Well,It's getting close to ditching this laptop.A Dell inspiron/1000,maybe 3 years old now.i've upped the ram and really can't upgrade anything else.It has a 15 screen thats still good,the problem is the battery is fried,I have to leave it plugged in all the time.Starting this thing up sucks,system start craps pops up,my kid porned it and gamed it to death.I have 5 viruses that can't be cleaned up with my nod32,I have spybot,spyblaster all that crap thats not working very well(slow).So my first Q is,wheres the best place to get a new battery installed?My second Q is have any of you guys bought a comp at Wallmart?They have the Toshiba's for pretty good prices,i'm not wanting to spend over 1,200 bucks though.When I get a new battery installed I also need this thing re-formatted and I don't know how.What do you guys think?
Oh my kid has a new dell,1,900 bucks worth,to make a long story short I'm not giving delldo any more business.:mad:

#1, there's a nation-wide franchise battery supplier called "batteries plus." You might have one near you.
Batteries Plus - Laptop Batteries : Cell Phone Batteries : Digital Camera Batteries : BatteriesPlus.com, Your Online (http://www.batteriesplus.com/)

#2, I try not to buy anything at The Great Wal Mart.

#3, I used to swear by Toshiba products, and I bought a laptop from them that had a bad heat problem. It died in 18 months, and the fix was going to cost $650. There's a class action suit on it. I'm staying away from them for a while.

#4, I like Dell now, I've had a couple of really good experiences with them in the past year, when everyone else is bashing them.

#6, Compaq/HP make good stuff. Maybe Office Depot or CompUSA has a deal?

#7, There is no #5

#8, I'd suggest getting a professional to clean up your old Dell and run it until it dies.

I want to keep this guy up and running,maybe play with tuning my car a little.I would have to talk to Urb,Rick,WW or heavy to see if its fast enough though.I hear you on the Walmart issue,I pretty much have boycotted Comp USA and Best Buy,I hate friggen rebates.Dells cust service is terrible,my kids comp had a damaged wan port,Dell blamed it on us,if it was caused by plugging in and removing the cable,yep our fault.They wanted 600 bucks to fix it,replacing the mother board.We took it to a comp store,26 dollars to fix.Did I mention we had the laptop 2 hours or so when it happened.I certainly want to keep this as a spare at least.This laptop doesn't have a dvdrw either, just a cd burner and dvd player.I'll try that link later.Thanks

You should be able to get a replacement battery, will probably cost you neighborhood of $60 +/- if you shop around on the Internet. 3 years is pretty good for a laptop, my Toshiba Satellite lasted just under 4 years. I just replaced it with a $500 cheapy from Fry's on line store. I'm happy with it so far.

I suggest you get the new battery and then start fresh with a re-format and restore. Wait a minute, Dell uses straight install CD's, not restore disks, that means you will have to do it the hard way which is better in my opinion but find a friend who is computer savvy who can help you with it.

Good luck!

Actually this comp is old enough that it has a restore disk that supposably puts it back to scratch.My sons new one doesn't have one.I found a store from Elvis's link in Topeka and just sent an E-mail.This comp came with alot of stuff that i've never used,it would be alot faster without the crap on there I think.All good advise,keep it coming.For my main comp I want a more multi media machine I think.Better windows for pics,vids and such.

I will tell you that my opinion is biased as I work for a major computer retailer that you are boycotting and it is not BB. This is only my opinion....

Stay away from Dell, you do not have a face to deal with or help you and they are not providing free fire extinguishers. Get an HP. Sony and Toshiba are great companies and Acer is ok. However, since HP came out with the dv line of laptops they have destroyed the competition and are outselling all of them. Be sure to get one that is Vista capable. If Microsoft actually releases the new OS in January you may want to upgrade. I also recommend the Core Duo processor from Intel. AMD is a strong option as well, but the new Duo is a wise choice.

