yeah my mom had bought 2 HP Printer/Copier/Scanner Combos in a couple years from them, they both went bad, and the last one she bought was all in spanish, i think they were refurbished? Anyway, they had the printer for a couple months so she bought a brand new one again, but from Custom Computers this time ...they are the HP dealers so service and parts ar easy to get ...

Yeah, $600 isnt bad for a PC locally, but, more than likley that is second hand, or like a 1000mhz or something old. You can get those types for like $50 in the US, alot of people do that here, buy them in lots of 10 or so at $50 or so each, and resell them at like $500+, but honestly, anything that old is not worth buying spending a penny on. Not saying that is what they are selling though. But the last time my client bought a new Dell here locally a month ago, price was around $1200, from the place you mentioned. It was a new 2.8Ghz, nothing much more than what I got here for $250!! Most you may have to do is switch the Hard Drive at some point as they can go bad .. they got a second computer (HP/Compaq) from the US for around $600 landed, brand new 2.8 Ghz.

Ofcourse the local companies have to mark up and that is understandable ..though its a wonder why their markups are the same or more than my CCTV DVRs when I pay 35% duty and computers are duty free ??

My machine is a clone: Intel Celeron 900MHZ, 128MB, 15GB Hard Drive, etc. The monitor is Hewlett Packard, the printer is Cannon, the Scanner (which I don't use) is Acer. The Tower has no brand name on it, except two labels stuck to the back, one saying Made in Thailand, the other has DC Tech and the serial number. The OS is Windows 98SE. The total price was $965. I don't know, maybe they ordered the tower and added the inside parts.

It works pretty OK, but I just believe I should get a new one. Once on a forum a tech said he prefer clones cause they are easier to work on and parts are usualy easier to get. I understand that with some of the brand names like Dell, Gateway and others, when somethinng goes wrong, the factory wants you to bring it in for repairs, etc.

I'd like a nice Dell (maybe a laptop) with all the bells and whistles, with plenty memory, etc, and with the capability of being upgraded so that it can always be modern for the next 10 or 20 years down the road.

I read that Windows new operating system Longhorn would be out in June this year. What I am wondering, would it be safe to get one with the new OS, or just to get XP for now and upgrade later, in case Longhorn may still have some bugs to correct?

CHECK THIS MOVIE OUT (http://www.accessibleairwaves.org/)

On a side note: If I were anybody here, I would not take my computer to DC to be repaired. I had a very bad experience in dealing with their techs.

My machine is a clone: Intel Celeron 900MHZ, 128MB, 15GB Hard Drive, etc. The monitor is Hewlett Packard, the printer is Cannon, the Scanner (which I don't use) is Acer. The Tower has no brand name on it, except two labels stuck to the back, one saying Made in Thailand, the other has DC Tech and the serial number. The OS is Windows 98SE. The total price was $965. I don't know, maybe they ordered the tower and added the inside parts.

It works pretty OK, but I just believe I should get a new one. Once on a forum a tech said he prefer clones cause they are easier to work on and parts are usualy easier to get. I understand that with some of the brand names like Dell, Gateway and others, when somethinng goes wrong, the factory wants you to bring it in for repairs, etc.

I'd like a nice Dell (maybe a laptop) with all the bells and whistles, with plenty memory, etc, and with the capability of being upgraded so that it can always be modern for the next 10 or 20 years down the road.

I read that Windows new operating system Longhorn would be out in June this year. What I am wondering, would it be safe to get one with the new OS, or just to get XP for now and upgrade later, in case Longhorn may still have some bugs to correct?


Well you can always upgrade the software no matter what you get.

Clones are basically the same as the Dells, etc. nowadays, you can change/upgrade parts in all of them. Clones arent like what they used to be. Reason to build your own computer (used to be known as clone) is that you can make a super computer, or get a better mother board than is typically found in the name brands, which allows for example, more PCI slots, Serial Ports, etc. and normally do this cheaper than the highest end product from a brand name. Small PCs no matter if they are a brand name or not, are going to be difficult to work inside. With cheaper name brands you are sometimes limited with the upgrade capabilties, but not always.

