Mist Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 Ok my sis's comp broke last weekend and my parents were planni ng on seeing her this weekend so last night my dad bought her a new comp. Sorrta on a budget and at the last minute (they are leaving tomorrow and im home alone for 4 days hehe) so he buys a 400 dollar compaq. I look over the specs and besides it having only 128 mb of pc2100 it seems fine. Well i hook it up to my comp (after arguing because my mom's was the more organized ) and boot her up. Really slow but it was the first time aso it had to run through some of the setup crap. I was horrified to see the amount of crap that was preloaded unto it. Games and a ton of trials so im thinking maybe just reformat and start fresh. Then i go to look at how they cut up the 40 gig hd. I was astounded to find that it was split in two. One was 5 gigs and used the old fat32 for christs sake. The other was 32 gigs and wast using the much better ntfs. So my mind was set id reformat. Fast forward to today i get home and go through th box to get the reinsatll disk and they didnt even include one...... Sure i have the cdkey but no disk grrr. Thank god for the dells i have and my sis has a oem copy of xp at her dorm so i will live. Still what the hell is up with compaq and their crappy setup? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 that 5gb partition IS the restore disk. you killed the restore disk if you delete that partion. welcome to $50 for the cd's... but don't tell your parents you did that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mist Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 why would i need it? hehe i have two dell restore cds and one copy of xp home that my ister used on her old comp so im not hurting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Trios Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 First off, Dell is NO better. Second, I've found that 90% of the time, Dell disks do not work if you are not running a Dell. Third, the Windows XP CD can do just about everything to need to "restore" it, it makes partitions and formats and installs drivers (if it has them). If it doesn't, they aren't ever that hard to find (one thing that prebuilts DO tend to do well, is make drivers accessible). So, yeah...Crack out the Devils Own XP CD and set that computer up! You don't need no stinkin restore CD! Trios Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolcomPimp Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 basicly you get what you pay for first off.... of even less... It's a compaq for christs sake. The only people who should be buying these things in the first place are people who don't know a thing about computers and are too stuborn to learn. anytime I hear someone brag about an HP or dell and sometimes even an alienware I just wanna smack them (not refering to you, I mean ppl at school)... they make money because they buy cheap crappy parts, put on a shiney case and assemble it really bad and install everything so a moron can use it w/ out complaining... then when its slow, they can't complain or do anything about it cause they don't know anything about comps and are too lazy, and they should know that what they are paying for is their laziness... I realize not everyone knows how to build a computer but thats the way it is... our culture and our computer market has it down to a science where they want the consumer to feel as if they know about the computer by listing a few numbers on the front while they get screwed because they're spending thousands of dollars (ussually) on something they know nothing about.... if you didnt know how to fly a plane would you buy one??? I wouldnt.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2O Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 Nowadays these brand name computer makers are only providing the image restore disk with their system. Even though you are provided with a valid Windows OS key, they don't allow the user to do anything, but reimage the drive to their liking and with their crap lot of programs! I just went through the somewhat of the same demise with a new Toshiba Laptop and I was fuming about it [ here's my post: Post #112782 ] Whenever I question tech ppl about that, all they blurt out is about a special deal with Microsoft which requires them to do it this way! I'm sure they have that sentence stuck on their cubicle wall right in front of their eyes and they use it for any instance a regular customer calls! In addition, the tech person also pointed out to me that if somebody modifies the OS or modifies any original partition setup on the computer, that computer is not covered by the software support waranty anymore. In short they [tech support] are allowed to not answer any questions pertaining to any software problem for that said machine. ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 basicly you get what you pay for first off.... of even less...It's a compaq for christs sake. The only people who should be buying these things in the first place are people who don't know a thing about computers and are too stuborn to learn. anytime I hear someone brag about an HP or dell and sometimes even an alienware I just wanna smack them (not refering to you, I mean ppl at school)... they make money because they buy cheap crappy parts, put on a shiney case and assemble it really bad and install everything so a moron can use it w/ out complaining... then when its slow, they can't complain or do anything about it cause they don't know anything about comps and are too lazy, and they should know that what they are paying for is their laziness... EXACTLY. It also annoys me when I ask someone what there comp is, and the say, "Its a (insert prebuilt POS computer manufacturer here)." What does that tell me? NOTHING. And then I ask them what the processor is, and they say, "Its Windows XP." Yeah. Uh-huh. if you didnt know how to fly a plane would you buy one???I wouldnt.... Same here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LobbDogg Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 Yeah I was working on an HP at work the other day, and while trying to install games, the installer would just stop. Task Manager would say its still going, but the install never went anywhere. I restored the comp, using the HP recovery, still no go. I tried all sorts of updated drivers. Only thing I found was that I had to use my copy of XP Home, and use their CD Key and do a "fresh" install, then I had to go find about 3 different drivers to make it work. And this did solve the problem. I mean, do these companies realize what they are doing to their computers. I know they get paid for putting all of this crap on, but would their sales possibly increase over time without loading it full of trial crappy software that no one will use anyway? And then it really makes me mad when people say " I heard HP's are good, so I really want to get one". I feel like telling them they are a moron. But that will get me fired. