Gandalf the White (Computer) has died?

Oh, one weird thing, just in case.

I plugged it back in and it turned on all by itself. Still nothing on the screen. [I plugged the cable to the screen into my laptop and it works just fine, so it's neither the cable or the screen that's the problem, obviously.]

So, after reading around on the internet, I unplugged the power cable completely. I pushed the start button and held it for 30 seconds. Waited a few and plugged the machine back in. It did not start by itself this time. But I still got a black screen when I tried to power it up. The light on the external drive blinks, but nothing happens. Never get anything on the screen to get to the bios - f2, f12, nothing seems to make a difference.

No beeps as I would have expected when it was starting up. We had  a power failure (circuit breaker tripped) a couple of days ago. Wonder if that is related and/or if any of the above brings to mind anything I can still try before giving totally up on poor old Gandalf?

Wonder if that is related and/or if any of the above brings to mind anything I can still try before giving totally up on poor old Gandalf?

Having not long ago had my computer die a bit of a slow death, it looks like you're just prolonging the inevitable. Even if it does start working, it likely won't for long and you'll never be able to trust it. I think you should just bite the bullet and get a new one. 

Yeah, what can I say, I'm a cheapskate!

 

Also checking with Dell.  They have these on sale.

http://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/desktops-and-all-in-ones/inspiron-desktop/spd/inspiron-3662-desktop

I've currently got the i3 chip, not sure the difference but I think I read that the i5 was a LOT better?

i5 is definitely better than i3. That computer will likely blow away gandalf the white for speed and graphics (still not as fast as an SSD).


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In case you might know, if I get, say, a Windows 10 machine, can I set it up to have Linux on an external hard drive and then boot with Linux when I want to? Daughter insists we should use Linux. I'm not averse to it, but don't want to diddle with Windows 10 and screw it up to the point it can't be used again.

Also find it odd that John Lewis, Dell, and Amazon have the exact same computer at the exact same price. Huh. 

In case you might know, if I get, say, a Windows 10 machine, can I set it up to have Linux on an external hard drive and then boot with Linux when I want to? Daughter insists we should use Linux. I'm not averse to it, but don't want to diddle with Windows 10 and screw it up to the point it can't be used again.

Also find it odd that John Lewis, Dell, and Amazon have the exact same computer at the exact same price. Huh. 

They all price match

And yeah, you can either set up a partition or use an external to boot Linux. You'll probably actually like it, there are different versions with easy to use interfaces. Your daughter is a wise one to suggest it!



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She's pretty smart about that kind of stuff. I became a tech dinosaur about 20 years ago.

Now I just need to find a machine that has the equivalent of an i5cpu with 8 gig of memory that isn't going to ding my bank account too badly.  (That's what my $125 used laptop is running with, and it's fine.) Although going back to another i3 is ok, since that was working well for me. I just don't want to end up buying a machine that cannot be upgraded later. Because I know technology will definitely change.

One further question. I am assuming that the DVD reader/writer in the old machine is probably still good, as I haven't used it a lot. And possibly the old disc drive (although I did back everything on it up before the computer died).  It used to be relatively easy to take a component like that out of one computer and plug it into another.  Any reason I should not do that? I believe the Daughter said that dvd reader/writers as external units were not terribly expensive, so it might do to get a new computer that does not have one but that has either space inside or the ability to plug in an external drive, to save money.

Yeah, what can I say, I'm a cheapskate!

 

Nothing wrong with that! 

My opinion is that differences in the processor speed don't make that much of a difference.  What slows down a computer is the amount of memory and how quick is disk access.  If you are rendering animations or editing RAW picture files, maybe.  Also maybe if you are playing video games.  Otherwise, don't worry about the processor.

so is there enough difference between a pentium and an i 3 to matter? If not, this looks decent



And it's at my price point.

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your specific question Nan. It's probably pretty easy to say one is better than the other, but judging the impact of that difference to you in your life is a harder question. 

Like I already said, processor speed matters to gaming, graphics and video rendering.  The speed of boot up, opening windows, starting programs and saving files has to do with RAM and hard disk speed. 

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your specific question Nan. It's probably pretty easy to say one is better than the other, but judging the impact of that difference to you in your life is a harder question. 

Like I already said, processor speed matters to gaming, graphics and video rendering.  The speed of boot up, opening windows, starting programs and saving files has to do with RAM and hard disk speed.

Yeah, the big difference I noticed between this and the other computer linked were more descriptive processor info and more detailed video specs. I'd do research into the actual models and look up consumer reviews. Sometimes a difference in £25-50 is significant, sometimes not. Just make sure whatever you get, they have a decent return policy in case you get it and hate it.


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Thanks, Guys.

I would be unhappy if I spent a lot of money on a machine and then it didn't do what I needed. I don't care how fast programs open, etc., but it needs to like not hang up when viewing video, etc.

The predecessor's predecessor, Gandalf the Grey, was a great machine. For years. Windows XP (I still have it, and it still runs. Also a Dell.) But it couldn't handle the internet or streaming video...

Have dropped a line to the "we build it for you" place down in England that someone recommended and am waiting to hear back what they can do for me. I mean, if I can salvage the DVD burner from the old one, great. But apparently they are now cheap, as external drives.

I loathe computer  shopping, have I mentioned?

I have it down to two Dell machines, which seem otherwise identical. The only difference appears to be the processor, at a cost of another 100-ish pounds for the i5.

Intel Core i3-7100 processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.90 GHz)
Intel Core i5-7400 Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.00 GHz)

http://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/compare?ocs=cd66801,cd66825,cd66827

The third option adds a higher-power graphics card, which I don't think I really need, plus the i5. At additional cost.

I've also seen HP desktops for cheaper, but had a nightmare with HP service a few years back when the Daughter had a defective laptop from them. It was literally a small novella there and left me with the "never buy from HP".  I'm also looking at Acer and Asus. But so far the Dell seems with the i3 seems to be the winner. Had two Dells now, excellent machines.

Alternately, there is spending half as much on a reconditioned machine. Sigh. The Dells only come with one year warranty, which is pretty much what the reconditioned ones do. Aieeeeeeeee!


AND.... John Lewis has it on at the same price as Dell, except is offering a 2 year warranty. Dell, on the other hand, is offering 10% off with a one-year warranty.

I hate my brain. I just need for there to be one flavor, not eighteen, to choose from.   

The base model there, or even a tablet would do what you want with regards to streaming videos. That's more dependent on your internet connection & choice in browser/app than the computer at this point. You're not doing anything that requires an expensive machine!

I know Larrabee did quite a bit of testing and research recently, I don't remember which she ended up settling on.

I'm honestly partial to laptops because they travel to coffee shops and tech meetups much more readily than a desktop. But - my next will have 16GB ram (32 would be super nice, but I'd have to wait another year or so), an SSD and backup drive, and will be connected to a backup network at home. But that's because I like programming and data processing takes a fair bit of memory at times depending on the size of the dataset. You have none of those needs!

This is what I'm looking at....maybe a little overkill....
https://www.johnlewis.com/scan-3xs-gamer-7-desktop-pc-intel-core-i7-16gb-ram-2tb-hdd-480gb-ssd-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-black/p3128235
Not sure of the monitor to go with it.