New computer puzzles...

[Adela]

[WinXP Home 2002-SP2; OE 6; IE 6; MS Office 2002; Dell Dimension XPS T448MHz
Pentium III; 384MB RAM; high speed cable]

Hi, after having great results for 9 years and 9 months with my faithful
Dell computer (still going strong), just bought yesterday...a Dell! arriving
in 2 weeks.

http://view.ed4.net/v/DBNY4S/Y4OXZ/C53QP9Z/HYOBPWF/MAILACTION=1&FORMAT=H

I hope it IS as good a buy as I was made to think, and will appreciate your
opinion SO VERY MUCH . I had to decide in only 2 hours since I discovered
the sale on its last few hours... But I'm sorry I never wanted Vista and IE
7.0 or 8.0 from the numerous bad reviews and complaints...

I understand the solution would've been to have it built by a local PC
store? If I had the guts and the knowledge, I'd return it (now on the way)
and order a custom made... and probably lose the bargain of the year???
)

ALSO, my present HD is still very good at 4 years of age, so is it
possible to use it as a "slave" backup? Yet, in case of a computer
calamity,
wouldn't the data get lost also in the slave HD? So...is it possible to use
it as an external backup? If so, what does it take?

Thanks ever so much for any suggestions! Adela

 

[olfart]

[WinXP Home 2002-SP2; OE 6; IE 6; MS Office 2002; Dell Dimension XPS
T448MHz Pentium III; 384MB RAM; high speed cable]

Hi, after having great results for 9 years and 9 months with my faithful
Dell computer (still going strong), just bought yesterday...a Dell!
arriving in 2 weeks.

http://view.ed4.net/v/DBNY4S/Y4OXZ/C53QP9Z/HYOBPWF/MAILACTION=1&FORMAT=H

I hope it IS as good a buy as I was made to think, and will appreciate
your opinion SO VERY MUCH . I had to decide in only 2 hours since I
discovered the sale on its last few hours... But I'm sorry I never wanted
Vista and IE 7.0 or 8.0 from the numerous bad reviews and complaints...

I understand the solution would've been to have it built by a local PC
store? If I had the guts and the knowledge, I'd return it (now on the
way) and order a custom made... and probably lose the bargain of the
year??? )

ALSO, my present HD is still very good at 4 years of age, so is it
possible to use it as a "slave" backup? Yet, in case of a computer
calamity,
wouldn't the data get lost also in the slave HD? So...is it possible to
use
it as an external backup? If so, what does it take?

Thanks ever so much for any suggestions! Adela

see if they will include a Windows 7 upgrade. is alot better than Vista at
least IMO

 

[Adela]

Yes, but they are charging me $80 for tax even though they aren't in my
state! lol!

Thanks so much for your good suggestions, so that now I'm beginning to feel
a little happier with my new machine! )

...you can get an external hard drive dock to connect your old hard drive.
you >should be able to access your data, but i dont think you will be able
to boot >from it.

I'll look into external hard drive docks to connect to my old HD, but I
don't understand the "not booting from it"... If you could kindly explain
it to me as I still haven't learned many technical things...

Also thanks for suggesting to check with Dell about the free upgrade to Win7
which I'll do tomorrow, and if it isn't, I feel better that you said Vista
isn't so bad now. Have they improved it?

Adela

 

[Tom Allen]

Yes, but they are charging me $80 for tax even though they aren't in
my state! lol!

Thanks so much for your good suggestions, so that now I'm beginning to
feel a little happier with my new machine! )


I'll look into external hard drive docks to connect to my old HD, but
I don't understand the "not booting from it"... If you could kindly
explain it to me as I still haven't learned many technical things...

Also thanks for suggesting to check with Dell about the free upgrade
to Win7 which I'll do tomorrow, and if it isn't, I feel better that
you said Vista isn't so bad now. Have they improved it?

Adela

There have been two Service Packs but I found little difference from the
original RTM version which ran without trouble pre-installed on two PCs
of lesser specification than the one you are looking at. IE 7 then 8
gave no trouble either. Lots to learn though.
Win7 is well spoken of but I doubt I'll be changing from Vista until I
get the urge for new hardware.

Tom

 

[Paul Riemerman]

For many folks expressing dislike of Vista it's really a matter of personal
preference. There have been some good improvements in the service packs. It
does work a tad differently than does XP, mostly due to improved security.
Personally, when Vista came out I had the choice of moving to Vista or
continuing with XP - I chose to move to Vista, and never regretted the
decision.

Paul Riemerman

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

[WinXP Home 2002-SP2; OE 6; IE 6; MS Office 2002; Dell Dimension XPS T448MHz
Pentium III; 384MB RAM; high speed cable]

Hi, after having great results for 9 years and 9 months with my faithful Dell
computer (still going strong), just bought yesterday...a Dell! arriving in 2
weeks.

I hope it IS as good a buy as I was made to think, and will appreciate your
opinion SO VERY MUCH . I had to decide in only 2 hours since I discovered
the sale on its last few hours... But I'm sorry I never wanted Vista and IE
7.0 or 8.0 from the numerous bad reviews and complaints...

