laptop brands?

[gardenmom5]

I want opinions on brands.  I had a bad experience with HP - and received feedback to just not bother with them.

 

I've bought a toshiba.  question - is this really a reputable brand?  (I'm happy with the features, and nerd son thinks the features will be fine for me.)

[Tap]

Right now, I would say Toshiba, Lenovo or Asus

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

My answer to this question is always Mac. I've never had a PC--laptop or desktop--that I've been happy with for more than a year or two, but I have loved all my Macs, and they have all been workhorses. If it can't be a Mac, then my only advice is to stay far, far away from Dell. We've had bad experiences with them going back over 15 years. A few years ago my dad found a "great deal," and I needed a pC for my work. I thought they couldn't possibly be as bad as they used to be and still be in business. I was wrong. Even DH, who rarely complains about anything and is kind of a Pollyanna, hates this laptop. 

 

Maybe Lanny will chime in, I think he usually has good advice on this kind of thing. 

[Lady Florida.]

We've always had good luck with Dell laptops.

[kroe1]

The only newer model we have is an Alienware used mainly for gaming. Alienware is owned by Dell. Our computer is now a year old and works great. We also have a slew of older computers. For example, I still scrapbook on a ten year old HP. No problems yet.

[Lanny]

Our family has five (5) Dell Latitude E series laptops. These were designed for and purchased by Enterprise (Corporate) customers, so the design and components are of higher quality than in Consumer models. We bought 3 Refurbished Dell Latitude E6400 laptops from Blair Technology Group (2 on Amazon and one on eBay) and in the past few months, I 've purchased 2 Used Dell Latitude E6410 laptops (later model) from an eBay Seller in Hughesville PA. These are very easy to work on and parts are readily available for them.  GL with whatever you decide to buy!

 

ETA:

My Stepson has a Dell Inspiron laptop he bought used and his wife has a mini laptop, an ACER, that my wife bought for her last August. She needed something small and light to carry  in her backpack all day when she goes from customer to customer. All seem to work well.

[Lanny]

OP I read your original post again. It looks like you have already purchased a Toshiba Laptop.  If it is working, without any issues, keep it and enjoy it.  If you have issues, take it back for  Full Refund.  

 

 

[Lanny]

OP:   NEVER use a laptop unless it is sitting on a "Cooling Pad".   All of our laptops have a Cooling Pad. When they travel, their Cooling Pad goes with them.  That will greatly extend the life of your new laptop, especially if it is loaded, like my wife's Dell Latitude E6410, because a lot of heat is generated within a small space. . When you look at Cooling Pads in the store, look for one that has a large surface area for air circulation.  Some of them only have a small area, which may or may not line up with the air inlets on the bottom of your laptop.  

[gardenmom5]

OP I read your original post again. It looks like you have already purchased a Toshiba Laptop.  If it is working, without any issues, keep it and enjoy it.  If you have issues, take it back for  Full Refund.  

 

I've purchased it - but it's still in the box.  1ds is coming over (he doesn't live here anymore) after school and  will help me transfer files.  so - I've got time.

[Peach]

We've had a lot of HP's and they were great. Hubby has one now and he works it hard and it 2 years old and still racing along. DD has a Lenovo which works well but the physical constriction isn't as sturdy as the HPs. I have a Toshiba chromebook which I love and a new Dell that folds backwards to turn it into tablet mode. I've been impressed with it so far - and I am a heavy user/picky about my hardware :)

[Lady Florida.]

We've had a lot of HP's and they were great. Hubby has one now and he works it hard and it 2 years old and still racing along. DD has a Lenovo which works well but the physical constriction isn't as sturdy as the HPs. I have a Toshiba chromebook which I love and a new Dell that folds backwards to turn it into tablet mode. I've been impressed with it so far - and I am a heavy user/picky about my hardware :)

 

OP, I know you already bought a laptop and that you hate HP, but -

 

We had several HP desktops in the  past and a number of HP printers. We didn't have an issue with any of them. Dh just bought a Pavilion (HP)notebook  that he likes so far. Of course he hasn't had it long, but he seems happy with it.

