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Dell - It takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking!

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Dell - It takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking!

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from JoeUser Forums

I have always loved Dells (well since about the mid 90s).  And yesterday, I found I had an even better reason to love them!

My sister-in-law suffered a fire at her house a couple of years ago.  The house was a total loss (which is a shame - have you ever heard of the Hobbit House?  That was hers.)  By the time my wife and I got out there several months later, they had cleared the rubble and were fighting the insurance company over money.  In that rubble apparently was her laptop.

Too bad I told her.  The data may have been salvageable.  Well, lo and behold this year she found that she had not thrown out the laptop, and gave it to me to see if I could do anything with it.

Now this Dell is old.  The fire was 2 years ago.  The stupid thing only had 256mb of memory, so I suspect it was at least 3 years old when it was burned.  And it is not one of those sleek new notebooks that weigh about 1.5 pounds (this one clocks in at about 6-7), so it is rugged.  I was not really hopeful, but figured I would give it a shot.

I pulled the drive out, mounted it into an external USB case and plugged it into my laptop.  Brnnnnnggg!  Up came the drive with all the data!  ALL THE DATA!

I am very pleasantly surprised! I was able to recover all her data and saved it on to a memory stick (the drive was only a 60gb, only a quarter full - so a memory stick that holds all the data is cheap these days).

Over the years, I have had many good experiences with Dell.  I can add another one.  The computer itself is DOA, but the drive was protected by the "arm-breaker) case it was in and works fine!  I intend to give her the drive back to so she can have some temporary storage (I would not trust it for important stuff, just for a temporary back up).

Thanks again Dell!  You did it again!

171,685 views 63 replies
Reply #26 from Elemental Forums Top

Honestly the way I feel about PC's is that all of the manufacturers are kind of crap.

 

If you want a good computer, learn how to put together a computer, it's fun and pretty simple these days. It's all pretty much plug and play now. It's like building your own hot rod, only much cheaper and less labor intensive. Plus you'll be able to save money, and won't have to deal with manufacturer bloat ware and crappy BIOS if you build your own thing.

 

Only reason to buy a manufactured machine is to get a laptop in my opinion.

Reply #27 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SpaghettiMon, reply 26
Honestly the way I feel about PC's is that all of the manufacturers are kind of crap.

 

If you want a good computer, learn how to put together a computer, it's fun and pretty simple these days. It's all pretty much plug and play now. It's like building your own hot rod, only much cheaper and less labor intensive. Plus you'll be able to save money, and won't have to deal with manufacturer bloat ware and crappy BIOS if you build your own thing.

 

Only reason to buy a manufactured machine is to get a laptop in my opinion.
End of SpaghettiMon's quote

Agreed 100%  :congrat:

 

The only non monk-built systems I have are notebooks.  I even dumped the blade servers I used to run (due to constant heat issues) and built my own servers.  Great way to get really in-depth hardware knowledge which always comes in handy.

Groupy 2 - Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop
Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top

I know that there is always a bit of luck involved
End of quote

That is really the nut of the case.  Luck.  I might have had bad luck with a Dell and now not even acknowledge them.  But as it is, my bad luck has been with servers and not from Dell, so I do swear by them (and with the servers too).

 

I will say (for the storage crowd) that the best storage on the market, bar none, is NetAPP.  They are the best supported hardware in the business bar none! (and no I do not work for NetAPP ;) )

Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top

(and no I do not work for NetAPP
End of quote

But you bought shares??? :-" ;P :X

Reply #30 from Demigod Forums Top

I used to do Tech Support with Dell.

Needless to say, my job was to do everything I could to convince people it was their fault and not send parts when things were under warrenty.

I was part of the Your Tech Team contract, which you had to pay another $180 for. ALL just for talking to someone in the US.

Reply #31 from Demigod Forums Top

I've worked on a lot of Dells and I can tell you, NEVER go for refurbished parts. A Dell Latitude with a refurbished hard drive is destined to crash within 2 months. A brand new hard drive is definitely the way to go. (This is at least my experience, we could be getting refurbished drives from a dude who sells them from the back of his van in Mexico for all I know)

I try not to judge Dell too much from my experience though, all the Dell computers I've worked with have had crappy corporate or school images put on them, which make for some ridiculous problems.

I salvaged data from a Dell Latitude D630 that got hit by a train once... 

and from a bunch that "fell down some stairs."

Reply #32 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting starkers, reply 29

(and no I do not work for NetAPP
But you bought shares???
End of starkers's quote

If I was managing my own retirement, I sure would! ;)

Quoting OMG_Teseer, reply 30
I was part of the Your Tech Team contract, which you had to pay another $180 for. ALL just for talking to someone in the US.
End of OMG_Teseer's quote

I can believe that.  It does take a while to get through the chaff to get a new part, but after a while, I learned to anticipate each question and have the answer ready.

Quoting OMG_Splitshadow, reply 31
I salvaged data from a Dell Latitude D630 that got hit by a train once... 

and from a bunch that "fell down some stairs."
End of OMG_Splitshadow's quote

Accidentally "fell down stairs"? Yea, I can see that excuse! LOL

Reply #33 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting SpaghettiMon, reply 26
If you want a good computer, learn how to put together a computer, it's fun and pretty simple these days.

Only reason to buy a manufactured machine is to get a laptop in my opinion.
End of SpaghettiMon's quote

I have put ones together myself (and prefer them for my own use).  I like picking out my own components.  But the reality is, for the average user, you cannot beat the prices of a manufactured one.

And I agree on the notebooks.  I would not even know how to go about getting the parts for those suckers!

