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2nd Destructive Recovery coming / Help Please
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ddp
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20. January 2006 @ 07:06 |
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go with a new hd especially if it is the culprit making the cliunking noise. if getting new hd than make certain you get an ide drive not a sata drive as doubt your motherboard has the connectors for sata hd's. ide drives use a 40 pin connector cable whereas the sata uses a 7 pin connector for data.
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gerry1
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20. January 2006 @ 08:34 |
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Hmmmm. Guess I've got some thinking to do. I'm thinking of two things though: I've got this wierd feeling that HP might make good printers but that their computers are crap. The one I have now is actually a replacement: I bought an HP and had to send it back to the shop five times then I raised so much stink that they sent me the current one as a replacement. I'm inclined to buy a new one come income tax time and then get the HP fixed just to have a spare. Who would make the best home PC though; gateway, dell, sony? Scubabud, you suggested looking at Dells; ddp, what do you think of them? Gear, what do you have?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 20. January 2006 @ 08:35
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gear79
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20. January 2006 @ 08:40 |
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matter of fact, i have an HP... i think its a a817n pavillion, 160 gig hdd, 1 gig ram, litey burner, flat panel 17".. i paid like 1000 bucks for it, has more crap too, but too lazy to type it all out..
i've had good luck with hp so far... its my 4th anyway..
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gerry1
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20. January 2006 @ 10:14 |
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Damn! Decisions Decisions Decisions! Time to hit the reviews I guess; I won't be able to get anything until income tax return time anyway even if I have to keep doing destructive recoveries...not much choice in the matter.
Yeah, I paid a fortune for my pavillion too. I had it in my head to become a real photoshop pro; I'm an artist as you know and wanted to use the wizardry of photoshop to create drafts which I would then paint or draw. I'm quite good with photographs but never got good enough to use it as intended though. Anyway, the HP specs were put together by a guy in my building who taught photoshop at a local art college here in Philly (actually, it's Moore College of Art which is one of the best in the country). I keep telling myself I'm going to become a real pro with it but I think I've learnt all that I can learn on my own; I'd have to take classes from here. Anyway, it cost a bundle. The burner is a philips but there are few formats it just won't play and it's really picky on what media it will burn...I won't even take a chance with stuff on sale anymore, I've thrown too much stuff away. I know what it likes and I stick with it. My monitor is just awesome!: I don't remember the model but it's a 21 in. Sony LCD analog/digital. It has a five year warranty with as little as one dead pixel. It has this neat feature where it boosts or reduces the monitor brightness depending on the roomlight where it's set up...sound silly but it really makes a huge difference. It really has got to be the best damned picture I've ever seen. I won't even tell you what I paid for it because you'll send for the guys with the butterfly nets! Anyway, as you can imagine, I was bulls**t when I kept having to return the first one to the shop over and over again but the replacement they put together has worked like a charm since this started happening. Anyway, I'll decide what to do by the time I get my tax return. You see, I use the IRS like one of those christmas club accounts; I have them take out fifty or sixty dollars extra per paycheck and come income tax return time, I get a nice five to six thousand dollar return which I spend entirely on myself with absolutely no sense of responsibility! It's my yearly gift to myself for being so totally cheap for the rest of the year. Anyway, I'll keep you posted. I hope you're all o.k.! Gerry
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ScubaBud
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20. January 2006 @ 11:21 |
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Well Gerry with that kind of cash, you can get a custome PC that will brush your teeth, dust your furniture, and walk the dog! <G>
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gear79
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20. January 2006 @ 11:26 |
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hey gerry, check out tiger direct.com.. my dad just recently got a gateway from them, fully loaded for under 600 bucks.. shipping included..
has a 17" flat panel, 250 gig hd, burner and dvd rom, 1gig memory, and more, plus its WMC 2006.. not bad for the price, they have deals all the time..
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ddp
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20. January 2006 @ 11:47 |
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i would go for a clone computer that either you build or have built for you as you select what parts into the computer. philip's drives if i'm right are not that great of a drive.
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gerry1
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20. January 2006 @ 13:19 |
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This is too damn wierd. My computer needs an exorcist! I did a destructive recovery last night then went straight to bed. I got home from work today not looking forward to reinstalling everything ... all the programs I had uninstalled are back as expected but only half of the programs which should have been wiped out are gone. My printer and scanner software are gone but this document and photo management software is still there along with my X-Copy and a bunch of other stuff including my ISP software; I'm online now and this thing is flying! The grinding and groaning when booting up and shutting down has stopped (but for how long?). I've got to redownload my Norton though yet the software ddp had me download is all still there and functional. What the hell is going on with this thing? Damn this is strange! I'll let you know how I make out!
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ddp
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20. January 2006 @ 13:27 |
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is your recovery stuff on cd or on part of hd??
