Posted by Linda Juenger on 11/23/09 7:35am
Msg #311921

Best and Worst Laptops

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/154921

Reply by Linda Juenger on 11/23/09 7:37am
Msg #311922

Hit the send button too quickly. I have had Toshiba laptops forever. Never a problem. My son's HP has been in the shop 3 times in 2 years and lost everything twice. Will never ever buy another HP. Just thought someone might be interested in this if their interested in buying a new laptop.

Reply by PAW on 11/23/09 7:56am
Msg #311924

Interesting ... We had two Toshibas and one Acer laptop that were DOA. However, the four HP laptops (including Compaq) have been going strong with little problems. The only "problem free" computer we had was a Dell. But it was antiquated before two years was up!

I think the report is a bit flawed. Though it doesn't state who was surveyed, I suggest that it included corporate owned systems as well as private purchase. If that's the case, then HP/Compaq is probably still the leader in number of units sold. Thus, it would have the higher failure rates as well since corporate computing is more rigorous, and corporate IT departments report failures more often than home users.

Reply by ToniK on 11/23/09 7:58am
Msg #311925

I have only bought HP computers. Havent had any issues with them except my desktop computer soundcard just stopped working. But it didnt matter becuase it was the kids computer. I had a DV6 HP laptop, loved it, no issues and now have a DV4 laptop. Love it and havent had any issues with it except the battery life sucks. Just recently bought an HP Slimline Desktop.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 11/23/09 8:11am
Msg #311927

The only major complaint I have about my Dell Latitude is the battery completely stopped working/recharging at about 18 months. Apparently, this is a well documented problem with this computer. Very expensive to replace this particular battery, even with a non-Dell brand. Would not buy another Dell because of this.

Reply by Melanie Moran on 11/23/09 10:22am
Msg #311935

I have a 2 year old Toshiba and a 4 year old Acer. While I liked the Acer better, getting any kind of support has been like ripping out my own hair 1 at a time. I did an update last weekend, and it killed my harddrive and Acer wouldn't give me any help on finding the right drivers. Oh, and trying to find "new" not "used" replacement parts, that's impossible. The DVD drive got stuck in the eject position and no one sells a replacement for it that is "new". Would I buy another Acer? Probably not. I have 2 HP destops and one is over 10 years old and still going strong, but very outdated. Just my 2 cents worth.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 11/23/09 11:47am
Msg #311942

My first laptop was a Toshiba and

it was the last Toshiba that I will ever buy. Just never could get it to work right through 2 replacements. As it turned out, Toshiba, on this particular model, put components together that just didn't work well together. I bought a Toshiba because of all the glowing reports. Just unlucky, I guess. I really think that you can't really go wrong with the major brands as long as you shop well. How they last seems to be a matter of the luck of the draw, or how you treat them.

Then I had an Acer laptop that spent many thousands of miles riding in the saddlebag of my motorcycle, dropped a couple of times before it finally died after two years of that. I take better care of my Dell laptop, and it has worked well as a result. Bought my teenage daughter a Sony that lasted 4 years of a teenagers use. After that, we got her a new Dell for college and we still use the Sony. That is the one that has been in the saddlebag of my motorcycle on trips for a year now. Still runs well.

As far as getting drivers for your particular hard drive or other hardware, such as Melanie eluded to, keep in mind that the manufacturer of the hard drive or optical drive has drivers you can download from their website. You don't need Acer. When my Acer died, I took it apart and saved the hard drive to use as a portable drive. It is a Seagate. The same is true with other manufacturers, even Apple to some extent.