Problems with Startup

[r0adrunner]

I did as instructed and the hard drive failed both the (Windows XP) Short and Long Generic tests.

 

If I bought that hard drive on Amazon which Armageddon kindly posted above and asked the shop (a different one to the £120 charge I mentioned above!) to install it, would that resolve the problem?

 

I presume that hard drive come without the Windows OS, so should I ask the shop to install it if I ask them to install the hard drive?

 

Thanks.

[KenB]

Hi,

 

If it failed both tests then it looks like a new HDD is needed.

 

Hard Drives don't come with Windows installed - not for £20 :)

 

Are you sure that you don't have recovery disks or a full installation disk ? as the Windows Operating System is going to cost significantly more than the drive.

 

If you have the disk(s) it is relatively easy to do.

[r0adrunner]

I received this message at the end of the Long Generic test.

 

Unfortunately, your Seagate product has failed an important diagnostic test, possibly caused by problem sectors which are difficult to read. Seagate recommends that you run SeaTools for DOS, which has the ability to repair most problem sectors. SeaTools for DOS may be able to save you from the inconvenience and down time of exchanging the drive. For more information on this subject

[r0adrunner]

No, when I bought the PC second hand from a shop, it came with Windows installed and although I had to have it installed once by another shop, I was not given any disks.

 

What is the best course of action now?

[KenB]

Good question :)

 

If you want XP again you should be able to get a legal version from eBay ( be careful who you buy from ) - this should be relatively cheap.

I have just found "Full Versions" for £25

 

If you want to upgrade to Vista / Win7 there is a distinct possibility that your machine components may not be compatible.

 

Vista is going to cost about £80 for a full version of Vista Home premium

 

Win7 Home premium = £115

 

It is possible to buy OEM versions cheaper - but these are supposed to be for system builders.

As you are replacing a hard drive it may be possible to justify buying one of these.

 

I doubt that your machine will run Win7. It may not run Vista.

 

You could have XP up and running again for about £45

[r0adrunner]

Is XP still OK for my purposes (internet browsing, watching live video streaming, using Word and Excel)? (I have never considered upgrading my OS before.)

 

I am considering buying a laptop, so my main aim is to effectively repeair this desk top as cheaply as possible.

 

Considering my needs listed above, would this laptop which I have seen be sufficient ( http://www.very.co.uk/asus-k53e-intel-core-i3-2350m-processor-4gb-ram-500gb-156-inch-laptop---red/1116894152.prd?crossSellType=pzone1&parentProductId=prod11688912 )? A friend told me yesterday that his laptop has an Intel Corei5 processor which is faster tha the processor in this laptop. Would that make any significant difference when it comes to having several windows open at the same time and when streaming live video?

 

Thank you - much appreciated.

 

Edit: You have got me thinking now! Since I only had this hard drive installed 16 months ago, I wonder whether it is worth buying a new (probably second hand) desk top together with a new laptop, rather than keep repairing this one. Should I be able to find a comparable second hand desktop to this one for a reasonable price?

Edited October 8, 2012 by r0adrunner

[KenB]

Hi,

 

Considering what you want to do there wouldn't be a significant difference between the i3 and the i5

 

I found this for comparison

click here

 

Toshiba has a good reputation and the specs are similar.

Streaming live video ( I don't do a lot of this ) will rely on your connection speed as much as anything.

[Armageddon]

hi Roadrunner the laptop in your link is more than enough for your needs , unless you plan on doing lots of video editing a i3 processor is perfectly fine , a i5 processor is basically a 4 core processor , in reply to your other question if you can find xp on ebay cheaply am sure myself and my colleagues here will be happy to instruct you on how to reinstall your operating system.

 

Dave

[r0adrunner]

I see, thanks. Would I need the shop to physically install the hard drive?

 

Would it be more efficient to buy a replacement second-hand desk top?

 

I have also found the Asus laptop posted above for a cheaper price on ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-K53E-15-6-Laptop-Intel-Core-i3-2330M-2-20GHz-RAM-6GB-HDD-500GB-No-Reserve-/190734806430?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item2c68ae2d9e Please can you advise whether the specifications are the same as with the one advertised above? I noticed this one has 6Gb (compared to 4Gb in the one above) and a Intel Core i3 2330M 2.20 GHz processor (compared to a Intel® Core™ i3-2350M processor in the one above).

 

Many thanks.

 

Edit: Is it common for a hard disk to fail after only 16 months or evening and weekend almost exclusively internet browsing usage?

 

Finally, are Asus laptops as good as Toshiba's?

Edited October 8, 2012 by r0adrunner

[KenB]

There doesn't seem to be much difference in the spec - other than the RAM.

 

One thing to consider - If you have a problem within the guarantee period I always like to be able to talk to somebody face to face.

I know eBay is often cheaper - but there are drawbacks too.

 

Is it common for a hard disk to fail after only 16 months

They should, in theory, last longer than that but it is not uncommon.

 

Given the two - with the same or similar specs - I would tend to favour the Toshiba.

 

It would be interesting for others to offer their opinion :)

[r0adrunner]

Thanks. I look forward to reading others' views.

 

When they say they come with Windows 7, does that include Micrsoft Office and Internet Explorer?

 

Would a Sony Vaio with a very similar specification (inc. processor) be better than Toshiba and Asus?

[KenB]

Hi

They may come with an Office Starter - but this will have a time limit of 3 months or so - after which you can buy it or take it off your system.

There is a free option - Open Office - which has all the MS Office options and will open MS Office files.

 

Internet Explorer is included.

You can, if you wish, put 2 or 3 browsers on your system.

