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Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
I returned the new HP today. It just didn't work right. Best example: While idle is would restart and tell me that the system had just recovered from a serious error. Other idiosyncracies too numerous to mention. Certainly not all it was cracked up to be so now I'm back on old faithful with a 3in1 printer that won't work with this old computer and a new monitor setting over in the corner.

Travis said I should get a Dell. I'll talk to him about it next week.
 
Uncle Bill, be careful with Dell.

I just bought my son a new set up, and we have plenty of problems due to compatilbility. No printer but a Dell works with Dell , zingo more money. Then the router, Dell with Dell, zingo, LinkSys no go, then we need another monitor to talk to the Dell router ........and on .....and on.
You have to convert 100% and sell off all your other stuff or get "adapter" gear.:(
 
WHOA; thanks for the heads up sams! I was just going to suggest my parents get a Dell to replace their very old beat up computer; they have an educator discount and my Mom is a high school teacher so I thought it would be a good choice. HP was my other choice; sounds like a bad idea as well. I've offered to build them a system from scratch; I built my own and it's worked quite well.
 
Had no problem with comaptibility on several dells at work, hooked up to a wide variety of networking equipment and printers. That being said, dells tend to be a bit of a disappointment, least those(were home models). Just about any home model is going to be e made out of the absolute cheapest parts possible, and hence will tend to have more problems. If you are going to buy a premade pc, spend a bit extra to get the business line from whatever brand you choose. These cost a bit more, but have better components. If Dell or HP or whatever has a bad home PC, they maybe piss off that user and a few of their friends. At most, maybe $10 grand in lost sales. Old job spent around $70K per year on computers from HP/Compaq, and that's a small private university. Only got their servers and busienss line PCs(laptops and desktops), never had any trouble. $10K every 3-5 years in lost sales is a LOT different than $70K-$250K every year in possible lost sales if one of their busienss line PCs has trouble
 
'Fraid that HP, once a great company with an inspiring history that made long lasting, dependable products has become yet another airplant and stock promotion scheme under 'modern business management'. Very sad. Why these companies keep swapping the same worthless, overcompensated executives with each other is a mystery.

What etp777 said.

Pony up for the "business model"--forget the "home" or "consumer" stuff. It's not really a 'saving" to buy lower quality components in a prettier case. You don't need the fastest processor on the block either. You can make up for the higher cost of the "business model" by buying a box with a little slower processor.

Glad you were able to take the sick box back and good luck.
 
Uncle Bill,
Check out MPC (formerly Micron PC, but the PC business was sold to another company). Check out their "commercial sales" section as well as their home office/small business section.

Their URL is www.buympc.com

(FWIW, for PCs, sometimes a good tradeoff between cost and value is to select not the cheapest option but the second-cheapest.)
 
It's at times like this I appreciate (?) my IBook. I don't know if a Mac would work for you Uncle Bill, It wouldn't hurt to look at the website.

http://www.apple.com/

And no, you don't need a G5.
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles, uncle!

As much as I dislike Macs in general, Uncle Bill is one of the folks they should probably work well for.

As for the big PC manufacturers, Dell has been the best of the ones we buy for the office. I haven't seen any (defined as "more than the usual amount of") problems hooking up with all kinds of peripherals. Some of the local small shops can do good work too, especially if they have a warrantee. Since they are local it can be easier to get service. At least you can go in and bit## at the owner, which is sonething you can't do at Best Buy or the other national chains.
 
Uncle Bill, if I recall you stated that your new HP was running Windoze 2000? I believe the problems and issues you are having stem from that, not the PC you bought.

With regards to the PC 'rebooting' everytime there's a fatal exception, this is actually an option enabled by default. It can also be unenabled. This *#!@%^ 'feature' fustrates many folks new to Windoze 2000. There will will be learning curve with the new OS.

Previously W2K had numerous driver issues, however they had been ironed out for about 2 yrs. now. Are you sure The hardware you were using (i.e. printer & scanner, etc...) were W2K compatible.

Consider this solution; buy a new PC (I still reccomend a Dell, based upon experience), except buy it with Windoze 98 (NOT Mellinium Edition either) installed, instead of W2K :) Windoze 98 SE is very much like Windoze 95 and you will have NO difficulty making the switch.

Again, Dell made their reputation on service after the sale and the PCs are TOUGH! The students at the community college where I worked as a lab tech used to beat the 'livin $#!t out of 'em and they just kept a 'workin.

Actually Uncle Bill, myself and I'm sure, quite a few of the Nephews could easily build you a new high-end PC for a fraction of the cost you'll be paying for a retail one. Only problem is most of us live too far away to do that, not to mention servicing the PC :(

Sams, Respectfully, I totally disagree with your assessment. Worked with hundreds of Dells (GX1, GX110, GX150, GX240) in a very heterogenous environment. Good compatibility. The three Admin's have a total of about 9 PCs on their desks, they are tied together with a Linsys 10/100 switch. Why? 'Cause it was cheap and it worked. As far as routers go, same deal. In the Networking Lab where I mostly worked, we used old Cisco 2400s & 3800s routers and 1900s switches -no problem. Please remember that all manufacurers want big sales and that means compatibilty. 'Cause customers usually can't afford to switch over they're entire network to one manufacturer.
 
