Laptop choices

[wawuzit]

I'm in the mood to buy a new laptop. All I've seen at the local stores ( Bestbuy, Circuit City, HH Gregg, etc.) have the new Vista instead of XP. All the computer guys at work say Vista is having major problems. Anyone have NO PROBLEMS with Vista.

[jtp]

My partner got his laptop last spring. He is running Vista. It appears to be working fine. That being said, a) it is REALLY slow. Vista is just a memory hog. And, b) it is a pain to deal with because it keeps prompting you with questions every time you try to do something. (such as "Are you SURE you want to do that?", etc.) It works, but it is slow and a bother. Coupled with the feedback I have heard from Mary here and other people I know, I decided to have XP installed in my new laptop when I got it two weeks ago.

My only regret is that Vista apparently handles the dual monitor issue more seamlessly than does XP. But that is not enough to override my conclusion that XP is the better option in the short term.

JTP
'00 Bright Red II, Black, Black 2.3

<b>PERFORMANCE: </b>Dinan Stage II suspension, Dinan strut tower brace, Porterfield R4S brake pads, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, UNGO MS8300 alarm, Doug Whalen Seat Bushings, Sylvania Silverstar headlights and fog lights. <b>MAINTENANCE: </b>Peake Research R5/fcx-II and SRS Reset Tools, Mity-Vac oil evacuator w/ brake bleeder, BMW Battery Tender. <b>COSMETICS: </b>Dinan Badge, OEM chrome exhaust tips, Magnetic stone guards, Roundel valve stem caps, Trunk-mounted Dragon sticker, WI plates: RES IPSA. <b>COMFORT: </b>Premium Package, Heated sport seats, “Z3 Roadster” heated vest (for GF), In-dash CD, LeatherZ MarkII armrest, OEM mesh windscreen. <b>CAR CARE: </b>Porter Cable random orbit buffer, Meguiars car care products, NOAH car cover, Plexus, Raggtop. <b>EXTRAS: </b>Z3Solutions warning triangle.

My Home Page

[wawuzit]

Did you buy XP and do it yourself or get the retailer to install XP as part of the deal? Newegg.com and others don't seem to want to sell a laptop with XP instead of Vista. Got any retailers in mind that might do this service? I'm wanting to get a 17 inch with XP installed. I'm thinking $1k would get a laptop that will serve my (her) needs. It doesn't have to be able to play games at lightning speed, just normal functions. THANKS

[jtp]

We actually purchased the laptop with Vista installed, and then had out IT guy backgrade it to XP. He gave me the Vista disks in case I want to upgrade "back" to Vista, but they will likely just sit in a drawer unless and until Vista becomes a mandatory install for some other reason.

JTP
'00 Bright Red II, Black, Black 2.3

<b>PERFORMANCE: </b>Dinan Stage II suspension, Dinan strut tower brace, Porterfield R4S brake pads, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, UNGO MS8300 alarm, Doug Whalen Seat Bushings, Sylvania Silverstar headlights and fog lights. <b>MAINTENANCE: </b>Peake Research R5/fcx-II and SRS Reset Tools, Mity-Vac oil evacuator w/ brake bleeder, BMW Battery Tender. <b>COSMETICS: </b>Dinan Badge, OEM chrome exhaust tips, Magnetic stone guards, Roundel valve stem caps, Trunk-mounted Dragon sticker, WI plates: RES IPSA. <b>COMFORT: </b>Premium Package, Heated sport seats, “Z3 Roadster” heated vest (for GF), In-dash CD, LeatherZ MarkII armrest, OEM mesh windscreen. <b>CAR CARE: </b>Porter Cable random orbit buffer, Meguiars car care products, NOAH car cover, Plexus, Raggtop. <b>EXTRAS: </b>Z3Solutions warning triangle.

My Home Page

[wawuzit]

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=DNDWMA2&s=dhs

I'll try Vista, if it doesn't work well, Dell said the tech guy would come to our home and load XP free. $1290 with router and printer. How did I do? I got tired of looking for pre loaded XP.

[jtp]

Let's see, you bought a Dell laptop with Vista? Hmm, I'm guessing she wouldn't be impressed.

