Essential Buying Tips

New Systems:-

"All major manufacturers / high street stores do not supply what you need - I believe it is almost impossible to purchase a good system from anywhere at present, please read on.... "

You will be offered a 'Vista' machine - these have major issues and run very slowly.

New machines have pre-installed 'clutter' - installed by the manufacturer or supplier as they get paid to do so by third parties - THIS REALLY SLOWS DOWN YOUR NEW SYSTEM AND CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS. It is VERY difficult to get rid of.

Almost all new systems come with Pre-Installed software OFFERS - these are useless, they will stop working after a month or so and you will need to pay for them if you want to use them.... it is a con, they are cheaper to buy separately.

The standard antivirus systems installed are NOT the best available. The manufacturers install these as they make money from these offers - they make your machine run slowly for ever!

Many main suppliers DO NOT provide the original disks (Operating system and other software). Even if you make a copy of your complete system as they suggest - you will NOT be able to re-install the operating sytem, (eg XP or Vista), in the event of a hardware replacement and will need to buy it again - a complete swindle, I see this all the time now.

Your screen does not come set to the right resolution - many, many systems have never been correctly set - you pay for a quality monitor and get equivalent of a very poor one.

The most important criteria when purchasing systems, (apart from the operating system, as above), is the SCREEN (size AND resolution) - unless you want to watch DVD's do not buy a wide screen unless it is 19" or larger as you lose too much height for viewing documents.

Almost any new machine will have more than enough 'power' - its the way a computer is set-up that makes ALL the difference (Systems 3 years old when properly set-up are twice as 'responsive' and start up more quickly than almost any new system from the main suppliers)

If you are able specify a 'clean' installation - ie. just the XP operating system with specific programs you want to use, then you can circumnavigate these issues (as most businesses do). My systems are effectively 'business systems' for normal home and office use.

If you do have a hardware problem under the warrantee - your warrantee may not help, as you will lose your valuable data when they fix it, (eg documents, pictures, itunes) - to get a full service that provides realistic help, you will need to pay a lot more for proper engineering support.

Office Software - save £££

I supply a completely free version of Office Software that provides almost identical functionality to MS Office. I regularly install this for families and businesses, this saves £120 for the student version of MS Office (& £350 for Professional version). So when upgrading or buying new - spend your money on something more useful such as a better screen. (And, yes it does read and write .doc .xls and .ppt files automatically!)

Antivirus Software

The main antivirus packages do not work well. These companies seem very good at marketing but little else.

The worst aspect - they slow down systems unnecessarily and can cause serious difficulty when setting up networking, wireless and broadband.

One of the best known has recently come near the bottom in a survey of the number of viruses detected. I install free versions (for home use only) that provide improved protection and which do not slow down your computer.

Broadband - Choosing an ISP

If you have heard of them (all the well known ISP's) - they are unlikely to be any good, ring me for the top ISP's at the current time, (Try www.plus.net at present approx £10 per month and top results in customer support rankings)

Want to change supplier? - be very careful... you need to get a 'MAC' code from your existing supplier first. OFTEL have been looking into long delays caused by your incumbent supplier not switching off their end, thus preventing your new supplier from setting up. Also ask your current supplier if you are on 'local loop unbundling', if you are it may cause further issues. Your best option, if possible, is to install a new broadband on a seperate line and then cancel your current one.

Setting Up Broadband & Wireless systems

Some well known retailers are selling discounted wireless routers - these are very difficult to install properly, I wonder whether they have a 'job-lot' and are selling them off cheaply. Unless you are an expert it is better to get some help to install with the right equipment (I offer a complete installation with full on-site warrantee).

Make sure you have an external Firewall in you modem/router - if it is a very small box (slightly larger than a cigarette packet) then it is useless - get a proper router that offers full Firewall protection and one that connects to multiple PC's (Wireless units do this also).

Fault-finding Broadband Problems

Firstly most ISP's (AOL, BT, Tiscali, TalkTalk, Virgin, Sky, et al) use overseas call centres. These do not have 'engineers' who have the experience to help. They often work from a scripted response and this is not a sensible way to problem solve, and they ask you to change/check many settings on your system - BUT Broadband is completely independent of your computer - they insist is is not!

Also - when there is a clear line fault (using my test equipment) some ISP's will ask you to perform 'silly' operations and checks on your system that often cause more problems and that cannot have ANY effect on the line fault (as it is nothing to do with your computer). AOL for instance, will not check you line unless you have their eqipment (and many people don't), so I have often to advise customers to move their acount to another ISP before they can get a line fault fixed!

Beware - July 2008 - AOL have been taken over by TalkTalk (Carphone Warehouse) and are changing everyone's login (and not informing them first!!!). You will lose your connection when you next disconnect your router modem - you will need to reconfigure your router with the new login username.

Secondly, OFTEL have been looking into the issue of premium rate lines being used to create a 'profit center' for companies who offer cheap rate broadband. You may easily spend hours (over many days in some instances) trying to work through a simple Broadband issue... maybe they are not in a hurry to find a fix?

Thirdly I have special equipment that tests which type of problem exists (eg line or login problem).

The only thing that I need to know (exactly) is your broadband user name and password, (this may be different from your email user/password). If you have this information, I can test your line and connection very quickly and tell you where the problem lies.

(My new systems/prices Click Here)

 

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