What Notebook/Laptop Brand "Not" to Buy

[Pib]

A final cent: unencrypt all those encrypted files on the drive now, before the machine fails. Pretty difficult to copy them to a new machine after the OS has crapped out. Unless you save the encryption key.

I didn't mention this in my opening post, but another key driver for me wanting to repair my Toshiba laptop is because I had a "hard drive password" installed on the hard drive via the computer BIOS. Not a supervisor/user password to just keep people out of or modifying the BIOS setup or operating system, but a hard drive password which means the hard drive would only work in certain model computers which had BIOS hard drive password capability where you could enter the hard drive password during boot-up.

When the laptop failed and since my last backup was March 13, I took the hard drive out and put it in my other Toshiba laptop but the laptop would not boot from the hard drive. I jumped into the computer's BIOS and it did "not" have a hard drive password capability. I then put the hard drive in a USB external enclosure to see if I could access the data that way...the computer would see the hard drive but not make it accessible...I had run into this same problem before when I upgraded/mirrored drives and forgot to remove the hard drive password before installing the drive in an external enclosure. Removed the hard drive password and all was happy.

I put the hard drive password on the drive just in case the computer was ever stolen as it would make accessing the drive very, very hard without special knowledge/software as a "hard drive" password can be tough to bypass unlike a password you just put on your operating system. For folks unfamiliar with "hard drive" password you can google a little about how to remove them and you will find out the pros and cons. Hard drive passwords can be a great data protection method and also a great way to keep you from the data...or even future use of the hard drive in another computer as you can't even access or format the drive without having the password or removing it.

When I went to pickup my repaired laptop the "first thing" I did at the shop was install the hard drive and on boot-up I jumped into the BIOS setup and removed the hard drive password...then continued the bootup. What a relief. That night I also did a fresh image backup of the drive along with a separate back up my data files. I have not put the hard drive password back on the drive and probably won't.

[GBK]

Actually, you run Windows on a Mac on its own, I.e., not as a virtual machine, or with OS X.

When Ballmer demoed W8, he used a MacBook Pro and the subsequent Geekbench scores (if you don't know what they are then don't comment) showed that it was the most efficient architecture to run that OS at the time.

[Frank James]

I was quite happy with my Lenovo Ideapad Y-470 until last night, when suddenly the dreaded "blue screen of death" appeared. Honestly, I haven't seen that since the 386 days. It didn't stay onscreen long enough for me to read what the problem was, until it went dark completely and shut itself down, This just demonstrates that underneath even the latest incarnations of Windows, still lives DOS! Mine was running under Windows 7 "Ultimate".

I went through some agony thinking about my writing, correspondence, music, and photo collections, which are on separate partitions, so should be retrievable. I took the machine to the shop where I bought it, and the techie there says he's sure it's a cooked motherboard. I agreed to let them send it to the nearest Lenovo service center for an overhaul. It's only a year and a half old. How long to gget it back? The guy says "one or two weeks", but as we know, time is measured differently in Thailand.

Since I am a computer addict, I decided to buy another machine. I writing this on a new Samsung Ultrabook. So far so good. 22,000 baht, less than I paid for the Lenovo. It came with Windows 8, which looks like the same old dreck in a new wrapper. I am seriously considering having a Linux partition installed, for dual-boot capability. I had Linux on a former machine, and it was much speedier than Windows, especially for online stuff.

I've lost track of all the laptops I've owned, but here are my impressions:

I had a Toshiba Satellite. It was still running fine after two years, when I gave it away to a deserving impoverished student.

I had an expensive Sony Vaio, and it was a real dog, I think I donated that one to Goodwill. Never again. Sony Baloney. Very disappointing, from a once reliable maker of fine electronics.

I had one of the first Asus Eee mini machines, but it was more of a toy than anything useful. I bought it to take on my first trip over here, and I ended up going to internet cafe's so I could use a real computer. Sold it for almost what I paid, as the craze was still on.

I bought a fairly high end Acer, 2+ years ago, and it's still running, but constipated from all of the games and junk my Thai stepson has stuffed it with. Somehow he has managed to break the key for the letter "Q". How? A mystery. I don't think I would buy another Acer. Mine now speaks only Thai, so it's unusable by me.

