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Laptop Users: In general, are they as stable as desktops?

A

Antoneo

Diamond Member
Hey guys,

I have two desktops, one running WinXP and the other one running Win2k. I just got my laptop (IBM T30) running WinXP and it already had problems just trying to boot it up. Twice it did scandisk during the bootup and then greeted me with "Windows has recovered from a serious error" when I got into the desktop. It had a link for more information but it was just a jumble of letters/numbers and of course the more information link contained nothing. Well, my desktops never did this or ever crash... 😕 :|

So do you guys find that your laptops are more or less stable as your desktops?
 
A NEW Notebook? Call Tech Support!

My Inspiron 4100 notebook is extraordinarily stable - well, once I got rid of WinMe (and even then, Dell did "wonders" to make it reasonably stable for a truly crapp O/S).

Once you get it sorted out, remove all the extra "crap" that OEMs install to run in the background - or better yet, do a fresh install of your O/S.
 
They are probably close to the same in terms of reliability. There is one big drawback to laptops, however. This is the fact that it is near impossible to totally custom make one. This is because most all parts are proprietary, and therefore the ability to mix and match hardware is greatly diminished. This is also bad because many Tier1-OEM's (Compaq, HP, etc.) decide for you what software should be installed. This decreases stabilitiy, compatbility, performance, and reliability right off the top. I can't stand all the bloatware that is included with pre-built PC's. As well, the thermal situation inside of a laptop is a lot more complicated than inside your average PC. Poor thermal management on the part of a manufacturer can result in an unstable system. I think it is more likely that one will get an unstable laptop than an unstable desktop, however, it can be done right either way. Do your research and see who has the best track record to avoid pitfalls.
 
Originally posted by: apoppin
A NEW Notebook? Call Tech Support!

My Inspiron 4100 notebook is extraordinarily stable - well, once I got rid of WinMe (and even then, Dell did "wonders" to make it reasonably stable for a truly crapp O/S).

Once you get it sorted out, remove all the extra "crap" that OEMs install to run in the background - or better yet, do a fresh install of your O/S.
Click to expand...
Yeah brand new one, it seems like I always get the lemons 🙁. Well I had to buy it from my school and since its a engineering based college it came with a whole bunch of software (C++, office, autocad, etc.) preinstalled... now what I am wondering if whether IBM installs this at their place or if my school has a bunch of students doing this themselves (I see hints of sysprep around.. not sure if major OEMs use this as well..) I dont see much of IBM bloatware around.. near none in fact except for a a few system check tools. Also, since it is laptop from school, I can't really do a fresh install of WinXP because they havent given me the actual CDs to go with the laptop argggrrr.. Hmm well I can't see any other hints of the laptop failing so far so hopefully those were just some random errors and wont happen again 😱.
 
I have had my latest laptop (Gateway Solo 9300cx) now for almost 1.5 years. It has an Intel PIII M-750, 512 MB of SODIMM, 20 GB HDD, Firewire, DVD, LS-120, etc., etc. It came with 98SE installed - then a free upgrade to ME, and now is running XP-Pro. Contrary to my desktops, this puppy has yet to ever crash, freeze, of hiccup. It is the most reliable machine I have ever had in 24 years of "having." 🙂
 
Well Dell had a big problem with XP and nvidia chips for a while (nv_disp.dll infinate loop) but that's been fixed for a while.

My Inspiron 8100 is stable as can be!
 
If your notebook is like mine - go into BIOS and run ALL the tests. Mine are extensive and exhaustive. They will check everything.
 
IBM thinkpad technical support is second to none. If you had called them, you would have been talking to a tech in less time then it took to post this message.
 
If anything inherently more stable because monkies like us don't get to mix iNTEL, AMD, VIA, SIS, ALI, ATI and nVidia chips all together in haphazard mixes.
 
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