Puters

feisty's wife · 12-07-2003, 06:09 PM

The wife and I just ordered our first one, a Dell w/1gig of ram, w0 gigs on hard drive, ink jet, 17" thin monitor, windows xp, any advice woiuld be welcome, also getting Norton virus protection. Are we readt?Any advice, do nots very welcome....pretty pleases?

Pete · 12-07-2003, 06:15 PM

0 gigs on hard drive seems a little small

I hope that was a typo.

What usually makes the most difference is how you intend to use your computer. That will determine what peripherals make the most sense for you.

I wouldn't be without a DVD CD drive and a second CD/RW drive. I really get good use from my firewire connection for video editing.

WheresMyBobber · 12-07-2003, 06:29 PM

Lots of advice to be given on this topic. Here's a little:

At first, only load the basic software you know you'll use.

When loading software or making changes to your system, only make one change at a time so you'll know what caused a problem, if any.

If/when you uninstall software, use the software's own "uninstall" function.

Never go into your hard drive and start deleting things until you know exactly what you're doing.

Stay away from loading computer games if possible. In my experience they only seem to cause problems/conflicts.

Get in the habit of running Scandisk and Defrag on a regular basis, once a month minimum .

Make sure your anti-virus software is set up to automatically check for updates. Scan your hard drive on a regular basis.

Install a firewall. Zone Alarm is good, and is a free download.

Think about having a second hard drive installed for backup purposes. It's quite cheap these days, and is good insurance.

If you get error messages, write down the message and remember what you were doing when it happened. This will help tons if you need technical assistance.

[ 12-07-2003, 08:22 PM: Message edited by: WheresMyBobber ]

Silver Hilton · 12-07-2003, 08:04 PM

I suspect 1 gig of memory is MUCH more than you will need. I run several stock trading applications which are up there in power requirements, and do fine with 512MB.

If your main need is web surfing, low end will serve you fine.

happybrew · 12-07-2003, 08:18 PM

Backup everything you want to keep on a CD-R whenever you're making major changes to your computer. Keep your startup disk in a safe place where it won't be touched. We've had to use ours about once a year. It seems to be the easiest way to fix problems with corrupted files and such. This includes backing up internet preferences and data, etc., on every program you want to keep stuff for. Tape down any peripherals that move around. It helps a lot with both clutter and breakage. Earlier this week the ethernet hub at work, which my boss had merely placed on top of the server, after being knocked off who knows how many times by people other than myself

had its power supply damaged. Our network experienced four crashes in three hours before I ruled out a software problem and opened up the hub with a screwdriver and discovered the problem. At home, with five kids, it gets even worse. Tape peripherals down, and you'll be happier.

happybrew

ampersat · 12-07-2003, 08:29 PM

Antivirus software and zone alarm. Spybot is a pretty good one to download too. Give it time and you'll figure out what it is you need and how to use it. As an IT guy, I get hit up for info and advice all the time and nothing drives me nuts more than the guy who wants answers but doesn't want to learn. You know how your car works, right? (You do know how your car works, right?) Well, you should know how your computer works too. When you demystify them, they become a tool just like your fishing reel. (You do know how your fishing reel works, right?)

Pitch Pocket · 12-07-2003, 09:20 PM

I always reformat the drive and do a clean install of XP Pro when I get a new machine. Dell and other manufacuters always put 'lite' versions of software that is only partially functional that you probably will never use. They probably load AOL too.

A clean install makes sure the drive isn't cluttered up with stuff they shouldn't have put on the computer in the first place. Then I install only the software I want.

I also partition the drive into different sections. One for the operating system, one for my programs that I install, and the largest for data. I find it works better, longer. You still have to blow everything up after about a year and start over again. You can repair and tweak, but it is never as good as a fresh install.

Be sure to load AdAware and Spybot-Search & Destroy and run them daily if you surf the web alot, weekly if you are casual about it. Of course anti-virus and and a software firewall essential. I run Norton and Zone Alarm. I have a physical firewall built into my router too.

Oh, and uninstall that damn Messinger software from the Windows components so you don't get those pop-up ads. Be sure to run msconfig and remove it from the start list. It will somehow start anyway if you don't.

There is so much more, but that should confuse you for a while. Good luck.

BigFishFever · 12-08-2003, 05:56 AM

Feisty

good choice on PC's...I used to build PC's and broke down a few years ago and bought a Dell when it was time to upgrade...great product and great support...

A few recommendations I have is to keep everything that comes with the PC, I kept all the software that came with the PC in the OS box that came with a the system...I put it all in the box, taped it shut and threw it in a drawer..this way you will always know where everything is...believe me from a tech support standpoint this is HUGE.

Next point, if you do have to call into the support center, call during the business day, you will get a longer hold time, but you will get somebody that will help you...if you dont like the answer hang up and call back..

Last recommendation I have is to get a "reliable" internet connection...broadband is great and there are more and more options available all the time (PM/Email me if you want some recommendations)

Last but not least, USE IT..BREAK IT...FIX IT!! This is the best way to learn!

Enjoy!

BrokeItOff · 12-08-2003, 06:55 AM

Is Dell still just giving out a repair disk and not the os disks, if so reinstalling won't help much. If this is the case and I were using the pc for business I would spring for windows 2000 pro. It has been rock solid and most of my pcs run this and most of my clients are running it and are very happy.

Surge protector is a must.
Only install software that you are going to use.

And what the other guys said.

2LEYS · 12-08-2003, 07:04 AM

My advice is to throw it out the windoe. They are more trouble than they are worth sometimes.

I am just mad cause my monitor is stuck on 16 colors and I spent my weekend trying to fix it.

Pitch Pocket · 12-08-2003, 09:29 AM

I've received a full operating system disk for the last several Dell machines I've bought. The repair disk must have been a short lived deal. I can imagine the protests!

I'd avoid anything other than XP (especially NT). All new machines come with it and other than the security issues they keep fixing (auto update for sure), it is pretty rock solid. Everything is being written for XP now. Anything else is a step into the past and future lack of quality support and funtionality.

I prefer the XP Pro version, but XP Home is ok if you don't have any heavy networking needs. Usually XP Home works fine for small peer to peer home networks and it is less expensive.

lost_sailor · 12-08-2003, 09:30 AM

I've had very few problems with a batch of Dells at work.

For my $.02, I'll say Internet Explorer sucks - check out www.mozilla.org

I'm just starting the transition to XP, it seems OK so far ... for $#&%&*$# Microsoft junk. Windows is a tool of the devil.

BrokeItOff · 12-08-2003, 09:37 AM

Pitch Pocket

I think until LongHorn (2006) win2k will be supported. For a home user xp is fine, but win2k has been(in my experience) for business more stable. But I must admit I like taking things slow, and let others shake out MS's problems.

Shane

Pitch Pocket · 12-08-2003, 11:55 PM

Shane, I don't blame you. If your applications work on 2k then don't fix it! I'm a firm believer in not upgrading software for the sake of upgrading. Sometimes it is a disaster! (I'm still using Lotus 123 Release 5 because the apps I wrote still work great.

I got started with XP when they stopped shipping anything else. I've actually done pretty well with it. Can't compare it to 2k myself because I haven't ever used it.