# my computer RIP



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

So I had a terrible computer. I bought it in a misunderstanding. All I need it for is to store music, do some word processing, browse the internet, and watch NFL games. But my computer gaming brother-in-law, the family computer expert, insisted on this new thing. Not even a famous brand name, a Taiwanese start up. Only a thousand dollars. 

It came without an operating system. So I installed an old version of Windows Vista on it, which took a couple of weeks because of all of the glitches in the hundreds of updates that needed to be installed. I would have got rid of it at that time - I mean, two weeks to install an operating system!? - but my wife felt bad because it was her brother who picked it and she very patiently solved all the problems that we knew of. 

Even so, it never really worked correctly. It locked up about four times a day. The internet was always really slow - much slower computers than mine run the internet much faster. I-tunes was ridiculously slow. Whenever I uploaded a file from a CD, the computer would freeze for about 40 seconds. So while a CD with 3 tracks would take 3 minutes to upload, a CD with 30 tracks would take an hour. One of the USB ports was never recognized by Windows. 

So I had enough today. Itunes went wrong again, and told me I would have to uninstall and reinstall it. I went to the apple webpage for instructions to make sure that I would do it correctly - Internet Explorer locked up three times and had to be restarted while I was trying to follow those directions. Then I saw something about how this could be a lengthy process, and I didn't have time for a lengthy process.

I was fuming. If this had been the first time I had problems like these with the computer would be one thing, but I've had months and months of this. 

So I called my wife to tell her we would be buying a new computer for me this weekend. She heard something in my voice, even though I really was trying to sound as calm as possible. But she agreed, we'll buy a new computer. Then I went back into my office, threw the mouse at the screen a couple of times. Then the mouse shattered, and that was somewhat satisfying, because that mouse had never worked really well either. But it wasn't enough for me, so I punched the keyboard, but of course that did nothing, so I punched the screen, and it got all fouled up. That was satisfying. So I punched it a couple more times. 

It felt so good. Literally, one of the best feelings I've had in my life. I'd been tempted to do that numerous times, I think we all have, but I never imagined that destroying it would feel so good. 

My advice: if you have a computer as crappy as mine, back up your files (I'd done that a couple of weeks ago - I might still try to get the stuff from my hard drive, but if it doesn't happen I haven't lost much). Then, destroy it. You'll derive a whole lot of pleasure and satisfaction from the experience. You'd better do this before computers start having feelings and stuff, because then they will probably enslave us and you'll have missed your chance. 

Now I need to think about my new computer.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)




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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

@ Science, You're a true *Luddite *if ever I saw one. Congrats on striking a blow for the human race! {The movie "I Robot" somehow comes to mind in this context.}


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

For $1500 I bought a gaming computer from CyberPower: 1TB HD storage, 12GB RAM, AMD 6800 Radeon card, Windows 7, and a 1920x1080 screen to go with it. It works perfectly. Why in the world would he buy a computer without even an operating system?


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Sorry to read of your computer's misfortunes.

Exactly why I am wary of having an electronic music collection compared with CDs all stored in a computer. I have never had any problems with CDs.


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

for a thousand dollars you can get a really good computer!!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

And for another 100 USD you can get a 2 TB external hard disk to store your files more safely and less crash prone.


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## Amfibius (Jul 19, 2006)

Your computer is a Taiwanese startup? Mine doesn't even have a brand name! I built it myself. Fast as a dream and way cheaper than anything from Dell, Lenovo, or Apple.


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## beethovenian (May 2, 2011)

The newer Macbook Air are pretty affordable. 

Like Art Rock said...never store your back-up on the computer, get a external drive and put all your files there.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

Science, you remind me of an excitable programmer I used to work with, name of John. If John couldn't get his program to work he would resort to abusing his computer. You would suddenly hear John's voice emerging from his cubicle. A typical tirade would be YOU RAT! YOU RAT!! IF YOU DON'T SET THAT FIELD TO ZERO I'M GOING TO PICK YOU UP AND SHAKE YOU TILL YOUR TEETH DROP OUT!!!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

You punched the keyboard only once, it didn't make any difference, and you let your keyboard get away with murder? I hate people who only undertake half-measures. Have some cojones, dammit! Take a baseball bat and reduce the darn keyboard to pieces!!!