With name brands, they have that warranty thing in the US, but here it doesnt matter. Even in the US with non name brands you still get warranties. Either way, you dont HAVE to take it back to them, you can have anyone work on it. You get warranties on PCs if you buy them here also, but still, you dont HAVE to take it back to the dealer. As for Laptops that is totally different. I had a 3 month warranty on my new vehicle here, 1 year limited, pretty much after the first service I never took it back to the dealer.

My $250 Refurbished HP/Compaq came with 1 CDRW, 1 Hard Drive, 1 strip of memory, and a floppy, I added a second hard drive, a 2nd CDRW (dont ask why!), and 2 more strips of memory. In fact the motherboard looks almost identical to the one I bought from Megabyte last year, just a different name. Most of the time they will buy OEM mother boards from Asian companies, and just rebadge them, and customize the bios. Same can be said with alot of electronic devices these days from major manufacturers.

Anyway, as for your PC, appears you have a piece of computer history there ;-) I threw my 900Mhz in the garbage a year ago - dont fret - i have several friends still using 750's! But, when you said they replaced the mother board, did they charge you for it, and if so, did they even mention to you that it would be more feasable to buy a new PC one time?? Its hard to locate a 900Mhz Mother board these days .. I wonder if it wasnt 2nd hand.

Anyway .. im going to start selling PCs for $500-600, a 2.4Ghz, 128MB DDR, 40GB, LAN, DVD/CDRW, Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers - $200-300 for an LCD Monitor for those who dont already have one .. all brand new. It will only be one brand, the cheapest available at the time. We will sell the PC DVR card also, for low end CCTV jobs. These use the same software as found in the DVR card manufacturers $10,000 DVR, this PC DVR we will also sell to other intergrators, as im getting it from the manufacturer themselves so prices are low for what it is, and will beat any PC DVR that is currently being installed in Nassau, they are some of the best actually in the industry .. i got some connections so we are going to also have low end stand alone DVRs for the same price as the distributors in the US - anyway, noone will be able to match our prices. Ordering some units tomorrow, and will let you know when the store is open.. ofcourse we will have a couple high end DVRs also, higher end PCs will be special order, or they can simply buy it else where :-) Just want to get the products as cheap in price as possible, and finally found some high quality cheap products ..well cheap for me so ill pass off the discoun to my clients also .. time to get these industries to lower their prices ..

Rory

Well you can always upgrade the software no matter what you get.

Clones are basically the same as the Dells, etc. nowadays, you can change/upgrade parts in all of them. Clones arent like what they used to be. Reason to build your own computer (used to be known as clone) is that you can make a super computer, or get a better mother board than is typically found in the name brands, which allows for example, more PCI slots, Serial Ports, etc. and normally do this cheaper than the highest end product from a brand name. Small PCs no matter if they are a brand name or not, are going to be difficult to work inside. With cheaper name brands you are sometimes limited with the upgrade capabilties, but not always.

With name brands, they have that warranty thing in the US, but here it doesnt matter. Even in the US with non name brands you still get warranties. Either way, you dont HAVE to take it back to them, you can have anyone work on it. You get warranties on PCs if you buy them here also, but still, you dont HAVE to take it back to the dealer. As for Laptops that is totally different. I had a 3 month warranty on my new vehicle here, 1 year limited, pretty much after the first service I never took it back to the dealer.

My $250 Refurbished HP/Compaq came with 1 CDRW, 1 Hard Drive, 1 strip of memory, and a floppy, I added a second hard drive, a 2nd CDRW (dont ask why!), and 2 more strips of memory. In fact the motherboard looks almost identical to the one I bought from Megabyte last year, just a different name. Most of the time they will buy OEM mother boards from Asian companies, and just rebadge them, and customize the bios. Same can be said with alot of electronic devices these days from major manufacturers.