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayMeow Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 basicly you get what you pay for first off.... of even less...It's a compaq for christs sake. The only people who should be buying these things in the first place are people who don't know a thing about computers and are too stuborn to learn. anytime I hear someone brag about an HP or dell and sometimes even an alienware I just wanna smack them (not refering to you, I mean ppl at school)... they make money because they buy cheap crappy parts, put on a shiney case and assemble it really bad and install everything so a moron can use it w/ out complaining... then when its slow, they can't complain or do anything about it cause they don't know anything about comps and are too lazy, and they should know that what they are paying for is their laziness... I realize not everyone knows how to build a computer but thats the way it is... our culture and our computer market has it down to a science where they want the consumer to feel as if they know about the computer by listing a few numbers on the front while they get screwed because they're spending thousands of dollars (ussually) on something they know nothing about.... if you didnt know how to fly a plane would you buy one??? I wouldnt.... I agree on some things...obviously custom computers are better than pre-built. However, i think pre-built comps are good for families with younger children. I'm not saying 25year old couples with a child, I mean like 30-40 year old couples with like 10 year old children, who may not know how to build a computer, and they'd rather buy a computer from a trusted brand name. Those families are probably not doing overclocking or hardcore gaming, so pre-built systems are fine for their needs, such as word processing, internet/email, and kiddie-games. And those companies will always be around for the notebook market, unless some manufacturers start making it cheaper and easier to build your own. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 the original issue here is no restore cd. I'm going to stand up for HP on this one. 99.999% of the IDIOTS out there LOST them. thus they had to come into compusa for a restore, and complain that it took 7-10 buisness days to ORDER a copy of software they LOST and have to PAY for each and everytime the screw up thier computer. and these iditots got in MY face like this was my fault. F them, and F the problem they created. this way they have the f'n restore cd. if they're dumb enough to delete it then they're just going to have to shut up and deal with thier mistake... I'm sorry but I had at least 1 jerkoff a week come in and start on me cuz of their stupidity... I don't mean to rant at anyone here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayMeow Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 the original issue here is no restore cd. I'm going to stand up for HP on this one. 99.999% of the IDIOTS out there LOST them. thus they had to come into compusa for a restore, and complain that it took 7-10 buisness days to ORDER a copy of software they LOST and have to PAY for each and everytime the screw up thier computer. and these iditots got in MY face like this was my fault. F them, and F the problem they created. this way they have the f'n restore cd. if they're dumb enough to delete it then they're just going to have to shut up and deal with thier mistake... I'm sorry but I had at least 1 jerkoff a week come in and start on me cuz of their stupidity... I don't mean to rant at anyone here. lol, i'm with bigred . I'm almost positive it must have stated in one of the manuals that the 5 gig portion of your harddrive was the "restore CD", and whenever someone F's things up without bothering to read a manual, i have no sympathy for them. Even though i've built a few computers, i still always read the mobo manual first before doing anything, because you never know when there might be something slightly different that can cause you to F things up. Better safe than sorry (this isn't a personal attack on you, mist. I know you said you don't care because you have a winxp cd anyways...i'm just saying in the general sense, ppl should take caution) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mist Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 Ok here is my beef with compaq. I have had two dells, an hp, and one custom built computer excluding mine and all came with restore disks of some sort. The hp had crap ones (i restored it once a month until my dad got windows 98 se from work) but at least it came with the cds. Enter compaq it says it comes with a 40 gig hd but like all hds the acttualy space it about 4 gigs lower but i expect that. What ticks me off is that another 5 gigs is used to have crap like aol installs, real player one, and some of the other bs thats on there. The dell instal cds work fine all it is basicaly is a copy of xp home but it adds a button on the start menu saying dell support center. Ohh and another thing my family has never lost an install cd to anything. As a matter of fact i have to go into my dads draw where he keeps drivers to get rid of old aol floppies, and drivers to computers that we dont even have now. edit If id had known that the 5gig partion was that id still have erased it. Ive got three different win xp home install cds and one for pro (mine lol). Hell i even have a one unused cd key for home now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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