:lol:


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> You punched the keyboard only once, it didn't make any difference, and you let your keyboard get away with murder? I hate people who only undertake half-measures. Have some cojones, dammit! Take a baseball bat and reduce the darn keyboard to pieces!!!
> 
> :lol:


I'm not sure that the keyboard was at fault.

Anyway, now that the rage and subsequent euphoria are wearing off, I do feel a little stupid. If I'd just installed a new operating system, everything would probably have been ok....


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Chris said:


> Science, you remind me of an excitable programmer I used to work with, name of John. If John couldn't get his program to work he would resort to abusing his computer. You would suddenly hear John's voice emerging from his cubicle. A typical tirade would be YOU RAT! YOU RAT!! IF YOU DON'T SET THAT FIELD TO ZERO I'M GOING TO PICK YOU UP AND SHAKE YOU TILL YOUR TEETH DROP OUT!!!


That guy's ability to avoid profanity makes him my hero.

Civility to me is like money to most people. I think I should have more of it than I do, and I never seem to have it when I need it.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

science said:


> I'm not sure that the keyboard was at fault.
> 
> Anyway, now that the rage and subsequent euphoria are wearing off, I do feel a little stupid. If I'd just installed a new operating system, everything would probably have been ok....


I mean, if you abused the screen and the mouse, why leave the keyboard out of it? No, buddy, only complete destruction will give you full satisfaction!


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

Perhaps your biggest problem was using Internet Explorer


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

science said:


> I'm not sure that the keyboard was at fault.
> 
> Anyway, now that the rage and subsequent euphoria are wearing off, I do feel a little stupid. If I'd just installed a new operating system, everything would probably have been ok....


No, sometimes it's better to start again. I had a stupid difficult ill-functioning Asus that made my life miserable for a couple of years. I threw it in the bin. My new HP has worked perfectly for 2 years, no stress. Best decision ever.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> No, sometimes it's better to start again. I had a stupid difficult ill-functioning Asus that made my life miserable for a couple of years. I threw it in the bin. My new HP has worked perfectly for 2 years, no stress. Best decision ever.


 My first interventions were just for fun, but now speaking seriously, most of these problems are software-related, not hardware-related. When the hardware is at fault usually the computer just goes bust (the screen doesn't light up, the processor overheats and quits, etc) but freezes, slowness, etc., are usually software related, or related to junk in the start-up menu, spyware, fragmentation issues, etc.

There is no reason why a functioning computer with enough processing power and memory won't do well again if you format the hard disk and re-install the software using the latest updates.

Destroying the hardware does no good and hurts your pocket.

If the *hardware* becomes obsolete then it's justified to throw it in the garbage bin and buy a new one. But the kind of problems described by our friend do not seem to stem from hardware issues.

Anyway, if doing what he did brought him satisfaction, then good for him.


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## beethovenian (May 2, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> No, sometimes it's better to start again. I had a stupid difficult ill-functioning Asus that made my life miserable for a *couple of years*. I threw it in the bin. My new HP has worked perfectly for 2 years, no stress. Best decision ever.


Very impressive! i am sure your tolerance level for annoying inanimate object beats most of us here.:lol:


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## haydnfan (Apr 13, 2011)

I've had an hp laptop for almost a year now and it's fast, no problems except it had a faulty hd, and had to have it replaced under warranty.

I disagree with the others that said that the Macbook Air is affordable-- it costs $1550 for a 13 inch one. My laptop cost $650 with an intel i5 and 4 gigs of ram. With the Air you are paying alot more for a solid state hard drive, it's a cool feature, but I wouldn't act like the computer is a bargain, it's not by far! You could buy 3 ipads for that price!!


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## beethovenian (May 2, 2011)

haydnfan said:


> I disagree with the others that said that the Macbook Air is affordable...


I guess you are right, The SSD hard drive is going to be quite a problem with its limited space and upgrading it ain't cheap!
And another issue i have with the Air is the lack of a CD drive(I need to rip my Music CDs), buying the external drive separately is going to add up to the cost.

The Macbook Air isn't that affordable but the price has gone down significantly compare to previous generations as well as being cheaper than other 'Ultrabook' class laptops.


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## Amfibius (Jul 19, 2006)

I have an SSD in my laptop. I wouldn't do without it. Four reasons: speed, quietness, power consumption, and reliability. If you have ever had a HDD fail because you moved your laptop while it is writing, you will know what I mean. And my laptop has noticably longer battery life because it does not have to physically spin the HDD motor. As for speed - the HDD's typically included in laptops are 5400rpm - much slower than the typical 7200rpm HDD found in desktops. The speed improvement is really noticable when you boot applications. Things appear in an instant. 

