New laptop help

[Tractor]

Forget Asia , post your lappie problem here.
im sure youll get it sorted asap if its software related.

[UpTheMariners]

Forget Asia , post your lappie problem here.
im sure youll get it sorted asap if its software related.

ok worth a go...

my computer is lagging, and every so often a blue screen comes up and says there is a  kernal_stack_inpage_error  i have reformatted my computer a few times but the problem still comes back. other problems which might be linked are, when i start the laptop it takes about 3/4mins for windows to load. and lastly when it does load the usb's dont work i have to unplug my mouse then replug it back in for it to work.

cheers in advance!

[Nem]

www.short-media.com/forums

I find the Dell customer service pretty good. My laptop is out of warranty, I phoned them the other day and they phone me back and spent nearly 2 hours with me on the phone trying to sort out my problem - even though it was a software problem and I was speaking to the hardware department!

[Longines]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315266

Do you have anti-virus software installed that can check for a Master Boot Record virus?

http://free.grisoft.com is free, good anti-virus software.
http://uk.trendmicro-europe.com/consumer/housecall/housecall_launch.php is an online free virus checker.

If it's not that then it's likely to be hardware. Use http://www.memtest86.com/ to test your RAM. If you have both RAM slots populated, remove one, test and then swap to isolate the problem. If it's not that, identify your hard disk manufacturer via Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager and we can probably find a diagnostic tool to check if that's the problem.

My father's ancient laptop exhibited the same symptoms - even though the diagnostics said it was OK, swapping the hard disk fixed it.

[Bongo]

£225 for 1GB of RAM is a joke. Apart from that it looks good. You should find out what is the maximum RAM you can install in this computer.

Yeah like i say i am pretty sure that 1Gb will be free if i wait till the Jan offers. The max it lists is 2GB, not sure if it takes more.

Be aware that the 1 gig might be 2 * 512meg sticks and 2gig 2*1Gig sticks meaning you will have to buy an extra 2 gig.

[UpTheMariners]

cheers for the help guys there sending someone out at last!!

[dan]

i want a new laptop too. in fact im asked everyone to buy me PC world vouchers for xmas so im off down there in abit.

i havent got a clue when it comes to laptops/computers in general. i have no idea what 1gig 2056whatsit and 1900/1200 res means.

All i want is a laptop that i can play 1 maybe 2 screens of poker and surf the web whilst playing, what would be minimum requirements then i can decide what to get from threre.

also what makes are ok and what makes should i avoid.

thanks and hope you all had a merry xmas and have a happy new year.

dan.

[Nem]

i want a new laptop too. in fact im asked everyone to buy me PC world vouchers for xmas so im off down there in abit.

i havent got a clue when it comes to laptops/computers in general. i have no idea what 1gig 2056whatsit and 1900/1200 res means.

All i want is a laptop that i can play 1 maybe 2 screens of poker and surf the web whilst playing, what would be minimum requirements then i can decide what to get from threre.

also what makes are ok and what makes should i avoid.

thanks and hope you all had a merry xmas and have a happy new year.

dan.

Dan,

The worst thing you could have done is to ask for PC World vouchers - LOL

Longines has given some good advice on here and he has posted a link for a site which sells Dell's at a reduced price.

You would be far better off buying a Dell, instead of anything from PC World.

[Longines]

Dan,

How much do you want to spend? Do you already have the PC World vouchers?

As Nemesis said, I would take PC World advice with a huge pinch of salt. However, I bought my last laptop from there (my home insurance company had a deal with them and buying from elsewhere was going to be a huge pain in the arse) and I spent quite a while on the PC World Business website http://www.pcwb.com choosing the right one for me. It was then just a case of walking into the store and doing an Andy - "I want that one..." and waiting 3 days for it to be delivered.

If all you want to do is play a couple of tables of poker and surf a bit, most current laptops will be adequate for you. Jsut make sure it has at least 512MB of RAM and the processor is at least a 1.5GHz. The decision (and cost) comes down to how large a screen do you want? Apart from the physical size (15", 17", 17" widescreen etc.), laptops also have a fixed number of pixels (or squares) that make up the screen. The more pixels it has, the more you can fit on the desktop, irrespective of the physical size.

My screen is 1280 wide x 800 deep. This size is called WXGA. All screens that are 1280x800, irrespective of their physical size, will be labelled WXGA.

The other popular laptop screen sizes are:
1024x768 (XGA) ('normal shape')
The rest are all widescreen shape:
1440x900 (WXGA+)
1680x1050 (WSXGA+)
1920x1200 (WUXGA)

Obviously, more pixels cost. The entry level prices at PCWB are:

XGA £398
WXGA £398
WXGA+ £488
WSXGA+ £563
WUXGA £1433

The next two links are screenshots of my laptop so you can see what the screen 'real estate' looks like to help you decide if WXGA would be OK or if you'd want bigger. I can't play two 'normal' sized tables without a bit of overlap.

http://www.mason.sh/minisize.jpg
http://www.mason.sh/normalsize.jpg


If you want some more specific buying advice, feel free to post and I'll try my best to help.

HTH.

[WellChief]

I recently bought a XPS M1710 and i'm very pleased with it, I wish I'd gone for the inspiron 9400 now though as I didn't realise you could get 1900*1200 resolution with any other model and its probably more mobile than my XPS. 

Every time I've spoken to Dell for support they've been superb, seem to care about their service as well as I got put through to a manager at the end to check the call went ok and got sent a satisfaction survey.  I think it was a foreign call centre but it was a much better experience than I have had with most British-based call centres.

[dan]

thanks for the advice guys.

i think i like the look of this 1. i think it will be ok for what i want to use it for.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/889047

[Longines]

Looks good. Nice spec for the price.

You can get it for £404 delivered from Currys with a web discount code. See http://www.hotdealsuk.com for the details.

[tikay]

I think it's just splendid how so many peeps are so helpful with advice on blonde.

More of the same in '07.

[Dewi_cool]

Looks good. Nice spec for the price.

You can get it for £404 delivered from Currys with a web discount code. See http://www.hotdealsuk.com for the details.

see also how much you can save by ordering on line with the call and collect facility

[Royal Flush]

I recently bought a XPS M1710 and i'm very pleased with it, I wish I'd gone for the inspiron 9400 now though as I didn't realise you could get 1900*1200 resolution with any other model and its probably more mobile than my XPS. 

Every time I've spoken to Dell for support they've been superb, seem to care about their service as well as I got put through to a manager at the end to check the call went ok and got sent a satisfaction survey.  I think it was a foreign call centre but it was a much better experience than I have had with most British-based call centres.

Makes my decision easier then! ty WC, 9400 it is.