I am giving up on computers.

Your problem is that you're buying pre-made computers instead of ensuring that all the parts you're putting into your system are high quality.  Manufacturers skimp here and there, including premium ones like Apple and Origin.

You have to be pretty fatalistic when it comes to HDDs (SATA or SSD).  When you think about the physics going on with those devices, it's actually pretty amazing they don't fail more often.

I've gotten consistently unlucky with Seagate HDDs while many performance folks swear by them.  My current favorite brand is WD Caviar Black, and I've heard very good things about Samsung Spinpoint (not the fastest performer, but very reliable).

Another place pre-made computers are notorious for skimping are PSUs, which is one of the most important areas you don't want to skimp.  You don't need a high watt PSU (650W is fine for 98%+ of users), but you want one from a quality manufacturer in a non-budget product line.

Get a desktop. Only seen one with a failed HDD on a really cheap $300 one in the school. Also, like Elysian said, making your own PC. Very easy to do actually.

You're the only one.

Spend some cash and get a better laptop from a reputable manufacturer, or learn how to build a computer. In both cases, learn how to fix some of the more problems. A hard drive swap is probably the easier, if not easiest, hardware repair you can do with a modern laptop or desktop.

I have had 12 or so computers from 1996 on. I now am lucky as I have had better luck with a Sony Vaio laptop. The Vaio will cost a little more but they are worth it. So many computers I have had have either got too hot or failed one way or another. Another route to go is get a Macbook.

The other things are keeping up with virus protection and maybe the CCleaner. Many problems are a result of a virus. Macs have less issues with virus attack. 

Gotta say, I did read that OP as, "I buy low-end computers and they always break!"

Do you know why certain computers cost more than others even if they have similar specs? It's not because the company wants to charge you more. It's because the quality of the parts and manufacturing is vastly different. You want a PC that isn't going to break 5 months down the road? ASUS, Lenovo, Apple. Buy from those brands or build your own desktop. Don't buy Toshiba because unless you get one of their very high-end machines it's going to be very low quality. ACER is a bargain brand. They use sub-standard parts by design. Dell and HP are the same. Sony is very good but for the price I'd say get a Mac.

If you like Windows stay with ASUS as your first choice. If not, give a Mac a shot. They last ages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

 

If you like Windows stay with ASUS as your first choice. If not, give a Mac a shot. They last ages.

I agree. If you want to stick with notebook path, Lenovo / Asus would be your best bet. HOWEVER, I know a lot of people are using notebooks as their music source, and will disagree with me - notebook is too compact, so many boards and mechanical items next to each other and would have more interference, static and distortion compare to pure audio rig / or even a PC.

Desktop wise, for audiophile use you need to invest some effort in DIY or engage a enthusiast in building a rig for music. Going with some budget power supply or motherboard is deadly. If possible, avoid mechanical drives - SSD are cheaper now (well still expensive), but at least the HDD spindle noise is off. If you need a large data drive, then external drive is a better choice - so far this produce the better sonic result for me.

You can refer for more information on building a rig for music, and what people deploy. http://www.silentpcreview.com/

I've had maybe two hard drive failures with home PCs, I think that's pretty good since my first home PC was an IBM PS-30 acquired sometime around 1988. Before I retired I was a network administrator with responsibility for 50 PCs plus 2 servers. I'd have 5 or six PC failures a year and it was usually the power supply. One year I had 4 Hard drive failures in one of my servers. They were Seagate. Thank god for mirrored drives.

Gotta agree with DougofTheAbaci: You buy cheap, you will get cheap. Sure the $500 - $700 laptop may seem like a good deal at the time, with minimal impact on your pocket, it is more likely to be made with cheaper components with a potentially higher propensity to break and is probably made with components more likely to be obsoleted earlier. Investing earlier on in a bit more RAM, a slightly better processor and a larger hard-drive will give you a a couple more years out of your computer, and investing a little more in higher grade components will reduce the likelihood of immediate component failures. Toss in the fact that some computers, like Lenovo, are manufactured to higher specification, and you realize that a slightly higher investment earlier will benefit you later. 4 years ago, I purchased my current Lenovo X200. I paid a little more for the water-channeling and water proof keyboard, crash resistant housing and detection sensor around the hard drive, and what, at the time, constituted a thinner profile). Today, the hard-drive is a bit small for purposes as a full time computer, I cannot upgrade the RAM past 3.5 GB due to BIOS conflicts and the processor is a bit on the slow side, but the computer still functions excellently, has never had a major problem and is still my full time field computer.

