My laptop just bit the dust....

[Chuck Wintle]

During the christmas break my HP model dv2620 laptop just up and quit with very little drama. It was working ok one minute and, later, refusing to boot...just a black screen and no LED hard drive activity.:( I like the apple laptops but they are pricey so out of the question. :)The Dell seem very nice na din my price range. So as usual I will defer to the awesome collective knowledge of this forum. What is a good laptop to buy without breaking the bank? many thx in advance.:D

[Paul McGaha]

Hi Chuck,

Toshiba makes good lap tops. And Dell. I'm sure others do also but if it were me I'd stick with either Toshiba or Dell because we've had good luck with those 2 manufacturers. Probably buy it at Costco.

Good luck with it. Hope you're not stuck buying a Windows 8 computer. That might push me to Apple right there.

PHM

[Chuck Wintle]

Hi Chuck,

Toshiba makes good lap tops. And Dell. I'm sure others do also but if it were me I'd stick with either Toshiba or Dell because we've had good luck with those 2 manufacturers. Probably buy it at Costco.

Good luck with it. Hope you're not stuck buying a Windows 8 computer. That might push me to Apple right there.

PHM
I will order form the dell website as costco is not an option for me. I will specify windows 7 for sure as I have heard too many negative comments about window 8.

[Matt Meiser]

What I did just under a year ago was buy a Dell Inspiron 15 with a core i5. Then I separately purchased a solid state drive and 8GB of ram. With 3 years of in-home service I paid under $900 if I remember correctly. I loaded a Windows 7 license I had but you can buy them with Windows 7 or buy an OEM license with the drive. I'd go this way again--in fact my dad and I were just talking yesterday about doing something similar for my mom but we'll go with a Core i3 and 4GB for hers.

[David Weaver]

How old is your 2620? I had a DV7 that finally bit the dust last year after 7 years of service, and had purchased an updated HP version of the same thing (it was the cheapest).

A couple of months ago, I got a lenovo laptop for my wife, and have been a little less impressed with its quality vs. the new HPs (which are, themselves, probably regarded as budget machines). It's not awful, it's just not as good ergonomically.

[Raymond Fries]

Dell sells refurbished laptops and they carry the same warranty as new. If latest and greatest is not important to you, you can shop for an older model and get really good deals.

BTW - If you decide to shop their outlet store and find something appealing, add it to your cart before you continue shopping. I lost a gem once because I did not think to do that.

Good Luck in your search.

[Frederick Skelly]

Chuck, depending on your needs a Microsoft Surface tablet may be worth looking at. It has USB connectivity and a keyboard. Before Christmas, they were selling "the original" online for about $350. (Im guessing they are closing them out.) Wont work for the office, but may be a good choice for home (unless youre a Gamer of course).
Fred

[Chuck Wintle]

Chuck, depending on your needs a Microsoft Surface tablet may be worth looking at. It has USB connectivity and a keyboard. Before Christmas, they were selling "the original" online for about $350. (Im guessing they are closing them out.) Wont work for the office, but may be a good choice for home (unless youre a Gamer of course).
Fred

right now my preference is a laptop but tablets look interesting too.

[Matt Meiser]

Surface Pro 2's can be had with enough processor power and RAM to replace a laptop. The top end one has the same specs as my laptop. I'd seriously consider it if buying today. There's also a docking station you can leave at your desk with a full size keyboard, mouse and external display (or you can just plug all those into the onboard ports but the dock would be easier.)

[Garth Sheane]

I've had my Dell laptop for nearly five years. I'm on it a lot and I use it as a desktop computer. However, it also "died" this past year very similar to what you describe as happened to your HP. A local computer shop made a minor replacement of something and it was good to go. Maybe it would be worthwhile having your laptop checked out.

[Larry Browning]

Here is my take on all this. It is probably different than most, so take it for what is it; free advice.
I would go to Wal-Mart and pick out one from their inventory that suits your needs, shop for it in the same way you would shop for anything else at wal-mart. Find one that you like the looks of, what size screen you do want? Does it have a separate numeric keypad? etc.. etc... and of course price. This process should take you about 5 minutes or less. Buy, it, take it home, turn it on and your done. This will get you a machine that will serve you well and cost you less than just about any thing. The truth is that computers have gotten to the point that they are more like a commodity, so any one is just about the same as the next one. This is true for 90% of all consumer computers and laptops. They are all good, they are all reliable, they all will just work. I say don't worry about it just get one and be done with it.
I kinda like the fact that these lower end computers won't last as long as the higher end ones. That means I can justify getting a new computer with all the latest technology much sooner since the new low end computer won't cost as much and the one it is replacing didn't cost very much either. I can now get a new computer every 2 or 3 years instead of every 7 to 10. (and cost me less money too)

BTW: If those stupid tiles in Windows 8 bother you, Look at a small program called StartIsBack or Start8. You won't have to look at those tiles again unless you just want to.
For me it allowed me to get the good improvements to Windows 8(like faster boot) without the bad things (like those d**n tiles!)

