On Saturday 04 Jun 2005 18:36, JR wrote: > Hi folks, > > I'm curious what you all consider a reasonable lifespan for a laptop. > Personally, I bought my one and only Dell I4000 about 4 years ago. Within > weeks, the battery deteriorated beyond use, as did the DVD drive.
> A few months after that was repaired, the hinges on the screen came apart, > and the display became a true peripheral :) > > Anyway, that was all repaired while in warranty, but within a few months of > the warranty expiring, the battery again became useless, and shortly > afterwards, the DVD drive died. So I cant make any alterations to my OS > that might require say, and emergency boot CD. > > Is this normal for laptop parts? Everything else is fine, (Actually, the > speakers blew within a week of owning the laptop.) but I want to know what > to look out for when choosing a new model. I'd expect a laptop to last at least 5 years without repair. Either you are extremely ham fisted or you bought a dud. Laptop batteries aren't known for longevity, although completely discharging them is a sure recipe for failures (the charger usually can't bring it back up from zero). Old Toshiba laptops (PII) are still going strong, so it appears some do last for a while. I'd suggest a google for forums discussing the virtues (and otherwise) of laptops. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] HTTP://www.bbfordoonvalley.co.uk Surfing happily on Mandriva LE2005 No Micro$oft here -- 18:52:36 up 4 days, 10:24, 1 user, load average: 1.91, 2.06, 1.80
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