Bite the bullet - i need to buy a new computer

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

The OS doesn't get old and faulty like hardware. The OS either supports the application or it doesn't. Upgrading the OS can cause problems.

Oh yes, Windows particularly gets old. If too many different kinds of software was installed/uninstalled, registry and file system gets trashed with garbage. After a while things stop working, I saw many such cases. Reinstalling Windows, and/or buying more memory can change your experience dramatically. Not even talking about some specific types of Windows (like Vista) that are just broken.

What some people are not getting is that many older systems with USB ports do not support high speed USB that is required for flash drives. This is a hardware issue and can only be fixed by upgrading the hardware.

Most newer fast USB devices will fall back to lower speed on older hardware.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Oh yes, Windows particularly gets old. If too many different kinds of software was installed/uninstalled, registry and file system gets trashed with garbage. After a while things stop working, I saw many such cases. Reinstalling Windows, and/or buying more memory can change your experience dramatically. Not even talking about some specific types of Windows (like Vista) that are just broken.

That is why you need to clean your system and optimize it periodically. t is not necessary and is foolish to reinstall the OS or upgrade it in this scenario. You can solve your problem with clicking on one button with Systweak's Advanced System Optimizer 3. Adding more memory is always good to a point



Most newer fast USB devices will fall back to lower speed on older hardware.

There are many that won't such as flash memory

I have worked with almost every conceivable hardware/software system in my many years as a Software Design Consultant. I have designed and implemented Operating Systems. drivers, etc., and hardware systems.

Personally, I far prefer the Linux OS which I run on 2 of my systems along with Windows XP Professonal on 4 systems.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Wow!!!

Some of you are saying exactly why I have hung onto Ole POC with WIN95, because it has been relatively stable and trouble-free.

My main problem is that so many sites I have to visit work best, or only, with more recent operating systems.

So, it is not so much that Ole POC doesn't work, it is that the rest of the computer world has advanced too far from it.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Yes, it doesn't take long to be outdated in the PC world. I'm just surprised that anyone would still be using windows 95- I remember it well from all the crashes I endured until the computer hard disc crashed. I think it had 128mb Ram and a 6 gig hard drive. I can only imagine it would be used for email if it was still around.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Wow!!!

Some of you are saying exactly why I have hung onto Ole POC with WIN95, because it has been relatively stable and trouble-free.

My main problem is that so many sites I have to visit work best, or only, with more recent operating systems.

So, it is not so much that Ole POC doesn't work, it is that the rest of the computer world has advanced too far from it.

The web sites don't care what operating system you have. It is the browser you are using that is probably a way out of date. However, upgrading from WIN95 to Windows XP or Windows 7 is probably a good idea. WIN 95 never was very good. You should always keep your Web browser up to date. It doesn't cost anything and is easy to do. I use the latest Internet Explorer 8+.

I have used every Microsoft OS that existed, except for Vista and Windows 7, starting with DOS, through the Windows Shells, Windows OSs to Windows XP Professional. Windows XP has been the best by far and I have had it since 2003.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Sounds like a virus, with external drives not being accessible.

Are you able to burn cds/dvds?? If so, I would work on burning photos/TT files to disk. Could be that virus removal solves all of your problems. Try it yourself or take it to a service to have done for you, including backup.

Not a fan of Best Buy, I went in pricing laptops and got 3G Ram, dual processor Toshiba for under $400. Could not pass it up, took it home with me. I think the widespread demand for Netbooks has caused laptops to be overstocked.

You can hook up a laptop to an external monitor, keyboard, etc., so keep that in mind as you shop, in case you were not looking at laptops but find the pricing more attractive than expected.

[myestro Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close myestro]

trust this stranger!

Buy an iMac. You won't be sorry. I know I'm a complete stranger but I am serious, I say the same thing to all my friends.


iMac - Apple Store (U.S.)

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Buy an iMac. You won't be sorry. I know I'm a complete stranger but I am serious, I say the same thing to all my friends.


iMac - Apple Store (U.S.)

Will depend on user. Converting to a different platform can be expensive if a person has many software packages they use. I won't ever be a Mac person because it won't run my programs.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The web sites don't care what operating system you have. It is the browser you are using that is probably a way out of date. However, upgrading from WIN95 to Windows XP or Windows 7 is probably a good idea. WIN 95 never was very good. You should always keep your Web browser up to date. It doesn't cost anything and is easy to do. I use the latest Internet Explorer 8+.

