can try to reformat the drive...it might find it during the process...or not.
    Visit my blog, dedicated to my Big Green Egg Recipies at http://www.bigtsbge.blogspot.com You can also follow my posts on FaceBook under the name Keep On Eggin' or the link http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Keep-On-Eggin/198049930216241
  • Pitmaster
    Pitmaster Posts: 74
    Call Dell. I had a problem with mine a few months ago and it was out of warranty. They helped me get it back going again!