Good computer brands?

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13
*ARGHGHHGGH*!

My little desktop seems to have gone *kaput* - AGAIN. This was supposed to be a nice little machine that was a custom build (now about 4 years old) - but it has had various problems since day 1 (sigh!). Last year I had to diagnose and replace the power supply...

I don't know what's wrong with it now... it looks like it's booting, the Windows logo page comes up, then... nuthin'. Black empty screen (though there is a cursor for the mouse, and it seems to work.)

I can not start it in "safe mode", nor in "last known good configuration" - and haven't recently made any changes...

I think this computer and I may be at the end of our relationship - I have my tiny little itsy bitsy netbook for backup and mobility, but need to replace the desktop for work and whatnot...

Any brands that you've had great experiences with (particularly longevity!) - I hear so many bad things about most of the big well-known brands.... and of course, it's hard to find genuine reviews amongst the affiliating.

How about Lenovo? I thought I had heard, once upon a time, that they had pretty good build quality?

Thanks for any advice, and for letting me blow off some steam... dysfunctional computers always stress me out!

-jen
#off topic forum
  • Honestly, the best success with computers I've ever had was with a small "mom and pop" style local (brick and mortar) computer stores. Most of them do custom builds and you can usually get pretty fantastic deals.

    That is of course unless you are looking to spend like 7 grand on some crazy 'ultimate power' machine :-)

    Best of luck in your search!
    Kyle
    • [1] reply
    • Hi, Jen:

      Sorry to hear of your computer troubles. I've been using an HP Pavilion notebook for more than two years now and I have never had any trouble with it that couldn't be traced to new software not installing properly. Other than that, it has been very dependable and I would definitely buy another HP.

      I bought this unit at a small computer shop that does custom builds as well as sell or resell units ordered by people who have either returned them or never picked them up. I got mine at a great price because the customer who ordered it did not return.

      GT
  • Like GT I use a laptop. Mine is a Toshiba, surprisingly ranked #2 in reliability in a recent news article. Asus was #1.

    Problems:
    If I have it on for hours at a time it tends to overheat and shut down automatically. At first I used a damp cloth on the hot corner to keep it from overheating until I ordered a cooling rack with fans (cheap solution) - no more overheating.

    Downloading programs required lowering security settings for programs to load properly, but do a virus scan immediately after.

    For a desktop I prefer Asus motherboards for reliability. Don't recall just how old it is but it is still running Windows 2000 Professional.
  • Thanks for the tips. I'd love to find a little shop like that, where you can actually talk to the owners... no luck so far.

    Definitely not looking for a $7k uber machine (I wish!)

    I've actually decided to try a couple more things to get it back up and running... though so far, no luck...

    Thanks!
  • atm..im using lenovo...it works well for me
  • DELL
    Compaq
    HP
  • Another piece of advice to possibly get your current machine running well...

    CLEAN IT! And I don't mean run anti-virus and anti-adware stuff I mean actually unhook it, take it apart and clean it. You get ALOT of dust build up in there over the years (especially if your computer is running virtually all the time) and it can lead to poor airflow and overheating. Clean out the inside (CAREFULLY....) and make sure the cooling fans are relatively dust free.

    You might be surprised how well this works...although with your problem it sounds more hardware/software issues than overheating but maybe worth a shot?!
  • I have used a lot of brand but I would consider Dell and Acer to be the best and dependable. Also the price is reasonable.
  • not sure on the spelling but Asus seems to be decent. I am actually considering getting a mac next, I am so tired about normal PC problems.
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • boot to recovery console, then type chkdsk/r
  • Self built, starting on it's 8th year.
    Now that's good.

    New parts ordered for replacement.
    Approx 1000 bucks in parts.
    Gonna last 5-6 years least.
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    Good computer brands?

    *ARGHGHHGGH*! My little desktop seems to have gone *kaput* - AGAIN. This was supposed to be a nice little machine that was a custom build (now about 4 years old) - but it has had various problems since day 1 (sigh!). Last year I had to diagnose and replace the power supply...