I don't need to store data on my laptop. That's what my home computer and networked hard drive is for. Everything I need is on the NAS, and the only stuff on my laptop is what I need for work. That's it. Be disciplined with your HDD management, and you will find your SSD has enough space. 

SSD's are even better for laptops than they are for desktop PC's. You should seriously consider getting an SSD with your next laptop.


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## beethovenian (May 2, 2011)

I believe desktop computer are being phased out by cheaper and more powerful Laptops. I have not used a desktop for many years now and the laptop is my main computing machine. 

Pairing a external hard drive with a laptop seems good enough to solve the memory issue. I am using a USB external hard drive now, thought of getting a NAS but i am worried about the transfer speed. Guess i will have to wait for a USB 3.0 one.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

beethovenian said:


> I guess you are right, The SSD hard drive is going to be quite a problem with its limited space and upgrading it ain't cheap!
> And another issue i have with the Air is the lack of a CD drive(I need to rip my Music CDs), buying the external drive separately is going to add up to the cost.
> 
> The Macbook Air isn't that affordable but the price has gone down significantly compare to previous generations as well as being cheaper than other 'Ultrabook' class laptops.


I appreciate this. For reasons I'd rather not get into here, I'm in the market for a new computer and I will look for SSD.

The computer that so rudely attacked my fist was a laptop. I didn't realize people make such a distinction between "computer" and "laptop." I haven't had a desktop in several years.


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## Amfibius (Jul 19, 2006)

beethovenian said:


> I believe desktop computer are being phased out by cheaper and more powerful Laptops. I have not used a desktop for many years now and the laptop is my main computing machine.


There will always be a market for desktop PC's  I have one at work, I have two at home. I much prefer computing on the desktop - the laptop feels claustrophobic by comparison. And - desktop PC's will always hold a price advantage. Components are dirt cheap, and you can upgrade your PC serially if you know what you are doing. In contrast, the whole laptop has to be thrown away when it becomes obsolete.


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## Ralfy (Jul 19, 2010)

I had a gaming rig assembled around five years ago in a local store that employed skilled technicians. The assembly and sourcing was free, but I had to pay cash. It was a good thing, though, that the technician was also a gamer and knew which parts worked well with others, what to avoid, etc.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

After careful soul-searching, extensive introspection, inspired philosophizing, and some online shopping, I have decided to go to the Apple Store and buy the best machine I find there. 

When I return, I shall be a changéd man.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

science said:


> After careful soul-searching, extensive introspection, inspired philosophizing, and some online shopping, I have decided to go to the Apple Store and buy the best machine I find there.
> 
> When I return, I shall be a changéd man.


 You shall be a poor man when you return. I hear that the best machine there is darn expensive.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> You shall be a poor man when you return. I hear that the best machine there is darn expensive.


I have returned - true, rather lighter in the wallet.

But my gods, if I'd known how much easier a Mac is to use, I'd have had one a long, long, long time ago. I am a new man.

A new, new man.


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## Amfibius (Jul 19, 2006)

Congratulations on your purchase! I would find a Mac harder to use, because there would be a learning curve involved. I suppose if I were to start again not knowing anything about computers, I might find a Mac easier to use.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

That's what I thought too. The mouse is a bit of a trick. But in every single other way, it is so easy. The learning curve takes seconds to get around, not days or hours or even minutes.


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)




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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

That was just about right!


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

adrive is a good site to back up to.

50 GB of free storage. batch uploader.

also buy a hard drive and back up to that.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Lol .


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Lol .


Well, maybe it wasn't one of my best days. But hey, we do funny things in our thirties.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

After owning many computers that didn't last long, I did all the preparations and research for a sub $1k laptop for basically the same uses as you. I settled on Asus and was happy with it until 2 1/2 years later it wouldn't come on. No warning. Nothing. Black screen, no boot up. Zero. Asus was supposed to be the most reliable brand. 
Fortunately I learned long ago to use and external back and to use Google drive and Dropbox. It was the motherboard. Cost was too much to justify repair since I can't do it myself.

This was 7 - 8 months ago. Sick of windows computers, I bought a Chromebook for under $300 and haven't looked back.


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