When the Lenovo comes back, I'll transfer my files to this Samsung unit, as well as putting all my data on thumb drives, as I should have done before. Sixteen months seems far too short a time for any laptop to flame out, especially one that sold for 26,000 baht. I suppose I'll give it to my wife, with a warning not to let The Hulk play with it. It's a decent machine, that survived three round trips to the States. I doubt I will buy that brand again though.

I agree with the consensus about HP. They often come loaded with proprietary hardware, and bloatware that you can't get rid of. Sad what has happened to that once-great industry pioneer.

I almost bought an Asus this morning. I used only Asus motherboards on all of my home-buily desktop monsters. Good stuff. But the girl at the shop said she thought the Samsung was a little better than the equivalent Asus model. Hope it wasn't because of the commission differential, if any.

Remember how it was when we didn't have all this stuff?

[Frank James]

I have a friend who is a proud member of the Church of Saint Steven Jobs. Their mantra: "I dunno, ever since I switched to a Mac I've had Nooooo Problems." or the alternate "Ya shoulda gotta Mac!"

I was partners in a small design/build company back in '86. I had never used a computer before, and wondered why we would ever need one. (Sounds funny now!) The head partner bought the latest and best Mac desktop model, (40 megabyte hard drive, mammoth!) with a matching letter quality Apple printer, and Apple proprietary software; word proc/spreadsheet/database. He taught us all how to use it, and I was hooked. It was great stuff, great fun to learn, and we made back the $10,000+ (1986 dollars!) investment in a short time, as our proposals looked so professionally done.

Then a PC enthusiast showed me how easy it was to build a 286/386/486/Pentium, and get all kinds of free software because we belonged to Puget Sound Computer Users Group. I became a PC addict, and always had fun building my own machine from scratch.

Apple products are great, no doubt, but it's too much of a closed system, and everything costs SO MUCH more. Nobody ever pops the hood on a Mac, to swap out hardware, or just to tweak. To which the Apple cultist will always answer, "Yeah, but with a Mac, ya never have to!"

Steve's in his Heaven, all's well in MacWorld. Amen.

[hellodolly]

6 years of Acer netbook. Email, Word, PowerPoint and chrome. Great bit of kit.

What more does it have to do?

Not my field but I had an Acer for about 5 years. Have given it to the grandson two years ago as I only used it when traveling. No it has been given to a nephew as all it is good for is playing games and he is mentally challenged any how so it dosen't matter. shortly after I purchased it a friend in the business told me Acer at the time had excellent soft ware but the hard ware was fragile.

currently have a Sony vioa so far no complaints except every time the wife uses it I have to sort out a bunch of Thai stuff.

[hellodolly]

I have a friend who is a proud member of the Church of Saint Steven Jobs. Their mantra: "I dunno, ever since I switched to a Mac I've had Nooooo Problems." or the alternate "Ya shoulda gotta Mac!"

I was partners in a small design/build company back in '86. I had never used a computer before, and wondered why we would ever need one. (Sounds funny now!) The head partner bought the latest and best Mac desktop model, (40 megabyte hard drive, mammoth!) with a matching letter quality Apple printer, and Apple proprietary software; word proc/spreadsheet/database. He taught us all how to use it, and I was hooked. It was great stuff, great fun to learn, and we made back the $10,000+ (1986 dollars!) investment in a short time, as our proposals looked so professionally done.

Then a PC enthusiast showed me how easy it was to build a 286/386/486/Pentium, and get all kinds of free software because we belonged to Puget Sound Computer Users Group. I became a PC addict, and always had fun building my own machine from scratch.

Apple products are great, no doubt, but it's too much of a closed system, and everything costs SO MUCH more. Nobody ever pops the hood on a Mac, to swap out hardware, or just to tweak. To which the Apple cultist will always answer, "Yeah, but with a Mac, ya never have to!"

Steve's in his Heaven, all's well in MacWorld. Amen.

Off topic

Seattle?

[lucifer666]

I have a Sony Vaio, which has served me well over the years, until i brought it to Thailand. They are prone to overheating ( i Googled this) and i have to have a cooling pad and a household fan aimed at it, to be able to use it. However, the wife's Compaq uses only the internal fan and runs like a dream

Edited October 29, 2013 by lucifer666

[jacko45k]

I agree with others that I would not buy another Acer.