[Matt Meiser]

Only 2 caveats:
1) If you are doing anything that you need some horsepower for (CAD, Sketchup, video editing, etc, etc) Walmart doesn't carry much other than i3 and lower.
2) True of any retailer that I found, if it needs warranty work its getting mailed off for some indeterminate amount of time. Might not be true of Dell's sold at WM and not true of a Dell bought online. Say you have a keyboard failure...they come out and replace it in a day or two.

We did buy LOMLjr's laptop at Walmart--an Acer that we've definitely gotten our money out of. I replaced the keyboard after something got spilled on it (YouTube video and $25 part from Amazon) and more recently a battery $30 part from Amazon) in the last year. If/when she needs a "new" one I'll probably get a Surface Pro 2 or whatever looks best at the time in that format and hand mine down.

[Chuck Wintle]

Only 2 caveats:
1) If you are doing anything that you need some horsepower for (CAD, Sketchup, video editing, etc, etc) Walmart doesn't carry much other than i3 and lower.
2) True of any retailer that I found, if it needs warranty work its getting mailed off for some indeterminate amount of time. Might not be true of Dell's sold at WM and not true of a Dell bought online. Say you have a keyboard failure...they come out and replace it in a day or two.

We did buy LOMLjr's laptop at Walmart--an Acer that we've definitely gotten our money out of. I replaced the keyboard after something got spilled on it (YouTube video and $25 part from Amazon) and more recently a battery $30 part from Amazon) in the last year. If/when she needs a "new" one I'll probably get a Surface Pro 2 or whatever looks best at the time in that format and hand mine down.

i'm not doing any cad work or video editing so a basic laptop will fit my needs.

[Phil Thien]

Whatever you settle on laptop/notebook-wise, make certain the hard drive is user accessible. On the vast majority (80%+) of notebooks, you can remove a few screws and have the hard drive out of the machine. On the remainder, there is quite a bit of tear-down to get the hard drive out (often even having to remove the motherboard).

Why does it matter? Well, the hard drive is the most likely failure point. Also, if you get a particularly bad virus, it is often easier to clean if you can remove the hard drive and temporarily access it from a 2nd machine. While there are other reasons, those are the two big ones.

To find out if a hard drive is removable, you can often google the make/model # and something like "hard drive replacement" to find instructions for replacing the hard drive. Often you will find youtube videos of the process. Or you can post make/model here and I or others can tell you.

[Larry Browning]

Let me say that it has taken me many years to come to the opinion I now have about computers and laptops. I have always been a DIY kind of guy, and have lived my whole life with that sort of attitude. Only recently have I come to the realization that my DIY lifestyle is not for everyone. As it turns out I am in the minority, especially when it comes to computers. Most people have no desire to tinker with them like I do. Most people just want their computer to work. If it breaks, they would much rather just throw the old one away and get a new one, mainly because it is much less hassle than to try to figure out what is wrong. Plus, most people would rather get a stick in the eye than to deal with a broken computer. (Not me, I think it is great fun to tear it down find the problem and put it back together) And with the prices of new computers these days, it is just not worth the time to fix it.
Computers have gotten to the point that they really should not be considered a durable good item. If it breaks for any reason, throw it away and get a new one.
I have a friend who trys to never add new software or make andycustomizing changes to his computer so that when he gets a new one, he can hit the ground running with it.

[Rich Riddle]

I like the apple laptops but they are pricey so out of the question.

Chuck, I entirely agree. The 18 year old Apple Pismo laptop from which I am typing to you cost me $1000. Of course, it's 18 years old, heavy, bulky. Yet it's never broken or caught a virus. The wife says I can upgrade when it breaks; better not hold my breath.

[Chuck Wintle]

[QUOTE=Rich Riddle;2202421]Chuck, I entirely agree. The 18 year old Apple Pismo laptop from which I am typing to you cost me $1000. Of course, it's 18 years old, heavy, bulky. Yet it's never broken or caught a virus. The wife says I can upgrade when it breaks; better not hold my breath.[/QUOTE

Wow! 18 years thats a good long run.

[Jeff Heil]

For what its worth, I use a Windows PC (really a net terminal but it looks like a PC to the user) and Window laptop at work and a MacBook Pro at home. I switched to Mac 3 years ago and haven't looked back. To access work via VPN (virtual private network) and to do other Windows only operations using software that is only available on the Windows platform I run a piece of software called Parallels that creates a virtual windows machine on my Mac that runs Windows 7. In my view, this is the best of both worlds and prevents hauling a PC laptop and my Mac if I travel and gives the flexibility for both OS. The cost is higher than just a Windows laptop, but it has served me well. If you bought a Mac and wanted the Windows experience you could do both without any buyers remorse.

