Hard Drive is Dying need a new computer

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The computer is a No Name custom built. windows 7 was put on at the repair shop, I have no disk.

I must was I'm torn between just getting a new HD or a new computer.

The only problem we have had has been the HD, it crashed soon after we got it about 8 years ago, we lost a bunch of stuff (my wife still reminds me of that!)
Now the HD is going again, but still functions 70%

What else could (is likely ) go wrong with it? Other than the Fan and a non solid state HD can things just wear out?
 
Originally Posted By: expat
The computer is a No Name custom built. windows 7 was put on at the repair shop, I have no disk.


Do you have the key for it? I assume you PAID for Windows 7?
 
I just installed a new heat sink/fan assembly and SSD in our ~6 year old Lenovo Thinkpad SL510. About $75 total to refurb a machine that is much nicer (by nice I mean nice keyboard, general build quality) than anything I'd get for less than $500 new.

I used a 120gb Kingston V300 SSD, it came with an enclosure, USB cable, and software for cloning the old hard drive. Unfortunately the old hard drive had basically failed so the cloning did not work, instead used the original recovery disks to reload the OS, then transferred some files back on manually, and yes spent several hours (in 5-10 minute increments between downloads) updating software, downloading stuff, etc.

The computer is startling fast with the SSD. If you can deal with a more limited amount of storage it's a no brainer for $65.

jeff
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: expat
The computer is a No Name custom built. windows 7 was put on at the repair shop, I have no disk.


Do you have the key for it? I assume you PAID for Windows 7?

Maybe this is why the shop is closed now...
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
desktop computers are a cheap commodity. buy a dell or hp or acer whatever starting like under $300 and it'll last you another 8 years.

If you want to speed it up, spend another $100 or so to stick in more ram and an SSD and it'll boot, websurf, watch youtube as fast as a $2000 machine.


Windows by itself will be like 1/3rd of the cost if you're trying to buy it separated.


Best advice so far.
 
Beginning to wonder if my windows instal was legal.
I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

I see windows 7 discs and decals available on Craig's list.

Is there a problem buying and installing that way?
 
From what you describe a Google Chromebox or Chromebook would more than meet your needs.

No anti-virus software to worry with. Updates done in background.

I have a ASUS Chromebox for desktop use and seldom start my Windows Computer anymore.

I have seen the Chromebox sell for as low as $160.00. Fast boot time of about 7 seconds. Plenty of free cloud storage too.
 
Chromebook or a fresh install of linux mint.

I've already purchased (2) Chromebooks for people I know and they love them; almost "instant on"; they come with and SSD already.

For what you are doing, the last thing I would recommend is another windows machine. Jettison any license concerns in the process.
 
That first shop was sloppy or incompetent. They just reloaded an OS and never even tested the hard drive? It's fitting that they went out of business.
I'm kind of surprised by the attitude of the 2nd shop. What is happening to the PC repair business? They can't even replace hard drives anymore?

I don't know how you feel about installing the OS yourself, but if you want a cheap solution then I suggest getting a $45 WD Blue 1TB hard drive on Amazon and install your OS of choice. Or an SSD if you want.
PC performance has been leveling off in recent years, it isn't the 90s anymore. An 8 year old computer is still quite functional and certainly worth the price of a drive.
 
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Originally Posted By: armos
I'm kind of surprised by the attitude of the 2nd shop. What is happening to the PC repair business? They can't even replace hard drives anymore?


I'm not sure that I entirely disagree with the second shop. They're presented with a computer that will require, at retail prices from them, a $100 hard drive and a $100 license of Windows to get a current copy of Windows. That's $200 on an 8 year old computer...or the OP could buy a brand new computer for about $300, with the current version of Windows, 4 or 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, a new HDD, etc.

As far as options a computer repair shop can offer, I don't think repairing it is very cost effective. Doing the work yourself, of course, opens up a lot more possibilities, but few repair shops will recommend that.
 
For the purposes stated in the OP, a Chromebook does sound ideal.

Off on a tangent: Since Chrome OS is built on Linux, and you can invoke a command shell, can you run your own native Linux programs on it?

And has anyone tried this Linux distribution for comparison:
http://getchrome.eu/

Aside from the obvious differences between operating systems, my primary concern with mainstream Linux on battery powered devices is that it doesn't seem to idle the CPU as well as Windows. So I wonder if any distributions have successfully tackled this issue. It is, after all, a critical matter for devices like phones that one carries around all day without a charger.
 
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Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Thank you, I'll have to try TLP. I have a Mint 17 setup to tinker with.

You are welcome. I think TLP is an older version, and when I tried it with Mint 17.1, it didn't help. But on my Mint 17 laptop, it gave me 2 more hours of battery life.
 
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