[rethumper]

Had HP,&compaq laptop,both needed repairs,now using leveno no issues yet &ipad has signal strength (apple store gave me a new one)but signal strength wi fi poor

[F4UCorsair]

I'm looking at replacing my HP Pavilion, and the new Microsoft Tablet looks the goods for me. It may be worth investigating, and they are difficult to beat for compactness. They do more than an iPad

[GBK]

Had HP,&compaq laptop,both needed repairs,now using leveno no issues yet &ipad has signal strength (apple store gave me a new one)but signal strength wi fi poor

The bar indicator on any device is not always a good indicator of reception. How does the wifi perform on your iPad?

[GBK]

I'm looking at replacing my HP Pavilion, and the new Microsoft Tablet looks the goods for me. It may be worth investigating, and they are difficult to beat for compactness. They do more than an iPad

To paraphrase Monty Python: explain the logic underlying that conclusion.

I travel extensively, with only an iPad and I can get everything done that I need to, from creating .pdf, to Office documents, mail attachments, signing and completing forms. The list goes on.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I am glad some of you had good luck with your Toshiba laptops. My first one crashed in a year and a half it had Starter 7 O.S. My second one was Windows 8 and crashed in eight months a Satellite 850. Still under warranty but I would have to take it to Bangkok for service. I had the Windows O.S. replaced in Chiang Mai with Licensed Windows 8 Manufactured in Thailand. Their Quality Control leaves a lot to be desired. The grammar icons are out of order. " is @ and there are more. Thank you all for the advice on a new laptop brand. Got the laptop out of the shop yesterday and am having fits with the new operating system.

Give me the full model number...I'll see if I can help.

[apiwan]

Even if you want to stick with Windows, I would get an Apple laptop and add Windows to it....   it tends to be the best Windows machine out there and the build quality is very good.  

 

Acer avoid....

you say add windows ti it .this is boot camp right.?

Do all windows programs work ?

One program I use a lot is thai2 English. But it's only on windows.

If this works on a mac ill buy one for xmas. .

Thanks

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[F4UCorsair]

I'm looking at replacing my HP Pavilion, and the new Microsoft Tablet looks the goods for me. It may be worth investigating, and they are difficult to beat for compactness. They do more than an iPad

To paraphrase Monty Python: explain the logic underlying that conclusion.

I travel extensively, with only an iPad and I can get everything done that I need to, from creating .pdf, to Office documents, mail attachments, signing and completing forms. The list goes on.

I'm no computer whiz, but base that on what I was told by a guy much more knowledgeable than I am. I understood one of the differences is that you can't print from an iPad, at least not easily, but I defer to you far obviously far greater knowledge and expertise.

Edited October 30, 2013 by F4UCorsair

[GBK]

Even if you want to stick with Windows, I would get an Apple laptop and add Windows to it.... it tends to be the best Windows machine out there and the build quality is very good.

Acer avoid....

you say add windows ti it .this is boot camp right.?

Do all windows programs work ?

One program I use a lot is thai2 English. But it's only on windows.

If this works on a mac ill buy one for xmas. .

Thanks

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

You can Bootcamp it, or virtualise it. Bootcamp may be better if you use seriously intensive apps. I virtualise under VMWare Fusion. There is another solution from Codeweavers, called Crossover, but it's list of compatible apps is finite and probably won't suit your needs.

[GBK]

I'm looking at replacing my HP Pavilion, and the new Microsoft Tablet looks the goods for me. It may be worth investigating, and they are difficult to beat for compactness. They do more than an iPad

To paraphrase Monty Python: explain the logic underlying that conclusion.

I travel extensively, with only an iPad and I can get everything done that I need to, from creating .pdf, to Office documents, mail attachments, signing and completing forms. The list goes on.

I'm no computer whiz, but base that on what I was told by a guy much more knowledgeable than I am. I understood one of the differences is that you can't print from an iPad, at least not easily, but I defer to you far obviously far greater knowledge and expertise.

There are a couple of ways to print from an iPad. You can (this is my standard cop-out) email, or AirDrop the file you want to print to a nearby printer-connected computer, or you can use an app (there are several, but I like this one) called Printer Pro, which is the best solution I have found by far. Printing direct from an iPad usually requires a wifi-enabled printer, which most modern ones are now anyway.

Now, all that said, if you want/need to just insert a USB cable into a Surface (I'm assuming that you can here, but don't know) and print and that convenience is a deal breaking issue, then get a Surface, but you will still face the classic Windows issue of having/getting the right printer drivers, so, fine if you are at home and always print to the same printer, but less convenient if you are a road warrior like me and have to use sundry assorted printers in various hotels and client locations.

