What timing! I just released my new eBook “One Secret That Will Save You 8 - 16% Buying a Dell Online” the other day, charging only $15 for it. (Contact me on my website contact form to get it.)
I just hung up the phone. My Dell sales rep called me and 100% validated one of the two bonus secrets in the ebook.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Asus is my favorite motherboard to use for build your own computers. Tech support has generally been pretty good, but once in a while…
When the P5LD2 Deluxe board came out, it “supported” the Pentium “D” processor at 3.0Ghz, but not with the BIOS that shipped with it. The machine wouldn’t even POST. So how do you upgrade a BIOS in a PC that won’t boot up?
One way is to call Asus BIOS department and give them $5 for a new BIOS. That worked a couple of times, then they started sending me BIOS’s that didn’t work. I don’t know if they were defective or just had old code in them, and when I called they would send me another. But twice I went through about 4 of these before I got a good one. Eventually the boards started shipping with the right BIOS.
Another way is to throw away money on a lower grade processor (that I wouldn’t want otherwise) that the old BIOS does support, boot the machine, upgrade the BIOS, then change processors. I’m too cheap to spend $200 or so for a BIOS upgrade only processor.
The third way is to have 1 machine that does boot, extract the BIOS while the machine is running (carefully!) and put in the BIOS that won’t work (carefully!) and upgrade it. Unfortunately, Asus put a chassis fan connector right up against the BIOS socket which makes it tough to get the proper tool on it.
This problem essentially resolved itself a year or year and a half ago. But I had to RMA a P5LD2 Deluxe a couple of weeks ago, and when I got the board back and it wouldn’t boot. If I took the memory out, I got the memory missing beeps, but it would not POST all assembled.
I called tech support and mentioned this old BIOS problem and was assured that since I got the missing memory beeps, that couldn’t be it. Probably bad memory. Wrong, works in another PC, etc.
Well the board is grounding on the case, take it out. Nope, I’m not gonna fall for that.
So I (carefully) grabbed a working BIOS, popped it the RMA board and viola (sp), it worked!
So I performed the “hot bios upgrade” mentioned above, and with the loss of only about 2 - 3 hours of time (argh!) it’s all working.
Ever notice that it takes 4 or 5 times longer to tell someone what they don’t want to hear than to tell them what they want to hear?
I had a conversation with a cheap (not inexpensive) Dell desktop computer owner today. He bought this “good deal” 13 months ago. It came with a 1 year warranty. It came with RAID 1 (mirrored hard drives) to help protect his data.
Sidenote: RAID 1 protects you if 1 hard drive dies. Period. If the controller goes bad gradually (bad thing, rather have it die outright), or if a hard drive just starts scrambling data, you will likely end up with either 2 hard drives of either mismatched garbage or matched garbage.
For $39, Dell helped him get the RAID array re-mirrored. 24 hours later, the array is again being reported as “degraded”, i.e., both drives not matched. Windows is locking up and certain program files are being reported as corrupted or “damaged”. Want to take a guess what his data files are like?
The user tells me all of this, then carefully explains what error messages his browser reports when surfing a local news website. It takes 15 minutes to tell him to quit worrying about Windows until he has the hardware working solidly.
I tell him that after he gets the hardware repaired and squared away - I recommend he ask Dell for an extended service contract, they might do it at 13 months - he will likely have to reload Windows from the Dell Recovery CD that came with his PC. A Windows Repair install is probably not even a good idea at this point.
Oops. This was one of those “today only” super specials (that you can get every day) and, in order to offer such a good deal, Dell decided they couldn’t afford the 39 cents it would cost them to include a recovery CD.
I’ve said before, I say again, there are few reasons not to get a 3 year warranty on computer hardware:
Think about it. The (r)e-tailer thinks so highly of the product that they are only willing to stand behind it for a year. Why should you think it will last longer than that?
If you buy right and your needs change little (my clients still use Microsoft Office 2000) that PC you buy today should cover your needs for at least 3 years. My clients typically get 5 - 8 years from PC’s.
I could fill a book with stories of computer hardware that had a 1 year warranty that died after 13 months. The name Gateway stands out in this category but Dell would find its name there too.
Don’t buy without a 3 year warranty. If you do, please don’t call me when it pukes after 13 months.
I had reader contact me with this question:
I am buying a laptop for the first time and have been looking at the Dell XPS M1330. The only thing is once you start getting the specs up it starts getting quite expensive. I was hoping that maybe you could tell me if this is one of those systems that you can upgrade yourself easily without voiding warranty and for a cheaper price like my friends MacBook.
Here is my response:
You are absolutely correct, adding the good stuff drives the price up.
I can’t think of too many ways to scrimp on price and upgrade later. Upgrading processors in laptops never seems to be economical; RAM is about the only thing you can add later.