Anyway, as for your PC, appears you have a piece of computer history there ;-) I threw my 900Mhz in the garbage a year ago - dont fret - i have several friends still using 750's! But, when you said they replaced the mother board, did they charge you for it, and if so, did they even mention to you that it would be more feasable to buy a new PC one time?? Its hard to locate a 900Mhz Mother board these days .. I wonder if it wasnt 2nd hand.

Anyway .. im going to start selling PCs for $500-600, a 2.4Ghz, 128MB DDR, 40GB, LAN, DVD/CDRW, Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers - $200-300 for an LCD Monitor for those who dont already have one .. all brand new. It will only be one brand, the cheapest available at the time. We will sell the PC DVR card also, for low end CCTV jobs. These use the same software as found in the DVR card manufacturers $10,000 DVR, this PC DVR we will also sell to other intergrators, as im getting it from the manufacturer themselves so prices are low for what it is, and will beat any PC DVR that is currently being installed in Nassau, they are some of the best actually in the industry .. i got some connections so we are going to also have low end stand alone DVRs for the same price as the distributors in the US - anyway, noone will be able to match our prices. Ordering some units tomorrow, and will let you know when the store is open.. ofcourse we will have a couple high end DVRs also, higher end PCs will be special order, or they can simply buy it else where :-) Just want to get the products as cheap in price as possible, and finally found some high quality cheap products ..well cheap for me so ill pass off the discoun to my clients also .. time to get these industries to lower their prices ..

Rory

Thanks Rory for all this info. The tech who worked on my PC had told me he had replaced the motherboard. But he can hardly speak English -- he later told me he FIXED the motherboard, not replaced it. He said they don't have that kind of motherboard in stock. He asked me to bring in all the disks/programs I bought the mach with, which I did. Apparently he needed them to re-install some of the motherboard programs, etc.

I got the impression this tech did not know too much -- after about 4 days he said that he did not know what the trouble was. Right then I had made up my mind that after a while I will buy a new computer.

I had asked him to install a CDRW drive. The selling price for these is $99. Don't know what the labour cost would be. He later told me that my mach is not suited for that -- I really wanted one for backing up files, my drive is CD ROM.

What about a 256MB. I understand its good to have plenty memory. Would like to check your PCs out when they arrive. Tks again.

Thanks Rory for all this info. The tech who worked on my PC had told me he had replaced the motherboard. But he can hardly speak English -- he later told me he FIXED the motherboard, not replaced it. He said they don't have that kind of motherboard in stock. He asked me to bring in all the disks/programs I bought the mach with, which I did. Apparently he needed them to re-install some of the motherboard programs, etc.

I got the impression this tech did not know too much -- after about 4 days he said that he did not know what the trouble was. Right then I had made up my mind that after a while I will buy a new computer.

I had asked him to install a CDRW drive. The selling price for these is $99. Don't know what the labour cost would be. He later told me that my mach is not suited for that -- I really wanted one for backing up files, my drive is CD ROM.

What about a 256MB. I understand its good to have plenty memory. Would like to check your PCs out when they arrive. Tks again.


Yeah, they will come with 128MB base price, but you can add up to 2GB of memory in those ..actually, maybe a 256MB one time, i have to carry a PC that will work with the new DVR cards so it may just be a little more$ on our side and less markup to get the right machine .. less worries in the long run ..

What OS are you running on that PC? 98/ME/XP? If its ME or XP then you can always just get a Lexar USB Jump Drive, they are very cheap, like $70 locally for a 512MB one, or less for a 256 or 128MB ... they work best with XP but also work with ME, 98 Im not sure as 98 didnt have great USB support. When you plug it into a USB port, it opens up a new window as a Drive F: Then you just copy and paste your files into that, much easier than a CD, and faster for back up of data. They have them up to 1GB now also, and Flash itself is in the 4GB Range now as well, not in the Jump Drives though. The jump drive can be connected on your keychain, or around your neck.

Rory

CHECK THIS MOVIE OUT (http://www.accessibleairwaves.org/)

On a side note: If I were anybody here, I would not take my computer to DC to be repaired. I had a very bad experience in dealing with their techs.