So, horses for courses, but I find that my iPads do what I need. It would also be worth comparing them in terms of portability, screen resolution (not the ppi numbers, how your eyes like what they see) and ease of use, as they both represent quite a bit of coin if you subsequently find you don't like what you bought.

HTH

[BlackJack]

you answered your own question

if you had the Toshiba for all those years and no problem then go with it

BTW the same issue happened to me last week

It was the video card on the mother board

i took out the HD and gave it to the kid in the shop for parts - free - made his day.

This was then the time to upgrade to something faster - Toshiba.

[marquis22]

Don't buy an original notebook with only paper sheets ... :-)

Yes, why do they call laptops "notebooks"?

Seems the word "laptop" is the appropriate word to use for all computers of that ilk.

A notebook is a book with paper sheets, a laptop is a portable computer!

[Pib]

you answered your own question

if you had the Toshiba for all those years and no problem then go with it

BTW the same issue happened to me last week

It was the video card on the mother board

i took out the HD and gave it to the kid in the shop for parts - free - made his day.

This was then the time to upgrade to something faster - Toshiba.

Out of curiosity, when your video card/chip died, would the laptop still bootup except with no display? That is you could tell the laptop was continuing to bootup as normal except you just didn't have any display. Or like my problem, the computer would turn on, get an indicator light or two, you would hear the hard drive spin for a few seconds, absolutely no display or sound beeps at any time, and then the computer would just go silent like in standby/hibernation within approx. 3 seconds of initially pressing the power on button

Edited October 30, 2013 by Pib

[BlackJack]

exact same issue

[Sayonarax]

Your screens back light most likely died. Can be easily fixed cheap enough.

[Pib]

exact same issue

Thanks. My (our) problems could have very well been a dead main video chip or video panel driver chip as that would explain absolutely no display and it would be enough of a fault to cause the computer to immediately shut down. If it had been the display panel itself, the computer would have probably continued to startup...plus display panels usually start going bad by having bad spots or black lines across them vs just dying and causing the computer not to startup at all...and my display panel was not the problem. Even just a display backlighting problem (if it had backlighting) would have still allowed some display to peak through at a low level. While many chips or other components like caps, resistors, etc., can be cheap "if you can find the chip/part" you still have the issue of having the technical expertise/schematic diagrams/equipment to isolate the problem to that chip/component and then install the component....that's where the repair repair shop labor charge and experience come in.

Once more curiosity question, what video chip did your laptop have (i.e., GeForce Nvidia, ATI, etc)? Thanks.

[tfc]

I bought my laptops in Australia and the only recommended where Toshiba and Asus. I got the Asus my wife got the Toshiba. Both have excellent warranties which is good because the monitor on the Toshiba was about to go in under a year. They fixed it in Bangkok and had it back to me in a week after telling me it would take 3 so I was happy with that and no problems since. The Asus has had some motherboard problems that caused overheating (hovering at 90-100 C) and Goodspeeed in Chiang Mai fixed it in a week. No problems with either since then so far.

I've heard that Acer in Thailand is better than in Australia but this is just random commentary by IT guys I know here. Interestingly they are from Europe so perhaps Acer is built better in some parts of the world including Europe. In Australia Acer is considered by most I was as about as useful as used toilet paper.

My wife decided she wanted an Apple Airbook about a year ago. I like it but not as much as my Asus (though my Asus is fully specced out and cost about double the price). If I was going to change over to Apple I'd be happy with the Pro or Retina though. Gotta say that for portability the Airbook is awesome. I'm lugging my Asus in a separate bag while my wife just puts hers in her handbag.

If I didn't travel so much I'd be going with a desktop. So much easier and cheaper to upgrade. I'm also a bit envious of my friend's water cooling system that allows him to massively overclock while maintaining an average temp of 14 C.

[pablodiablo]

its all a bit of a lotto, i have had an acer aspire 5735 for 4 years and it has been great, you should also realise that a lot these components are made by the same company, but bear in mind, the poor qouility remains long after the cheap price has been forgoten.

Edited October 30, 2013 by pablodiablo

[Pib]

its all a bit of a lotto, i have had an acer aspire 5735 for 4 years and it has been great, you should also realise that a lot these components are made by the same company, but bear in mind, the poor qouility remains long after the cheap price has been forgoten.

