She broke my computer....grrr About This Page:

[CinderAbby]

I have no idea what she did but about a week ago, Abby used my computer instead of her own. Since then, it was doing funky things. Sunday, when I got home from work, I spent some time putting all my files onto some memory cards since it was still working then and I just had the feeling it was better to not put it off. Monday morning, Lenny looked at it and pretty much the computer crashed - to the point he had to wipe everything out and start again. TWICE. So other than for a few minutes this morning when I was finally able to get the Disney FP part of the website to work I haven't been able to use my computer since Sunday night. Even now it's still updating. It has been since something like 9 am this morning. It's finally on update 191 of 192. I might actually get to do something on it today. It's funny how something I used here and there just for fun as a kid has become something I rely upon to get things done - bills, spreadsheets, finding out information. I felt so lost today trying to catch up on things without my computer. Currently, I'm using Lenny's computer. Yes, I have the iPad but sometimes it's not that easy for me to use when on here. I have a keyboard but the screen is small and I just don't always want to struggle to read what I've typed so I'll respond here and there but for anything long, it's just too much.

So that's my tale of woe for today. I took the day off work to do FP and get caught up on things. I've haven't been that successful in it because I've had to use someone else's computer thanks to Abby. Kids, gotta love them

[CinderAbby]

It finished updating and actually shut off!!!! The sad part is I don't dare touch it now

[Straitlover]

Not to be mean, but I would put a password on it so she couldn't use it if it were me. She has her own; no reason to use yours IMO.

Hope it's all working when you turn it on, LOL!

[Her Dotness]

Might not have been Abby's fault at all.

I had a computer die after not quite two years of near-daily use.

My Kindle recently croaked after doing funky things occasionally over a few months' span. Stuff like refusing to respond to commands and freezing or crashing more often. Finally, one day I was reading these boards with it on the charger when it suddenly went black and refused to restart even with an Amazon tech instructing me. His conclusion and mine was time to buy a new one.

If it's older than a couple of years and was frequently used, my guess is it simply decided to die.

[CinderAbby]

Not to be mean, but I would put a password on it so she couldn't use it if it were me. She has her own; no reason to use yours IMO

I know I tried that at one point in time and I forget why I stopped - it probably created more problems than it prevented.

Might not have been Abby's fault at all.

That could be true too I suppose although whatever she did I know didn't help any.

Knock on wood as all is well now. I'm on my own computer again and while there is next to nothing on it (and I may keep it that way) at least the important things (aka Disney spreadsheets ) are accessible for me to revise now. Not to mention it's my own desktop with the picture I chose for it - a picture of the castle one of us took 10 years ago that I refuse to update for some reason.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

[...] it was doing funky things. [...]

Such as?

I'm not an infallible guru, but depending on what it was doing I might be able to help pinpoint the root problem. Because if it's a hardware fault, then no amount of reinstalling Windows will have helped, and it will continue having problems.

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by Pax

Such as?

I'm not an infallible guru, but depending on what it was doing I might be able to help pinpoint the root problem. Because if it's a hardware fault, then no amount of reinstalling Windows will have helped, and it will continue having problems.

I'd click shutdown and it would either not shut down (screen would go black like it was off, but computer light would stay on) or it would act like I clicked restart and then freeze on the "starting windows" screen. We'd have to hold in the button to force it off, then when we restarted it, it brought up that black screen to start normally or do the repair. If we hit start normally, it wouldn't do anything. If we hit repair, all it would do would search. Lenny had actually turned this on Sunday night before going to bed and Monday morning, it was still searching for problems to fix some 8 hours later. Lenny said he thinks he couldn't get it to work the first time putting Windows back in due to a typo in my key.

[Huntermom]

I am the only one who uses my computers but they still have done funky things. There are lots of awful viruses, Trojan horse and whatever else you want to call them out there.

And these days, computers aren't really built to last.

[GingerJ]

I tried to fix my Mom's laptop once, and found out she never shuts it down. When I shut it down to reboot it, it had a million updates that hung it up forever. I think she eventually had to go to a computer repair guy in town .

Moral: Don't leave your computer running all the time (I'm guilty of this, too, but she went YEARS without shutting down, apparently).

[GATechGal]

Tried to fix Mom and Dad's computer last month. Even the tech guy at our office couldn't get it to work. So they ended up buying a new one. It was on a pretty great sale at Office Depot. And all they needed was the computer. Their monitor was fine. Now they just need to learn Windows 10.

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by GATechGal

Now they just need to learn Windows 10.

I wish them luck adjusting to how user UNfriendly it is.

I'm so mad at Microsoft for messing up Windows that I'm replacing this computer with a Mac asap. I've had it with attempting to figure out how to get to what I want without having to sort through a bunch of features I don't.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

I'd click shutdown and it would either not shut down (screen would go black like it was off, but computer light would stay on) or it would act like I clicked restart and then freeze on the "starting windows" screen. We'd have to hold in the button to force it off, then when we restarted it, it brought up that black screen to start normally or do the repair.

Hmm, that does sound like an OS problem, not hardware.

And it could be a really wide range of things .... very few, perhaps none of which would logically be Abby's fault. Well, not unless she intentionally went mucking about in some pretty deep-level settings (like the BIOS.) I think her use, and then the machine's unusual behavior, might just be a matter of "unfortunately timed coincidence".