 

Our fist laptop was a Toshiba. When we switched to Dell (because there was a discount through dh's work) we gave it to FIL. It's over 10 years old, running Windows XP*, and yet still going strong. 

 

*FIL doesn't do much on his computer, so he's fine with an old OS. We keep telling him he should replace it, yet it keeps working just fine for him. :)

Edited January 26, 2016 by Lady Florida

[Lanny]

I've purchased it - but it's still in the box.  1ds is coming over (he doesn't live here anymore) after school and  will help me transfer files.  so - I've got time.

 

 

You wrote that this morning. If it is still in the box, before you take it out of the box and do the "OOBE"  (Out of Box Experience, or  the first boot of the OS (Operating System) I have 2 suggestions for you.  I am assuming that it has Windows 8.1, but if it has Windows 10, hopefully you can do this on Windows 10 also:  (1) Set it up to boot directly to the Windows Desktop and (2) Set it up so that when you log in, you log in with a LOCAL USER ACCOUNT and NOT with a Microsoft web account (Hotmail, etc.).   When we received a Laptop for DD last May, with Windows 8.1, I did those 2 things when I set it up for her and she has not had ANY issues with Windows 8.1.  Her Desktop (Tower) PC has Windows 7 on it. GL with your new laptop!  Enjoy!

 

ETA: If you do not have a "Cooling Pad" for it, buy one tomorrow....

Edited January 27, 2016 by Lanny

[Lanny]

This may sound "strange" since you bought something "Brand New", but frequently "Brand New" Electronics products have problems, within the first few hours of use.  If someone can help you do these 2 things, before you really make this new laptop "yours", it will reduce the possibility of you spending a lot of time, migrating your stuff to the new laptop, and then finding out there is an issue that could easily have been discovered.

 

The first thing is to test the RAM (Memory) with a Diagnostics program such as memtest86  You download a .ISO file, "Burn" the .ISO file to a CD and then boot from the CD Drive (I am assuming the laptop has a CD drive, but that may not be the case).  Let it run for at least one full pass, to check the RAM for defects.  The other involves running "Diagnostics" on the Hard Drive. The quick 2 minute test returns the results of the built in "SMART" technology.  However, that can get a "Pass" and the Extended Test can give a fail.    On January 11th, when I tested the Hard Disk Drive in my wife's powerhouse laptop, that's what happened. It passed the SMART tests, with Diagnostic CDs from 2 hard drive manufacturers, but it failed the Extended tests, of both hard drive manufacturers, including Western Digital, the manufacturer of the hard disk drive. There are, hopefully, Diagnostics BUILT INTO the motherboard, that you can run by  going into the BIOS or interrupting the normal boot into Windows, and selecting Diagnostics,  that can test the RAM and the hard disk drive.

 

Among the things in a carton that arrived in Colombia this morning is a new hard disk drive. After the carton is delivered to our house Thursday (it's in Customs tonight), BEFORE  I  Clone her existing hard drive onto the new hard drive, I will run the SMART and the Extended test on it, although it is "Brand New".   The laptop I am using at this moment, I purchased "Used" from an eBay Seller in December.  After about 5 days,  I began making it my primary laptop. Usually, I would take about 30 days, even with something that is "Brand New".  You will probably get a feel for your new laptop, after a few days, about whether or not it seems to be "solid" and working properly. If it is not working properly, take it back for a Full Refund.   NOTE: The first things you need to do after getting it up and running are to do "Windows Update", several times, to be sure that you have the Important Updates (Security and Stability related) and then, Download and Install the free version of AVG Anti Virus or Avast Anti Virus or whatever Anti Virus program you prefer and then update the Virus Definitions.  A lot of hours will go by, before it is "your" primary laptop. Take your time and be patient and do it properly!   Backup, Backup, and Backup....Your Data is the critical stuff on your machine. The OS, the Application and Utility programs can be reinstalled, but your Data is yours and yours alone. Backup, Backup, Backup...