Ok, I think I finally fried my desktop. 6.5 years old, and i went downstairs and the darn thing wasnt working. I tried everything, and then even tried a full windows reinstall and it wont install. keeps getting hung, and wont work. something big going on, cause every other time i had to do a full reinstall it was (well a pain in the butt) no problem. so here is one i found, that im looking at. Any thoughts or suggestions?

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...=&langid=EN

Get a Mac

This will be my next purchase as far as computers go. I was in Future Shop yesterday looking at the Macs and I am getting one for sure.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...=&langid=EN

yeah i already have a laptop. and im not ready to make a switch to a mac as of yet. still stuck on what i know which is windows......

Mac desktops are beautiful. They are far easier to learn than Windows thats for sure. I spent about an hour on Apple's site and read some guides and tutorials and I will be able to pick up the Mac OS no problems.

You can test the system memory to see if that's the problem, and if it's the memory it's a cheap replacement compared to a new PC by trying the free MemTest86+

Other things to check are the motherboard, etc. It wouldn't hurt to unplug everything inside the computer chassis then plug it back in, sometimes a loose connection can cause problems.

Thanks Andavari. i tried all that (except for memtest86+) but it wont let me do anything anymore. I think maybe its just getting old and needs replacing. Ive had problems with it for a couple of years now, and have kind of been using bandaid solutions on and off, and am now thinking time to put it out to pasture. If i get another one, i can use this one to tinker with and such. The only thing im not too keen on is all the new computers that interested me all came with vista not xp.

Plus futureshop (where im looking at) has a no interest plan, equal payments for 24 months, so its not a huge hardship to get one, just means no motorcycle for me this year as i can only get my wife to let me get one toy at a time.

what do you think of that pc? anything its missing, or anything you would add to it? thanks!

Interesting thing about the new computers coming with Vista instead of XP. When I was in future shop looking at the Mac I mentioned earlier I asked the sales person what if I wanted to buy a windows machine from them but have XP in it instead of Vista? You know what the guy tells me? He says we will remove Vista for you and install XP but it will cost you a couple hundred dollars more. You have to buy XP separately and than they will put in in for you. So your best bet might be to order form HP or Dell on line directly from them because you can still order machines with XP as on option. The ones in the store are already built so you have no choice. If you alrady have a XP install disk you can put it in your self.

Build one for $1500.Check back here for when the April issue is in PDF form. It should be soon, considering I got my May issue today in the mail. You'll have to build in a monitor to the price, but you could probably do it for cheaper.

AJ

For a pre-built computer where you couldn't pick and choose at least a few things that you'd want in it there's no way in hell I'd pay $2000 for it, for the simple fact you may be able to spend less money and get more of what you want and need - unless of course they let you mod it to your needs. I would instead deal with the PC manufacturer directly via their website.

If you want xp your going to have to order online.
http://www.dell.com/content/products/featu...=dhs&~ck=mn

I wouldn't hesitate to get the dell 530 and if you dont need a monitor you can get it for $459US.
If I was to get that pc I would probably up the ram to 2 gigs and spend the extra 60 they want for the radeon hd card. Would be a pretty speedy little computer.

Word of advice is that you shouldn't get the slim style case(on any build of computer). Reason being is that 1 they are harder to work in and 2 the cd rom drives are verticle and I've had all kinds of problems with them in the past.

Oh.. I didnt realize you were spending that much.
That thing you picked has an hd dvd drive, which is pretty much pointless as they are discontinuing that format. If you interested in making this a multimedia pc(hooked up to a big screen, ect) I would wait until they start coming out with blu ray pcs.

Now If I were you I wouldn't spend that much on a pc for this kind of thing. Get a moderately priced pc and then get a ps3.(for blue ray, games, and multimedia).

