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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 12:10:54
My two year old HP came back from its *second* system board replacement on June 30. As of this morning, the hard drive has officially failed. They are mailing me a replacement. It should be here next week.
Fortunately I had loaded my essential programs onto this borrowed machine while it was in the shop last time so I should be able to muddle through.
Until my new Lenovo arrives in several weeks. I ordered it today. I refuse to reload programs on the HP again. I just refuse. I've spent weeks and weeks already on the system failure recovery.
Good grief.
Posted by Tabitha on July 22, 2009, at 12:27:42
In reply to Computer broke AGAIN, posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 12:10:54
I spent months waiting on an upgraded machine at work, just when I'm almost finished moving all my data & loading all the s/w I need, the new machine's hard drive died. Aaaargh! So frustrating.
Posted by Phillipa on July 22, 2009, at 12:58:03
In reply to Re: Computer broke AGAIN, posted by Tabitha on July 22, 2009, at 12:27:42
Dinah your work computer and not personal at home one? Gee you sure know a lot about computers. Phillipa
Posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 13:08:22
In reply to Re: Computer broke AGAIN, posted by Tabitha on July 22, 2009, at 12:27:42
Yeah, that's about the way it worked. I had just decided that this one was behaving ok when it died.
I really hope this is the end of my run of bad luck. My husband's computer just came back from the shop too. Backlight broke on the screen.
I feel cursed.
But maybe laptops are just unreliable.
Posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 13:09:07
In reply to Re: Computer broke AGAIN, posted by Phillipa on July 22, 2009, at 12:58:03
It's everything, Phillipa. I work from home and the office so I lug a portable around.
Posted by HyperFocus on July 22, 2009, at 15:38:46
In reply to Computer broke AGAIN, posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 12:10:54
Laptops are so cheap now that unless it's under warranty it's probably better to replace them with a new one that try to do any major repairs. I spent a lot to get the board replaced on my Dell and my friend who sells and repairs them says I should have just got a new one. Everybody should have some sort of external backup done as regularly as possible. a 4GB flash drive is cheap and reliable (no moving parts) and can fit a gigantic amount of personal data and there are programs that can backup not just files but email and bookmarks and such. So when you need to switch machines you can get back up and running relatively quickly.
Posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 16:24:54
In reply to Re: Computer broke AGAIN, posted by HyperFocus on July 22, 2009, at 15:38:46
I always get the warranty thank heavens. With laptops I've always more than got my money's worth. (Which is both good and bad, I guess.)
I also do various types of backups, not relying on any one. I even rotate backups off site.
I think I just have a lot of programs. And a lot of individual setup in each program. It takes a good week to load and properly set up all my programs each time I need to do it. Although it's taking less time each time I do it, since it's fresh on my mind. :)
Unfortunately I've never gotten the hang of restoring programs from backup. I mess up the registry. So I have to do it from scratch each time.
Since I get paid by the hour, an unreliable laptop costs me a lot in terms of lost time. :(
I agree about the cost of repairs. Once it gets to the end of the extended warranty period, it hardly seems worth it to fix a laptop. Desktops appear to be easier.
Posted by Deneb on July 22, 2009, at 22:26:57
In reply to Re: Computer broke AGAIN » HyperFocus, posted by Dinah on July 22, 2009, at 16:24:54
Wow, you are having really bad luck with computers. It is extremely frustrating when things go wrong. I hope this time it works for a long time.
Posted by Dinah on July 25, 2009, at 8:26:52
In reply to Re: Computer broke AGAIN » Dinah, posted by Deneb on July 22, 2009, at 22:26:57
I went ahead and reinstalled everything to this one. Well not everything, since it's only been one day.
I don't know what's best to do. I can't really afford a new computer, and I also can't afford a computer I can't trust.
Nearly everything in this one is new now, but what does that mean?
This is the end of the thread.
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