Are Pavillion desktops slow?

[Bob]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hello all,

I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law. While
there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old Pavillion desktop.
I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran very slowly and I think the
culprit was the hard disk. Certain activites would just run and run and
run. At first, I suspected thrashing but a check of the virtual memory
showed it to be adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA
enabled, resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.

The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the same
experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2 yrs. ago. He
purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again, diagnostics pointed
to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes improved it. These were both
newer, unmodified systems. Both were running Win XP.

Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a reputation for
being slow, or having some problem with the system interface with the hard
disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard disks to put in them?

Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would be
appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Bob

BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working like a
charm. Great job on that printer HP!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hello Bob! It sounds just like the machine doesn't have enough RAM
(computer memory) and it has to swap to a page file (swap memory) on
the hard drive a lot. Which keeps the computer busy and can slow the
computer down 1000 times more than normal.

Press down the Windows key and tap the Pause/Break key and that
should tell you how much memory is installed. If it is less than
256MB, then that is probably it. Keep in mind that usually adding
more memory is generally the cheapest and the fastest way to speed
up virtually any machine.

Slow drives? Well they are probably the slower 5400 RPM hard drives.
Although they should be just fine anyway. As I even do video editing
on these slower drives. So I don't think that would be the problem.






Cheers!


___________________________________________________
Bill (using a HP Pavilion 8655c under Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0





On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 02:51:58 GMT, "Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com>
wrote:

Hello all,

I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law.
While there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old
Pavillion desktop. I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran
very slowly and I think the culprit was the hard disk. Certain
activites would just run and run and run. At first, I suspected
thrashing but a check of the virtual memory showed it to be
adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA enabled,
resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.

The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the
same experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2
yrs. ago. He purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again,
diagnostics pointed to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes
improved it. These were both newer, unmodified systems. Both were
running Win XP.

Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a
reputation for being slow, or having some problem with the system
interface with the hard disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard
disks to put in them?

Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would
be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Bob

BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working
like a charm. Great job on that printer HP!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

"Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com> wrote in message
news:hR3cc.70942$gA5.864244@attbi_s03...
> Hello all,
>
> I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law. While
> there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old Pavillion
desktop.
> I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran very slowly and I think
the
> culprit was the hard disk. Certain activites would just run and run and
> run. At first, I suspected thrashing but a check of the virtual memory
> showed it to be adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers,
DMA
> enabled, resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
> etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
>
> The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the same
> experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2 yrs. ago.
He
> purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again, diagnostics
pointed
> to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes improved it. These were
both
> newer, unmodified systems. Both were running Win XP.
>
> Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a reputation
for
> being slow, or having some problem with the system interface with the hard
> disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard disks to put in them?
>
> Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would be
> appreciated. Thanks in advance.
>
> Bob
>
> BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working like
a
> charm. Great job on that printer HP!

Whenever my kids' computers start to run slow, I run Ad-Aware and it speeds
it up a lot. I run Ad-Aware on my system at every start-up, so it doesn't
get bogged down. The kids are too impatient to run it each start-up.

I don't have the url, but you can google and find it. It's Lavasoft
Ad-Aware.

HTH,
Brigitte

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

A few weeks ago, I posted onto the CNet website all the major tasks I go through
to tune up a client's sluggish PC. Check there. But also, there are some
brands and models of hard drives that are slower than others. In recent years,
HP seems to have relied upon Daewoo for assembly of its personal computers, and
Daewoo is/was also the manufacturer of the lamentable (IMHO) eMachines
computers.

What models of hard drives are in the HP boxes you are dealing with?

What is the chipset manufacturer and model on the motherboard?