Well, call me an idiot but i went and got the computer. against the advice that you all provided above, but i was just feeling impulsive so i went and did it. i know it was a lot, but i just couldnt be bothered with picking parts, ordering, etc. i dont know enough to know what to look for, so i just wanted something fast and such. i got my laptop at future shop and they treated me really really good there with it (and other products) so i figured id go back.

i got the "no lemon" guarantee, lasts three years so if anything goes wrong they replace the computer fully. also i wanted a bigger screen so this should do me good. as for the hd dvd, i really dont care much for movie quality, etc. so the hd dvd wasnt a selling feature to me at all. im not keen on this new hddvd/bluray stuff, its just more then i really want/need, good old dvds are good for me. i just finally threw out my tape cassettes, and i still use the vcr for the kids movies.

as for xp, i would really prefer to have it, but its not a big enough deal to go out and buy it when the computer comes with an operating system. i think when the next os comes out, ill probably get another computer anyways (kids are starting to hog the computers all the time anyways) so its not too big a deal.

also, i searched around a few forums and saw a lot of good things about this sort of set up, so itll do me good. i kind of put it in perspective. i spent 2000 on my last computer that i got straight from ibm 6.5 years ago. and it finally just croaked, so spending the same amount all these years later is not too bad.

plus the 19 inch monitor i have now can be my second monitor, and i already have the hp printer that came with the laptop i got. as for the ps3, i dont game quite enough to buy that one, but who knows in the future.

You are not an idiot at all, you just got what you wanted. If I had $2000 and was anywhere near an electronics store I'd be impulsive too.

Maybe you can tell my wife that. She and the kids have been out of town for 2 days and shes going to kill me when she gets home.........

Well now that you have that computer you can play pretty much anything you want anyway.
Just go buy an xbox 360 usb controller and you would get pretty much the same experience.

I was just trying to say that your not going to see a huge speed difference day to day with that computer or the one I pointed out with xp. For stuff like games and video editing it will be top notch though.

That monitor is a beauty though. I saw one in circuit city the other day and had to keep myself from reaching for my credit card.
I hardly use my desktops for anything major anymore. I never thought my laptop would become my main pc but it has. I guess its because I have it around all the time(but I still hate the keyboard. )

you know building your own PC is less money spent. just my opinion though.

Hello 1984,
Well you're in for it now.
The "old" PC just happened to quit working while the family is away.
Future Shop coincidently had this great deal going on and the sale was almost over.
What were you to do? Rob the family of the availability of using the remaining computer?
I think not.
Of course, you are no idiot.
That "old" computer better darn well be busted when they get back home.
Stuff Happens,
davey

P.S. Good thing you didn't just happen to wonder into the local Harley-Davidson shop.

Good for you 1984 , I'd love to go and buy a new PC.

You never came back to mention how much you like it.

I wish I could but the Tax Man took almost $700.00 from me so I'll have to wait another couple of month to purchase the Vista Home Basic system I want to replace the 5 year old XP Home system.

I have been having fun resurrecting an old Pentium system I got free with 32MB RAM and two 2GB hard drives, Opti Audio 16 sound card and Triton 9440 video running Win98SE. I have it all working and it is OK but a bit slow.

Yeah it's that time of year in Canada to bend over and grab your ankles and prepare for the yearly financial rape.

That sounds really painful!
There are two things in life that are a guarantied certainty

#Death
&
#Taxes

Wipe 98 and put Ubuntu on!!! Linux FTW!!!

AJ

Albert Einstein

I don't mind paying taxes. I just dislike a lot of the ways that they are wasted.

In our country the tax system is punitive. You are punished for trying to improve your lot in life. Don't think about working overtime so you can bring a little more home to feed your family. If you do you will be pounded on taxes to the point it is not worth working. Than of course the taxes the government steals from you is squandered on absolute garbage by incompetent and corrupt politicians. What blows my mind is how all the sheeple just mindlessly accept this. The people of this country should have a tax revolt and shut down the government instantly. Enough is enough.

This has always been my reason for loving capitalism.



