Computer Related > Refurb laptops Computing Issues
Thread Author: Stuu Replies: 22
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New Sun 3 Jul 11 23:53 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
Whats the deal with refurbed laptops - any good?

Ive just about given up on mine altho it is from that which I type ( deleting that malware thing seems to have givne me a short respite ).

Im loath to spend money I dont have but crikey ill have to do DIY if I cant get online!!! Help!
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 00:02 
 Refurb laptops - RattleandSmoke
Yours can easily be fixed, if the worst comes to the worst a local technician should easily be able to fix your laptop. Will cost anything between £30-£70 depending on their rates and how bad the viruses and other issues are.

If there is no backups to worry about many will reinstall for £40-£45, or do a full backup and reinstall for £60. Although I would be wary if that that is their first method of trying to fix it.

I personally would not bother with a refurb laptop, unless it is a business class one (which are much better built).
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 4 Jul 11 at 00:02
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 00:07 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
The tech guys reckon they can tell me over the phone how to reinstall Vista, Im just loath to do that, then find out it hasnt solved the problem.

I seem to have exchanged unreliable cars ( Ignis is perfect ) for an unreliable laptop. If I fix that, could be the wife next :-)

Im rather underwelmed by the idea of some muffin I dont know poking about my laptop which has quite likley just about every piece of info of use about me on it. Maybe im a cynic but still.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 08:05 
 Refurb laptops - Zero
Dont buy a refurb laptop, they dont refurb well, and they are not sold at refurb prices.

In the mean time, get all the stuff off the laptop you need to assuming it needs a reload. A reload - a good one with a nice new MBR and low level format, is never a bad thing.

I am up your way in two weeks time for a couple of three days, if you are still knacked by then drop me a line.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 4 Jul 11 at 08:09
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 09:24 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
On my laptop it has this HP recovery thing - mentions formatting etc, its on D drive, is that what I need to start again?

Cheers chaps!
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 13:49 
 Refurb laptops - spamcan61
>> On my laptop it has this HP recovery thing - mentions formatting etc, its on
>> D drive, is that what I need to start again?
>>
Yeah there will alomst certainly be a utility on the D: drive that wipes the C: drive and re-installs the SW back to factory condition.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 18:08 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
Im a big girl and Im too scared to push the button!

If there are any bugs on the system, what happens to them? I know some cannot be removed by doing this, but silly me, im wondering 'where they go' when you wipe it :-) idle curiosity!
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 18:18 
 Refurb laptops - Zero
>> Im a big girl and Im too scared to push the button!
>>
>> If there are any bugs on the system, what happens to them?

it depends on the bugs. Anything other than a root kit that infects the MBR will be destroyed by a format. Harpic stuff, destroys 99% of all known germs.

For the rare others that live in the rim of the MBR, you can write a new one, using a utility or fdisk.

I think your recovery mechanism built in wont write a new MBR.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 18:21 
 Refurb laptops - RattleandSmoke
Indeed it won't, if you write a new MBR from the recovery console, you do destroy the option to boot into the recovery partition sadly.

There is also the risk of the rootkit modifying the the recovery files, which is why I always prefer to use the CD based media.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 09:26 
 Refurb laptops - Dog
How's about this one with a 1 year guarantee and a 14 day no quibble returns policy.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-X5DC-SX025V-15-6-LED-LCD-250GB-HDD-Laptop-Windows-/200565655612?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item2eb2a5083c
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 15:35 
 Refurb laptops - Victorbox
>> How's about this one with a 1 year guarantee and a 14 day no quibble
>> returns policy.

Intel Celeron D220 1.2Ghz !! Not worth even £100 secondhand. They were sub-£300 new and didn't get a good review then: tinyurl.com/3cbll58


Last edited by: Victorbox on Mon 4 Jul 11 at 15:39
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 15:39 
 Refurb laptops - Zero
>> How's about this one with a 1 year guarantee and a 14 day no quibble
>> returns policy.

£270 quid? For 80 quid more I can get a real one. Thats an outrageous price.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 15:53 
 Refurb laptops - Bromptonaut
We'd looked at refurbs for Mrs B. Rationale was that a refitted business machine might be a way round the netbook or 15.6inch 'consumer' laptop dichotomy. The former lack power and capacity to show DVD in the classroom, the latter are a bit big!!

No joy. Refurbs offered by Morgan and others were, pretty much without exception, poor value in terms of processor HDD capacity and memory. Some had issues with US keyboard as well.

Will have another look after the hols but I think we'll just have to cope with the bulk/weight issues around the 15.6inch jobby.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Mon 4 Jul 11 at 15:53
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 15:56 
 Refurb laptops - Stuartli
E-buyer's current e-mail offers includes this upgraded CPU HP model:

www.ebuyer.com/product/257135

I bought a Lenov B560 4330 i5 from Dabs for £430 a month ago (plus an excellent carry case and optical mouse for an extra £10), but they've sold out of the laptop. The case and mouse can still be bought for that price:

www.dabs.com/products/techair-15-6--messenger-case-mouse-7824.html

However, BT Business (which now owns Dabs) seems to have some left:

tinyurl.com/3uqe8t3

It's basically a business machine, so there's no HDMI port for example, which didn't bother me. However, it's a very well made piece of kit.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 15:58 
 Refurb laptops - Mapmaker

>> bought a Lenov B560 4330 i5 from Dabs for £430 a month ago (plus an excellent carry
>>case and optical mouse for an extra £10), but they've sold out of the laptop. The case
>>and mouse can still be bought for that price:

OP asks for a computer, so Stuartli tells him where to buy a bargain case. ;)

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New Mon 4 Jul 11 16:02 
 Refurb laptops - Stuartli
>>OP asks for a computer, so Stuartli tells him where to buy a bargain case. ;)>>

Do try reading the post in full.......

BT doesn't offer the case and mouse.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 17:11 
 Refurb laptops - RattleandSmoke
If you want something to just tie you over then get a netbook, because the chassis ins't always bending and twisiting they tend to last a longer, especially if you get one with an SSD. The atom processor doesn't generate too much heat either.

A full size laptop second hand is pointless, if the hard drive doesn't fail the thermal paste will causing it to overheat, and if that doesn't happen the DC jack will need replacing or the screen will fail.
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 18:10 
 Refurb laptops - RattleandSmoke
What operating system do you have Stu?
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 18:23 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
Er... 32 I think, that sound right?
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New Mon 4 Jul 11 19:53 
 Refurb laptops - Dog
>>Intel Celeron D220 1.2Ghz !! Not worth even £100 secondhand<<

>>For 80 quid more I can get a real one. Thats an outrageous price<<

I'll butt out (shut up) then, as Judge Judy would say, just that I thought ASUS were the Bee's knees'
and my bro bought a refurb earlier in the year.
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New Tue 5 Jul 11 01:31 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
Just found another bug on the system that MalwareBytes didnt find, but MSE did after a huge 6 hour full scan.

Im just curious what it is: TrojanDowloader;Java/Openstream.AP

It classifies it as severe - what is it, could it have been causing any issues?
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New Tue 5 Jul 11 08:28 
 Refurb laptops - Zero
Nah its not severe, it is as the name suggests a Java exploit, and would be killed by the latest java update.

But do stop mucking about

Push the button.
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New Tue 5 Jul 11 11:10 
 Refurb laptops - Stuu
Well, I pushed the button. Nothing of note happened. I was hoping atleast for a firework or something.
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