Software you need. Anti-virus. There are many different versions. Norton is one of the easier ones to use and they stay up to date. The system will come with a trial version, purchase a full version as you will qualify for a rebate with a notebook purchase at that local "major computer retailer". Stay away from the free spyware software, it sucks and a lot of it is actually spyware. My current preference is the Webroot line of products, they work very well. Office, most systems only come with a trial version, purchase the Microsoft Office Student Teacher. It comes with a full version of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook. Watch the ads, it is currently on sale for $110 at that retailer, regular price is $150.

Warranty. The tough choice. Many will disagree, obviously I am biased, but I put them on every laptop my family and I have owned. Ensure you get one that covers the screen, many retailers do not mention that what they sell does NOT cover the screen. Many will also offer a one time battery replacement within the term of the contract. Many manufacturers are limiting what is covered. Plastic is “cosmetic”, the port for the power cord is rarely covered these days if it breaks. Sucks, yes, but it is the reality now. The important thing to know is that any warranty runs in conjunction with the manufacturer’s during the first year. I see issues every week where customers get pissed because they did something that is not covered. Protect your investment so that it is more than a paperweight.

You may also want to get the HP 12 cell battery, it will double the amount of time you can use the laptop. Regular price is $180, but watch the ads, they have been as low as $110. You will need DVDs to burn your restore software. Most notebooks and desktops require you to burn your own these days. This must be done. When you need to restore the laptop someday and you do not have the software, you will need to purchase it from the manufacturer.

Rebates do suck on both ends. But they are the nature of the business now. Many retailers have gone to an on-line entry system. This saves you a ton of time and you do not have to mail much of anything any longer. Some are also doing instant rebates. The reality is, if you want a deal, you will require a rebate.

This may seem like a lot, but it is only the beginning. If you have questions, feel free to PM me and I can give you more detail and specific thoughts and insight if you would like. Do your research before you go into any retailer. I use CNET.com a lot as they provide good information and ratings. Go to the retailer’s websites and bring your research with you. Have a basic understanding of what you want and the purchase will be simple.

Wow,that is alot,very helpfull.I plan on doing this before november,I hope this sucker makes it till then.I'll be looking for sale ads and such between now and then.Comp USA doesn't seem to be as bad about rebates as BB.I just hate seeing prices for X amount and then in small print you see it will cost you an extra 400 bucks to get out of the store.Tiger Direct has ripped me out of rebates and so has 3M(furnace filters)These were online rebates too.

Wow,that is alot,very helpfull.I plan on doing this before november,I hope this sucker makes it till then.I'll be looking for sale ads and such between now and then.Comp USA doesn't seem to be as bad about rebates as BB.I just hate seeing prices for X amount and then in small print you see it will cost you an extra 400 bucks to get out of the store.Tiger Direct has ripped me out of rebates and so has 3M(furnace filters)These were online rebates too.

PM me when you are ready. I will do what I can to help.

On the whole "reboot" it aint too bad, just make sure you have a working OS around. I had to hack a copy of Win 2000 to keep this Dell up for a while. Now it's finally on XP.
Speaking of Lucifer, I mean Satan, I mean the Devil, errr Dell.. Yea, that's the right word. Dell is demonspawn at best. I hate them with a passion. After the driver issues this comp CAME WITH! and the upgrade fiasco on ram.... Lets just say, there was a long time, where I actually threatened this comp with a shotgun, and planned to blow up Dell.
One of the basic Best Buy, or Circuit City laptops can do pretty well. Heck, my laptop is just an old knock-off 1.3 ghz, with a mere 512 ram. It's run the stuff I want it to, aside from Civ 4. Oh, and it'll run LT1 Edit. :)

Another reason not to buy a Delldo
Randy,
I am sorry but a battery for an Inspiron 1000 series is not a laptop battery
we keep in stock. However, it is one that we can order in for you. The
vendor currently has them in stock and your price would be $139.99 plus $7
shipping and handling to get it in, and whatever tax applies. Turnaround
time would be 3-5 business days. The battery will come with a one year
warranty and will need to be charged before you can use it.

