[Closed] PC World, Are they the Halfords or the Screwfix of the PC world ?

it's not about keeping quiet, it's about not doing it (invading some-one privacy) in the 1st place...

If you had some intersting picture of your partner, and had no IT knowledge (to remove or hide them), want some geek going through them?
professionalism, a total lack of it.

I've alway maintained the shop had to no right to investigate the contents

I don't disagree, but the counter-argument to that is "well, we were attempting repairs and saw it by accident." It could've been his desktop wallpaper for all we know.

often only HP parts will fit too,

[Citation needed]

You'd do better with one of these...

I think we'll have to agree to differ there.

BTW : To get back on subject: Graham, give me the PC for a day or so and I'll have a go @ clearing it out & tidying it up (after backing it up)

I see your problem, the "W" and "S" keys are very close together aren't they.

Z1ppy, thanks for the offer.
I've spent most of the day trying to view the MM results, look at the Dell website, uninstall AVG and follow this thread.
All the time the AVG logo down the bottom right hand corner has had an arrow superimposed on it and says "AVG is updating" when I hover the cursor over it and everything has almost ground to a halt.

I only paid £60 for this PC off ebay, so I'm wondering if I ought to get another similar cheapy to use while I'm messing about with this one.

If you had some intersting picture of your partner, and had no IT knowledge (to remove or hide them), want some geek going through them?
professionalism, a total lack of it.

After find my m8's piccy's of his missues* (getting undressed - I don't know if it went further, as I stopped looking) I decided never to look at ppl private moments again, as they are just that, private.

Double standards then.

I have no idea how they found them but once they did then they have the right to report them.

Double standards then.

Doing a m8 a favour and doing it as a job, double standards reallllly?

I wouldn't disagree about reporting it (even if it was done informally), just I always found the whole "how did they find them" bit disturbing.

I only have working knowledge of one PC Returns department so I have no idea how typical it is, but my experience is that the safety of your data was wholly dependent on the personal integrity of whichever engineer you got.

This was in the days before webcams (and indeed, the web) really became mainstream so there (fortunately) wasn't a lot of compromising personal data to be had, but there was sufficient commercial filth for one engineer to maintain a healthy supplementary income selling porn CDs he'd built up from the contents of customers' hard drives.

This may have been atypical and times might have changed, but I'd suggest that it's naiive to assume that your private data stays private in such places.

And with external drives being so readily available, there's little point in taking the risk 🙂

Doing a m8 a favour and doing it as a job, double standards reallllly?

You still looked at files you had no right to. Paid or not.

🙄 of course it is..

If you had some intersting picture of your partner, and had no IT knowledge (to remove or hide them), want some geek going through them?
professionalism, a total lack of it

I imagine that sort of behaviour isn't exclusive to PC World though. Not that I'm defending them, they're a a waste of space, but then they're part of DSG, so you wouldn't expect any more.

You used to be able to go into PC World, wander over to the brown box corner and get a new hard drive or motherboard, cheap as chips, on a Sunday when the thing always seems to break. Not any more. So I don't use them any more. Take that PC World.

Re the special warranty thing - I took it as the sales guy gave me a 10% discount on a £700 machine if I did so. I cancelled the warranty before the first installment was due. Kerching!

However, branded kit is branded kit, HP is good stuff.

Not always. At the entry level price point, many of the big manufacturers may sell white label products (or private label), branded as their own. For example the [i]Cheapo China Computer Co[/i] builds cheap laptops for the [i]ACME Big Brand Computer Corporation[/i]. From memory and before everybody had flat screen TV's, Wharfdale (I think) used to make the entry level TV's for Philips. All the components were Wharfdale but the name on the front was Philips.

This enables the big brands to compete at the lower end of the market. However they do risk damaging their own brand name, if the white label product quality is poor.

The buying power of the big retailers also means that the big brands may not be what they appear. For example the big retailer asks for say 100,000 products at a certain price point. The manufacturer can only get to the price point by building the products with cheaper components but it does give them a mass route to market. (About 10 years ago, I bought a Canon AV video camera from Dixons. The camera was only available in Dixons and its' model number was slightly different to the model number at other retailers. The Dixons model was considerably cheaper than the model at other retailers.)

I've uninstalled lavasoft AdAware and everything is more or less back to normal.
It looks like that was the problem all along.
I still want to get a newer faster PC anyway for home use so I can leave this one at MuddyPuddle's house for us both to use instead of her ancient slow laptop.

That ebuyer one that mboy recommended looks good to me. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251310

Z1ppy's link to cheap software looks good too, if I can find a student who shares my relaxed attitude towards Microsoft licencing, but I can't find basic Widows XP or 7, they all seem to be upgrades for existing OSs. Am I missing something ?
http://www.software4students.co.uk/Windows_7-software.aspx

XP's gone... I've bought Win 7 upgrade from them, and have installed it onto a clean machine.

and it's student in a very relaxed way... I think even primary school even qualifies.. not that I think they check, as my 'student' had actually finished her course when I bought it. 😳

So, just to clarify this, because I need to have things explained slowly to me...