Does the HP system use the standard XP drivers for the motherboard chipset? In
particular, Intel and VIA have more recent chipset drivers on their web sites,
and the drivers often provide some performance improvements. Also, these
drivers can be used with any brand of motherboard. The day has long passed when
name-brand companies like HP could insist on special custom versions of
chipsets. Now all Intel chipsets of a given model are the same. Likewise with
VIA. HP provides almost zippo on its website in the way of driver support for
its personal computers. You need to look at the chipset manufacturers' websites
for help... Ben Myers

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 02:51:58 GMT, "Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com> wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law. While
>there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old Pavillion desktop.
>I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran very slowly and I think the
>culprit was the hard disk. Certain activites would just run and run and
>run. At first, I suspected thrashing but a check of the virtual memory
>showed it to be adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA
>enabled, resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
>etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
>
>The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the same
>experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2 yrs. ago. He
>purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again, diagnostics pointed
>to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes improved it. These were both
>newer, unmodified systems. Both were running Win XP.
>
>Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a reputation for
>being slow, or having some problem with the system interface with the hard
>disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard disks to put in them?
>
>Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would be
>appreciated. Thanks in advance.
>
>Bob
>
>BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working like a
>charm. Great job on that printer HP!
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Good point about system memory, especially given the tendency of all the name
brands to sell systems with an insufficient amount of memory, keeping the
sticker price down. All too many Windows XP systems come from the factory or
the retail store with a measly 128MB of memory. Selling an XP system with so
little memory is worse than stupid... Ben Myers

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 10:06:08 -0500, Bill Wolff
<wolffsoftnospam@nospamnetzero.net> wrote:

>
>Hello Bob! It sounds just like the machine doesn't have enough RAM
>(computer memory) and it has to swap to a page file (swap memory) on
>the hard drive a lot. Which keeps the computer busy and can slow the
>computer down 1000 times more than normal.
>
>Press down the Windows key and tap the Pause/Break key and that
>should tell you how much memory is installed. If it is less than
>256MB, then that is probably it. Keep in mind that usually adding
>more memory is generally the cheapest and the fastest way to speed
>up virtually any machine.
>
>Slow drives? Well they are probably the slower 5400 RPM hard drives.
>Although they should be just fine anyway. As I even do video editing
>on these slower drives. So I don't think that would be the problem.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Cheers!
>
>
>___________________________________________________
>Bill (using a HP Pavilion 8655c under Windows 2000)
>-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0
>
>
>
>
>
>On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 02:51:58 GMT, "Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com>
>wrote:
>
>Hello all,
>
>I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law.
>While there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old
>Pavillion desktop. I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran
>very slowly and I think the culprit was the hard disk. Certain
>activites would just run and run and run. At first, I suspected
>thrashing but a check of the virtual memory showed it to be
>adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA enabled,
>resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
>etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
>
>The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the
>same experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2
>yrs. ago. He purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again,
>diagnostics pointed to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes
>improved it. These were both newer, unmodified systems. Both were
>running Win XP.
>
>Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a
>reputation for being slow, or having some problem with the system
>interface with the hard disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard
>disks to put in them?
>
>Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would
>be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
>
>Bob
>
>BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working
>like a charm. Great job on that printer HP!
>

 

[Si]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

My Pavilion 733.uk had just 256MB yet was sold as a DVD authoring
machine....

It's fine since I added another 512MB of ram....

Si.