 

Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top

If I was managing my own retirement, I sure would!
End of quote

I manage my own retirement.... I get a pension and I manage to spend it. :-"

Reply #35 from Elemental Forums Top

On my first internship on my PC technician education (which is phony btw) I tagged along one technician that only dealt with Dell. He only ever replaced the motherboards.

 

On his checklist, there was a note: Temps ok?   But that doesn't meant CPU temperature. It was CUSTOMER temperature :P

 

Businesswise though, I got absolutely NO idea how they make ANY profit AT ALL on homeusers considering how much they must pay for service.

 

Joasoze

 

I don't know how it's called, but what you're describing is "brand loyalty on false premises". You attribute good components to Dell when it's really the manufacturers that should be credited.

Dell though have great support.

Reply #36 from JoeUser Forums Top

On his checklist, there was a note: Temps ok? But that doesn't meant CPU temperature. It was CUSTOMER temperature
End of quote

Got to have your priorities straight. ;)

 

Reply #37 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Campaigner, reply 35


Joasoze

I don't know how it's called, but what you're describing is "brand loyalty on false premises". You attribute good components to Dell when it's really the manufacturers that should be credited.

Dell though have great support.
End of Campaigner's quote

I disagree. I dont care what manufactures should be credited. The point is that Dell buys good stuff from them and put it together. Your argument could be used on lots of products these days. Nike doesnt build a shoe themselves (the design them and buy them from factories around the world). Lots of cars have parts from other carmakers. I cannot keep a track on that, I will only try to find out if for example Toyota has a good track record before I buy. I dont check if the Toyota has a Volvo engine (I know it doesnt :) its just an example)

Reply #38 from JoeUser Forums Top

I dont check if the Toyota has a Volvo engine (I know it doesnt its just an example)
End of quote

How about if Volvo had a Toyota engine? ;)

Reply #39 from Demigod Forums Top

What if you took a car with the engine in the front, and one with the engine in the back, and cut them in half and fused them together? Would it be significantly faster, or would the weight offset any extra speed?

Reply #40 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting OMG_Splitshadow, reply 39
What if you took a car with the engine in the front, and one with the engine in the back, and cut them in half and fused them together? Would it be significantly faster, or would the weight offset any extra speed?
End of OMG_Splitshadow's quote

Which way would it go?

Reply #41 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Dr, reply 40

Which way would it go?
End of Dr's quote

Well obviously forward :p

The front mounted engine would power the front wheels and the back wheels would be powered by the rear mounted engine. You would definitely want the engines to be fairly close in power. You wouldn't want a V8 in the front and a V4 in the back xD

Reply #42 from JoeUser Forums Top

You wouldn't want a V8 in the front and a V4 in the back
End of quote

Would make some hell of great donuts in the road. ;)

Seriously, I understood what you were saying.  But the idea of the Pushmi-Pullyu stuck in my mind so I had to be the jerk that asked the question.

Reply #43 from Elemental Forums Top

Any name brand computers you are basically wasting money. Get a good PC with quality parts made up for you, you will get a much better machine for a much better price

Reply #44 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting Ravenstrike, reply 43
Any name brand computers you are basically wasting money. Get a good PC with quality parts made up for you, you will get a much better machine for a much better price
End of Ravenstrike's quote

On desktops I agree.  But I am not comfortable doing that with pads or laptops.  Just too much customization going on (to get it into the small form factor), so I want someone I can bitch to if it goes south.

Reply #45 from JoeUser Forums Top

It's great (and lucky) that her data was recoverable. I used to buy Dell but these days I tend to go with the HP models. Except for the fact that they can't seem to design a proper power port I find them very reliable.

Reply #46 from WinCustomize Forums Top

No matter what type of computer and whether you buy or build your own, there is no substitute for regular maintenance. The Dell in this thread (reply 19) and several more I've worked on this year suffered from lack of owner care.

I've also seen some home setups that would make Smokey the Bear nervous. Clutter, poor ventilation and overloaded wiring is a recipe for disaster.:waaaa:

When it comes to electronics, heat is your enemy.  Be cool.:thumbsup:

Reply #47 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting MasonM, reply 45
It's great (and lucky) that her data was recoverable. I used to buy Dell but these days I tend to go with the HP models. Except for the fact that they can't seem to design a proper power port I find them very reliable.
End of MasonM's quote

HP Laptops are their only redeeming line right now (IMHO).  I do like them as well.  But I have found them to be a little bit more pricey than Dells recently (use to be there was no difference).

Reply #48 from JoeUser Forums Top

Clutter, poor ventilation and overloaded wiring is a recipe for disaster.
End of quote

I worked on one that had cigarette burns on the keyboard and case!  Plus the CD drive was worse than you could imagine (think about where all the smoke went to).

Yes, a nice cool place is always great!  And keep it off of flat surfaces (laptops). the vents need air, and most of the time, they are on the bottom.

Reply #49 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting Dr, reply 47


HP Laptops are their only redeeming line right now (IMHO).  I do like them as well.  But I have found them to be a little bit more pricey than Dells recently (use to be there was no difference).
End of Dr's quote

I agree with both sentiments here. I like their laptops but not their desktops or servers. And yes they do cost a bit more. Heck, if I could afford it I would buy nothing but custom built Alienware machines :D

Reply #50 from WinCustomize Forums Top

HP Laptops are their only redeeming line right now (IMHO). I do like them as well.
End of quote

My HP laptop just bit the dust due to a graphics chip that wasn't compatible with the mobo. HP knew of the defect, has an article about it on their website, but wants $275.00 to fix it. And then it would, no doubt, be replaced with the same defective mobo.

Needless to say that was my last HP product.