If I buy

which comes with "No operating system", plus http://www.software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Windows_7_Professional_32_bit_Upgrade_Edition-details.aspx it will all work together ?

It says I need a current valid Windows OS to upgrade, but them it also says I can do a custom install to completely replace an existing OS.

One more question, do I need 32 or 64 bit ?

It's not the software that's 'upgrade', it's the license.

So if you have no OS on a computer, you can't use the upgrade, cos there's nothing to upgrade from.

Upgrading from Vista I think probably just changes some bits of the system. You can still upgrade from Windows 95 I think but it really just wipes your system.

You probably don't need W7 professional btw. Re 64 bit - depends if you have a 64 bit machine. They are the same price so get the one that matches your machine.

So if you have no OS on a computer, you can't use the upgrade, cos there's nothing to upgrade from.

You probably don't need W7 professional

Re 64 bit - depends if you have a 64 bit machine.

If I buy

which comes with "No operating system"

Whoops, that's what happens when I post on two threads and I accidentally copy from one and paste on the other. 😳

[i]"Re 64 bit - depends if you have a 64 bit machine."[/i]
That's what I mean about needing to have things explained to me. Where on
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251310

So, does http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251310 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/259863 look like the best deal for me ?
They only do the 64 bit version, so I take it that's standard for newer PCs and I assume it's better to pay an extra 40p to get SP1 included ?

Comes down to whether you really need it or not

I can't think of a reason to install 32 bit on a 64bit machine. It's not cheaper, is it?

SP1 is free as will all the SPs be, but they are a big download, so whatever you want 🙂

A quick google of the processor name comes up with this:

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42802

Yes, it is 64 bit. PC look good value but I'm not up with the latest bargains - you won't be able to use all that 4GB though if you only install 32 bit...

IIRC Windows 7 discs have both 32 and 64 on them and you chose which to install. Can't find my disc to check. 😳

I can't think of a reason to install 32 bit on a 64bit machine.

I thought W7 disks came with both 32 and 64, but that may only be full retail versions. I'm fairly sure the licence covers both, so you'd just need the media.

As I said above, 64 can actually make performance worse due to the different way it addresses memory

Is this an actually measured fact in real usage, or just a geeky theory? Seem to remember evidence of this was thin on the ground last time we discussed it.

When I bought Vista only the Ultimate version had both disks with it.

I'm sure I've seen numbers, but I'm not searching for it. IIRC Cougar was more up on this than me.

It can also be faster depending on what you're doing, in theory.

Yes you can - ie you can do a clean install - but only so long as you have the install disk for what you're upgrading from

That used to be the case, as above I can confirm a copy of Win 7 upgrade will install onto a clean pc, without requesting any sort of "old version" to confirm the upgrade.
My 32bit "upgrade" disc only came with the 32bit version though, maybe you'd get 32bit with the 64 bit version though... I dunno

Have yet to see that Windows 64bit offers any [u]"real world advantages"[/u], other than memory access (que long technical explaination from Cougar [again] 😉 - which for most of us, is superfluous) .

My 32bit "upgrade" disc only came with the 32bit version though, maybe you'd get 32bit with the 64 bit version though... I dunno

Home basic only comes with 32bit.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-choose-between-32-bit-64-bit-windows-7-operating-systems/

As did my Pro "upgrade" version too, that article is only of any use if you buying the retail version, who's got the money to waste on that? 😉

(que long technical explaination from Cougar [again] - which for most of us, is superfluous) .

Quite. Last time we went into this, the can was opened, worms everywhere.

There is a widely held view that 64 bits are better than 32 bits, presumably because it's a bigger number or something. There's also this,

you won't be able to use all that 4GB though if you only install 32 bit...

... which crops up whenever and wherever this issue is discussed, and whilst it's technically true it's a misleading simplification.

Moving to 64-bit brings some advantages and, currently, some disadvantages. The problem is that we're currently in a position where 4Gb is a very common memory configuration, and it's at this point where it all gets a bit complicated. I don't doubt that there will be a day when everything is 64-bit, but that day isn't today and probably won't be tomorrow either.

My advice would be to go 32 bit unless one of the following is true,

a) you have [i]more [/i]than 4Gb of RAM, or
b) you have a specific reason to go x64.

In the case of b), there's a good chance that if you don't know what those reasons are, then you don't need it. If you ignore this and go x64 anyway, the world won't end.

--

Re: discs, I have a retail copy of W7 Home Premium and that came with both x32 and x64 discs. I was under the impression that this was the case across the board but it looks like the S4S site offer them individually, I'm not quite sure what's going on with that; presumably the Educational stream does something different. Regardless, the licence is good for either variant.

With regards to upgrade versions, Windows 7 expects a fully activated copy of a previous OS, it's not like the old days where you could just whack in CDs (or like one of the old Office versions that recognised its own installation CD as a qualifying upgrade product 😀 ). Using an upgrade disc on a bare machine will install but fail to activate. There's ways around this (a registry change followed by a command-line, er, command to rearm activation) but, well, it's a hack.

