My laptop effin' crapped out :(

[Kirosia]

The laptop I'd been using crapped out on me last night. I was watching TV, then the computer screen started flickering so I shut it down. All I had on was firefox, I wasn't even doing anything. Now it doesn't really turn on. It "powers up", but there is no keyboard response. The screen does nothing, it looks as if it's still off. This annoys the hell out of me, since the hard drive was filled with precious data (school papers, pictures, and most importantly, rare music videos). Since the computer was originall my cousin's, I have to talk to him about it. I hope he still has the warranty, even if not, I'll pay for it. I just pray that they don't wipe the HD. That's my biggesf fear.

It's funny, I was unusually content prior the incident, since I had no obligations to do. No papers, homework, nothing. All of a sudden, bam!, it just happened. I should've seen it coming. Just another way the world likes to screw with me. If I got a penny for everything I've been f'd in life, well, I'd have a hell of a lot of pennies!

Well, now I'm at a dilemma. I could either try to get the laptop fixed, or buy a new one. The latter seems better because the crappy laptop is known to have issues, as I've been told. But I don't really have the money to get a new one, unless I sell my audio equipment. My mother said she'd give me a loan to help as well. What am I gonna do? The crapped out laptop is an old model, but it was adequate since I don't game or anything like that. A new computer does sound tempting. Still not sure whether I'd get a lappy or a desktop. Or a new at all for that matter. Hehh, whatever. I think I need to go break something.

EDIT: If you're wondering what I'm using right now, it's my 5yr-old desktop with the f'd up screen. Just using the internet takes a toll. 64mb of ram doesn't go a long way.

 

[GokieKS]

Doesn't sound like there's any problem with the hard drive, so your data should be fine, though gaining access to it might require some effort (using the HDD in another machine just might be the easiest way).

As for desktop vs laptop... what do you use your computers for? A laptop is convenient, but for most people who are not students or professionals who use it for work, it may not be worth it.

~KS

 

[hongda]

Sounds like a video card problem or motherboard. HD shoulds still be operational. What brand is the laptop? How old is it?


If your looking at buying a cheap laptop:
from
www.gotapex.com

HOT! DellSB - Inspiron 1150 Laptop with 2.4GHz Celeron, 14.1" TFT, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 30GB HD, 8x DVD-ROM for $629 after Rebate with FREE shipping! (Posted by: Brian)
One of the lowest prices for an Inpsiron 1150. It comes with a 2.4Ghz Celeron processor, 14.1" TFT, 256MB of DDR SDRAM in 1 SODIMM (making upgrades cheap and convenient), a 8x DVD-ROM, a bigger 30GB hard drive, 10/100 NIC, 56k modem, Lithium Ion battery, Windows XP Home. Perfect for those of you who just needs a laptop for normal everyday use.

Start here through the following link. DELL SMALL BUSINESS OUTRAGEOUS NOTEBOOKS
Click on Customize It under Inspiron 1150 $629
All of the options for the lowest possible price, including the upgrades, should already be selected.
Scroll to the bottom and click on Continue
At this point, we`d suggest upgrading the warranty to 1 year, since it only costs $19. It`s a good investment.
Scroll to the bottom and click on Continue
Scroll to the bottom and click on Add to Cart
Finish checking out. Ground shipping is free. Send in the $100 rebate. (must purchase by 10/20/04 to qualify)

 

[GokieKS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hongda If your looking at buying a cheap laptop: from www.gotapex.com HOT! DellSB - Inspiron 1150 Laptop with 2.4GHz Celeron, 14.1" TFT, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 30GB HD, 8x DVD-ROM for $629 after Rebate with FREE shipping! (Posted by: Brian) One of the lowest prices for an Inpsiron 1150. It comes with a 2.4Ghz Celeron processor, 14.1" TFT, 256MB of DDR SDRAM in 1 SODIMM (making upgrades cheap and convenient), a 8x DVD-ROM, a bigger 30GB hard drive, 10/100 NIC, 56k modem, Lithium Ion battery, Windows XP Home. Perfect for those of you who just needs a laptop for normal everyday use. Start here through the following link. DELL SMALL BUSINESS OUTRAGEOUS NOTEBOOKS Click on Customize It under Inspiron 1150 $629 All of the options for the lowest possible price, including the upgrades, should already be selected. Scroll to the bottom and click on Continue At this point, we`d suggest upgrading the warranty to 1 year, since it only costs $19. It`s a good investment. Scroll to the bottom and click on Continue Scroll to the bottom and click on Add to Cart Finish checking out. Ground shipping is free. Send in the $100 rebate. (must purchase by 10/20/04 to qualify)