[Rich Riddle]

Chuck,

Eighteen years is a good run. It runs all but the most recent programs released in the last year or two. I have several other Macs, but use this the most. The most recent Mac we own is six years old. I look at the total cost when calculating it. Over the long run, I get far more out of the Mac for less money. To each his own though, so good luck in finding a good and dependable machine.

[Curt Harms]

I will order form the dell website as costco is not an option for me. I will specify windows 7 for sure as I have heard too many negative comments about window 8.

Chuck I believe you're a linux user. I would stay away from Windows 8 machines for another reason. All machines with Win 8 preloaded ship with secure boot enabled. Some linux distros work with secure boot, a lot don't. Microsoft requires manufacturers to enable users to disable secure boot. From what I've read, disabling works better on some machines than on others. Other issues are the use of UEFI BIOS and GPT disk partitioning. Support is there but it seems a little immature at this point. Lenovo has quite a few machines available with Win 7, Toshiba seems to get positive reviews. I've never dealt with Dell.

[Chuck Wintle]

Chuck I believe you're a linux user. I would stay away from Windows 8 machines for another reason. All machines with Win 8 preloaded ship with secure boot enabled. Some linux distros work with secure boot, a lot don't. Microsoft requires manufacturers to enable users to disable secure boot. From what I've read, disabling works better on some machines than on others. Other issues are the use of UEFI BIOS and GPT disk partitioning. Support is there but it seems a little immature at this point. Lenovo has quite a few machines available with Win 7, Toshiba seems to get positive reviews. I've never dealt with Dell.
i do like linux and have used it quite a bit. However after using windows 7 Pro I find it works very well for me and without the usual little bugs present in linux. The current versions of linux, Mint and Ubuntu are vastly improved in terms of useability. that said I am very hesitant to go to windows 8 based on the comments on this and other forums. It seems that window versions are somewhat hit and miss. and my favorite software does not work in linux but i did try wine with mixed results. The question in my mind is would i go for a preloaded linux laptop...maybe is my answer for now.

[Rick Christopherson]

Before you toss out the old laptop, you might want to do a little troubleshooting first. Given the symptoms, my first guess is either the power supply, battery, or even the battery connection inside the laptop. Narrowing these down depends on whether incoming power first passes through the battery or goes direct into the computer first.

If you don't want to troubleshoot it yourself, you could have Best Buy do it or possibly even Batteries Plus.

The very first thing to do is remove the battery and clean/inspect the terminals connecting it to the computer. Sometimes simply installing/removing the battery a couple times is enough to get the contacts working again.

Next, bring the battery and charger up to Batteries Plus and ask them to check the status of both. If the battery is currently dead, as them to put a charge on it (normally for free). If the laptop starts, then you know the power supply is shot and can't charge the battery.

[Chuck Wintle]

Before you toss out the old laptop, you might want to do a little troubleshooting first. Given the symptoms, my first guess is either the power supply, battery, or even the battery connection inside the laptop. Narrowing these down depends on whether incoming power first passes through the battery or goes direct into the computer first.

If you don't want to troubleshoot it yourself, you could have Best Buy do it or possibly even Batteries Plus.

The very first thing to do is remove the battery and clean/inspect the terminals connecting it to the computer. Sometimes simply installing/removing the battery a couple times is enough to get the contacts working again.

Next, bring the battery and charger up to Batteries Plus and ask them to check the status of both. If the battery is currently dead, as them to put a charge on it (normally for free). If the laptop starts, then you know the power supply is shot and can't charge the battery.
Rick,
The battery seems good as the problem still occurs when the charger cord is plugged in. If i unplug there is no change.

[Rick Christopherson]

Chuck, the reason I even took the time to respond above is because the symptoms can be very misleading, and depend on how the power system is designed. It can leave appearances that it is functional when it is not. Since the troubleshooting steps are so simple, you really have nothing to lose.

The likelihood of an abrupt catastrophic motherboard failure, such as you imply in your first post is fairly low. The laptop should have been showing other signs before a complete cutout like this. It is not impossible, but the likelihood is lower.

I have seen this exact same thing happen (it might have also been with an HP too). The other laptop was even showing positive battery power (something over 30% charge) when it simply died and would not respond to any restart. The owner of that laptop was positive my troubleshooting was off on some tangent, until he started going through it.

[Brian Elfert]

Chuck, I entirely agree. The 18 year old Apple Pismo laptop from which I am typing to you cost me $1000. Of course, it's 18 years old, heavy, bulky. Yet it's never broken or caught a virus. The wife says I can upgrade when it breaks; better not hold my breath.

The research I did says the Apple Pismo laptop was introduced in 2000 so yours could only be 13 or 14 years old. I appreciate anyone who can still stand to use a 13 or 14 year old computer in today's day and age. A PowerPC Mac is limited to OS X 10.5 so a lot of newer browsers and such won't even run on it. My employer just retired a bunch of old Macs running OS X 10.4.9 and the version of Safari they could use is years behind.