I believe you are correct. Seems that 3 years ago when I bought mine they had better techs. Within the first year I took mine in to them about 6 times. I was intentionally doing all kinds of things, trying to learn how to use it, etc, knowing I had a year's warranty and most of the services/repairs within that period would be free. So many things went wrong more or less through my "experimenting". And the treatment and service I got then were superior to what I had received recently.

back in 96 when i got my first windows PC, i took it back several times in the first month for this or that, mostly hard drive crashes from voltage spikes ..anyway, after that I got fed up and just learned to do it all myself ..id already had prior experience with DOS machines over the years so it wasnt that hard to learn then newer ones. .. within a year i was subbing for 2 local computer companies which will remain nameless right now ;-) (not DC, they werent around then)

I think after a while I might get a new system and save this one for a spare. I don't like to be off the net for long. Would like a laptop, but I hear they are very expensive!

Vicky, be careful with water, I understand water is very bad for anything electronic!

Water sure is bad for computers. Got a call today from the people doing the repair. My mother board is shot but my hard drive is ok. Did not have a current back up on some stuff.

Water sure is bad for computers. Got a call today from the people doing the repair. My mother board is shot but my hard drive is ok. Did not have a current back up on some stuff.



whoops, and it was a laptop? If so that is a small hard drive and doesnt normally fit in a desktop, though they will be able to get the data off it and transfer to a normal HDD. Unless they have the same laptop there or spare motherboards for that brand (unlikely) it means looking online for a laptop parts dealer with that brand :-) Could end up costing more than a new laptop ... how old was this one? Laptop parts are double or triple of desktop parts.

Yeah, they will come with 128MB base price, but you can add up to 2GB of memory in those ..actually, maybe a 256MB one time, i have to carry a PC that will work with the new DVR cards so it may just be a little more$ on our side and less markup to get the right machine .. less worries in the long run ..

What OS are you running on that PC? 98/ME/XP? If its ME or XP then you can always just get a Lexar USB Jump Drive, they are very cheap, like $70 locally for a 512MB one, or less for a 256 or 128MB ... they work best with XP but also work with ME, 98 Im not sure as 98 didnt have great USB support. When you plug it into a USB port, it opens up a new window as a Drive F: Then you just copy and paste your files into that, much easier than a CD, and faster for back up of data. They have them up to 1GB now also, and Flash itself is in the 4GB Range now as well, not in the Jump Drives though. The jump drive can be connected on your keychain, or around your neck.

Rory

My OS is 98SE. My modem used to be connected to a USB port, but about a year ago I started having trouble accessing the net and Cable Bahamas told me that I should get an ethernet card installed. So one day they came and installed it and the drivers and hooked my modem to it, and I never had any problems since (they didn't even charge me anything). I still have a spare USB port, but I think I will just get another PC. I am now making notes of some of the links/addresses I have in my Favourites and Links file so I can somehow add them to my new computer whenever I purcahse it. (maybe there is a way this can be done from computer to computer??). So am not too keen on backing up stuff right now -- I already have some things from MY Documents file backed up to floppies -- understand they are not too good a media. I am even a bit skeptical about using my floppy drive since it was replaced by DC Tech!

I Don't have trouble with spikes -- I use 2 fairly heavy surge protectors for this one computer. They said ONE was enough when I bought it, but I just like to avoid problems.

Thats why I want to get a new one, and with a good technical man like you, I can always have it upgraded. Maybe I can use the old tower to learn from (Some years ago I took up a course in basic electronics, but I don't know anything about repairing computers -- would like to learn a few things as a hobby).

Yeah USB and 98 was not that good a mix.

You can copy your favourites to a floppy no problem.
Its in C:\Windows\Favourites - just copy everything there.

Floppies dont last long so take care of them.

