Goodbye Dell, I barely knew ye......

[statdoc]

My current Dell laptop was purchased Aug 2008. It has been a good machine, but the past 2-3 weeks, I have noticed a few glitches. Nothing big, but occasional slow-downs, and then the past 10 days or so, it has unexpectedly shut down. Rebooted without a problem. I presumed it was overheating, so yesterday I removed the cover to the fan, and blew out the dust and dog hair. It was not significantly dirty, but I hoped it would fix the problem. Apparently not.

This morning, I got a sudden Blue Screen of Death, telling me the machine was soon to die, and to make a final will and testament. Figuring that I should finally pay attention to what some would call "clues", I sat it down and drove over to Office Depot. I bought an HP laptop, and am currently in the process of using the Microsoft "Easy Transfer" application to move data from the old to the new, via my home WiFi. I am on one of the other computers in the Casa de Statdoc, to post this.

I am curious to see how much moves over, and how much I will have to reinstall. Anyone used the "Transfer Wizard" before? I also have all my stuff backed up via Carbonite, and locally to another hard drive, so I am not really worried about data loss. It would be nice not to have to do much manual restoration, though.

[Wagner]

Best of Luck! Whatever you do, don't let them shut off

[tonycajjo]

Originally Posted by statdoc

...I also have all my stuff backed up via Carbonite, and locally to another hard drive, so I am not really worried about data loss. It would be nice not to have to do much manual restoration, though.

listened to your tech buddy huh? good stuff. i always hear stories of lost data, that usually only happens to people once.

never had much luck with any transfer program. i typically bite the bullet and do fresh install of the OS, sometimes even on a new PC, all applications and then use the network to move needed files back.

[AzNMpower32]

My dad, who's a systems analyst/computer techie person, has never had a high opinion of Dells.......

[JCL]

We ended up with a few thousand of them at work, through an acquisition. We had every other company on Lenovo. Switched them all over as they broke and expired.

I have bought three Lenovo laptops at home, and have been very pleased. Still like my HP desktops.

[FSETH]

I like Dell. My last Dell desktop lasted 6 years until I got a virus. I just recently got a new one with Windows 7 64-bit and love it.

I also have a Lenovo laptop, which is OK, besides the fact that the touchpad is in the worst spot and I always hit it when I am typing. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you realize the curser is in a completely different spot that where you thought it was, it can get frustrating. Yes, I look at the keyboard quite a bit while I type. I wouldn't say it is any better than my wife's Dell laptop by any means.

[MrLabGuy]

Windows 7 is worth the change from Vista. It's what Vista should have been. 2 years for a laptop is abysmal for a life span. I have a Toshiba satellite laptop running an early version of XP I've had for years and it works as good as the day it purchased it.

Just picked up an HP for me a few months ago and a Toshiba for my wife a few weeks ago. I'll be pissed if I didn't get at least 5-7 years from these though I'll upgrade long before my wife.

I'm pretty happy with the HP machine. The Toshiba has better speakers but I don't like the touch pad. Both are giant with 18"+ diagonal screens. pretty big for a laptop but I'm finding I'm using mine more and more as my primary machine.

I sure hope you have better luck with the HP.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by MrLabGuy

The Toshiba has better speakers...

Don't even get me started on the speakers on my Lenovo. I would be better of plugging in headphones and setting them in my lap. They are horrible.

[MrLabGuy]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Don't even get me started on the speakers on my Lenovo. I would be better of plugging in headphones and setting them in my lap. They are horrible.

Here are the speakers on her Toshiba. Harmon/Kardon They actually rock for a laptop. The Altec Lansing speakers on my HP are pethetic.

[alewifebp]

I purchase Lenovo laptops and HP desktops at work, and have generally been very satisfied. For my own personal use, I'm very much a Lenovo man.

The Transfer Wizard works well in my experience, for what it is supposed to do. Of course it doesn't transfer applications, but it did all of my documents when I did a clean install from Vista to 7. I was surprised that it even transferred my Firefox add-ons.