Technology, Computers and Smartphones

[180deg]

laconicchick said:

ETA: My computer seems to have spontaneously fixed itself. Should I get it looked into, or wait and see if it happens again? My instinct is the latter, but it could be inconvenient.

You probably don't need to worry at this stage, as long as it doesn't keep happening (and if it does it's probably a relatively minor problem, eg. a screwed sound card). Take note of the date and what specifically happened (what programs you had open, what you were trying to play) so if it does re-occur you have some info for whoever fixes it.

It feels like your sound card just had a moment of insanity (not unusual with modern technology ).

[deadduck]

New questions (I think, may have been asked before, and I was not paying attention even though reading the whole thread).

I am looking at buying a new computer, HP Pentium D 920 Dual Core, but it is refurbished... The price is amazing and with a 90 day warranty..what can go wrong? ;D

1/ Anyone had issues purchasing a refurbished computer? Refurb by the manufacturer of course.

2/ Transferring files from the old compter to the new one-such as e-mail, photos, word and excel dox etc..Anyone have any tips on how to make this easier? I found a software program called intellimover, that may be good, but I just want to see if any other ideas that may be better, simpler faster.

Thanks

[Deleted]

poorfrances said:

So this weekend I finally set about destroying the old computer. The problem is, once my friend and I managed to pry the thing open we couldn't figure out where the hard drive was. Certainly it was nothing removable. So what we did was cut a bunch of wires and drench the insides in ammonia cleaning liquid (we didn't have any coca-cola). So someone please tell me that that should've taken care of it.

Yeah, it should be dead through and through. Even if someone is able to get the hard drive to run, the data will be so corrupted and meaningless that they won't get anything from it.
The hard drive is almost always removable, but sometimes them make you look for it. There'd be a revolt if they weren't removable. I'd revolt, anyway.

deadduck said:

New questions (I think, may have been asked before, and I was not paying attention even though reading the whole thread).

I am looking at buying a new computer, HP Pentium D 920 Dual Core, but it is refurbished... The price is amazing and with a 90 day warranty..what can go wrong? ;D

1/ Anyone had issues purchasing a refurbished computer? Refurb by the manufacturer of course.

2/ Transferring files from the old compter to the new one-such as e-mail, photos, word and excel dox etc..Anyone have any tips on how to make this easier? I found a software program called intellimover, that may be good, but I just want to see if any other ideas that may be better, simpler faster.

Refurbished shouldn't be a problem. Refurbished covers anything from a business that bought one too many computers and returned to the excess to one that had a fault hard drive (or whatever). A 90 warranty should be enough time to determine if there is anything seriously wrong with the computer. Refurbished just means it's been returned to original condition (hard drive exchanged, scratched metal case replaced, etc). HP, in my completely unbiased opinion (ha!), are quite good. A bit of a lengthy wait on the phone for customer service, but that's pretty standard all around.
Had a quick look at prices for that computer, and it sounds like you've probably a good deal.
When it comes to transferring old documents, I just cheat and remove the hard drive from one computer and install it on the other. It does sort of require knowledge of master and slave drives, among other things, but if you're comfortable with that, it's the easiest way.
Personally, I have so much crap on my computer that I never trust a program to move only the important stuff over to the new computer. Of course, with a 300GB hard drive, that shouldn't be a problem. A program like intellimover will do the job for you, and it'll save you having to open the case.

Unsolicited advice: The only concern I'd have is the lack of available expansion slots. If you don't plan on adding things like RAID or 20 graphics cards (hey, it could happen!) it's unlikely to present a problem, but it's something to keep in mind.

[deadduck]

Thanks beatle. I have now bought the damn thing, but have to finish up some other work on this slow...slow...one before I can hook up the newbie. Hopefully, tomorrow or Laaaaate tonight. I think I will get me a finger drive, and do the transfer that way. At least then I can pick and choose crap from this old sucker.
The monitor is awesome though. Have it hooked up to the old one for now. So bright, and clear.

[Deleted]

Thanks, beatle! That's what I wanted to hear. I told my friend that I know I was treating the thing as if there were state secrets on it, but I've heard enough stories to be paranoid as literally before it crashed the computer had all my personal details on it: credit card to tax info. I didn't want anyone to be able to get it, even though the drive was apparently catastrophically wiped by the virus or whatever, I don't know what fancy tools ID thiefs have.

I re-looked online and I think the hard drive must've been in a cage somewhere. We made sure to pour the ammonia in every crack we could find though (and the stank should repel anyone at least).

[danadel]

chonies said:

For those of you who have recently acquired the MacBook, could you give some advice? I'm trying to decide whether or not to take advantage of the student discount on Apple.com (which end 9/16) and I would appreciate any and all comments--the more screamingly honest, the better. I would just be buying the 13" basic model, not the pro, not the upgrades for more memory, and Apple Care. I've had Apples and Macs in the past, but not since the mid 1990s, and I...just need a hug and gentle persuasion before I send off a giant chunk of money.

There are no Apple stores near me, so I can't go visit them in person, which I don't even know if that is a plus or a minus.

I cannot afford a macbook now, but have a 4 year old ibook i love. I would totally recommend the macbook though. most of my fellow classmates have an apple, if they have anything. also, apple has made it really easy to expand memory and hard drive yourself so you could always do that later. one last note- if you don't NEEd a computer right now, they have been doing the free ipod every august/sept for a few years now. if you can hold off untl next year, the new OS Leopard will be out. but= they just can out iwth new ipods too, so you could get a free new ipod now!

eta: whoops-i didn't realize today was the 17th- sorry!

[batmom]

We have another question relating to the new computer thinging (and it's really dumb) - How do you find out your IP address? I have vague memories of being walked through it before, but not enough to do it again on my own.

Thanks bunches.

[laconicchick]

The easy way is to find a LiveJournal with one of those creepy "Your IP address is _____ and your service provider is ____! You're running ___ on ____!" signs, but other than that I've got nothing. ;D Sorry.

[180deg]

batmom said:

We have another question relating to the new computer thinging (and it's really dumb) - How do you find out your IP address? I have vague memories of being walked through it before, but not enough to do it again on my own.

Thanks bunches.

Type "ip check" into google, and click on any of the sites listed. Some will give you just your basic IP address, others will freak you out with the scary level of detail (how do they know I'm using Firefox 1.5.0.7???)

[Deleted]

batmom said:

We have another question relating to the new computer thinging (and it's really dumb) - How do you find out your IP address? I have vague memories of being walked through it before, but not enough to do it again on my own.

Thanks bunches.

Any of these should do the trick.
Your IP address may change, depending on the type on internet connection you have. If you're on dial-up, it will change each time. With cable it remains the same. DSL, I think, changes only when you turn off your computer. I'm a bit out of my league here, so don't take this as gospel, but I think that's pretty close.

deadduck said:

I think I will get me a finger drive, and do the transfer that way. At least then I can pick and choose crap from this old sucker.

More unsolicited advice (if you haven't done the transferring already): You might want to try using an an RJ45 (network) or USB cable*. It should be a bit quicker than going back and forth with a thumbdrive. In the unlikely event that your old computer doesn't have a socket for either, you can pick up a network card for 10, maybe 15 USD or just use the parallel port (but parallel is sloooooow).
It also gives you the luxury of being able to sit at one computer and do all the moving, rather than having to go back and forth between computers.
Under start and network connections, there should be an option to 'set up a home/small office network' -- should be pretty self-explanatory from there.
Have fun!

*I think a USB cable would require a specific program, as I'm not sure whether Windows will recognise a USB connection as a network connection.