Just keeps getting better with Dell for me.I'll spend the bucks to keep this guy running but I feel like i'm taking in a disposable lighter in for repair.I'll try to find a cheaper source but these guys are an hour from me and would service my new battery.

Another reason not to buy a Delldo
Randy,
I am sorry but a battery for an Inspiron 1000 series is not a laptop battery
we keep in stock. However, it is one that we can order in for you. The
vendor currently has them in stock and your price would be $139.99 plus $7
shipping and handling to get it in, and whatever tax applies. Turnaround
time would be 3-5 business days. The battery will come with a one year
warranty and will need to be charged before you can use it.

Just keeps getting better with Dell for me.I'll spend the bucks to keep this guy running but I feel like i'm taking in a disposable lighter in for repair.I'll try to find a cheaper source but these guys are an hour from me and would service my new battery.

Thats actually not a bad price for a battery. They usually run closer to $200. Who is telling you they can service a battery? Can not be done as far as I know. I have never heard that one.

Just a thought - have you checked to see if your battery was recalled? Dell has had some major problems with chargers and batteries.

I don't know what everyone has against Dell but I've never had a problem with them. They've always been very helpfull to me. I had my Dell PC for close to 6 years without any major problems. I had an Iomega zip drive go bad on me about 6 months after my warranty ended (it was a while ago). I called up Dell and they sent me a replacement for free with no questions asked.

As far as the charger and battery problems, those are actually problems from Sony (as they supplied the batteries) and they are causing problems in more than just the Dell computers.

Any way, that's just my .02 worth.

Thats actually not a bad price for a battery. They usually run closer to $200. Who is telling you they can service a battery? Can not be done as far as I know. I have never heard that one.Well,not service per say,i just meant if the new battery went south i could hop in the car and get a new one within the year its under the warranty period.

Hey there Gorilla Pop, you don't like $139, how about theres?

$99 (http://www.pacificbattery.com/dell1000.html)

$89 (http://www.batteries.com/productprofile.asp?appid=364777&CMP=KNC-NT)

$71.99 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000GE5SNO/ref=dp_olp_2/104-3521998-9032759?ie=UTF8)

There may be others, I just did a Goggle search for 5 min and found these.
Check 'em out. :)

Hey there Gorilla Pop, you don't like $139, how about theres?

$99 (http://www.pacificbattery.com/dell1000.html)

$89 (http://www.batteries.com/productprofile.asp?appid=364777&CMP=KNC-NT)

$71.99 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000GE5SNO/ref=dp_olp_2/104-3521998-9032759?ie=UTF8)

There may be others, I just did a Goggle search for 5 min and found these.
Check 'em out. :)
Looks like you just saved me 50 bucks,you the man:worship: :worship: :worship:

Looks like you just saved me 50 bucks,you the man:worship: :worship: :worship:No problem Brother, just make the check out to cash and send it to ....... :cool2:

By the way, if you search a little longer you may find one even cheaper???

My professional opinion.

Stay away from Dell.

Toshiba makes a great laptop. They always have, but they're a little pricey compared to others.

IBM / Lenovo make a great laptop. Very solid and reliable. Again a little pricy but worth it if you don't mind spending the money. I use my IBM G41 ThinkPad everyday.

Acer makes a great laptop. This is what I would go with to save some coin. I just bought my daughter one for school and I can sell you the same deal.

Acer TravleMate
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2300 (2MB L2 cache, 1.66GHz, 667MHz FSB)
1GB (512/512) DDR2 533 SDRAM
120GB hard drive
Integrated Super-Multi drive (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
5-in-1 card reader
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
802.11a/b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN
V.92 modem
Windows XP Pro

$900

Yeah like 4.1 million of them LOL. Let's see, why should I avoid Dell today. Only the largest electronics recall EVER.

There are several reasons here (http://www.comdot.org/)


Just a thought - have you checked to see if your battery was recalled? Dell has had some major problems with chargers and batteries.