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gerry1
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20. January 2006 @ 17:55 |
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@ddp: Recovery is part of the hard drive but I can get recovery discs from HP. Something is wrong even with the recovery; all my programs should have been wiped out; about half were, others had some components removed but not others. I ran it again though and it did the trick so if it follows it's pattern, I should be o.k. for the next five or six weeks. I'm not going to bother to reinstall my software. That'll give me some time to figure out what I want to do. I'll price a new harddrive. BTW I don't know anyone who can build a computer for me. If I tried to build one we should film it and put it on the comedy channel.
@ScubaBud and Gear: I've got some decent cash coming back from my income tax but a good part of it is already spent on a vacation with some friends...in fact, that's why I started doing that, to pay for a decent vacation every year but in recent years, I've been using it to by new toys of one kind or another. Still, I'll have about 1,200 to spare and can buy a new and decent puter if I must...I just hate to if I don't have to. I think I'll price a new harddrive and depending on the price, I'll buy one and have it installed by one of the guys at the office. Worse that can happen is that it doesn't work and I wasted some money and have to buy a new computer. If the cost of a new hard drive isn't more than 150-200, I'll risk it and buy a new computer if it doesn't work. I am familiar with tiger direct; I've never bought anything big from them but they've got some great deals on blank media and all sorts of other things which I've bought. My puter should be o.k. until my income tax return although I may have to do the recovery one more time ... like I said, it usually lasts five or six weeks before it bites the dust. So I'll price a new hard drive and I'll start doing some research and reading reviews to see which of the major computer brand names makes the best product. Thanks for all the help guys!
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ddp
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20. January 2006 @ 18:29 |
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80gig hd $62Can, 160gig hd $87Can
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ScubaBud
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21. January 2006 @ 01:34 |
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Gerry there are lot's of ways to go for a good build. If you want the most bang for your buck and will be doing this soon, I would go AMD dual core. If you feel that you don't want to chance a build yourself just start a thread something like: $1200 to spend OTD for a new PC, what do you suggest. Let everyone put in their two cents and give advice and see what develops.
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gear79
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21. January 2006 @ 04:36 |
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160 gig for 87 bucks (can) ?
wow, thats a bit steep. what brand is that ddp?
we got a western hd here @ best buy for like 30 bucks after rebate, same size.
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ddp
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21. January 2006 @ 06:39 |
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maxtor without rebate. what was the price before rebate?
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gerry1
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21. January 2006 @ 07:15 |
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@ScubaBud
Ah, now for a demonstration of ignorance LOL!! What does "$1200. to spend 'OTD' for a new PC..." mean?...specifically "OTD". Thanks!
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ScubaBud
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21. January 2006 @ 07:49 |
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I'm sorry Gerry...
"OTD" is not a tech term but actually means Out The Door, including taxes and shipping.
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gear79
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21. January 2006 @ 08:04 |
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ask ddp, he makes house calls !!! lol
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gerry1
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21. January 2006 @ 12:07 |
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Hi guys!
@scubaBud: thanks for the explanation...teach and learn as ddp would say. I think it would be a good idea to start a thread as you suggested but to do so as a "plan B". Here's what I'm thinking: I've been doing some shopping around and given the cost of hard drives, I think it would be worth the risk; they're not terriblly expensive but I have two questions if you'd be a little patient with me:
1) If I were to get a new and really good hard drive installed, would the HP installation/recovery discs work? If I had to go out and buy XP and all the applications seperately, I might as well just buy a new puter. This leads me to my next question:
2) Would it be less problematic and all around more sensible to just order a replacement hard drive or compatible hard drive from Hewlett Packard?
@gear...would you do me a favor buddy? Next time you boot up your pavillion, would you take a listen at the CPU to see if you hear a sound which sounds like the fan going a bit harder at first ... from the time you first boot up to when your desktop appears, then goes back or normal? Only recently did I put the CPU on top of my desk; I never had it close enough to hear what sounds it makes. (I got this great computer desk from work designed for the disabled; adjustable everything. They were going to throw it out because the lower keyboard table wouldn't adjust adjust anymore...I took a look at it and there was a paperclip caught in the crank-shaft thing that raises and lowers it.)
As always, thanks for the help guys! ... Gerry
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ScubaBud
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21. January 2006 @ 12:40 |
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Gerry
1 - Yes it should if you have the disks.
2 - No, don't waste your money!
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gear79
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21. January 2006 @ 13:05 |
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gerry, my pc, as i stated earlier, is only 1 year old.. but, since thats the case, my is a tad louder then the last one i had, it has 3 fans in it..
one for the processor, one for exhaust and the other cools my graphics card.
as scubabud stated, getting a new hard drive, all you do is a normal install and load the disks in one by one... assuming you have 7 or 8 disks. it will prompt you when to install one and the number.. i tried that on my last puter, but it was toast....
if your pc has the recovery built in, hp gives you the option to make your back up (either cd or dvd)
i did mine when i got it and got the system running..
for your hard drive, if you get a new one, will more then likely be the IDE plug type, and not the sata... (btw, mine is sata, cuz its newer).
