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Post by Aeron Serabien on Oct 24, 2007 20:01:31 GMT -5
Ok. So I've been reading up and further experimenting with my problem. I plugged the computer into my lcd at work and the screen looked just lovely. And if I squeeze my screen in just the right place (insert Fate's dirty joke here) everything flickers back to normal, but goes back to crappy when I let go. So I'm thinking I've got myself a display problem. I found some instructions that look fairly simple in terms of replacing the lcd and cheap deals on ebay, but they also say that my problem could be the $100 inverter. Does anyone know how I can test if the problem is the display or the inverter?
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Post by Sollo on Oct 25, 2007 7:12:19 GMT -5
For some reason I missed the last month of topics here! Naturaly, I have things to add:
1. I can't believe all the Dell bashing. We use them where I work and have hundreds of them deployed. They are solid and stable systems. If there is a performance issue, then it's like any other system in that you need to look at the specs before you buy. The best part about Dell is how easy it is to get them fixed in the rare cases that they fail. One phone call to dell support, your part arrives next day. If necessary, they even send a tech with it to perform the repair.
Dell, like most other companys, has a variety of products. If you are a bargain hunter shopping for the lowest possible price, then you are likely to get a system that has slow performance. We almost always get laptops from the Lattitude series. The D600's were huge for a LONG time and now we are moving into the D630 and D830 series. We've been using the D620 and D630 series (basically the same laptop) this whole year and to date, I've only had to repair 2 of them. Dell hasn't even documented repair proceedures for this series yet because the RMA traffic on them has been so low.
My company paid for my Dell certification to perform my own diagnostics and repairs and can order parts direct for warranty replacements. All hardware issues in our company comes through me.
2. Is this HP system still in warranty? If so, shouldn't HP just fix it? If it's not in warranty, then it becomes more complicated. I haven't worked with HP so I don't know how difficult they are to open up, but *I* would try getting the LCD bezel off to expose the entire LCD subsystem. From there you can poke and prod to see if you can identify the exact part that's failing. I know that with a Dell system, the entire LCD system is one replacable unit and the only other part in the cover of the laptop is the ribbon cable that attaches to the laptop's motherboard. I'm not sure where the inverter is on an HP or how it's replaced.
While you are on Ebay, you might look for people selling broken laptops of your same model. If you can find one, you can salvage parts to repair your system.
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Post by Aeron Serabien on Oct 25, 2007 11:19:10 GMT -5
Thanks Sollo.
On the Dell topic.... I'm glad you've had a great experience with them. I've always had the latitude series of laptops and they have failed on me again and again. So perhaps they just don't work with my personal static electricity or something. My other problem with them was customer service when I purchased the systems for a very small non-profit I worked for. Because we were too small to have a contract with them they totally screwed us over. I've never had such an unpleasant customer interaction as that one particular phone call and I swore never to buy a dell again.
Anyway, back to my issues.....:-)
Removing the bezel should be no problem... nor should finding a new screen. Although I'm suspicious of the cables since if I squeeze my screen it's just fine. (New Development, last night, I gave it a squeeze and it worked for several hours!!! I was careful not to move it.) I guess what I'm still confused about is how a visual inspection would tell me if it's the inverter vs the screen. Will it be obvious?
Thanks for your help Sollo and everyone else!!! :-)
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Post by Fate on Oct 25, 2007 12:25:13 GMT -5
Hmmm. If you squeeze it just right......never mind.
Anyway maybe you just have a screw loose? Something that holds two thingamajigs together and it is a little loose. I would recommend taking it apart to find out if it is something simple. You might also thing about using a monitor because what may happen now is no matter what you do it won't ever work right and it can get expensive if you start ordering things or taking ot someplace to look at it. How old is it? It might be cheaper/easier in the long run to buy a new one..
As far as Dell. I'm writing this on a Dell Laptop I've had for 4 years. However others have had problems. My guess is that all brands of laptops have problems but its the support you get when things go bad. We get good support because we are a big company.