Originally Posted by Her Dotness

I wish them luck adjusting to how user UNfriendly it is.

I really haven't had any user-friendliness issues with Windows 10 at all. There was an adjustment period, sure. But that was true of going from years of XP to using Win7, too. (And I skipped 8, going straight from 7 to 10.)

I'm so mad at Microsoft for messing up Windows that I'm replacing this computer with a Mac asap. I've had it with attempting to figure out how to get to what I want without having to sort through a bunch of features I don't.

Just so you know? For the same amount of money, you'll get about 3/4 as much computer if it has that Apple logo on it, as you will staying with Windows ..... or going to Linux, but that's not for casual users as I understand it.

Or, put the other way around: you'll pay around 30% more for a Mac than for an otherwise equally-capable Windows machine.

[Huntermom]

MY middle guy, who is a tech magician says the reason people like Apples so much is that they are more expensive because they don't make a cheap machine and so they last longer -or as long as a more expensive windows system. So the MAC mat be $700. but you need to compare it to a $700. PC, not a $300. one.

In computers, like so many other things, you get what you pay for and a cheap computer is no bargain.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by Huntermom

MY middle guy, who is a tech magician says the reason people like Apples so much is that they are more expensive because they don't make a cheap machine and so they last longer -or as long as a more expensive windows system. So the MAC mat be $700. but you need to compare it to a $700. PC, not a $300. one.

Macs nowadays are literally made from the exact same parts as a PC. Apple doesn't manufacture desktop or laptop components and chipsets anymore.

In computers, like so many other things, you get what you pay for and a cheap computer is no bargain.

With a Mac, you are paying for the cachet of that Apple logo. There is a definite markup.


Seriously, direct comparison time:

The baseline iMac descktop unit has:

• a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-5250U dual-core processor;
• 8gb of DDR3-1867 system memory;
• a 1TB, 5400rpm Hard Drive;
• Integrated Intel HD 6000 graphics;
• typical sundries - webcam, microphones, speakers, SDXC card reader, case, KB, Mouse, power supply, etc;

All that for $1100.

So. Off to NewEgg to price that out:

• CPU, $185 for an Intel Core i5-4430, 3.0GHz, quad core (almost eight times as much CPU!) (I literally could not buy the same CPU separately; the thing is obsolete - the 4330 is the cheapest i5 currently available)
• Memory, $32 for Crucial Ballistix Sport, 2 x 4GB DDR3-1866. Quality memory with the same performance specs
• Hard Drive, $54 for a Western Digital Blue 5400rpm 1TB unit
• Intel HD 6000 graphics, $0 (integrated is part of the motherboard or CPU)
• Motherboard, $103 for a Gigabyte GA-z87-HD3
• Webcam w/microphone, $59 for a Logitech C615
• Speakers, $15 for Logitech S120
• Multiformat card Reader (reads WAY more than just SDXC), $15 for NewEgg's house brand, Rosewill - it's highest rated on the site
• KB+Mouse, $25 for a Logitech MK270 combo set
• Power Supply, $75 for an 80+ BRONZE certified Coolermaster G550M 550W unit
• Case, $109 for a VERY nice Antec 900
• 21.5" 1920x1080 LED monitor, $140 for an ACER H226HQL 21.5" 1920x1080 unit
• Optical Drive, $53 for an ASUS blu-ray reader
• Windows 10 Home x64 operating system, $100

Grand total? $826 ... and the CPU is seven to ten times better than the one in the Mac.

Add 20% markup for having a technician assemble it, and you're at $991.20 ... call it $1,000. Still a hundred dollars cheaper than the MAC.

And Ididn't skimp on parts, I didn't go for the cheapest available; I did my best to match the iMac (and where I couldn't match it, I exceeded it). Then I went for brands I personally know are quality producers, or else went for the "highest rated" (figuring customer satisfaction would be a fair indicator of reasonable quality).

That computer would be somewhat limited in capability (because of the absence of a discrete video card) ... but it'd be a quality build, and it'd still run circles around the iMac.

For a hundred dollars less.

Oh, and for $55, we can throw in an NVidia GTX 730 video card, and completely blow the iMac out of the water ... and still be almost fifty bucks cheaper. More computer, for less money.

[Huntermom]

Pax,

My kid also frequents New Egg but assembles his own. My work desk top was around $450. I have no idea what's in it but it is for work, not play, so doesn't have any gadgets for games and video watching. DS easily spends over $1000. for components for his stuff.

When I was talking about cheap laptops, I was talking about those sold at Walmart and staples and even Best Buy for under $300. I don't think you can expect them to last. I have gotten a couple in an emergency and if they last two years, you are very lucky. When DD went to college, I got her a cheap desk top as money was tight. While we were still using my son's desk top from high school (he is 5 years older than his sister), his sister's lasted barely a year.

You cannot buy anything at Apple for $300. They just don't sell that low a product. So people who buy Apple get a better product,

PLus I think Apple operating systems do not have all the kinks Windows have.

By the way, DS2, like you, is a PC guy. but his sister and sister in law are big Apple fans. Both are in medicine and find the Apple software and apps better.