<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:4071767c.265424@news.charter.net...
> Good point about system memory, especially given the tendency of all the
name
> brands to sell systems with an insufficient amount of memory, keeping the
> sticker price down. All too many Windows XP systems come from the factory
or
> the retail store with a measly 128MB of memory. Selling an XP system with
so
> little memory is worse than stupid... Ben Myers
>
> On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 10:06:08 -0500, Bill Wolff
> <wolffsoftnospam@nospamnetzero.net> wrote:
>
> >
> >Hello Bob! It sounds just like the machine doesn't have enough RAM
> >(computer memory) and it has to swap to a page file (swap memory) on
> >the hard drive a lot. Which keeps the computer busy and can slow the
> >computer down 1000 times more than normal.
> >
> >Press down the Windows key and tap the Pause/Break key and that
> >should tell you how much memory is installed. If it is less than
> >256MB, then that is probably it. Keep in mind that usually adding
> >more memory is generally the cheapest and the fastest way to speed
> >up virtually any machine.
> >
> >Slow drives? Well they are probably the slower 5400 RPM hard drives.
> >Although they should be just fine anyway. As I even do video editing
> >on these slower drives. So I don't think that would be the problem.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Cheers!
> >
> >
> >___________________________________________________
> >Bill (using a HP Pavilion 8655c under Windows 2000)
> >-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 02:51:58 GMT, "Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com>
> >wrote:
> >
> >Hello all,
> >
> >I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law.
> >While there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old
> >Pavillion desktop. I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran
> >very slowly and I think the culprit was the hard disk. Certain
> >activites would just run and run and run. At first, I suspected
> >thrashing but a check of the virtual memory showed it to be
> >adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA enabled,
> >resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
> >etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
> >
> >The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the
> >same experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2
> >yrs. ago. He purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again,
> >diagnostics pointed to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes
> >improved it. These were both newer, unmodified systems. Both were
> >running Win XP.
> >
> >Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a
> >reputation for being slow, or having some problem with the system
> >interface with the hard disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard
> >disks to put in them?
> >
> >Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would
> >be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
> >
> >Bob
> >
> >BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working
> >like a charm. Great job on that printer HP!
> >
>

 

[Bob]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Thanks very much to all of you for your considerate and helpful answers! I
think the suggestions about insufficient memory are particularly relevant
and may be the cause and I will check it out. Insufficient RAM would cause
a lot of thrashing with the virtual memory system which would produce the
symptoms.

May I also say how impressed I am with the thoughtful responses I received.
The HP crowd must be a good one. Sort of makes me want to purchase one.

Regards,

Bob Niemann

"Bill Wolff" <wolffsoftnospam@nospamnetzero.net> wrote in message
news:jpr2701i0f1auc5onlfflihmms7fqc0sbd@4ax.com...
>
> Hello Bob! It sounds just like the machine doesn't have enough RAM
> (computer memory) and it has to swap to a page file (swap memory) on
> the hard drive a lot. Which keeps the computer busy and can slow the
> computer down 1000 times more than normal.
>
> Press down the Windows key and tap the Pause/Break key and that
> should tell you how much memory is installed. If it is less than
> 256MB, then that is probably it. Keep in mind that usually adding
> more memory is generally the cheapest and the fastest way to speed
> up virtually any machine.
>
> Slow drives? Well they are probably the slower 5400 RPM hard drives.
> Although they should be just fine anyway. As I even do video editing
> on these slower drives. So I don't think that would be the problem.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Cheers!
>
>
> ___________________________________________________
> Bill (using a HP Pavilion 8655c under Windows 2000)
> -- written and edited within WordStar 5.0
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 02:51:58 GMT, "Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com>
> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law.
> While there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old
> Pavillion desktop. I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran
> very slowly and I think the culprit was the hard disk. Certain
> activites would just run and run and run. At first, I suspected
> thrashing but a check of the virtual memory showed it to be
> adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA enabled,
> resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
> etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
>
> The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the
> same experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2
> yrs. ago. He purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again,
> diagnostics pointed to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes
> improved it. These were both newer, unmodified systems. Both were
> running Win XP.
>
> Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a
> reputation for being slow, or having some problem with the system
> interface with the hard disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard
> disks to put in them?
>
> Just curious. Any answers (from those not affiliated with HP) would
> be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
>
> Bob
>
> BTW, my six year-old HP Laserjet 6L keeps chugging away and working
> like a charm. Great job on that printer HP!
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

"Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com> wrote in message news:hR3cc.70942$gA5.864244@attbi_s03...
> Hello all,
>
> I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law. While
> there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old Pavillion desktop.
> I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran very slowly and I think the
> culprit was the hard disk. Certain activites would just run and run and
> run. At first, I suspected thrashing but a check of the virtual memory
> showed it to be adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA
> enabled, resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
> etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
>
> The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the same
> experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2 yrs. ago. He
> purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again, diagnostics pointed
> to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes improved it. These were both
> newer, unmodified systems. Both were running Win XP.
>
> Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a reputation for
> being slow, or having some problem with the system interface with the hard
> disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard disks to put in them?
>

In the unlikely situation that you have the recovery disks available, you may notice
it's a six or seven CD package. The OS actually fits on one CD, the others have
just incredible amounts of junk that get pre-loaded onto the computer. It's a fact
of life, the more junk you load onto a Windows system, the slower it runs. If
I ever had to work on one of those systems, the first thing I'd do is wipe the disk
and do a clean install of just an OS.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)

>A few weeks ago, I posted onto the CNet website all the major tasks I go
>through
> to tune up a client's sluggish PC. Check there.

I'm ignorant, lazy, but honest. *laughing* Would you post a link to where
I should start looking?

Thanks!

Dave

 

[James]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 13:09:40 GMT, "David Kinsell"
<kinsell@poboxyz.com> wrote:

>
>"Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com> wrote in message news:hR3cc.70942$gA5.864244@attbi_s03...
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law. While
>> there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old Pavillion desktop.
>> I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran very slowly and I think the
>> culprit was the hard disk. Certain activites would just run and run and
>> run. At first, I suspected thrashing but a check of the virtual memory
>> showed it to be adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA
>> enabled, resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
>> etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
>>
>> The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the same
>> experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2 yrs. ago. He
>> purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again, diagnostics pointed
>> to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes improved it. These were both
>> newer, unmodified systems. Both were running Win XP.
>>
>> Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a reputation for
>> being slow, or having some problem with the system interface with the hard
>> disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard disks to put in them?
>>
>
>In the unlikely situation that you have the recovery disks available, you may notice
>it's a six or seven CD package. The OS actually fits on one CD, the others have
>just incredible amounts of junk that get pre-loaded onto the computer. It's a fact
>of life, the more junk you load onto a Windows system, the slower it runs. If
>I ever had to work on one of those systems, the first thing I'd do is wipe the disk
>and do a clean install of just an OS.
>
>
>
I have a Pavilion 1360uk machine with 1Gig Ram 2.8mhz Pentium 4 with
HT 160 gig HD with Windows XP Home and it runs very fast even with
NIS2004 and other extras running I can still listen to music WinAmp
play FS2002 which is very processor and memory hungry and also run a
panel making program and paint all at the same time with no hint of
any slowdown. The key IMHO is the amount of memory and the processor
speed coupled with a good graphics card and HT technology.
I have had many other machines in the past each time I had the best
machine I could afford. But this latest one runs the best. I am very
pleased with my present HP machine and when this one goes past it's
best in a couple of years time I will buy another HP machine without
hesitation
Thanks and Regards
James