Celeron 2.4, 256MB of memory, and WinXP is a recipe for distressingly bad performance... my folks picked up a Compaq with those specs for something like $600 after MIRs around last year's black friday (which they just keep on the breakfast table - remember what I said about the portability not being worth it?), and even just using IE seems sluggish, nevermind even basic multitasking like having Winamp (ver. 2, the slim version) playing in the background.

If you want a good basic no-frills laptop, I'd have to say get an Apple iBook 12" (if you're comfortable with MacOS X, at least).

~KS

 

[rickcr42]

if you have a start-up disk set you might try to boot up from that.All the hardware drivers are there in case yours somehow got corrupted.

you try safe mode start ?

 

[Kirosia]

Well, the comp is a Sony Vaio, 'bout 2-3yrs old. I don't think it's the video card, I think something just fried. It happened to my cousin whe he had it, quite a few times. The screen doesn't turn on at all, it stays off. I can't access anything since the keyboard and screen don't do anything. The warranty (if it's still good) is a Best Buy one. And they haven't done too good a job in the past. They'd wipe the hard drive just for the hell of it, their technical stupidity knows no bounds (my cousand I have dealt with them many times, he has bad luck with electronics).

I'm a student, but I use the computer mostly at home. Encoding video, watching movies and music videos/performances (which helps me relax A LOT), writing papers, etc. I was gonna wait till I transfer to a state college before getting a new one. I know desktops are cheaper (beter price to perf), but since I might use it in school, a lappy seems more desirable. I keep thinking, why not get a really good configuration (read: expensive) since I'll probably be using it for the next couple of years. If I sell all my audio equipment, I can get 'bout $900. With help from my parents, I might be able to get to around $1500. A good config is at least $2000 with 3yr acc. dam. protection and warranty. For a desktop, it'd be about $15-1800 (w/ even better config). Still don't know what to do. I'd probably go HP for lappys, and Dell for desktops. (I judt don't like dell aesthetics regarding their laptops, I know, I'm stupid)

 

[TrevorNetwork]

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia The laptop I'd been using crapped out on me last night. I was watching TV, then the computer screen started flickering so I shut it down. All I had on was firefox, I wasn't even doing anything. Now it doesn't really turn on. It "powers up", but there is no keyboard response. The screen does nothing, it looks as if it's still off. This annoys the hell out of me, since the hard drive was filled with precious data (school papers, pictures, and most importantly, rare music videos). Since the computer was originall my cousin's, I have to talk to him about it. I hope he still has the warranty, even if not, I'll pay for it. I just pray that they don't wipe the HD. That's my biggesf fear. It's funny, I was unusually content prior the incident, since I had no obligations to do. No papers, homework, nothing. All of a sudden, bam!, it just happened. I should've seen it coming. Just another way the world likes to screw with me. If I got a penny for everything I've been f'd in life, well, I'd have a hell of a lot of pennies! Well, now I'm at a dilemma. I could either try to get the laptop fixed, or buy a new one. The latter seems better because the crappy laptop is known to have issues, as I've been told. But I don't really have the money to get a new one, unless I sell my audio equipment. My mother said she'd give me a loan to help as well. What am I gonna do? The crapped out laptop is an old model, but it was adequate since I don't game or anything like that. A new computer does sound tempting. Still not sure whether I'd get a lappy or a desktop. Or a new at all for that matter. Hehh, whatever. I think I need to go break something. EDIT: If you're wondering what I'm using right now, it's my 5yr-old desktop with the f'd up screen. Just using the internet takes a toll. 64mb of ram doesn't go a long way.

try to get it fixed first.

 

[Idiot MD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiberian try to get it fixed first.

If it's a Vaio and the mainboard is problematic (which covers about 80% of the component level failures) you're looking at $600~$800 for a replacement part minimum (I remember a $1200 replacement mainboard for one of the early Vaios

). Add to that labor cost and you're probably at the price of a decent new system.

