Anyone haev any thoughts on refurbished machines?

etalns

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2001
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I'm thinking of buying a refurbished machine because I found one quite cheap, and I was wondering if anyone had any general feedback about them? I'm going to buy it from Future Shop (a company owned by Best Buy up in Canada).

Do I run a much higher risk of it dying on me if I buy a refurbished as opposed to a new machine?
 

AlgaeEater

Senior member
May 9, 2006
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Retail refurbished = Ok.

Online refurbished = Not Ok.

This is from my experiences in the past with refurbished machines. Retail operators run more of a risk dealing with unhappy or aggrivated customers if the machines break down. Even if there's a disclaimer saying that "Machines are only guranteed for 30 days", retail refurbished machines always usually have the "least" amount of defects. Most of the time, it's a bad component that they simply swapped out of a perfectly otherwise working machine. Also, cosmetically, retail refurbished is usually quite clean.

As for online refurbished... I've had horror stories I rather not say.

EDIT:

I also forgot to mention. Manufacturer refurbished equipment is the best you can possibly buy when it comes to anything. For example: HP refurbished printers are as good as a brand new one. If the machine or part is refurbished by the "store" that is selling it, I would be a bit more cautious.
 

n7

Elite Member
Jan 4, 2004
21,281
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I'd say risk is certainly higher, though how much is hard to say.

Just an FYI though: HP refurbs @ FS seem to be commomly DOA or have DOA parts alot...so check it out thoroughly before your 14 days return policy is up.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
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Originally posted by: AlgaeEater
I also forgot to mention. Manufacturer refurbished equipment is the best you can possibly buy when it comes to anything. For example: HP refurbished printers are as good as a brand new one. If the machine or part is refurbished by the "store" that is selling it, I would be a bit more cautious.

Also keep in mind that a lot of used computers sold by the manufacturer were never broken to begin with. IBM, for example, leases their computers to companies then sells the computers on their website when the lease is up. They're still relatively expensive, but I would take a used IBM over a new Compaq any day of the week.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
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I should probably add that it's a bad idea to think of getting some kind of refurbished laptop. A desktop computer is built like a tank; you can throw it around and it will still work. A laptop is a delicate machine that is ridiculously easy to break, and hard to fix.
 

etalns

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2001
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The reason I'm looking for a refurbished is because I bought a new one with Windows Vista a week or so ago and when I tried to put Windows 2003 Server on it the machine slowed down to a snail's pace. It would tkae about 15 minutes to boot into Windows, and when I tried to format it again and re-install the OS it just crawled through the install process.

Are Vista machines unable to go back to Windows 2003 server with much ease? or was that a problem with that desktop in particular?

Thanks for all of the feedback! :)
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
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Originally posted by: Qosis
The reason I'm looking for a refurbished is because I bought a new one with Windows Vista a week or so ago and when I tried to put Windows 2003 Server on it the machine slowed down to a snail's pace. It would tkae about 15 minutes to boot into Windows, and when I tried to format it again and re-install the OS it just crawled through the install process.

Are Vista machines unable to go back to Windows 2003 server with much ease? or was that a problem with that desktop in particular?

Thanks for all of the feedback! :)

Your computer is screwed, it's not the operating system. Server 2003 is basically just Windows XP with some added features. Maybe start a new thread about this and we'll figure out what the problem is.