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

"James" <J.C.Boyek@Gothicbtinternet.com> wrote in message news:ad4d70dpjtj54nhd8k9ncbinafmfotj3qg@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 13:09:40 GMT, "David Kinsell"
> <kinsell@poboxyz.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >"Bob" <notmyaddress@dontusethis.com> wrote in message news:hR3cc.70942$gA5.864244@attbi_s03...
> >> Hello all,
> >>
> >> I spent the weekend setting up a home network for my sister-in-law. While
> >> there, I also worked on my niece's pc. It was a year old Pavillion desktop.
> >> I think it had about a 1.4 GHz P4 in it. It ran very slowly and I think the
> >> culprit was the hard disk. Certain activites would just run and run and
> >> run. At first, I suspected thrashing but a check of the virtual memory
> >> showed it to be adequate. I then checked lots of things (e.g. drivers, DMA
> >> enabled, resource conflicts, unecessary WinXP services, spyware, viruses,
> >> etc. etc) with no luck. Same slow hard disk.
> >>
> >> The reason I'm posting this message is that I had almost exactly the same
> >> experience working on my neighbors Pavillion desktop PC 1 1/2 yrs. ago. He
> >> purchased his system a couple of years ago. Once again, diagnostics pointed
> >> to an very slow hard disk and none of my fixes improved it. These were both
> >> newer, unmodified systems. Both were running Win XP.
> >>
> >> Was there some problem with these computers? Do they have a reputation for
> >> being slow, or having some problem with the system interface with the hard
> >> disks? Did HP just buy cheap, slow hard disks to put in them?
> >>
> >
> >In the unlikely situation that you have the recovery disks available, you may notice
> >it's a six or seven CD package. The OS actually fits on one CD, the others have
> >just incredible amounts of junk that get pre-loaded onto the computer. It's a fact
> >of life, the more junk you load onto a Windows system, the slower it runs. If
> >I ever had to work on one of those systems, the first thing I'd do is wipe the disk
> >and do a clean install of just an OS.
> >
> >
> >
> I have a Pavilion 1360uk machine with 1Gig Ram 2.8mhz Pentium 4 with
> HT 160 gig HD with Windows XP Home and it runs very fast even with
> NIS2004 and other extras running I can still listen to music WinAmp
> play FS2002 which is very processor and memory hungry and also run a
> panel making program and paint all at the same time with no hint of
> any slowdown. The key IMHO is the amount of memory and the processor
> speed coupled with a good graphics card and HT technology.

Right, modern processors can make just about anything run fast. Strap
a jet engine onto a bicycle and you can really fly.


> I have had many other machines in the past each time I had the best
> machine I could afford. But this latest one runs the best. I am very
> pleased with my present HP machine and when this one goes past it's
> best in a couple of years time I will buy another HP machine without
> hesitation
> Thanks and Regards
> James

Glad you're happy with it. I bought a Pavilion once, before I knew much about
PC's. Took it home, set up a dialup account, and it crashed like the Hindenburg
about every 15 minutes. Sometimes had to unplug the power cord to unwedge it.
In between crashes, logged onto the so-called support forums, and was given
incompetent advice that the problem was with Netscape. After grueling updates,
it was clear that the problem was elsewhere. One lady tried three different units
from a store before giving up. Turns out the units were shipped with defective
video drivers. I should have just returned it, but thought I'd be real macho and
bear the pain.

After fixing that, had the normal problems with keys on the multimedia keyboard
stopping working after loading other software. The suspend mode never did
work right. Investigating the keyboard issue, learned all about the pings and
redirects built into the keyboard driver. I don't really appreciate spyware being
bundled into the system. There were other things like a fax program that never
worked right, and no support or upgrades being available.

Tried adding a hard disk, and discovered the metal brackets were made funny
such that the disk didn't fit like it would in any other standard case. Ended up
duct-taping it to the bottom of the case. Had a funny sound card that required
a special power supply. The "theater-quality excitement" provided by the DVD
player fell a little short of the advertising claims. The "high-velocity modem"
supplied would only reach its claimed velocity if tossed out of a fourth-story
window.

Found out it only had a 170 watt power supply, which was real marginal for doing
upgrades anyway. All this with an $1800 computer which was advertised as being
"ultra expandable and upgradable". Right! That was the last store-bought computer
I've had, and been much happier building computers myself. Once you learn what's
inside, it's clear there is no innovative technology in the name brands, just a mix
of standard and needlessly proprietary hardware thrown together by some shop
in China (with no testing) and drop-shipped to your neighbourhood big-box store.
The massive amounts of additional software (spyware, adware, junkware) that gets
preloaded on the machines is something I wouldn't have on my computers. What
would be nice would be to have a CD shipped with the unit that just has drivers for
the proprietary hardware, but don't expect that anytime soon.

-Dave