 

Sony is a very good make too.

It is basically a matter of preference.

[r0adrunner]

I see, thanks.

 

I was once told that - £ for £ - desk tops are bettre value for money than laptops. Is that still true, if it ever was?

 

I enjoy using my desk top and am wondering whether a new desk top might be a better solution given that I would only occasionally - at least as far as I can envisage now - use the laptop outside the home.

 

Can you recommend any suitable desk tops or specifications, please?

 

Thanks.

[KenB]

I was once told that - £ for £ - desk tops are bettre value for money than laptops.

It depends what you want from the machine.

If you don't mind being tied to the same spot - then you will probably get a better spec desktop for the same price.

 

I like the versatility of a laptop.

I am sat watching TV now - whilst I type this.

I can move from room to room - take it to other houses and on holiday and get internet.

 

desktops are easier to work on if you have a problem.

If you buy a desktop you invariably need to buy a monitor too.

[Plastic Nev]

Hi, having read through since we discovered the fault was the hard drive, and other opinions asked for, there are quite a lot of options I can offer from my humble brainwaves.

 

Lets first go to an exchange of hard drives, so long as you have a screwdriver, removing the old and fitting the new is not a difficult task, just takes a little time and patience is all, you don't need to take it and be charged for the service in a shop.

 

However, as you are aware, being an older computer and I think you said second hand when you got it, is it worth changing the hard drive only to find something else has failed a couple of weeks or months later. If you can afford a new computer then that is the way to go.

 

As for desktop against laptop, as far as performance is concerned, there is little to choose between them, it used to be the desktop would always win but not now, there are some very high spec laptops available now that will run rings round some of the similar priced desktops. The only problem with laptops is because of the difficulties of getting into them, they are not easily upgraded if in fact any upgrade is possible. Whereas a desktop can be upgraded with say extra graphics cards or sound cards. Should components fail, desktops are easier to repair.

 

Nev.

[r0adrunner]

Thank you for the advice. Since I doubt I will be in need up upgrading a laptop if I buy one, which probably means the hardware flexibility of a desktop is not important to me, my main concern is reliability. Do you know how long new laptops usually last without requiring major repair?

 

I have found a laptop with an i5 processor and - perhaps importantly because I was told yesterday that 4GB is not enough capacity to operate Windows 7 well - it has 6GB.

 

If that is right, does this look a better option?

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-Satellite-C855-18D-15-6-inch-i5-3210M/dp/B008CO24DC/ref=zg_bs_429886031_2

 

Is it important to see the laptop before buying in order to be able to judge the screen and keyboard or are they pretty much the same?

 

Thanks.

[KenB]

I must admit - I lake the versatility of a laptop.

 

Do you know how long new laptops usually last without requiring major repair?

There is no set time limit I am afraid.

As with all electrical devices - they can last for years or be a problem as soon as you take them out of the box.

The laptop I am using has given me no problems in 5 years or so.

 

That seems a good price for that laptop - and 6GB RAM is much better than 4GB.

I did find that it was £499-99 on Amazon and has been reduced.

 

With regards to screen - they are much the same.

 

Keyboards can be different - and laptops do take a bit of getting used to.

When I first got this one I used to plug a mouse in as I didn't like the touch-pad.

You get used to it.

[r0adrunner]

Thanks.

 

I will report back my decision and findings shortly!

[r0adrunner]

I may want to connect a computer to a TV with a HDMI cable.

 

Would I be able to do so with this laptop?

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-2-53GHz-Windows-Premium/dp/B007NHP3PU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349936987&sr=8-1

 

Although I cannot find any reference to a HDMI socket, the product description says, "It will automatically detect new devices that have been connected, from PCs to Smartphones, running Windows, Linux, or Android. From there it's easy to search devices for music, photos and videos within the home network, easy to share between devices. Thanks to clear.fi you can stream and appreciate the multimedia stored on Acer Acer Aspire 5733 on any of the devices connected to your home network and clear.fi enabled."

 

Thank you.

[KenB]

There doesn't appear to be a HDMI connection on that machine.

 

I have a Acer 5735 - it is an old machine ( 5 years )

I have a VGA connection but the problem with this is you get no sound from the TV.

[Armageddon]

When you click on road runners link it says product unavailable , and offers a link to a newer machine This One this does have a HDMI connection

[r0adrunner]

Thanks, but is the processor a lot slower because it says 1.4GHz ?

[Plastic Nev]

It is only a two core slimline CPU, though it will handle hyper threading at four times, but it will still be a tad slower than some others, have a look here for a review of that CPU.

 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i3-2367M-Notebook-Processor.64165.0.html

 

Depends though on what you want to use the laptop for, if games are included then a no for that.

 

Nev.

[r0adrunner]

I am considering buying a Samsung now and have found the one in the link below which seems promising.

 

Samsung NP350V5C 15.6-inch Laptop (Silver) (Intel Core i3 2370M 2.4GHz, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVDSM DL, LAN, WLAN, Webcam, Integrated Graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

One concern I had about this laptop is that one of the reviewrs said, the i3 processor is the old i3 and not the new model. What does that mean and what are the implications?

 

Thank you.

[KenB]

There are variants of the i3

 

• 530 – 2.93 GHz Hyper-Threading
  
• 540 – 3.06 GHz Hyper-Threading
  
• 550 – 3.2 GHz Hyper-Threading
  
• 560 – 3.33 GHz Hyper-Threading
  

From your link the processor that you have is 2.4GHz

 

As Nev says - depends on what you want to use the machine for.

A machine with integrated graphics is never going to play high end games for instance.