my horrid pc, and my future switch to mac

[perfectthursday]

hi guys, i just wanted to tell you about my computer and ask you some questions about some thoughts ive had.

my parents bought my computer 2 or 3 years ago. when we got it, it was top of the line, like 4000$usd. its a gateway, im not sure of all the specs, 128mb ram, some ghz processer, soundblaster, nvidia gforce, 21" monitor, windows me. blah blah blah.

in those 2 years of use, i have:

replaced the modem
replaced a fan
replaced the harddrive
reformatted about 6 times
reinstalled windows each time... and multiple other times without reformatting

i have had SO MANY problems with it, and spend so many hours on the phone with gateway tech support, and yet my computer continues to be awful. it freezes all the time. finally a few days ago i installed windows xp thinking that was the final fix that would solve all my problems. and for 1 day, it was really great. and now my computer is horrible, it still freezes all the time, my sound stops working, it wont shut down. im extremely tired of re-burning all of the files we have onto a disk, and constantly worrying about the computer. it creates so much stress for me, yet the computer seems to be an important part of my life. i know i dont have a virus, because i have the newest version of systemantic and i have the newest autolive update. im sick of my computer, and i dont know what to do. any suggestions?

i think im going to call up gateway, if for no other reason, just to tell them that they make horrible products and should stop their pitiful business.

second, now that i have a passion for hating my computer, im very likely switching to mac when i buy a computer for college. for others here, how was the switch? is it easy to get used to a mac? i am really enticed by the ibooks. they are neat and clean and they are very well designed. they inspire me. i have used macs at school before and i didn't like them, but i have faith that if i bought my own i would very much like it. what do you think?

thanks for your time,
clayton

[MG315]

firstly, you shouldnt be burning everything to cd's, have an external hd or at least a 2nd internal hd that has all your main files on it. i format once every month or two just to keep things "clean" and it takes a few hours to do a complete format and reinstall everything.

in regards to macs, yes, i like them better than pc's. and the ones you used in school were probably those 20 yr old ones (was it the pc's or macs that had a "turbo" button ). OSX (especially panther, the newest version) is great. i use it at work on a 17" powerbook and its my fav computer ever. but, you will find things that bug you in macs too. it just happens.

i havent officially "made the switch" because i still have a pc at home, but i'm planning on my next computer to be a powerbook g5, whenever those come out.

[perfectthursday]

hi, thanks for your reply. i have a 60gb harddrive, and it seem silly just to keep windows on it and have all my other files on another drive. do you suggest buying, perhaps a smaller harddrive just to keep windows on it that i would reformat every few months? also, im guessing you sugges that i keep all the programs on the windows drive?

this does seem much more convienient then reburning all the files onto cds. ill definitely look into it. my plan is to get the comptuter, somehow, in a stable-working manner, so when i go off to college my family will still be able to use it, as i will be away and not able to fix it.

the macs we have at school are those imacs that came out a few years ago. they are kinda shaped like and egg and they are blue. they are supposed to be good, but with all the people that use them throughout the day, messing with them, and all the stuff our computer staff (which is composed of a few old ladies that hardly know anything about computers) installs on them like foolproof, the computers tend to freeze up and are just generally hard to use. but i have heard great things about the ibook (my friend bought one and loves it) and also the powerbooks. the powerbooks are just too expensive for me to buy, even with the student discount, although i would definitely step up to that if i could!

thank you very much for your help. anyone other takers?
clayton

[MG315]

my computer came with a 40gb hd and on it i just keep the windows OS and programs. on my 2nd hd (80gbs) i keep all my files as well as the install files for programs i've downloaded (once you find a program thats great, like filezilla, its hard to remember what it was and where you got it when you format). I also have a 160gb external hd that auto backups all my files, which i also use if i'm going to be gone a while and need to work on my work from my laptop. i just bring the hd along and it has all my work.

but yes, i suggest having a second hd, either internal or external, to keep your files on.

[Genesis F5]

Originally posted by MG315
(was it the pc's or macs that had a "turbo" button )

PC. My 486 has a 133 turbo.