As for spikes, only real protection is a line conditioner (also known as a voltage regulator in electronic stores). If the voltage goes too high, like when our BEC has been off, and then when it comes on, it stops it from going to high, protecting everything connected to it. Surge protectors offer no protection for this, and this is where you get the most damage ... such as a fried mother board, power supply, hard drive, or anything really in your PC where power runs to. I went through 2 hard drives in 2 months before I got a Line Conditioner, and I have used the same one since 1996!!! Yep, it lasted that long and still going strong. Cost $150 locally back then .. Ofcourse different locations will get more damaging spikes than others, such as old wired homes with bad power breakers or connections, etc. Im no electrician so I cant get into that much. Im in an old place with old old wiring, and my line conditioner continuosly clicks here and there .. thank god for it ..all my electronics are connected to it ..once i took my PC off it, and that had to be the time when BEC went off, lost a CD drive and a Zip drive to that one ...

Rory

Yeah USB and 98 was not that good a mix.
Work OK for me on my Win 98!

You can copy your favourites to a floppy no problem.
Its in C:\Windows\Favourites - just copy everything there.

Floppies dont last long so take care of them.

As for spikes, only real protection is a line conditioner (also known as a voltage regulator in electronic stores). If the voltage goes too high, like when our BEC has been off, and then when it comes on, it stops it from going to high, protecting everything connected to it. Surge protectors offer no protection for this, and this is where you get the most damage ... such as a fried mother board, power supply, hard drive, or anything really in your PC where power runs to. I went through 2 hard drives in 2 months before I got a Line Conditioner, and I have used the same one since 1996!!! Yep, it lasted that long and still going strong. Cost $150 locally back then .. Ofcourse different locations will get more damaging spikes than others, such as old wired homes with bad power breakers or connections, etc. Im no electrician so I cant get into that much. Im in an old place with old old wiring, and my line conditioner continuosly clicks here and there .. thank god for it ..all my electronics are connected to it ..once i took my PC off it, and that had to be the time when BEC went off, lost a CD drive and a Zip drive to that one ...

Rory

Folks, listen to Rory, particularly about the line conditioner! Very important peace of equipment!

Yeah USB and 98 was not that good a mix.

You can copy your favourites to a floppy no problem.
Its in C:\Windows\Favourites - just copy everything there.

Floppies dont last long so take care of them.

As for spikes, only real protection is a line conditioner (also known as a voltage regulator in electronic stores). If the voltage goes too high, like when our BEC has been off, and then when it comes on, it stops it from going to high, protecting everything connected to it. Surge protectors offer no protection for this, and this is where you get the most damage ... such as a fried mother board, power supply, hard drive, or anything really in your PC where power runs to. I went through 2 hard drives in 2 months before I got a Line Conditioner, and I have used the same one since 1996!!! Yep, it lasted that long and still going strong. Cost $150 locally back then .. Ofcourse different locations will get more damaging spikes than others, such as old wired homes with bad power breakers or connections, etc. Im no electrician so I cant get into that much. Im in an old place with old old wiring, and my line conditioner continuosly clicks here and there .. thank god for it ..all my electronics are connected to it ..once i took my PC off it, and that had to be the time when BEC went off, lost a CD drive and a Zip drive to that one ...

Rory

Wow! I never heard of a line conditioner. Is this something that an electrician has to install? Or is it something you can plug into a wall outlet like a surge protector with a number of outlets?

[Thanks Rory, I just did the copying, it really saved me much time compared to the way I had planned to do it!]

this is like the one i have, they have different sizes, this would do your computer and a few other home electronics like a TV, etc. You just plug this into the main wall outlet, then you can plug in surge protectors/strips into this or plug the hardware directly into it as it has 6 outlets. Just be sure nothing you plug in exceeds 600w draw, which it shoulnt if just a TV, Computer, Cell Charger, etc.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=763447&CatId=232

Or these are with Voltage Regulation (same as line conditioner) and UPS back up in one:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=935136&Sku=C910-1226

And ..
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=588942

Work OK for me on my Win 98!


You're lucky :-)
It does have some USB support, but XP and ME has it alreadyt installed no need to upgrade or install drivers for USB devices. Also just depends on the PC and whether certain USB support was preinstalled or not by the PC manufacturer. Its just a lot easier on ME and even easier on XP, or should i say they have more driver support.