No problems here.

I understand the solution would've been to have it built by a local PC store?
If I had the guts and the knowledge, I'd return it (now on the way) and
order a custom made... and probably lose the bargain of the year??? )

No way to know from this level of info. Personally, I'd stick with Dell
unless you know the local shop very well.

ALSO, my present HD is still very good at 4 years of age, so is it
possible to use it as a "slave" backup? Yet, in case of a computer calamity,
wouldn't the data get lost also in the slave HD? So...is it possible to use
it as an external backup? If so, what does it take?

1. If the calamity is a nuclear attack or an asteroid collision, both
drives will be destroyed. Otherwise, you'd have to do some very fancy
crashing to destroy the external drive simultaneously - especially if
it's not turned on or plugged in when the calamity occurs.

2. An old hard drive might die tomorrow...Of course, a new one might
too, but that's much less likely.

3. In addition to #2, the old drive is almost certainly much smaller
than what's in the Dell, so it won't serve well as a backup.

4. New external hard drives, which these days come in sizes plenty
large enough for backup use, are pretty cheap (I don't now what you can
afford, of course).

5. Keeping the old drive in an external enclosure *does* provide you
with all of your data files (documents, spreadsheets, recipes, secret
formulas) from your current system, of course.

 

[Adela]

Hello Paul and thank you for your kind opinion about Vista which makes me
feel a little better now. Although I wish I could return the thing simply
because I was stupid enough not to realize it's too high powered for my
needs.

Thanks again. ) Adela

 

[Adela]

Thank you Gene for your sensible and useful opinions. I laughed when I read
your depiction of a "calamity" in relation to my hard drives... I finally
bought a really good flash drive for my backups so for the time being it
will suffice. However, about this good suggestion:

Keeping the old drive in an external enclosure *does* provide you with all
of your data files (documents, spreadsheets, recipes, secret formulas) from
your current system, of course.

Would you happen to know how I can install or plug in an external enclosure?
In time I'd like to look into them...

Thanks again for all your help! ) Adela

[WinXP Home 2002-SP2; OE 6; IE 6; MS Office 2002; Dell Dimension XPS
T448MHz Pentium III; 384MB RAM; high speed cable]

Hi, after having great results for 9 years and 9 months with my faithful
Dell computer (still going strong), just bought yesterday...a Dell!
arriving in 2 weeks.

I hope it IS as good a buy as I was made to think, and will appreciate
your opinion SO VERY MUCH . I had to decide in only 2 hours since I
discovered the sale on its last few hours... But I'm sorry I never wanted
Vista and IE 7.0 or 8.0 from the numerous bad reviews and complaints...

No problems here.

I understand the solution would've been to have it built by a local PC
store? If I had the guts and the knowledge, I'd return it (now on the
way) and order a custom made... and probably lose the bargain of the
year??? )

No way to know from this level of info. Personally, I'd stick with Dell
unless you know the local shop very well.

ALSO, my present HD is still very good at 4 years of age, so is it
possible to use it as a "slave" backup? Yet, in case of a computer
calamity,
wouldn't the data get lost also in the slave HD? So...is it possible to
use
it as an external backup? If so, what does it take?

1. If the calamity is a nuclear attack or an asteroid collision, both
drives will be destroyed. Otherwise, you'd have to do some very fancy
crashing to destroy the external drive simultaneously - especially if it's
not turned on or plugged in when the calamity occurs.

2. An old hard drive might die tomorrow...Of course, a new one might too,
but that's much less likely.

3. In addition to #2, the old drive is almost certainly much smaller than
what's in the Dell, so it won't serve well as a backup.

4. New external hard drives, which these days come in sizes plenty large
enough for backup use, are pretty cheap (I don't now what you can afford,
of course).

5. Keeping the old drive in an external enclosure *does* provide you with
all of your data files (documents, spreadsheets, recipes, secret formulas)
from your current system, of course.

Thanks ever so much for any suggestions! Adela

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Thank you Gene for your sensible and useful opinions. I laughed when I read
your depiction of a "calamity" in relation to my hard drives... I finally
bought a really good flash drive for my backups so for the time being it will
suffice. However, about this good suggestion:

Would you happen to know how I can install or plug in an external enclosure?
In time I'd like to look into them...

Just put the drive in the USB enclosure and connect the power and
signal cables (also install the screws to hole it down).

They usually come with instructions. You need to know whether your
current drive is PATA (same as IDE) or SATA. The latter is is possibly
newer than your drive, but some enclosures take both (safer and more
future-proof).

Or get one of these USB to IDE/SATA adapters:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/rccbcd

That's just one of many, available at many prices at many stores; I
chose it at random. They're not enclosures, but they work fine for me.

Thanks again for all your help! ) Adela

[WinXP Home 2002-SP2; OE 6; IE 6; MS Office 2002; Dell Dimension XPS
T448MHz Pentium III; 384MB RAM; high speed cable]

Hi, after having great results for 9 years and 9 months with my faithful
Dell computer (still going strong), just bought yesterday...a Dell!
arriving in 2 weeks.

