Many thanks for the response. I like your advice, especially the first paragraph.
I backed up the hard drive (to an external hard drive) before I took it in. I was told that the reason streaming video won't play properly on the machine and that video files won't download (the reasons I took it in for repair) is because the hard drive is failing. And, I took it to a repair place recommended by a guy I've known for awhile who works at the NSF Help Desk. Does that change your advice? For a quote under $200, I would probably have it repaired. Actually, I had been expecting to replace it next year when it would be 5 years old. If I do have it repaired, then I will need to keep it another 2-3 years. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tom Wolper Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 3:38 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] OFF TOPIC Computer repair On Sat, Dec 17, 2011 at 3:24 PM, Melissa PollaK <[email protected]> wrote: > $350 to fix a 4-year-old Dell laptop with Vista operating system. Or, just > buy a new one? > > Any advice would be appreciated. My first response is to buy a new one. I don't know how long manufacturers estimate a user will own a machine and it's possible that 4 years could be the length of time. In that case other components may also be reaching the end of their useful lives and having already sunk the money into one repair you would talk yourself into continuing to repair just to justify your first decision. My 2 reservations: 1. Have you backed up your hard drive? If you need to use data, or you have drafts of your writing, that are on your hard drive and you can't get at them anyplace else, then fixing your old computer might be worthwhile than buying a new one and trying to recreate what you lost on the old one. 2. The $350 isn't a real number and is serving as a high margin or even as a deterrent to getting it fixed. If a Best Buy or big box chain quoted you the $350 it might be worth your time to find an independent repair store for a quote. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