Incidentally (to the OP), a lot of the problems you may face with a laptop can be fixed on your own with a little bit of know-how. From your opening post, you mention three laptops and a total of 5 problems: 3 hard-drive failures, 1 OS corruption and an Optical Drive that failed. All three issues could have been resolved. A little bit of prior preparation would have saved you from the issue with the OS corruption. First thing I do when I get a new laptop is set up an initial factory restore point or a restore disc specifically so I can get the computer to return to factory stock and start from scratch again. I also keep a copy of the OS I use on Disc so I can reinstall it from scratch if restoring doesn't work and download all the drivers for my specific computer from the manufacturer on day one (as long as your computer has a service tag on it with a computer specific number, you can go to the manufacturer's website and get the specific component drivers for your computer in one place). Hard drive failure will require you as a consumer to buy a new hard drive and reinstall everything, but it's not too much different from the first scenario except for one bit of hardware you need to replace - and most laptops these days, make the hard drive and RAM the two easiest bits of the laptop to access and replace. Of your 5 issues, the hardest to deal with would be the failed Optical drive, but you can either work around it as you did, or get a replacement part. You said it happened 10 months into owning the computer - I'm actually surprised that you couldn't get a replacement under warranty.

To answer the topic question - no, I'm not going to give up on computers in general. I have had specific problems with computer components, and in one case, really had problems with one entire computer (not mine - my sister's), but in those cases, I give up on a specific brand of component or that specific model of computer only.

I've had mad problems with Windows 7. it's unstable or something. . . no hardware problems so far though.

FWIR desktops are more reliable. 

I say quit computers and move with the Amish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

Gotta say, I did read that OP as, "I buy low-end computers and they always break!"

 

Do you know why certain computers cost more than others even if they have similar specs? It's not because the company wants to charge you more. It's because the quality of the parts and manufacturing is vastly different. You want a PC that isn't going to break 5 months down the road? ASUS, Lenovo, Apple. Buy from those brands or build your own desktop. Don't buy Toshiba because unless you get one of their very high-end machines it's going to be very low quality. ACER is a bargain brand. They use sub-standard parts by design. Dell and HP are the same. Sony is very good but for the price I'd say get a Mac.

 

If you like Windows stay with ASUS as your first choice. If not, give a Mac a shot. They last ages.

I have a 4 1/2 year old Dell Inspiron 6400 which I chose because it had the best spec for the lowest price at that time. Up until now, I've never experienced a single hardware issue on it and I'm a heavy user (I don't have a desktop and this is my only computer). It has probably gone through an average of 15 hours a day of uptime or roughly 25000 hours since I first got it. Maybe I'm lucky? Who knows. I've always not understood why some people or my friends experience faulty screens, keyboard, motherboard, etc. even though they're using some expensive Vaio or Asus.

Notebooks by nature will have higher failure rates than desktops and are more of a hassle to open up and fix.  It's gotten a lot easier these last few years, though, as many previous posters have already pointed out.

Hardware failure is a way of life when you're dealing with these complicated electronic components.  Simply due to manufacturing defects, a certain %age of what comes off the assembly line will be defective early (DOA), and others will die early on the MTBF curve.  Some people get lucky with hardware, others don't, but because the sample size (of electronics) for each individual user is so small, there will be plenty of people who will seem to be cursed by gremlins and fall far from the mean.

Ofc, this doesn't factor in people who spill yogurt and Jamba Juice on their computers, and are puzzled why it stops working a day or two later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian 

Your problem is that you're buying pre-made computers instead of ensuring that all the parts you're putting into your system are high quality.  Manufacturers skimp here and there, including premium ones like Apple and Origin.

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

Gotta say, I did read that OP as, "I buy low-end computers and they always break!"

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satellite_6 

I've had mad problems with Windows 7. it's unstable or something. . . 

No.  You're doing or did something wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

 

No.  You're doing or did something wrong.

Agreed.  Windows 7 is amazingly stable and well-performing.  It is the best Microsoft OS I've ever used, without reservation, going back to MS-DOS 3.3.  I really prefer it over Snow Leopard, and I use both OS X and Win7 interchangably all day long.