skippybangkok Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 had an old HP for 5 years, still going strong. Got a Dell with windows 7...... experience so far 1. Hard disk died - literally died after 2 or more months. Could not get all data recovered using high tech tools in IT division 2. Regular total freeze outs - get paranoid these days 3. have 2 back up hard disk, one western digital, other toshiba - both dont boot up, even when using double USB port adapter. wifes dinky die Laptop has no prob opening both hard disks on a single USB. really sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardholder Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I have had more than 15 Dell computers personally and in business. I have no bad word to say about Dell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I run a high end dell lappy at work for my CAD stuff, it has performed faultlessly over the last 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Dell dont make hard drives: hard drive manufacturers do and there are only a handful of them. So whatever computer (PC or Apple) you buy the reliability of the hard drive inside has nothing to do with the logo on the box. The one thing that everyone should remember about hard drives is that they will ALL fail one day: it's just a question of when. Some last a day, some 10 years, and the price and brand name has no bearing on this. You should back up your data accordingly. The PC shouldnt freeze and your warranty should take care of that. They will expect you to try reinstalling Windows first and presumably you have already done this. If none of your external drives spin-up then you must be a bit short of power on your USB ports. Again, the warranty should cover this as the drives should always spin-up with two cables connected. It may be that there is a fault in the power supply that is causing both the freezing and low power to the USB ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Dell dont make hard drives: hard drive manufacturers do and there are only a handful of them. So whatever computer (PC or Apple) you buy the reliability of the hard drive inside has nothing to do with the logo on the box. Thanks for the tips..... by the way, if you are buying bits and pieces to put in the end product, by all definitions of quality - you are responsible. (TQM, ISO 9000 etc ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I have had more than 15 Dell computers personally and in business. I have no bad word to say about Dell. I have had good luck with Dell's too. Then again anyone can turn out a lemon even though the regular product is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) Ive seen Dell and Acer laptops fail more frequently the others. Thats not to say they are unreliable, just other manufacturer go to anal lengths to prevent returns, e.g. Apple cant tolerate a return on a Macbook range because they ship 100+million, other manufacturers differientate often and frequently so a return on A310s laptop (just made that code up) results in 40,000 units only. My apple has just failed on me though after 4+ years, so nows it either Asus, HP or Toshiba (for costs reason and for not running OS X - the premium isnt warranted in this instance). Edited February 28, 2011 by devdrinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 if you are buying bits and pieces to put in the end product, by all definitions of quality - you are responsible. This is true, in a way. But the basic hard drive device is intrinsically unreliable. It WILL FAIL ONE DAY and so it seems unreasonable to blame an assembler if it does so a bit early. The warranty covers it anyway and there is no way anyone can tell when a particular drive will fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Ive seen Dell and Acer laptops fail more frequently the others. Possibly because along with HP/Compaq they are the world's biggest manufacturers? The more you make the more there are to fail. I've also seen a lot of broken Dells and Acers, and I've seen a lot more of them that arent broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Apple cant tolerate a return on a Macbook range because they ship 100+million, Google macbook failure rate, you might be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsujin Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 As far as I am concerned, Dell have been excellent when compared to any other manufacturer. I used Apple exclusively since they very first started up until a few years ago when I switched over to PC and Apple were as bad as any other at the time. Actually I had more problems with Apple's than I've had with my PC's since I switched over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninbkk Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi Darrel. When all hard disk fail does it make it impossible to recover info on the drive if you have partitions? C & D drives. or can I recover D info? I'm planning if I should run an external drive. Dell dont make hard drives: hard drive manufacturers do and there are only a handful of them. So whatever computer (PC or Apple) you buy the reliability of the hard drive inside has nothing to do with the logo on the box. The one thing that everyone should remember about hard drives is that they will ALL fail one day: it's just a question of when. Some last a day, some 10 years, and the price and brand name has no bearing on this. You should back up your data accordingly. The PC shouldnt freeze and your warranty should take care of that. They will expect you to try reinstalling Windows first and presumably you have already done this. If none of your external drives spin-up then you must be a bit short of power on your USB ports. Again, the warranty should cover this as the drives should always spin-up with two cables connected. It may be that there is a fault in the power supply that is causing both the freezing and low power to