I have used every Microsoft OS that existed, except for Vista and Windows 7, starting with DOS, through the Windows Shells, Windows OSs to Windows XP Professional. Windows XP has been the best by far and I have had it since 2003.

Kinda hard to do when updating requires a more recent OS.

Then it is the OS that's the problem.

Plus, websites do say they need a more recent OS to work. Hotwire, for instance, has even told me that. Maybe they don't know/understand what you do.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

I would back up your data, especially your photos as soon as possible if you haven't already done so.
Back them up to either cd's (might require a few), jump drives (may be a few of these also) or what I think is best idea get an external hard drive and backup (copy) files to there. If you use an external hard drive then just hook the drive up to your new computer when you get it and you will have all your data available to you. You can either copy the data over to the new computer or leave it on the external and access it there. I do a lot of photography and I have an external drive that I dedicate to my photos which I have 25000 or so. Where ever you end up keeping your data when you get your new computer get yourself in to the habit of backing up that data often as no matter where it is stored it is subject to fairlure.
I back my photos up to either CD or DVD's and I make two copies each time I back stuff up. CD's can deteriorate after time and I have found that when I access CD's from a year or two ago that sometimes there is some loss.
Anyway, it sounds like your computer is on the way out and I would get the data off it as soon as possible and then follow any of the advice here to finding a new computer.
As I told someone else reciently, if your computer gets to the point where it fails to boot you can still probably save your data by taking the hard drive out of the present computer and putting it in an external enclosure and accessing it just as a secondary drive to your new computer. Then copy the data (which will probably still be accessible even tho the drive is no longer bootable).
If you don't feel that you can tackle this yourself there are lots of computer businesses out there than can do this for you for a fee.

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

Best deals and coupons is at Daily Hot Black Friday Like Online Deals, Latest Coupon Codes, Best Offers & Discounts at eDealinfo.com , You are buying direct from Dell or HP or what other company's they have listed. The deals with there links can save you hundreds of dollars.

Nice site Frank...thanks.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Wow!!!

Some of you are saying exactly why I have hung onto Ole POC with WIN95, because it has been relatively stable and trouble-free.

My main problem is that so many sites I have to visit work best, or only, with more recent operating systems.

So, it is not so much that Ole POC doesn't work, it is that the rest of the computer world has advanced too far from it.

I have found that not all the waiting is wasted. Frinstance, in the time it takes to do one online search I am able to reconcile our checking account.

In 13 years I have never had a crash, virus infection, or any loss of any kind. (he said, knocking on the simulated wood of his outdated computer armoir).

That's something many users of newer OSes cannot say.

Yes, I've been lucky.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

My DDs Dell laptop is finally on its way out. It's seven years old, so IMO, not worth trying to fix. Fortunately, she has all her files backed up, so she won't lose anything important for a transfer.
At any rate, what are some brand recommendations? We need to stay with windows (rather than Mac) because that's what we use for all of our other computers and hardware. Some of my friends greatly dislike the new Dells and I've had trouble in the past trying to get warranty service on another Dell (I hate that they moved customer service to India - those people don't have a clue....). What do you TS computer gurus think of the Toshiba laptops? What are the recommended minimum specs for processor speed and memory these days?
BTW - my DD is a senior in college. She uses the laptop for word processing, Power Point presentations, some photo editing and printing, iTunes, Internet searching and watching movies.
Any help/suggestions anyone can give will be greatly appreciated. I used to be able to follow computer advances. My first PC was a huge clunker with no internal memory. I had a home-built external drive that would hold 5K of data. When I upgraded to the next PC, everyone thought I was crazy for getting 750K (that was a significant amount of memory back then!) Technology has changed so quickly I haven't been able to keep up with it

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

Toshiba's are ok but in my opinion DELL is still a better choice. Dell was having some trouble with support for a while but they have workede very hard at fixing that regardless of where the person you talk to is.
All companies use the samemodel now days. They have first line support that you talk to when you first place a call and their response is all scripted depending on your answers to the questions. If they don't solve your problem they then turn you over to a real tech.
Aswas mentioned earlier in this thread, size the box you want for what you will do with it, then add a little power and storage to you esti as you always outgrow a PC before you are done with it.mate

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

My daughter bought a new Dell Laptop at Best Buy for $429. It has the Intel duo processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, Windows 7, 15.6" screen, etc. It has been very good. I have several Dells, both desktop and laptop and never had any problems. I always buy from the Dell Small business division.