If you can live in the Mac world, I have never heard of an unhappy macbook buyer. I live in the PC world because the applications that my clients have always needed are spec’d on PC’s and Windows.
It truly is frustrating to see those cheap prices on Dell ads, but when you actually go to buy the product and make a few changes the price zooms upward.
All I can say is that if you buy right the first time, a laptop can serve you well for 3 - 4 years before you really become unhappy with it. My laptop is going on 3 1/2 years and still going strong.
I can’t say the same for an el cheapo unit that looks better in the glossy ad than it performs in person. I have seen too many of them go by the wayside after little more than a year of frustrating usage.
Please buy accordingly.
I had a Pentium 4 2.4 processor floating around that would only eBay for about $25. So I decided to see how little I could spend to turn it into a decent computer.
I found the Asus P4V8X-MX motherboard was feature packed and very inexpensive. 1 GB of memory from Crucial.com was less than $75. The SATA hard drive I had laying around had XP installed on it from an Asus P5B or P5L installation, not sure which, but surprised the heck out of me when it booted into windows with just a few drivers missing.
Since more and more of the problems I solve are regarding Windows Vista, I decided to see how Vista would fare on this board.
So I downloaded and ran the Windows Upgrade Advisor. After doing its thing, the advisor reported that it had encountered an error (thanks for all of that detail, Microsoft); and perhaps I should re-download the latest version (did it change in 15 minutes?) and try again.
Forget it. Install Vista anyway.
I booted with the Windows Vista Ultimate DVD (Dell OEM copy) and chose to install to a new partition. Wisely, I had only allocated about half of the 120GB disk to the Windows XP Pro installation.
With Vista, there really aren’t too many questions to answer during the install so I came back later to see how it was doing. I had to press the power button since it had gone to sleep waiting for me (fitting, as I have fallen asleep so many times waiting for Windows) but essentially it was all done.
The Asus P4V8X-MX board did not come with Vista drivers and I didn’t download any. Yet everything worked; no yellow exclamations in device manager; NIC, sound, and an old Asus GeForce MX 400 AGP video card all worked perfectly. The P4V8X-MX has video on the board making it a great value, but I figured AGP video with its own RAM would perform better - and the card was just gathering dust anyway.
So I guess my advice when Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor reports an error is to just go ahead anyway.
With one BIG caveat!:
I had backed up the PC first, even though I didn’t care about the XP install, with Acronis True Image software to a USB hard drive.
When I was done I now had a dual boot, Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Ultimate, computer. Runs great on both.
A client asked me to look at his son-in-law’s new Dell Laptop. It is an Inspiron E1505 that isn’t very old, and they never could get the wireless to work.
My first challenge was to determine whether the laptop was equipped with Dell’s WiFi card or the Intel WiFi option. Since the Intel WiFi option cost more, though not much and well worth it to me, I presumed it had the Dell.
Why didn’t I look at the order info, the packing slip or the receipt? Good question. Problem is that all of that paperwork was conveniently missing. Am I the only one who keeps and even makes copies of that stuff?
Turns out that drivers and software for both WiFi options were installed. And why not? A trip to Dell’s website support where I had input the service tag actually brought up a screen of possible drivers with “recommended” next to the Intel driver and “optional” next to the Dell driver. Why doesn’t Dell’s computer system know for sure? The son-in-law had already tried to fix it himself and had installed both.
The device manager showed 3 entries of “other device” with the description for all 3 as “base system device”. No driver worked.
Reboot and into the bios. WiFi device shows as “not present”. Time to call support and hope I get someone whose English I can understand.
Turns out that the gal was fairly knowledgeable AND understandable - although I’m pretty sure she was not from the USA. She had me open up the laptop to make sure that the WiFi card was actually present and seated properly in the laptop.
I will be quite honest with you; taking apart laptops gives me the jitters. Plastic (read breakable) pieces snapped together that you are told to “carefully lift and remove” are not my favorite hardware to mess with. Getting at the WiFi card under the keyboard turned out not too bad this time. Bending the plastic hinge cover, which wouldn’t budge at the half way point, caused my brain to hear a snapping noise that fortunately was only in my head.
A short prayer and a slight twist later and it came off. 2 more small screws and the keyboard was out of the way as well. While the Dell technician was trying to explain what she wanted me to check for, I tried to interrupt her to tell her that I think I had the problem spotted.
The WiFi card was laying there, not loose in the socket, but instead completely OUT of the socket. I plugged it in, put it back together, and the Dell WiFi drivers installed themselves.
Keep in mind that Dell support will try to get you to fix it yourself over the phone rather than pay for a contract technician to come out to fix it. If you aren’t comfortable taking your PC or laptop apart and don’t want to pay me to do it, be firm in insisting you want a technician dispatched (if your warranty coverage provides that - you did get CompleteCare, right?). In this case, expediency called for me to try the fix myself.