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Post by Aeron Serabien on Oct 25, 2007 12:55:23 GMT -5
How old is it? It might be cheaper/easier in the long run to buy a new one.. It's only 1 1/2 years old. It's in great shape and it would cost me over $1000 to get something comparable.
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Post by Sollo on Oct 25, 2007 18:18:27 GMT -5
It could be as simple as a loose cable. With Dell displays the main LCD part attaches to the system board via a ribbon cable and the 3 total connectors are simple snap in types. If your HP has similar connectors, one may have worked loose or may just need to be reseated.
Frequently when trouble shooting, you don't know what you are looking for and just have to get inside for a look about. Sometimes the problem becomes obvious once you see it.
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Post by Ascalon Destroyer on Oct 25, 2007 21:42:46 GMT -5
My dell laptop is going on its fourth year, my sisters on her third and the ones at home are really old- probably at least 5 for both. Anyways, between the four of them, my sisters fan went bad, and my fan struggles when I game for excessive hours- which has since lead to it continually struggling- and my hard drive crashed once- probably because I slightly abuse my laptop- but all in all havent had too many problems and the HD got replaced within 3 days. Considering I ordered on a Sunday afternoon, not bad at all in my opinion.
However, I'm really interested in looking into Alienware and shelling out a bit for a new desktop when the reqs for GW2 come out (mostly I figure its a good standard for a new compy). I've heard its incredibly dependable for a relatively appropriate price. Not even sure they make desktops either.
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Post by Sollo on Oct 25, 2007 22:39:01 GMT -5
However, I'm really interested in looking into Alienware and shelling out a bit for a new desktop when the reqs for GW2 come out... If you like Dell and the Alianware look, check this one out: www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_720?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhsThis is the model I recently got and its performance is absolutely insane. As an added bonus, the lights on the front are programable. The top set and the bottom set can each be set to any of 32 different colors and they can be either solid or any of several effects such as Pulsing, Blinking, flashing to the beat of music you are playing, or even flash to indicate that you have new mail.
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Post by Ascalon Destroyer on Oct 27, 2007 14:06:18 GMT -5
That system looks awesome. Except now I have to find $3k over the next 8 months to dish out on a similar system
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Post by Indagatrix on Dec 1, 2007 20:22:24 GMT -5
anyone out there good with php?
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Post by Sollo on Dec 7, 2007 14:48:00 GMT -5
EDIT: yes, i know I have to get my avatar back up there. I haven't migrated out of Yahoo Photos since it went under! Anyone have any advice for an easy, free site I can host such images from? Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer free web space. This is ideal for storing pictures such as this. Check with your ISP to see if they have space reserved for you and how you access it.
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Post by Eldarion on Dec 8, 2007 13:37:27 GMT -5
anyone out there good with php? Not really, but I've gotten it on my hands a time or two, so if you have a question I'll be happy to try and help.
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Post by Tremor on Dec 14, 2007 16:20:02 GMT -5
I just ordered my new computer. Here are the specs:
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 genuine Windows® XP Home NVIDIA nForce 680iLT SLI 2GB DDR2-800 PC6400 250GB SATA DVDRW NVIDIA 8600GT 512MB Gigabit LAN 600W PS
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Post by Xaja on Dec 15, 2007 12:18:16 GMT -5
looks real nice, I might want to replace my 7900gt with an 8600 sooner or later
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Post by Eldarion on Dec 16, 2007 11:08:15 GMT -5
Congrats, Tremor, that will be an awesome system.
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Post by Tremor on Dec 20, 2007 16:32:05 GMT -5
My computer came, so I am hooking it up and getting things set up. EDIT: I'm back on with my new comp and monitor, and I like it.
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notrub
In Ascalon
[BGN]
Posts: 86
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Post by notrub on Dec 20, 2007 22:17:38 GMT -5
If General Motors Were Like Microsoft
At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon."
In response to Bill`s comments, GM issued a press release stating (by Mr. Welch himself):
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT." But then you have would have to buy more seats.
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light.
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.
9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off.
10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grab hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car`s performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.
12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
13. You`d press the "start" button to shut off the engine.
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