Ogden Computers - Tulsa Computer Repair and Maintenance

Debunking “When to Buy a New Computer”

I love new computers and the technological advances that are being made every day both in hardware and software. I spend a lot of time researching and trying out new things. Because of this, you can imagine how many manufacturer’s newsletters I receive. I recently received one from a computer manufacturer explaining that it may be time for you to buy a new computer if the following things are happening:

The computer can’t seem to catch up. When you push a button and the little hourglass appears and seems to stay on the screen forever, it’s a good sign that applications are demanding more processing power and memory than the computer can supply.

the computer crashes a lot. It may make more sense to buy a new machine rather than fix an older computer.

The PC has no room for new software. Rather than purchasing a new hard drive and paying for installation, go for a new PC with loads of storage space.

The operating system doesn’t compute. If installation of a new application is attempted, and the computer reports that it cannot run on the current operating system, that’s a good sign the computer is at the end of its life cycle.

The fan is whirring. When the computer fan starts making loud noises, it could soon fail and take the computer down with it.”

I’m not going to say which manufacturer sent me this email, but I was slightly disheartened by this email. I understand that times are rough, so they are trying to convince people to get new computers, but I prefer the “Don’t go out and blow your money” approach. When I go to set people’s new computers up, sometimes I find that they are replacing an “old computer.” I will always ask what they are doing with it, and many times, the answer is just to throw it out. I offer to recycle the computer for them, and if they accept, then I take it back to my office, clean the drive and donate it to a needy family. In all of this though, I usually find that the computer is in perfect working condition. The programs will boot just as fast as they did when it was originally purchased. The problem most of the time is that people have too much stuff running at the same time, and it just needs to be cleaned.

Let me explain, some people have a trial version of one antivirus software that runs in the background, but because they didn’t want to resubscribe, they purchased a second antivirus program, which will also run in the background. Then they add some bloated spyware program. Then they have tray icons of ten or more other applications that they probably don’t use anymore. All of this causing a 80 processes to boot on Windows XP Home edition (boots around 29 with a fresh boot) causing all kinds of memory lags, giving the user the perception that their computer is slow and outdated. Rather than cleaning up the computer, or having someone else do it for them, they are told that the computer is likely to break and it’s time to replace it. Because many people know little to nothing about computers, they accept this advice and buy a new computer.

In times of prosperity, I can understand doing this. Many people would rather just pay a little more to not have to worry about it, but when times get harder, finding someone to repair a still good computer rather than get a new computer can mean that you get to keep hundreds of dollars.

I’m going to take a moment here to go through these “Reasons to Buy a New Computer,” and let you know if they are good reasons to buy, or just a company’s way to try to profit on the ignorance of their users.

1. The computer can’t seem to catch up. When you push a button and the little hourglass appears and seems to stay on the screen forever, it’s a good sign that applications are demanding more processing power and memory than the computer can supply.

Sometimes, adding more memory, or reducing the amount of processes running can solve this problem. In fact, if you have a computer that has been purchased within the last five years, it is probably capable of running most basic programs. It probably won’t run high end games very well, but for daily use, it should be sufficient. In a situation like this, check which computers you have running on startup (you may have to go into your task manager for this). Also, check how much memory you have. When Windows XP first came out, many systems shipped with 128 or 256mb of memory. By upgrading this amount to 512mb or 1gb, you can usually speed the system up dramatically.

2. The computer crashes a lot. It may make more sense to buy a new machine rather than fix an older computer.

Crashes usually mean that you are trying to pull too much from the computer or that there is something wrong with the operating system. This can usually be solved by backing up your documents, and restoring the system to the default. Yes, you will have to reinstall all the programs you have added since you bought the computer, but sometimes spending a few hours reinstalling software is better than spending $400+ for a completely new system that you would have to do the same thing to anyway.

3. The PC has no room for new software. Rather than purchasing a new hard drive and paying for installation, go for a new PC with loads of storage space.

Hard drives are cheap now. If you go online, you can find deals for 500gb drives for less than $100. If your computer is capable of doing everything you want it to, and does a good job, then maybe you just need to switch your drive out, or add a secondary drive for your files.

4. The operating system doesn’t compute. If installation of a new application is attempted, and the computer reports that it cannot run on the current operating system, that’s a good sign the computer is at the end of its life cycle.

This is one of the few that I would argue that it is time to get a new computer. If you are still running Windows 98, then there are few, if any, new applications that will work with your system. Couple that with the rising need for computer resources, and your system may even be unable to run Windows XP. If this is the case, then it may be time to get something a little newer. On the other hand, if you are not adverse to change, there are many distributions of Linux that are designed to run on older systems. Sometimes you can just shift over to one of these systems to get modern functionality without spending the extra bucks to buy a completely new system.

5. The fan is whirring. When the computer fan starts making loud noises, it could soon fail and take the computer down with it.

There is usually more than one fan in a computer. Some can be replaced with parts that cost less than $10. Spending $400+ for a new computer when it does everything you need it to do makes little sense when you could replace your fans for less than $50 including labor.

So if you are experiencing any of these problems, and are considering getting a new computer, maybe you should have someone check it out first to let you know if you actually need a new computer or not.