When we were done, the WiFi did work, but the 3 “base system device” entries were still in the “other device” category of device manager with the yellow exclamation point. The Dell tech cared not a whimper. As long as everything worked, she was done.
Well, Ok, I guess; but I would really rather a clean looking device configuration. I get a much warmer and fuzzier feeling that everything will be alright going forward that way. So that’s a mark or two off of A+ in my mind.
The other mark off is the website support that implies I should install the Intel WiFi driver when Dell’s database knows I have the Dell WiFi option in the unit I’m working on.
It’s easy to see how people get frustrated with computer systems and tech support. At least this laptop is working fine now.
A friend of mine just setup a nice computer desk and hutch. The laptop placed on the desk, the printer on a shelf above it.
Who knows, cheap computer furniture or possibly improper assembly. Either way, the shelf with the printer came down on the laptop and wrecked the screen.
The laptop is old enough that, even if he had Dell’s CompleteCare, it wouldn’t do him any good. He asked me what to do.
Parts alone are probably around $800; out of the question for an old laptop. My suggestion is to take the screen all the way off and plug in a nice flat panel display.
If you wanted, you could even put the laptop off to the side or underneath and plug in (or use wireless) nice keyboard and mouse. Then you can still use the computing power of the laptop, and when it dies, the money you spent on keyboard, mouse and flat panel display can still be put to good use with a new PC.
Laptop repair is an expensive option; chances are, there is a better solution when something like this happens.
Another tale of the cheap computer today. Now, again, I like inexpensive, but I HATE cheap - there is a difference!
My friends at the local ISP were talking about a customer who had just received a new PC as a gift from family members. This speed demon was equipped with Vista Basic (no flashy Aero interface) and only 512MB RAM; probably a 5400 rpm hard drive as well (should have 7200).
This person was complaining that her internet was slow. No, her PC was slow. When, after 5 minutes from boot time there are still icons loading in the system tray, that indicates 2 problems:
The cheap hardware MIGHT benefit, since it’s Vista, from a memory upgrade via Ready Boost. If you won’t spring for the real stuff (system RAM, that is), then be advised that certain flash memory, be it SD cards or USB sticks, can act as additional RAM in Windows Vista. This is called Ready Boost. Now, the flash memory MUST be Ready Boost compatible. If it doesn’t say, don’t count on it.
Is Ready Boost RAM as good as system RAM? No, but it’s better than swapping to the hard disk, especially if the hard disk is a pukey 5400 rpm jobby.
This SanDisk 2GB Cruzer Micro USB 2.0 w/ Ready Boost is supposed to be on sale this week at Buy.com for $9.29 after $20 mail in rebate.
SanDisk 2GB Cruzer Micro USB 2.0 w/ Ready Boost
With a laptop, you might opt for an SD Card for your Ready Boost since it can be inserted and just left there - it doesn’t stick out of the unit at all.
Either way, if your Vista PC is struggling, it’s worth a try.
I have written on cheap computers before, now I read that Dell will start selling a couple models at Walmart. I do hope Dell doesn’t repeat the fiasco of a decade or so ago when they sold inferior garbage at Sam’s with little warranty and a humongous repair bill if you were dumb enough to try to fix it.
Walmart is a fantastic place to save a few bucks on household items. But not everything there is the cheapest in town and there definitely aren’t any “Made in the U.S.A” signs hanging around anymore.
Do you suppose the staff can help you with your purchase (he, he, he)?
There is an old saying credited to Ben Franklin:
“Jack of all trades master of one”
that usually gets twisted into:
“Jack of all trades master of none“
The latter applies to Walmart. Heck, a lot of their stores aren’t even that clean anymore.
Please do yourself a favor. If you want to buy a computer, buy it from someplace known for computers, not toilet paper. If you want to buy a Dell, get it from Dell. There is even a trick I use to save about 10% over and above Dell’s lowest online price.
The way Windows Vista isn’t selling computers the way Microsoft and Intel would like (maybe better driver support would help), computer deals abound everywhere. I wish Dell didn’t think they had to stoop to selling at Walmart. Have they thought about panhandling instead?
If you can afford 5 to 10 grand for an electronic coffee table, take a look a Microsoft Surface. It isn’t being touted on Microsoft’s sight yet, but this Yahoo! News Article (Yahoo link gone) has some info on it.
A coffee table with a touch screen top that responds to more than one touch at a time. Now I could go on and on about how Americans care about nothing but recreation and fun, but this “Surface” actually will be used in the office eventually also.
For a while Microsoft Surface devices will be a novelty in hotels and upscale cell phone stores, but in time I can see this as a much better way of scrapbooking, organizing and enjoying photos and (gasp!) even games. In fact, it could spawn a whole new generation of table and card games. I can envision a really cool way to play chess. Add some remote consoles and how about a war strategy game?
Microsoft Surface just may end up in more places than one might think.
Return to blog home
——————
Please visit my website freecomputerconsultant.com