My professional opinion.

Stay away from Dell.

Toshiba makes a great laptop. They always have, but they're a little pricey compared to others.

IBM / Lenovo make a great laptop. Very solid and reliable. Again a little pricy but worth it if you don't mind spending the money. I use my IBM G41 ThinkPad everyday.

Acer makes a great laptop. This is what I would go with to save some coin. I just bought my daughter one for school and I can sell you the same deal.

Acer TravleMate
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2300 (2MB L2 cache, 1.66GHz, 667MHz FSB)
1GB (512/512) DDR2 533 SDRAM
120GB hard drive
Integrated Super-Multi drive (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
5-in-1 card reader
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
802.11a/b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN
V.92 modem
Windows XP Pro

$900

Nothing wrong with Acer, you do save money. I sell a TON of them and, knock on wood, rarely have issues. I would feel comforable giving my daughter one to use.

That recall also includes Apple....

Regarding desktops; I have deployed over 100 Acer machines in the last 5 years. So far I've had only one issue 2 days after install. I called my distributor and they had a replacement on my doorstep the next morning, no questions asked and no cost to me. Never had to call support. Never had a problem.

I also did a project where they insisted on Dell. We bought 30 of there business grade desktop and 6 of them were DOA. I replace hard drives in Dell machines all the time.

Nuff said.

Ive ordered a few Dell laptops for customers also. Every time was a bad experience. They give you choices during the order process, you answer them the way you want the machine built and I have yet to see a Dell come through the way it was specked. They just ship you whatever they want to.

No to mention try to buy an upgrade or a part from them. Hah I hope you have about a year to get it. Again, read my rants on comdot.org. There are several.

Have you considered buying a Mac?

If you don't play a lot of games (there are quite a few for the Mac mind, eg the Quake series, Unreal sereis, Command and Conquer, Warcraft and a load more) and don't need to run some specific programme that is only for PCs (ie maybe something from work) then I'd seriously consider it.

If you want it primarily for:

Email
Web browsing
Dealing wtih your digital camera
Editing home movies
Making DVDs
Making a homepage
Music

I think it is the best system to go for.

The operating systrem is much nicer to use, there are currently no viruses or spamware etc.

I used to have PC's for 15 years so it took quite a jump for me to give it a try but now I would never go back.

I'd seriously consider giving it a try.

You can get a nice MacBook for around $1,100 (buy the machine from Apple then buy a RAM upgrade yourself).

Apple - MacBook (http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html)

The only problem with that link about the Dell recall is that it turned out to be all Sony's fault. Dell stock wasn't hurt by it at all. I was seriously considering Sony for my next laptop until that happened.

Two weeks later Apple had to issue the same recall because they used the same Sony batteries. They flew in under the radar. They have better P.R. people. Just watch their commercials, they're the best ones out there.

Toshiba makes a good product, I'm just not sure how durable it is anymore. I've owned four of their laptops and all were outstanding performers. Then the fourth one overheated after 18 months.

http://www.sp6100settlement.com/

From what I read, I would be eligible for maybe $150 IF I had already paid the $650 they wanted to fix it. I bought a Compaq instead.

That whole episode proved to be very costly for me. I missed a very important deadline because of it. And all the accessories I bought for it, like the docking station are useless.

Some good things are being said her. Mac is a great alternative. I'm personally not a big fan of Mac and it will require a small learning curve but they're a great machine.

In regards to Sony, not my first choice. I've heard people call the VAIO an over grown calculator. I don't think Sony is up to speed on computers.

Toshiba's do perform very well in all the tests I've seen but you're right as far as durability. I think that's their week point. Not that they fall apart but they're not as solid as an IBM.

I'd still go Acer. great machine at a great price. Or a Mac

I hate Walmart too butttt.This doesn't look so bad and no rebates.
Toshiba 15.4" Laptop w/ 1.73GHz Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor T2250, Mist Gray - Wal-Mart (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=4982718)