I couldn't agree more. I sure all of us have experienced products or services which have great reliability/service for years...then you noticed that reliability/service seemed to go down hill based on your experience and just a body of complaints you hear. Probably caused by a new cost cutting management team coming into the company and decided they can make a few pennies more profit for the shareholders by buying lower grade components, using a different but cheaper designs, using less quality assurance, etc.

And that product/service may go down hill for years before it really hurts their bottomline profits and hurts their reputation. Then the next incoming management team (the old team got fired and left with golden parachutes) decides to improve quality and reliability to regain sales and repair their damaged reputation which can take a long time. But even when a company don't go such a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde cycle and continues to produce high quality products all along, even high quality products can breakdown early in their life....yeap, it can be a lotto. All a person can do is research to the best of their ability and try to figure out what products/services produced "now" are reliable.

[BlackJack]

exact same issue

Thanks. My (our) problems could have very well been a dead main video chip or video panel driver chip as that would explain absolutely no display and it would be enough of a fault to cause the computer to immediately shut down. If it had been the display panel itself, the computer would have probably continued to startup...plus display panels usually start going bad by having bad spots or black lines across them vs just dying and causing the computer not to startup at all...and my display panel was not the problem. Even just a display backlighting problem (if it had backlighting) would have still allowed some display to peak through at a low level. While many chips or other components like caps, resistors, etc., can be cheap "if you can find the chip/part" you still have the issue of having the technical expertise/schematic diagrams/equipment to isolate the problem to that chip/component and then install the component....that's where the repair repair shop labor charge and experience come in.

Once more curiosity question, what video chip did your laptop have (i.e., GeForce Nvidia, ATI, etc)? Thanks.

Sorry I cant remember as all the stickers were well and truly gone

keys where missing as well as the CD drive didnt work and the battery held a charge for 6 mins

but i was a good work horse

many problems are caused by having no earth when plugin them into AC

the Toshiba had a big mark on it where my palm used to rest

this was caused by current leaking through the PC chasis

and the oil from my hand - me earthing it basically

i have lost several hard drives through the electrical system in Thailand

Remember - Toshiba invented the laptop

[fire and ice]

I have a Toshiba Satellite A665 (about 2 years old), it has a USB port hardware problem that it wont boot with anything plugged into the RHS USB ports! I have to disconnect them to boot it up but then I can plug in - also the LHS USB ports occasionally stuff up (but its rare) and just stop working mid stream. It also had overheating issues that cause the CPU to overheat which auto-triggers an instant power off although I have it sitting on a base fan 24/7 so it never happens.

My experience with HP products in general ( no laptops though) is that they make great hardware, but their software is so god-awful and infesting its worse than having spy-ware and a virus on your system!! I will never get an HP printer again as the software infects my system and you cant get rid of it!! Typical programmers who think THEIR software is what your whole life will revolve around.

[LemonSqueeza]

After having owned 3 in a row, I will no longer buy HP. The first (a desktop) was excellent, the second (a higher end lap-top, 50k about 5 years ago), still pretty good but not without a number of issues at times, but the last one that we got for my other half (a cheaper 22k b model) has just been horrible.

(I got an Asus N56V to replace it and it's just great- a truly lovely piece of kit).

agreed, 2 hp laptops, an hp media center and a friends hp laptop, none lasted a year. would never buy hp again

[LemonSqueeza]

i recently bought a vaio fit 15, lovely piece of kit, but the supplied wifi card was <deleted> and i had to replace it immediately.

works like a dream now, with a new intel centrino 6325 wifi card bought from invadeit and delivered for 1000 thb

with wireless n routers and a supposed n broadcomm card, i was getting 1-5 mbps but usually little more than 2mbps. speed tests using local servers. I had to use ethernet to make voip calls and work. when i swapped in the new card my speed tests showed a steady 50+ mbps

i am not alone with this problem by any means.

http://community.sony.com/t5/VAIO-Hardware-Networking/VAIO-Fit-slow-wifi/td-p/143697

my last 16 inch vaio worked for 5 plus years of Hard usage, on 24/7 for work and play, extensive travel, made me countless thousands of dollars and never had a problem until the day the display died, so I went with a similar 15 in vaio.

sadly im not expecting the same this time around, but one can hope.

unfortunately i find that there are not that many good full 1080 choices out there.

If i had not needed to be back online same day and had not just coughed up massive school fees i would have gone macbook pro 15 in retina with win 8 installed.

think i still will as a belated xmas gift to myself.

Edited October 30, 2013 by LemonSqueeza