THe HP a220n runs XP Home, andt he PSC2175 multifunction is designed for XP. Not that any of that matters anymore as he already returned it
 
Also would mention that it's been a long time since I've seen a big brand computer available with Windows 98 as an option for the OS. I know the Dell Home systems only show XP as an option, at least with a quick perusal. Part of license agreements that computer vendors have with Microsoft is that Microsoft can choose how long they're allowed to sell old operatings systems, and as 98 is rather dated(esp. if you put it on a new system), not surprising if Microsoft has told them that they can no longer sell that Operating system
 
Actually Uncle Bill, myself and I'm sure, quite a few of the Nephews could easily build you a new high-end PC for a fraction of the cost you'll be paying for a retail one. Only problem is most of us live too far away to do that, not to mention servicing the PC
Click to expand...

I almost offered to do this Bill; and if I lived in Reno I would be over at Uncle Bill's right now configuring a system for him. I'm afraid to do it over a distance though since anything could go wrong even with the best components and setup, plus "tech support" could be deployed when everything goes haywire and then Uncle Bill would be SOL. I'd be happy to offer e-mail support if you're having any issues with stuff though Uncle Bill; I might know how to fix it and I might not, but I'll be happy to try. Good luck and be sure to keep us posted.
 
Give me a couple months to save enough money to get rid of this dinosaur (66MHZ FSB, 500 Celeron, 33ATA HD. Thought that would make y'all laugh :D ) and I'll burn Uncle a damn copy of any M!{ro$@ft OS he needs for his new PC. Not that anyone would have to know, mind you... ;)

BTW, I still run Windows 98 SE 'Lite Pro 4.6' as my OS and will continue to do so unless a particular program requires me to do otherwise (ex. Maya 5 or XSI SoftImage 3.5). ' Cause it's the FASTEST and most STABLE flavor of M!{ro$@ft out there. At least until Shane Brooks releases W2000/XP Lite :)
 
I'd like it back, because I reload it for various reasons from time to time.

the disc has "Second Edition" on it.

Just let me know.

Edit: My PC is a clone built by some guy who worked for a client. I have no idea of what parts are in there. 256K, 10 gigs, 56k. Aside from a slightly fried modem, works ok.
 
Bill the Cat, [I like that name]:) The Dell works fine on it's own, but....................we logged over 18 hrs with the on line service, received replacement router, had to purchase new printer [the old one would not talk to Dell] and our other computer will not down load through the Dell router. The service people do not have a solution. I'm at the point to send everything back and have a friend build a system that will be compatable with the other computers. I guess I should have gone with a bussiness network from the get go.:(
 
Ouch! In my experience Dells (reinforced by reliability surveys in the current issue of PCMagazine) are *very* reliable computers, and there is NOT a compatibility issue unless you buy other Dell-branded peripherals. (The printers are a good case in point -- you can only use Dell brand ink in a Dell printer; the seemingly identical cartridge from a Lexmark (which makes Dell's printers) won't work. But that's in the printer, not the computer.) You can use any printer, any monitor, any modem, any add-in cards that will fit. Dell has used non-standard power-supplies in the past, so that if you needed to replace it, you had to go with a Dell-branded unit -- but that's a pretty rare event.

I would strongly recommend AGAINST Windows 98. This was one of the least reliable operating systems I've ever used. When I was using it at work, I had to reboot my computer several times a day to recover from crashes.

I DO suggest Windows XP Professional; it's much more stable and reliable, and I only have to reboot it a couple times a week now. (It's important to note that I'm not a "normal" user; I test and evaluate computer equipment and software for a living, and I'm always installing and uninstalling equipment and applications. That will strain any Windows system.)

Macs have their own problems -- not fewer, just different.

Overall, I'm not crazy about HP desktops. I do strongly recommend Dell or having someone local to Uncle Bill build a system.
 
Keep kicking it around, guys. I can use all the help I can get. I kept the new monitor and 3in1 HP 2175 printer which won't work with this old HP.
 
Sams; sir I empathize with your fustration... :(

Russ Kay; You are absolutely right. Windoze 98/SE/ME out of the box is extremely unstable. The simple reason for this is because the Win 98 'shell' used the Internet Explorer 4.X HTML engine to run it. Hence anything that would crash IE 4.X would also cause Windoze 98/SE/ME to seize. However, contrary to what Bill Gates (successfully) argued in court, you dont need IE 4.X to run Windoze 98. Which is exactly what 98 Lite Pro does. It allows you to selectively install optional (stuff M!{ro$0ft says you can't live without :mad: ) system components resulting in a smaller, faster more stable OS. Main case-in-point, it lets you do a 'shell-swap' with Windoze 95. What you end up with is a Win 95 shell (desktop) sitting on the Win 98 kernel. IE 4.X never touches the harddrive :). If you still wish to use IE as your browser, you simply install the latest version as a stand alone application. The resulting stability and performance gains are praise worthy ...errrrr end of rant, slinking away towards the litterbox.
 
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