-Genesis f5 (MX)

[Steve_w_V]

I've seen nothing but problems with Gateway. They suck.

I wouldn't recommend going to macs, unless you know the nav and can get use to not working with the computer. At all. Internally or system files or aything. Macs are sealed tight. Personally, I can't stand macs.
...buts thats just an opinion...

I would look into Alienware, AMD or Dell. Make one yourself if you are up to it!

[perfectthursday]

hi thanks for your replies.

im going to look into gettin another harddrive, it seems like such a better idea, making it much easier to format. thanks for your help

i would love tou build my own computer but im looking for a laptop, and i dont want to attempt that. im into sleek looking computers such as the sonys and the macs. any other suggestions?

thanks
clayton

[Hellsbellboy]

www.voodoopc.com has some sweet laptops.. u pay a high price for them though cause their gaming laptops..

[nordberg]

Originally posted by perfectthursday
im into sleek looking computers such as the sonys and the macs. any other suggestions?

my only suggestion is to buy something that works well for the right price - looks should be way down on the list. when was the last time you bought a saw or vacuum cleaner because it looked cool?

[perfectthursday]

ive never purchased a vacuum cleaner, but i always do like to shop around though hahaha.

i do try to find the best product at the right price, but i really think i enjoy things much more when they appleal to me visually. for instance, before i bought a digital camera, i did some research and finally came to the optio s4. its a 4 megapixel camera, so it can take great high quality pictures, and it also looks really sweet ... fits into an altoid can. plus its relatively good priced because i got it on the internet for about a hundred dollars cheaper than i could have elsewhere. all done in good research. i proabably do like the looks of things too much, but at the same time that is what i like most about some products. i try to find a happy medium between everything, and so far it works out good and i think im more satisfied. blahblahblah. im definitely not an impulse buyer, and i like to do my research. but you understand what im sayin right?

thanks
clayton

[TallGuyLittleCar]

Originally posted by perfectthursday


im going to look into gettin another harddrive, it seems like such a better idea, making it much easier to format. thanks for your help

Considering you have replaced the harddrive, it doesn't seem likely the problem would be the hard drive. When you installed xp did you do a clean install?

I have an old g400 gateway that has always been a little quirky <somtimes it just doesn't want to boot up>.

[perfectthursday]

i know my problem is not with the harddrive, i was thinking about getting new one (a second one) so that i could more easily replace the os and reformat.

no, i didn't do a clean install. i realize this could be part of the problem, but i was so sick of burning all the files onto cds that i didn't bother. i just had it so that it deleted the old windows and reinstalled the new xp. my plan is now to try out windows 2000, which i haven't heard many complaints about. hopefully, somewhere down the line i will get it all to work decently. in the meantime, ill make sure i dont buy any more gateway products. thanks.

clayton

[monkii]

you should never need to reformat with xp if you are just doing standard consumer stuff.

it must be a problem with your hardware.

just so you know, you can have just as many problems with a mac as a pc.

[Orkar]

No malice is intended to Steve_w_V, I am simply replying to some of the statements he made regarding the Macintosh computer systems. I personally work on both Macs and PCs and feel they both have their place in the world.

Originally posted by Steve_w_V
I wouldn't recommend going to macs, unless you know the nav ...

The nav on a mac is quite simple to master and while a number of controls are mirror image to the pc world you can get used to it fairly quickly. If you wonder why this is...

Bill Gates of Microsoft was one of the original developers hired by Apple to develop Apples Navigational system. Eventually they parted ways. Apple did not require Bill to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Consequently Bill built the Windows operating system and moved controls from top bar to bottom bar and from left to right on the program windows. Somehow this was not found to be a copyright infringement. Lesson in this is get your software developers to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Originally posted by Steve_w_V
...and can get use to not working with the computer. At all. Internally or system files or aything. Macs are sealed tight.

Actually this statement is incorrect. You can access and reconfigure most of the system files if you so choose through a variety of means. However this is not recommended for the new or basic user. It's not recommended for basic level PC users either. Look up what the root user means on the OSX systems if your interested about that level of access. Also a good knowledge of unix would aid you in this type of customization.