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gerry1
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21. January 2006 @ 16:52 |
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Hey guys, you're not going to believe this! I did a spur of the moment thing when I was pissed off and totally forgot about it; it can pay to be a pain in the a$$!
When I first ordered my HP pavillion, I'd gotten a 754n which was a lemon and never worked; it was in the shop for 5-6 months sending it back and forth four or five times. I needn't tell you my blood was boiling; the last time, I dug up the name and corporate address of the CEO of HP and wrote a polite but firm letter demanding that they stop trying to fix it and give me a new one. A few days later, I got a call from their office telling me that they'd stopped it in the shop and that I would get a new one. The new models had come out and I got the A250n which I have now. I totally forgot I did this but I demanded that the extended warranty I purchased (and I never buy those things) actually start over on the date I received the replacement and they agreed. I also insisted that they send it to me in writing with the model and serial number of the new one as well as the old one as I didn't trust them and feared more problems at that point. They sent it to me. My computer is still under warranty for just under one more month!! I'm a cynical guy by nature and fear that they wouldn't have sent me that letter without a loophole out that I don't know about but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I called HP support this afternoon and naturally, they had no record of the replacement puter and no record of the new expiration date of the warranty. I faxed it to them from the office and they say they need 24 hours to verify it. (Again, my suspicions were aroused).
There is a program in the puter called "PC Doctor". They had me run this test on the hard drive which took about four hours...it was five tests; three said "pass" and two had the red X with the word "failed" across it so it looks like our diagnosis was correct. I may well get the whole problem fixed for free unless my cynical nature is correct but I'll raise a hell of a stink with them as I did last time if they give me any grief. I'll keep you posted and thanks again for the help! ... Gerry
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ddp
Moderator
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21. January 2006 @ 17:00 |
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go get them tiger!!!!
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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21. January 2006 @ 17:15 |
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Gerry, I think I'm going to let you handle my purchases from now on!!! :)
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gear79
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21. January 2006 @ 17:33 |
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hey gerry, when you called them (hp) did they speak english?
lol, when i had problems with my last one, i could never understand them at all.... very hard to listen to onw who barely speaks english. i think my call was transfered to india !
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gerry1
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21. January 2006 @ 18:40 |
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@gear: strange you should mention that; I was thinking about it as I spoke to them this afternoon; things sure have changed. Right after I first ordered some three and a half years ago, I spent huge amounts of time with them on the phone...they allhad Indian accents but spoke very well and were easy to understand, they all had Americanish names like Bob and Charlie and they were very well trained and extremely polite...I mean I was in a serious rage as you can imagine but it was rough to be nasty because they bent over backwards to help you. This afternoon, I couldn't understand a damned word she was saying & was always asking her to repeat herself. She gave no name at all...real or fake. I mean she wasn't nasty at all or anything but with an impossible to understand accent and sort of a blah "ask me if I care" attitude, it wasn't the same at all; customer service has taken a severe nose dive but you know, as long as they dont give me any crap tomorrow about the warranty orthe results of that hard drive test, she can have as much attitude as she pleases.
All those damned jobs are in India now...from the customer service folks to network administrators, systems engineers and programmers. As you know from other threads, I am a career counselor with the department of labor and industry. Labor trends have three categories; growth industries, zero growth industries (labor force in a particular industry sector is equal to retirements and hiring trends without job creation or job loss) and decline industries (excess labor force in an industry sector where job titles are rapidly being reduced)...the IT industry is in a 40% decline over a five year period which is the worst of any industry since the depression and was caused by the deregulating of the industry in 1996. The only exceptions to the rule are network and internet security as well as database managers and administrators...particularly Oracle with a stress on 9i. But if you are a PC support or workstation support guy or even fresh out of school for network administrators or systems engineers, the best way to get your foot in the door is to actually learn MS office as well as some web maintenance, make sure your techie knowledge is well spelled out on your resume then apply stictly for administrative positions and you can usually work your way from one job title to another rather quickly. Since most places don't have on site techies and merely phone them in, applying for an admin position with a solid PC/workstation support knowledge and you're head and shoulders above the rest and if you throw some web maintenance into the mix so they can sack the wev dev. in favor of a contract guy, you've got it made. (How the hell did I get into that?) You though, gear, are tied for first place in the highest demand occupations ...certified auto mechanics as well as pharmacists are the two highest demand occupations all over the country and you could easily find a job anywhere.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. January 2006 @ 18:54
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