If you seriously looking at getting a new notebook might I suggest either an Apple or an IBM? Both are known to be sturdy and reliable with good support. Plus most of the models come with, or have available, a 3 year warranty. Also if it's for school, you might want to line up your priorities in a machine before you start shopping. You can get a laptop that does everything a desktop does, but it'll weigh 12 lbs. and run for about 45 minutes.

One of the reasons I chose an IBM T40 is because it runs up to 6 hours on the standard battery and weighs less than 5 lbs. Two things at the top of my priority lists for toting around campus.

 

[blueice]

Before you send it to fix, have you try discharging it?
You need to unplug the cord, remove the battery, then hold the power on button for about ten seconds. When it's over, you try connecting the power cord again and try starting it.

Good luck

 

[KYTGuy]

Look for "recycle PC" or PC renaissance in your local phonebook - you might get lucky and find the same model for cheap, and swap harddrives...

I have three laptops (dell) that I bought from Boeing Surplus, for around 400-600 bux... the latest a PIII/400...they are just nearly new, with no warranty, all accessories, including modems and ethernet cards, and carry cases.

 

[JeffL]

Can you check to see if anything is loose inside?

I had used a Gateway Solo 2500 regularly, and the CPU would pop out of the socket, rendering the system to appear dead, when the CPU just needed poping back in.

Also, look for loose or broken cables, especially the display cable. Sometimes these older laptops had design flaws where the display cable would rub or bend excessively and break off.

Don't worry, whatever you do. You can always salvage the data off the hard drive.

 

[JMedeiros]

I feel your pain....

This is too weird. I also have a Sony Vaio laptop the PCG R505EL It has been my main computer for the past two or so years. Yesterday, I powered it down after saving 5 hours of writing work and when I restarted it, I got the Sony logo then a blank screen with the words "operating system not found"

<chill goes through my spine>

I tried to start is several times with the same results.

I used every suggestion for this error in my troubleshooting guide. Nada.

Resigning myself to losing my data, I tried to recover my laptop using the Sony Recovery CDs...got an even more terrifying message: "cannot find hard drive"

Tried this approach several times with same result.

Long out of warrenty, I paid $19.95 to talk to a Sony tech support person who could not help me

Turned off my laptop and shrugged.

I then hooked my network cable up to my desktop and used it to finish the work day. An hour later....turned on the laptop and it powered up perfectly with no lost data...turned it off a bit later and was unable to power it back up and got the same error.

Woke up this morning and it has powered up perfectly twice and I have been working on it all day...but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

John

 

[Kirosia]

Sorry for taking so long to reply, i can't really multitask atm. I do plan on getting
it fixed, just so I can reclaim the data. The laptop is just too unreliable. It's been fixed numerous times, so I'm probably better off with a new one. I haven't tried discharging it, I'll give it a go. also, I really don't want to take it apart, I'm not familiar with laptops innards, plus I may make it worse. If this were a desktop I could diagnose it at the very least. It was my cousin's computers, and electronics just plain hate him. His computers always break for no reason, his Dell stopped working for a couple months, then just started working again.

I don't really want to get an Apple since I'm not familiar with the Mac OS. Besides Apple and IBM are usually expensive because they're very reliable and good. I do like the apple look though. My mother says she'll shell out all the cash since I'd be my first new computer in 5 or 6 yrs (I do plan on paying her back). So I can still keep my phone hobby.

I do want a desktop replacement, but those centrinos look very tempting. I'm pretty sure I won't be using it on the go that much. My problem now is deciding if I should get a lappy or desktop. Desktops have so many more advantages, but I like the WUXGA LCDs (since I plan on watching lots of
media) and the knowledge that I could use it as a portable. Or still, I may not get a new one, but I think I should. I do use computers a lot now.

 

[neil]

If all you need to do is retrieve the data, you can purchase a little caddy that allows you to plug your notebook 2.5" hard drive into a standard computer. In fact, you can even get little notebook hard drive caddies that connect via USB. It would be a lot cheaper than sending your computer into some repair house.

Hell, we may even have one sitting around the office. I'll dig around for it this weekend. I mean, I only recommend using such a device if you're savvy enough to pop the hard drive out in the first place. Let me know -- I'm sure I can find it and send it out to you USPS.