As for internal access to components. (i believe this is what steve is refering to) Most varieties of macintosh desktops are ridiculously simple to access internally. You pull the lever on the side of the machine for G3 and G4 Macs and the side opens on a lower hinge unfolding the motherboard from vertical to horizontal. You don't even need to use a screwdriver to undo a screw like you would on most pc's. These are probably the easiest machines in the world to access internally. Imacs are certainly trickier to work on internally and were built as compact units with limited expansion capability. Not impossible but you better know what you are doing if you want to work on one. Ram can be a pain to install on early models but is relatively easy on later models. Harddrive replacement is a task I have done in the past but I seriously do not recommend this to any basic or intermediate user. As to laptop models, ease of servicing/upgrading is pretty equivalent to the same work on a pc laptop.

Originally posted by Steve_w_V
... Personally, I can't stand macs.
...buts thats just an opinion...

Kind of figured this out but thanks for being honest!

[monkii]

Bill Gates of Microsoft

ohhh... that Bill Gates...

[Ultima Designs]

Your PC is awfully old - I replaced my P4 1.5 GHz and 512 RAM recently because even that didn't cut it.

You could easily get a PC with an Athlon XP 2700+ or so, 1 GB of RAM, and all the rest for well under $1,000 if you build it yourself. I've used Macs, and I've never been a big fan of them (but, most regular Mac users hate PC's, so the view is obviously biased).

Anyway, my friend recently had his Soyo mobo poop out, and he finally gave in and bought a Mac. He loves it more than he did his ex-girlfriend - a hell of a lot more.

Think about the options - you don't necessarily need a Mac for better performance, but perhaps just a new PC.

[Steve_w_V]

@ Orkar:

Man, I knew someone would come back at me. I've just had nothing but bad experiences on Macs, and I cannot stand em. But hey, that's what debates are for, eh?

[Orkar]

As I've stated I work with both platforms. It really depends on what you need the machine for.

On the mac platform you get everything you need to do most things online but there are limitations. There are far fewer mac based applications than pc ones. If this machine is for gaming go with the PC. If it's for audio or video work, the Mac is a far superior machine as Mac's are built with this in mind, PC's are thoroughly inadequate for serious audio video work. For general web development while I prefer macs, PC's have caught up with Macs in this area and any serious web developer on a Mac will test their designs on a PC. Flash is more suilable on a PC as Macromedia has been draging their feet for years on producing a decent Flash Player for browsers on the Mac platform. Java development is arguably better on the Mac platform especially as Microsoft is fighting Sun Microsystems tooth and nail as to who will rule the Java universe. The developer tools on Mac will output Java for Macs or PC's or Sun or all in one. Visual Basic is basically for PC's only. C++ is possible on Macs but again PC is probably a better choice.

Side point... Virtual PC (now owned by microsoft) will let you run the vast majority of PC applications on a Mac. It runs slower than mac applications but is a reasonable workaround for when you need to use a PC application on a Mac. No, it is not built into the Mac so you would need to buy it separately. Good side is you can run your old PC apps from your old Windows machine with it.

Used PC's are a dime a dozen but get it checked out by a knowledgeable person before you buy it. Be sure to get the operating system original cd's as there are quite a few ripoff artists who will screw you at every opportunity. DO NOT buy one on e-bay or anywhere else stupid. New PC's are usually less expensive than new Mac's but come with less built in software and often low end or outdated components. Macs are usually a better built machine than most pc's but you pay a small premium for the quality. Dell and Gateway are popular brands of PC's but their record of customer service is as spotty as a leopard. For Laptops I would recommend Toshiba as I personally have found the ones I have to be rock solid in reliability and at this point wouldn't touch another PC manufacturers laptop. Dell and Compac laptops I have known... well I wish I had never met them. Unreliable crud... But thats personal experiance, others may have been more fortunate than me.

[Orkar]

@ Steve_w_V:


Hey no problem here. To each their own. Cheers dude!

[Steve_w_V]

Originally posted by Orkar
@ Steve_w_V:


Hey no problem here. To each their own. Cheers dude!