the USB ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endure Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi Darrel. When all hard disk fail does it make it impossible to recover info on the drive if you have partitions? C & D drives. or can I recover D info? I'm planning if I should run an external drive. If a hard drive fails all the partitions on it are gone. Partitions are software constructs. Hard drive failure is a hardware problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 As said that is not a physical division but just software C and D. I no longer divide at all as everything is designed to default to C drive so why make things hard (if using other OS that would be a valid reason - but defrag time is no longer). USB drives are very cheap these days so it makes sense to buy and use for full backups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Possibly because along with HP/Compaq they are the world's biggest manufacturers? The more you make the more there are to fail. Im talking on a relative level. Most of the laptops I've seen fail in corp world have been Acer and Dell in set where an equal number of HP/Compaq and Toshiba purchased - less so Asus admittedly, when I say fail I mean not just a disk or battery failure. Acer's so frequently after 12-18 months that they are not allowed list (employees could choose their laptop within reason). Things might have changed now (this was 2-3 years ago), but I suggest whatever deal you choose see if you get an extended manufacturer (not the crap insurance they sell in the shop) warranty to 3yrs, although in Thailand when that means sending your laptop off for 6 weeks might be a bit pointless. I've also seen a lot of broken Dells and Acers, and I've seen a lot more of them that arent broken. Obviously Edited March 1, 2011 by devdrinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalbanana Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Everyone has a story and each is different. In my case I've had nothing but success with HP and failure with Dell. Others will be the opposite. A good back up plan is the solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Everyone has a story and each is different. In my case I've had nothing but success with HP and failure with Dell. Indeed. But the HP/Compaq thumbs up, Dell thumbs down, seems a pretty popular assessment in the corp world, especially after the 18month mark. Again its not to say that XYZ brand is unreliable, its all about what you expect out of the hardware, i know a few devs with dell XPS range laptops but they change hardware more often than their underwear so longevity is not an issue for them. Edited March 1, 2011 by devdrinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyDrinker Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I just got a Lenovo (IBM) and so far I'm mightily impressed. It took a day or two to 'bed in' but now is absolutely mustard. Before that, my company were Dell all the way but the rate of malfunctions and subsequent lack of support meant that they have decided to switch to IBM. The bottom line is that hardware does fail. It's not always perfect and is also incredibly delicate. My boss used to drag his computer everywhere with him and then wonder why he would have issues with it. I'd tell him to buy a sturdier model for taking around the place and keep his best for home but he'd not listen until it was too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I had a similar situation with a Dell. I had it for six years, but every six months the technicians came out to repair something. Never the hard drive though, but the motherboard because of no power to the USB drives, the graphics card, the screen, the DVD burner, and that's about it. But all of these were done multiple times. Granted I stayed with Dell because they honored their warranty to the letter, and I was happy with that. But afterwards, I did not purchase a new Dell. I have seen nothing but problems with HP's. My first desktop was an HP, and it lasted forever. But any laptop by HP, I would not buy. My father, sister, and girlfriend have HP's against my advice, and they all have problems. I switched to an Apple after an HP and Dell, and I haven't had any problems for two years. But I won't say Apple is hands down better than PC, because there are definitely a lot of things I miss about the PC, and things I love about the Apple. I want the whole house to be a mix of both one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninbkk Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Great, thank you . Then this is the ONLY way to go. As said that is not a physical division but just software C and D. I no longer divide at all as everything is designed to default to C drive so why make things hard (if using other OS that would be a valid reason - but defrag time is no longer). USB drives are very cheap these days so it makes sense to buy and use for full backups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Great, thank you . Then this is the ONLY way to go. As said that is not a physical division but just software C and D. I no longer divide at all as everything is designed to default to C drive so why make things hard (if using other OS that would be a valid reason - but defrag time is no longer). USB drives are very cheap these days so it makes sense to buy and use for full backups. i wish........ but my Dell USB after 1 year does not have enough juice to run the drive, even using 2 ports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endure Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I just got a Lenovo (IBM) and so far I'm mightily impressed. It took a day or two to 'bed in' but now is absolutely mustard. Lenovo are not IBM. They are a Chinese company that bought IBM's personal computer division in 2005. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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