Do you think most people feel this way? There sure are a lot of lefties in the US right now spouting how happy all Canadians are with their government.

Taxes are a crock in the US too but their better than in most places. However the government doesn't give us all the services for "free" that you get either. Win/lose I guess.

Don't believe what you hear about our freebies. Our health care is sub standard at best. 6 or 7 hour waits in the emergency room are the norm. If you need to see a specialist be prepared to wait months and in some cases years. We use the American health system often because ours is backed right up. I live 35 min from the Niagara Falls NY border and many people are going over there to get the services they can't get here or have to wait months for if they can get them. The funny thing is more and more services are no longer covered and we pay out of our pocket plus the insane tax rates on top of that to fund the public health care and the services that are covered.

It fails on these two counts:
http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/desktopedition

By the way, I read that Unix Makes Poor Fathers which was on a lapel button I saw once at a conference that made me laugh.

I dont agree with that. Last year i suffered from a medical emergency which almost killed me. From the moment it happened till I was under the knife was 5 hours total. I also suffer from a chronic illness, and when i first got the illness symptoms a few years ago, I was refered by my GP to a specialist and was in and seen him within two weeks. And then had exploratory surgery within 2 weeks after that.

I also have a terminally ill parent that receives regular medical attention and the case was exactly the same. The problem is the total abuse of the system by people that want to go to the hospital for every little thing under the sun. I never went to the hospital in my life until this all happened to me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

did you look in the bose, can it see the harddrive, can try some seting like falesafe
# 1 Boot PC,# 2 tap the delete at boot, if you get it right you see BIOS CMOS Setup > look for IDE Primary Master may have a # like ST340810A > This is my harddrive > click Enter > on IDE HDD > click Auto-Detection > then you see if it ok it say Capacity in MB ,if come up ok good if say omb retry.if it was ok try load optimized defaults, or it may have load fale safe. by the way not all the BOSE are the same, save & exit setup > y/n & enter. that means y = yes save,ps wright down on paper to be safe & read the help in the BOSE [PS my harddrive say Capacity 33821 MB Cylinder # & HEAD # SECTOR # so on. :mellow:http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/faq1.htm
How do I enter the Computer's BIOS? * may help.

Move to Ontario than tell me about about it. You probably don't pay almost $2000.00 a year in car insurance to drive with a perfect driving record like I do either do you? Also I don' think you live as close to the border as I do so going over the border for medical services is not an option for you like it is here and it's on option that is used often.

Our health system is not what the world thinks it is. I have had several friends and relatives get sick or injured in the US on holidays or business trips and they were blown away with the level of care they received compared to here. Sure Americans pay for it but they are not taxed to death like we are. I would gladly pay my own health insurance for superior health care if my taxes were cut accordingly. Whats happening now is you are losing more and more health services and having to pay for them your self but there is no corresponding tax cut so we are getting double hit. If and when public health care is dropped here you will be paying the same level of taxes you do know plus your cost of private health care.

This is not the thread for this dicussion though

I'm not sure I even understand what you are suggesting. If it is at all possible to fix the computer I will though. I can always use an extra. Can you explain to me in simple terms what i should do or look for? Thanks!

Well I have lived in 4 provinces and pretty much seen the same thing. As for Ontario auto insurance, thats the price you pay for private insurance. B.C. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have public insurance and its much cheaper.

You and me must be living in two different countries than. Our local paper is always running stories of people waiting so long on the waiting list that they go over r the border and pay out of their own pockets. I have personally waited 5 hours in ER rooms more than once to get stitched up.

It depends on the location of the hospital and such i think too. At work we have to bring people to be medically cleared before we can bring them to jail and if we attend an inner city hospital it can take hours, where if we go to a suburban one, its usually much quicker. A lot of people seem to think that the hospital is the place to get medication refills and such so they attend there when they really should be contacting their GP.