That being said, I have no idea if you got a good deal or not. But based on Mary's experience, I'll just make this analolgy - you may have just bought an S54 computer! ;o)

JTP
'00 Bright Red II, Black, Black 2.3

<b>PERFORMANCE: </b>Dinan Stage II suspension, Dinan strut tower brace, Porterfield R4S brake pads, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, UNGO MS8300 alarm, Doug Whalen Seat Bushings, Sylvania Silverstar headlights and fog lights. <b>MAINTENANCE: </b>Peake Research R5/fcx-II and SRS Reset Tools, Mity-Vac oil evacuator w/ brake bleeder, BMW Battery Tender. <b>COSMETICS: </b>Dinan Badge, OEM chrome exhaust tips, Magnetic stone guards, Roundel valve stem caps, Trunk-mounted Dragon sticker, WI plates: RES IPSA. <b>COMFORT: </b>Premium Package, Heated sport seats, “Z3 Roadster” heated vest (for GF), In-dash CD, LeatherZ MarkII armrest, OEM mesh windscreen. <b>CAR CARE: </b>Porter Cable random orbit buffer, Meguiars car care products, NOAH car cover, Plexus, Raggtop. <b>EXTRAS: </b>Z3Solutions warning triangle.

My Home Page

[wawuzit]

The good news is that if it blows ..I get a genuine REBUILT dell computer. Does that story sound familar? ROFLMAO I will then be just as pissed off at Dell as I am BMW for charging a top price for their top line product knowing it will give problems !

The only difference is. I couldn't find anything else but Vista. I did find a 3liter Z3. GRIN

[mbmz3]

though it is in your contract.

And if they do, you will have to wait up to 3 weeks. Even though the contract says next day.

And the only thing they will do is restore it to factory setting.

Trust me I just went through this, this week!!!

[rustyh]

Mary, you and I clearly have different experiences with Dell's products and customer service. I could talk about bad customer service experiences I had with Toshiba and Compaq till the cows come home, but I've had really good luck with Dell over the years.

And I've only had to request an in-house repair once, with my previous Dell, but the people they sent out were here the very next day. And as a bonus, they actually fixed the problem the first time. It was a bad memory board and not only did they actually have one with them, they got it all back together really fast.

Maybe it's just bad karma for living too close to Dallas. :)

Rusty
'05 330i ZHP in Imola

[mbmz3]

Yours was hardware, mine was Vista wipping out the OS and modifying the bios.

Big difference.

BTW they said "No one can come to your home until 3/14 and only between 8 and 5."

And I was already told, "From our previous expriences with this issue, we can only restore the system to factory specifications and all your software, files, data, etc. you will have to reinstall yourself."


Great service, yea right.

[wawuzit]

My contract says next day in home service for three years. This new laptop is more like a S54 than I thought. It also says if I don't like it within 21 days I can return it for a full refund.

[@ m6fntsy]

Dell still sells their business systems with whatever OS you want installed. You would like the Dell Latitude D630 or D830 (14.1 & 15.4" screens, though) - a basic, no frills laptop. There is a reason that the Dell Latitude is the model that alot of big companies use as their system of choice.

I have both Dell Latitude and Inspiron and I've never had a problem with the Latitude. I am not too thrilled about the Inspiron, however. Granted, the Inspiron I have is a little old, but it should not be having some of the basic issues it is having right now. The new Inspirons are probably better, but if I were buying a new Dell for home use, I'd get a Latitude.

Dell Latitude
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[joan]

Although i am not sure a 17" is available with XP on it.

[mbmz3]

Yea I know, I hate loading software on my personal machines.

I love it, every piece of hardware I have now work with no extra drivers needed.

[Giznaz]

[.....ZEEEEYA]

[.....ZEEEEYA]

[@ m6fntsy]

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<strong><i>Karen ///M TOPLS</i>
<a href="http://www.bmwcca.org">BMW CCA</a> and <a href="http://www.zscca.org">ZSCCA</a> Member
99 M - Palmetto Green/Kyalami Orange
97 M3 - Hellrot/Black</strong>
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