Re: Where is SCAN DISK on W-XP? EZCD = Patty

[~ Free Spirit ~]

"Patty MacDuffie" > wrote in
message ...
> Sigh... Maybe you realize by now that your biggest mistake was buying an
HP
> Pavilion?
> --
> Patty MacDuffie
> MS MVP for Windows XP
==========================
Oh, yes. We both know that now. We were going by our past good
experience with HP PCs. But those were bought back when HPs were slightly
better quality. Both of the old ones are still running with no problems.
One is 4 years old, the other is 3 1/2 years old. One got very heavy use
and ran for almost 3 years before we needed to reinstall the OS due to
some virus or other invader that snuck past Norton and was unseen by
Spybot and Ad-Aware.

Where we live we can't find a certified tech to built us a custom PC. The
only one left here that builds custom PCs is CompUSA. You can pick
anything you want that'll work and they'll make you a PC. :-) We're
going THAT route next time. Although I live near the Dell factory I heard
horror stories about their PCs as well.

What's left?

FS..........

[Sharon F]

On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 16:52:36 -0600, ~ Free Spirit ~ wrote:

> ## I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to build my own. I mean
> everything has to work "together" and work correctly or nothing works....

I built my first computer a few years ago. It's still running and, in fact,
am using it right now. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it. I had a
friend coaching me via email - discussing the whole process, answering
"first time" questions. If you know someone trusty to boost your confidence
- it sure helps.

Your post caught my eye because I previously had an HP PC as well. The OEM
motherboard was restricting my options for a particular upgrade and this in
turn nudged me into building what I wanted. Regardless if you build your
next PC or have someone build it for you, I think you'll be very pleased.
Best of luck to you.

--
Sharon F
MS MVP - Windows XP Shell/User

[Sharon F]

On Mon, 9 Feb 2004 18:56:42 -0500, Ron wrote:

> "Sharon F" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 16:00:12 -0600, ~ Free Spirit ~ wrote:
>>
>>> We're
>>> going THAT route next time. Although I live near the Dell factory I
> heard
>>> horror stories about their PCs as well.
>>>
>>> What's left?
>
> I have bought quite a few computers over the last 25 years and the best ones
> that I bought were Dell. They arrived exactly as I had ordered and the few
> times that I contacted them they gave me outstanding service.
>
> Unless something has drastically changed, I would certainly not hesitate to
> buy from them again.
>
> Ron

Ron, I always buy Dell for my daughter. Good solid computers and have
always had good service from them. When she's away at college and needs
tech help right away (and I'm not available for whatever reason), I know
that she'll get the help she needs.

--
Sharon F
MS MVP - Windows XP Shell/User

[Patty MacDuffie]

Something has drastically changed. ;)
--
Patty MacDuffie
MS MVP for Windows XP

"Ron" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Sharon F" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 16:00:12 -0600, ~ Free Spirit ~ wrote:
> >
> > > We're
> > > going THAT route next time. Although I live near the Dell factory I
> heard
> > > horror stories about their PCs as well.
> > >
> > > What's left?
>
> I have bought quite a few computers over the last 25 years and the best
ones
> that I bought were Dell. They arrived exactly as I had ordered and the few
> times that I contacted them they gave me outstanding service.
>
> Unless something has drastically changed, I would certainly not hesitate
to
> buy from them again.
>
> Ron
>

[Patty MacDuffie]

Don't know what area of the country you are in, FS, but Aldi in the east and
Best Buy out here in the west sometimes carry a brand called a Medion.
German made machine. Great machines! If you can find them. Best way I've
found them is to go to Best Buy's website and do a search of their comuter
area for Medion. You can go to Medion's site (www.medion.com), but it
doesn't give you much info. I'm told they have excellent support also. I've
had about 8 clients buy these recently and they all love them. I stopped
recommending Dell (which is all I recommended for years!) because their
quality has gotten so bad.
--
Patty MacDuffie
MS MVP for Windows XP

"~ Free Spirit ~" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Patty MacDuffie" > wrote in
> message ...
> > Sigh... Maybe you realize by now that your biggest mistake was buying an
> HP
> > Pavilion?
> > --
> > Patty MacDuffie
> > MS MVP for Windows XP
> ==========================
> Oh, yes. We both know that now. We were going by our past good
> experience with HP PCs. But those were bought back when HPs were slightly
> better quality. Both of the old ones are still running with no problems.
> One is 4 years old, the other is 3 1/2 years old. One got very heavy use
> and ran for almost 3 years before we needed to reinstall the OS due to
> some virus or other invader that snuck past Norton and was unseen by
> Spybot and Ad-Aware.
>
> Where we live we can't find a certified tech to built us a custom PC. The
> only one left here that builds custom PCs is CompUSA. You can pick
> anything you want that'll work and they'll make you a PC. :-) We're
> going THAT route next time. Although I live near the Dell factory I heard
> horror stories about their PCs as well.
>
> What's left?
>
> FS..........
>
>

[Sharon F]

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 16:00:12 -0600, ~ Free Spirit ~ wrote:

> We're
> going THAT route next time. Although I live near the Dell factory I heard
> horror stories about their PCs as well.
>
> What's left?

Build it yourself? You can research the parts, buy what you want. Put it
together. If you're capable of reading and understanding directions, it's
really not that hard to do. Most hardware companies include free support
for installation issues so if you get a bad installation guide, you still
have those free tech calls to fall back on.

The *only* downside of "rolling your own" is having to keep track of serial
numbers and warranty terms. Dealing with many companies, if the need
arises, instead of one. I think, in the end, it would still balance out in
your favor since you would start with components picked for stability
and/or performance instead of OEM components that are often selected by
price point.

--
Sharon F
MS MVP - Windows XP Shell/User