Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
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Another laptop has died on me after about 2 years, done the usual trick of slowing down, getting a virus then dying on its arse. Am I having bad luck or is this the norm?
I'm having dirty Mac thoughts because I'm told that they tend not to do this... but that could just be the usual Apple fanboy bollocks 
Don't really want to blow <£1k on a laptop but if its going to last me longer & perform better then the price isn't far off the alternative options
If anyone wants to post some suggestions please do. Having to do this on my phone right now so I can't really search very easily 
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Cavey
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Registered: 11th Nov 02
Location: Derby
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>£1k....
As for the question, I can not help 
Surely you can just format it and start again if it's just a virus?
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Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
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It won't even restore. Megafucked
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Cavey
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Registered: 11th Nov 02
Location: Derby
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No cd drive? Boot from CD with a copy of XP, re-install, working?
Or if you think it's fucked, i'll take it for free and give it a go
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Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
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I was asking for advice, not offering out shit for free 
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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^^
Can't say I've ever had a problem with Windows slowing down, even my 4 year old Vista laptop 
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Cavey
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Registered: 11th Nov 02
Location: Derby
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Ok, well my advice would be to do what I said in the first bit 
If it's got a CD drive then go into the BIOS choose boot from CD, boot it with a copy of Vista/7/XP in the drive, and re-install it completely fresh, will lose all your data, but you will if you get a new one anyway.
If no CD drive, then get someone to do a bootable USB drive, and do the same thing.
And then don't go on dodgy sites
Just trying to save you money on a new laptop
If neither of them work, then new laptop/mac
There are a few mac users on here, so you'll get advice from them soon enough.
[Edited on 13-11-2010 by Cavey]
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Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
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Sorry
If the restore won't work I'd sooner buy something new & try & save all my stuff. It was pretty fecked anyway, broken fan, only works when on charge, slow as Hell. Then the virus stuck a big Fuck you on top & mercy killed it
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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buy a mac and never look back
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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quote:
Originally posted by adiohead
buy a mac and never look back
this
i have a link for higher education site, knocks hundreds off  u2u if interested
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Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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Don't you have to be a student though?
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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nope, they will not check.
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adiohead
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Registered: 28th Sep 01
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yeah, they don't check. 
I went to uni for a macbook pro
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Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
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Aye send it over I'll have a look
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Andrew
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Registered: 5th May 04
Location: Skoda Octavia Estate, Ford Puma
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Send that accross to me as well Ross
Another option Matt is to get the likes of a Dell with 3 years warranty. Becasue my stuff tends to get hammered this is what i get now.
I do like the mac though, currently looking for a Mac Mini. Funds don't allow at the moment though 
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Matt H
I'm having dirty Mac thoughts because I'm told that they tend not to do this... but that could just be the usual Apple fanboy bollocks
Not quite true. Every file system fragments, even HFS (a bit out dated in terms of what file systems are now available) which is used by OSX. Difference with OSX is that it automatically optimises (read defrag) the drive(s) during every system update (was the case with Tiger, might have changed with since), so basically OSX looked/looks after itself. Without this optimisation (quite common in production environments where updates are rarely done due to stability - ie: better to run a solid system than update and find it fucks up tens of thousand pounds worth of software and gear), the systems can end up crawling. I've seen it a handful of times where opening applications like Protools or even Firefox literally take 10-20 minutes ie: you've got enough time to put the kettle on, make a cuppa and rummage through the biscuit tin.
OSX is properly ok so long you keep it updated and it optimises the drives. But I’ve found iDefrag to be a bit of a life saver in some situations in restoring drive performance.
And since Vista, Windows will automatically defrag drives when they're idle. I've got a 4 year old dell on Vista and it's just as quick as the day I got it.
As for your laptop, it sounds like it got abused and wasn't really maintained (how you got a virus is beyond me). And to be honest, as Cavey has pointed out, it could easily be fixed.
Either way, if you want to buy a Mac then get one. OSX is a decent OS and Macs are fairly well built (I’ve had a few plastic Mac book splinter around the mouse area). But don't get dragged in to the whole, they are rock solid, never have problems bollocks as this simple isn't the case. Macs/OSX do have niggles and issues just like any other computer/os.
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ssj_kakarot
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Registered: 29th Apr 03
Location: hartlepool
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get another laptop, save a shit load of money
and er look after your new one?
OR
if you want to waste a grand because you cant be bothered to spend 30 mins formating your old one then fair enough, apple products seem right up your street
[Edited on 14-11-2010 by ssj_kakarot]
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
User status: Offline
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Don't hate the player hate the game
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Matt H
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Registered: 11th Sep 01
Location: South Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by ssj_kakarot
get another laptop, save a shit load of money
and er look after your new one?
OR
if you want to waste a grand because you cant be bothered to spend 30 mins formating your old one then fair enough, apple products seem right up your street
[Edited on 14-11-2010 by ssj_kakarot]
GOOD ONE
Already said it won't format..
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noshua
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Registered: 19th Nov 08
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You said it wouldn't restore, not format.
You could download XP/7 onto a CD or USB stick do a fresh install.
As Cavey and SSJ said though
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Ian
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Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
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Its probably fixable, even the biggest of software jobs can be sorted if you have the time / inclination. I certainly wouldn't be spending a grand because of a software prob.
But yeah, you may find one easier to live with.
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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quote:
Originally posted by adiohead
buy a mac and never look back
best thing I ever did, I love mine, hate using windows now! Never had any problems with virus/spyware/malware, I imagine it's not impossible to get it but it's certainly never affected me. With windows, I was doing a reinstall at least every 6months just because I find windows slows down. I've never had to reinstall, except for when the new version of osx came out. Don't even have to defrag a mac.
I'm sure they're not perfect, but they've given me no problems, and customer service is second to none.
[Edited on 15-11-2010 by AlunJ]
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