I hope it IS as good a buy as I was made to think, and will appreciate
your opinion SO VERY MUCH . I had to decide in only 2 hours since I
discovered the sale on its last few hours... But I'm sorry I never wanted
Vista and IE 7.0 or 8.0 from the numerous bad reviews and complaints...

No problems here.

I understand the solution would've been to have it built by a local PC
store? If I had the guts and the knowledge, I'd return it (now on the way)
and order a custom made... and probably lose the bargain of the year???
)

No way to know from this level of info. Personally, I'd stick with Dell
unless you know the local shop very well.

ALSO, my present HD is still very good at 4 years of age, so is it
possible to use it as a "slave" backup? Yet, in case of a computer
calamity,
wouldn't the data get lost also in the slave HD? So...is it possible to
use
it as an external backup? If so, what does it take?

1. If the calamity is a nuclear attack or an asteroid collision, both
drives will be destroyed. Otherwise, you'd have to do some very fancy
crashing to destroy the external drive simultaneously - especially if it's
not turned on or plugged in when the calamity occurs.

2. An old hard drive might die tomorrow...Of course, a new one might too,
but that's much less likely.

3. In addition to #2, the old drive is almost certainly much smaller than
what's in the Dell, so it won't serve well as a backup.

4. New external hard drives, which these days come in sizes plenty large
enough for backup use, are pretty cheap (I don't now what you can afford,
of course).

5. Keeping the old drive in an external enclosure *does* provide you with
all of your data files (documents, spreadsheets, recipes, secret formulas)
from your current system, of course.

Thanks ever so much for any suggestions! Adela

-- Gene Bloch 650.366.4267 lettersatblochg.com

 

[Adela]

Thank you again and again Gene! Your info will be very valuable to me if I
decide to keep this new computer. ) Adela

Thank you Gene for your sensible and useful opinions. I laughed when I
read your depiction of a "calamity" in relation to my hard drives... I
finally bought a really good flash drive for my backups so for the time
being it will suffice. However, about this good suggestion:

Would you happen to know how I can install or plug in an external
enclosure? In time I'd like to look into them...

Just put the drive in the USB enclosure and connect the power and signal
cables (also install the screws to hole it down).

They usually come with instructions. You need to know whether your current
drive is PATA (same as IDE) or SATA. The latter is is possibly newer than
your drive, but some enclosures take both (safer and more future-proof).

Or get one of these USB to IDE/SATA adapters:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/rccbcd

That's just one of many, available at many prices at many stores; I chose
it at random. They're not enclosures, but they work fine for me.

Thanks again for all your help! ) Adela

On 9/13/09, the entity Adela wrote this:
[WinXP Home 2002-SP2; OE 6; IE 6; MS Office 2002; Dell Dimension XPS
T448MHz Pentium III; 384MB RAM; high speed cable]

Hi, after having great results for 9 years and 9 months with my
faithful Dell computer (still going strong), just bought yesterday...a
Dell! arriving in 2 weeks.

http://view.ed4.net/v/DBNY4S/Y4OXZ/C53QP9Z/HYOBPWF/MAILACTION=1&FORMAT=H

I hope it IS as good a buy as I was made to think, and will appreciate
your opinion SO VERY MUCH . I had to decide in only 2 hours since I
discovered the sale on its last few hours... But I'm sorry I never
wanted Vista and IE 7.0 or 8.0 from the numerous bad reviews and
complaints...

No problems here.

I understand the solution would've been to have it built by a local PC
store? If I had the guts and the knowledge, I'd return it (now on the
way) and order a custom made... and probably lose the bargain of the
year??? )

No way to know from this level of info. Personally, I'd stick with Dell
unless you know the local shop very well.

ALSO, my present HD is still very good at 4 years of age, so is it
possible to use it as a "slave" backup? Yet, in case of a computer
calamity,
wouldn't the data get lost also in the slave HD? So...is it possible
to use
it as an external backup? If so, what does it take?

1. If the calamity is a nuclear attack or an asteroid collision, both
drives will be destroyed. Otherwise, you'd have to do some very fancy
crashing to destroy the external drive simultaneously - especially if
it's not turned on or plugged in when the calamity occurs.

2. An old hard drive might die tomorrow...Of course, a new one might
too, but that's much less likely.

3. In addition to #2, the old drive is almost certainly much smaller
than what's in the Dell, so it won't serve well as a backup.

4. New external hard drives, which these days come in sizes plenty large
enough for backup use, are pretty cheap (I don't now what you can
afford, of course).

5. Keeping the old drive in an external enclosure *does* provide you
with all of your data files (documents, spreadsheets, recipes, secret
formulas) from your current system, of course.

Thanks ever so much for any suggestions! Adela

-- Gene Bloch 650.366.4267 lettersatblochg.com

 

[Adela]

Thanks Mitchell, I'll be able to use your info if I decide to keep this new
computer. ) Adela