Cam collection

[Coordman's Clever New Screen Name]

Ok, so I JUST got off of the phone with Cam and I have some tentatively good news:

Firstly, she does (did?) have a laptop, but she also has an older desktop.  Neither are particularly old (I think she said the desktop was about 5-6 years old).  She prefers a laptop simply because it bothers her back less, as she can recline with it or sit on the couch.. etc.

The first good thing:  I went over the symptoms or her dead laptop and I think it could potentially be just a bad power cord, which would also keep the battery from charging, resulting in what would look like a completely dead laptop.  Trouble is, it's hard for her to get it checked out because of her remote living situation.  She says she can get a friend to take it into town the next time she goes to work.  If the problem is the power cord, we may not need to do much.  A replacement can be a bit pricey, but nowhere NEAR as expensive as a new laptop, obviously.  Probably about $50 at worst.

Good thing #2.  I asked her to look through her old computer disks and, lo and behold, she still has her MS Office disk.  This is important because a single standard copy of Office can be nearly as expensive as a laptop by itself.  (Cut $340 from the potential price if we have to go through with getting the laptop.  )

I have my fingers crossed for 'bad power cord', but I've seen decent HP and Toshiba (that's what she had before) laptops in the $500 range.  Still need to check Dell.com.  Will keep you posted. 

[livealittle]

ok, we're at ~$300 committed. if you want to help, just pm me, there is no need to post that you are helping on this thread. As with the other things I've had the privilege of helping with, no one but me and you will ever know how much you gave or even that you gave at all, and as soon as it's handled, I don't remember anything anyway.

[Gus]

I get a discount from Dell through work. If you find anything in particular let me know and I'll see if I can get a deal on it. I also have a student addition copy of XP if an operating system is needed (do they even sell computers without them anymore?)

[Coordman's Clever New Screen Name]

I get a discount from Dell through work. If you find anything in particular let me know and I'll see if I can get a deal on it. I also have a student addition copy of XP if an operating system is needed (do they even sell computers without them anymore?)

Actually, so do I.  Small world!    I don't think you CAN buy a new PC without an OS nowadays unless you request it.  Plus, she was running Vista previously.  Most come with Windows 7 standard, from what I've been reading.

This is one that caught my eye on the Dell site:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNDWZA2&s=dhs



It's got a dual core processor, comes with 3Gb of RAM standard, 15 inch display... There is a version that's about $100 cheaper, but it rocks a Celeron (I've never had good luck with those) and strips a Gb of RAM away.  I figure, if we're going to get her something, let's get something that'll last a couple years before becoming obsolete.

Now, again, I really think we should wait on doing anything permanent until we find out about that power cord.  This might not even be necessary.

[Ann Marie]

At the risk of sounding stupid, why not send Cam some money 2 over night the laptop and CD's to Coodman or anyone else with computer experience.

Have them reformat it and upgrade it and send it back?

Wouldn't that be cheaper and she'll have a dependable laptop without all that extra junk they put on it when you buy new ones.

JMO

[livealittle]

At the risk of sounding stupid, why not send Cam some money 2 over night the laptop and CD's to Coodman or anyone else with computer experience.

Have them reformat it and upgrade it and send it back?

Wouldn't that be cheaper and she'll have a dependable laptop without all that extra junk they put on it when you buy new ones.

JMO

I don't think you sound stupid at all AM.

I've left a message for Cam but haven't heard back yet.

[Ann Marie]

Personally, I would trust someone here before a stranger to work on my stuff. Wish I could help, but can't this time. Really feel bad, but I know she'll understand

[Coordman's Clever New Screen Name]

At the risk of sounding stupid, why not send Cam some money 2 over night the laptop and CD's to Coodman or anyone else with computer experience.

Have them reformat it and upgrade it and send it back?

Wouldn't that be cheaper and she'll have a dependable laptop without all that extra junk they put on it when you buy new ones.

JMO

Well, no, this isn't a stupid idea at all.  In fact I would completely agree with you if not for the fact that her machine doesn't come on at all.  It doesn't even get as far as the bios.  She pushes the power button and it just sits there, plugged in or not.  Which leads me to believe that A) This is a simple power cord issue or B) It's something more serious and, unfortunately, more expensive.  This is why I really want for her to get that power cord checked out before we commit any money to this.  It may be much simpler than we're thinking.

[Ann Marie]

At the risk of sounding stupid, why not send Cam some money 2 over night the laptop and CD's to Coodman or anyone else with computer experience.

Have them reformat it and upgrade it and send it back?

Wouldn't that be cheaper and she'll have a dependable laptop without all that extra junk they put on it when you buy new ones.

JMO

Well, no, this isn't a stupid idea at all.  In fact I would completely agree with you if not for the fact that her machine doesn't come on at all.  It doesn't even get as far as the bios.  She pushes the power button and it just sits there, plugged in or not.  Which leads me to believe that A) This is a simple power cord issue or B) It's something more serious and, unfortunately, more expensive.  This is why I really want for her to get that power cord checked out before we commit any money to this.  It may be much simpler than we're thinking.

I also aGREE IT COULD BE THE CORD. THE DELL POWER CORDS SEEM TO HAVE SHORT LIVED LIVES. (sorry bout caps)

My daughters school puter did the same thing.. she needs to plug it in and listen to the cord box. If theres a humming/buzzing sound, it could be it.

Still, someone like you or another who knows puters should look at it. Reset can get a discount on a power cord as well as you can, so between the 2 of you, you could get her hooked up.

JMO

She should be able to calabrate the battery also. Some laptops allow you to do that

[livealittle]

ok, on the phone with cam now.

she is going to town on Sunday and taking laptop to Best Buy to see if it's the power cord. She will get back with me when she find out if it's just the power cord no later than Monday.

if that doesn't work then she will ship it to someone here - she said coordman - she will also ask the Best Buy people how much it cost to run their diagnostics on it.

So far we have ~385 committed. I say we stop here and wait and see what the next step is depending on the results of the power cord trial this weekend.

I will go ahead and send Cam $100. This should cover a power cord/or shipping to coordman.

if that's what the total ends up being, we'll do whatever you all want with the extra collected - I can send it on to her to help with whatever, I can return it prorated to those who contributed... whatever the group wants to do.

just fyi, I put this in on a little excel spreadsheet I keep, if $100 is the total, I'll just run the % on the excel sheet and return everyone's portions.


100/385 = 25.97%, so if you contributed say $50, we used 25% of it and I would send you back $37.50.

she says she can't believe how much HEO has come to mean to her over the last 2 years - how much HEO has helped her though.

[Coordman's Clever New Screen Name]

Thanks Livi.  All sounds good.  I do feel the need to pass on one eensy warning:

From what she has told me, I gather that the problem LIKELY has to do with power, but I'm not sure of this.  Because it isn't even booting to the bios (that little screen you get before it starts to load Windows) it could also be a motherboard issue.  That is something I can't guarantee I can fix.  On the positive side, what she has told DOES NOT sound like a hard-drive issue.  If this is the case, I should have no trouble saving her data (pictures, writing, etc...).

All I'm saying is, I don't mind if you send it to me, I'm happy to help.  I just can't guarantee a fix.

That said, I'll sure as hell try.