What did you get for $2000 ? The link doesn't show it anymore. Unless it's an Alienware what could cost that much $????? Did they at least pay you for your broken computer as a trade-in?

btw a motorcycle would be a way cooler purchase since you have other computers? We got this last July, and I love it http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/yamaha_v_...verado_2007.php

Well I would imagine if a cop brings a person in they will clear you out of there faster than me. You can't compare what you experience on the job as a police officer to the normal patient going into the hospital. Yes the location of the hospital is a big thing. All the hospitals here are inner city since I live in the city

Our health system isn't terrible. There are worse obviously. I just think it's poor value. It also isn't what it's hyped up to be. I talk to Americans all the time because I am over the border at least once a month and they have this impression that we have this awesome health care system but it has some serious problems. Sure I walk into any hospital and just flash my health card and I am covered for most things but we pay believe me. Just look at your paycheck when they are finished with it. Also how would Americans like to pay 15% on every purchase they make? I do. Federal and provincial tax. How would Americans like to buy a house and not be able to wright off there mortgage interest? I could go on.

If you look at 1984's signature he lists the specs of his machines. I think the desktop is what he purchased.

Actually we wait just as long as everyone else to have our prisoners get care. There are times we get "bumped" back because people with higher priority injuries get treatment first.

I think its all a toss up. You end up paying one way or the other.

Yeah it was the desktop that I got.

Hey krit. Thats an awesome bike you guys got. I would love one like that but it's not in the budget right now. And yeah it would have been way cooler, but im married with kids so being cool isnt a luxury anymore. I never see you on msn anymore. Hit me up sometime.

Another thing is our health care system is not national. Many Americans think it is. Each province has it's own health care plan. In Ontario we have OHIP I don't know what yours is called where you are from. So there is a differences there. When you live in a fairly large city you are going to really see the shortages and long wait times.

The bikes now are totally awesome.

Back in '71 I traded in my '55 R50 for a big black R75 with a large touring tank and I loved it but as thing go I got married and riding time became real short soon as my then wife hated getting her hair mussed and having to wear what at that time looked like a lunar lander space suit.

I had many trips though as I bought a Dodge van that I transported the bike in and we went from the east coast of Canada along the Cabot Trail and savoured PEI lobster to the west and ate tasty Alberta beef and Pacific salmon.

I sold them in '76 and now its too cold for too long here to make a bike worthwhile but I did buy an electric bike that scoots along about 10KM/hour and can go for about 20KM on one charge that I use for short trips and bringing back groceries in my backpack and milk crate on the back.

I live in Oshawa the home of Generous Motors Canada and the wait times are not too bad in the medical clinic near me and usually I only have to wait a week to see my regular doctor for non-emergency visits.

Yeah the bikes these days are really nice compared to the old ones. Mechanically at least. Something is still nice about an old Norton or Indian or Harley that are just nostalgic. I can still remember growing up and my dad parking his old Norton in the living room............lol. As kids we thought it was funny. Hes sixty now and just bought a Harley 1200 last summer and my mom put her foot down and said the bike stays in the garage.

Ahhh...the family. Hope all is good on the home front. We kind of lucked out because we couldn't afford a new bike at the time being a month after the wedding. But! Someone hit my husband on his old bike, and after insurance paid for repairs the bike shop let us trade it in for the full amount that he paid for it 2 years prior! Couldn't pass that up. LOL I was tired of being a passenger on a croch rocket. Now that I've contributed to taking this thread even further off topic I'll hit you up on IM.

That's a really cool bike!

For some reason I'm fixated on old school classical styled motorcycles like this one, sure it has no real power but I just like it:
http://www.bikez.com/bike/index.php?bike=25002

I've never seen anything like it. It's really neat! I wonder if it's comfy.... Definitely an original style.

I would love the new Harley Night Rider, but it's really pricey. http://www.mcnews.com.au/Wallpaper/HarleyD...rod_special.jpg But soooo Sexy!

Whoa...I'm 17 and I want that bike....that is the sex right there!!!

AJ