I still think that you're better off with a branded machine. For me, I'd be happy spending a couple of days building and tweaking a machine, but I'm a geek; most people would rather get on with the task of playing with their new shinies I'm sure.

What "Shotsaware" said about rebranding is well documented in the white goods industry, I'm not aware of the same thing happening in the PC arena but it wouldn't surprise me if it did. Either way though, you're still getting reliable support rather than a friday night special from someone you've never heard of.

</2p>

My advice would be to go 32 bit unless one of the following is true,

a) you have more than 4Gb of RAM, or
b) you have a specific reason to go x64

Is 32 bit cheaper then?

 

With regards to upgrade versions, Windows 7 expects a fully activated copy of a previous OS, it's not like the old days where you could just whack in CDs (or like one of the old Office versions that recognised its own installation CD as a qualifying upgrade product ). Using an upgrade disc on a bare machine will install but fail to activate.

OK, tbh I haven't activated my version, I've been putting it off with the "slmgr -rearm" command (as I'm undecided as to whether to buy another box) but it does want me to activate it and show every sign that it would, that and Ive used up my last "slmgr" option so I need to re-install or activate it within the next 5 days.

I can confirm a copy of Win 7 upgrade will install onto a clean pc, without requesting any sort of "old version" to confirm the upgrade.

Now that's an interesting statement. Are you [i]sure?[/i] Maybe they've changed it now, then. Hmm.

see previous post... it's definitely installed on a clean hdd, I was expecting something to request a 'previous version check' but nothing came up during the installation, though I've yet to activate it.

The trick with 'upgrading' Win7 is quite easy...

.... install it fully without a key (active for 30 days IIRC).

Then from within the OS, 'upgrade' to the same OS you are running...

Don't enter they key during the installer - it checks the OS you're upgrading FROM. Wait until the new upgraded OS is installed, then put in they key (from within Windows).

The OS knows it's an upgrade - but can't check the previous OS, as it's been overwritten.

Simples.

And the x32 and x64 OS's work with the same installation keys.

Have yet to see that Windows 64bit offers any "real world advantages", other than memory access

Big enough advantage in my book, seeing as 4GB is fast becoming the practical lower limit for new systems that offer any kind of performance beyond web browsing and word processing these days. And memory capacity is only going to go up and up, not down, in the long run. So IMO, best to make the switch to 64bit ASAP. Besides, Macs have been 64bit for quite some time now, and there is a definite performance advantage that's noticable there.

So, does http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251310 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/259863 look like the best deal for me ?

IMO yes Graham, hence I suggested it! 😉 Seriously though, you'll not get better performance for similar money elsewhere, and the Zoostorm PC's are actually very good these days. Ebuyer's backup is also very good should anything go wrong.

Just a word of advice though, the standard integrated Graphics won't be up to much. I don't know what you use your PC for, but if you want to play any HD videos at all, you'll probably want to budget another £25 to £30 for a low end graphics card such as this... [url] http://www.ebuyer.com/product/240886 [/url]

Also, if you use your computer wirelessly, you'll need a wireless network card such as this... [url] http://www.ebuyer.com/product/155641 [/url]

though I've yet to activate it.

Ah, yes. You had me going for a minute. It installs fine, it's activation that will fail.

Sun SPARC's have been 64bit since the 90s... but then again, they're a completely different architecture...

mboy - do you have any test results/evidence for x64 Macs having a 'definite performance advantage that's noticable' over x32? Not trollin', just curious...

Big enough advantage in my book, seeing as 4GB is fast becoming the practical lower limit for new systems that offer any kind of performance beyond web browsing and word processing these days

4GB ought to be enough for anybody.

xiphon, not personally, but some programs such as Final Cut Pro, Logic Studio, Photoshop etc. can require significantly more than 4GB of memory if lots of plugins are being used.

You can request for the program to open in 64 bit mode (rather than just 32) whereby it will help itself to as much of your system memory as it pleases, rather than topping out at 3-4GB. I've seen instances of 100's of plugins being used on a system with 16GB of RAM iirc, and it was munching through the lot!

If 64bit offered no advantages ever, we'd never fit more than 4GB of RAM!

But yes, for the average user, 32 bit is still going to be fine for many years to come.

Did you ever get my email about the Hackintosh by the way? I was in dire need of help at one point, seem to have fixed it all now though. FINALLY got my wireless Vs 4GB RAM issue sorted out (wireless wouldn't work unless I removed 2GB of RAM!)...

640K should be enough for anybody

So, does http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251310 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/259863 look like the best deal for me ?

Just read some of the reviews on the machine, they say it has an ASUS P5G41T-M Motherboard in it. Might not mean a lot to you, but ASUS are top when it comes to Motherboards, so you're getting decent quality there. Also, as it's G41 not G31, the integrated graphics should be fairly reasonable.