Upgrade or buy new and file transfer advice please

[Bsuds]

This one is even a better deal for the price and even has a 1 year warranty.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/len ... 0db007en02

[TylerM4]

This one is even a better deal for the price and even has a 1 year warranty.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/len ... 0db007en02

I'm always a little nervous about refurbs, but that's a perfect "Decent performance, nothing fancy" spec'd PC there. Cheap and should last a long time. LOL about the Lenovo label on the graphic!

[Jlabute]

LOL, that's funny. I personally would feel funny with a refurb, but I suppose with this age of machine, they are broken in and proven. Not bad, 50% faster than the J3710 and a 1 year warranty. Wow.
Personally, I would get the brand-new DELL at $499 just because it is newer tech (newer/faster graphics, etc), and the i3-6100 is almost twice as powerful as the 'Intel i5-650'. That's just me though :-)

[godfatherI]

I really appreciate all this good advice! Sometimes on these forums it can get a little cantankerous!!
(Except for the abandoned chickens thread - really enjoyed that one).

It's nice to see knowledgeable gurus getting together to help someone out. This is also good info for anyone else that may be searching.

The refurbished Dell Optiplex 980 SFF that Bsuds recommended seems to be a pretty good machine for what we need
and the price is reasonable. It comes with a keyboard/mouse - my monitor is fairly new so no need to replace.

It has more storage than I'll ever need, but I do have a huge picture library (family stuff and scans of old photo albums).
10 USB ports too!!! I also liked the idea of a 1 year warranty. The refurbisher is Microsoft authorized and it comes with a valid version of Windows 10 (with certificate).

My current machine is 7 years old, 32 bit, 2.4 ghz - works fine, just outdated browser, so I can keep it as a backup with the files that are on it; it still has over 100 gb file space on it. .

Would prefer to get a hands on look, but I should check Best Buy to see if they have a similar new one in the store that I can take a look at. I'm not sure if I could handle the crush on Black Friday; sometimes the deals are good but limited stock. You never know - maybe a sympathetic sales person could give me a heads up on what may be coming on special.

Should know one way or another by mid week so will come back and let you know.

Thanks again for all the good input - it is VERY much appreciated!!!

[forum]

Don't forget to ask Best Buy to give you a look at a Chromebook.

Google provides unlimited photo and video storage.

[Quixote]

godfatherI, BestBuy won't have those in Optiplex 980 SFF in store as they're not actually sold by BestBuy. The (first generation) i5-650 in the Optiplex 980 SFF is around 6 years old. The ThinkCentre I mentioned earlier (direct link to it here is $25 cheaper, around 2-3 years newer, has a has a 15-month warranty and is around 30% faster.

[godfatherI]

Hi Quixote,
Thank you for that link. I went ahead and ordered the Dell earlier today, so should know fairly soon if it was the right machine.
Have never purchased a refurbished pc before, so we'll see how it goes. The machine ships from the refurbisher in Burnaby, directly to me, but they do offer a 30 day money back gurarantee. Usually if something goes wrong, even with a new machine, it should happen pretty quick.

I just wanted to have a look at some new Dells to get an idea of how they work. The Presario is pretty quiet even after 7 years; no noisy fan or humming. Just hoping the transition from using Vista to Windows 10 doesn't give me a headache. Used a MAC at work and it was easier to adapt to the differences than I expected. Never too old to learn.

Will post an update when the machine arrives - should be here within a week or so.

Thanks for the information.

[Bsuds]

It might be a good idea to not transfer too many of your files until you have tested and used it awhile. Like you said if there is going to be a problem it will show up fairly soon. Make sure it's stable first.

[just popping in]

I purchased a refurbished from Staples last year and have had no problems with it whatsoever, saved me a lot of money.

[Symbonite]

Personally Refurb should be called Re certified from the factory. That Dell with the one year warranty is recertified by Dell to resell because they have went over it with all their tools to make sure everything is working. Same as buying new but because the box was open onced they can not legally sell it as new. And thats what it is...most likely someone open the box put it back in the box and sent it back because of any reasons maybe did not even turn it on.

but beware. Open box computers are different. Iv seen staples have open box stuff which means someone sent it back to staples and they wiped the machine and reboxed it. but it has not been looked at by the manufacture but by the techs at said place.

Personally I would look into a custom built machine. even the cheapest custom built one is fine, but the advantage is that you get all the disks with it. Motherboard disk and Windows Disk. it will be more expensive than the pre built stuff out there but those disks are worth its weight in gold.....somtimes....

[godfatherI]

Thank you Symbonite!

I am waiting for the machine to arrive; was supposed to be here tomorrow but the eta has been changed to Tuesday.
Thought it was being shipped from the coast, but tracking says from Ont. (UPS). Will carefully inspect the carton before signing to make sure it hasn't been damaged.

Agree completely with having a CD for OS and programs - still have my original CD for Office 2003 (don't laugh - still using that version today). Now you buy a card and download - then pay a yearly fee. So what happens today if you buy a one pc license, and you have to do a re-install if the machine needs reformatting for whatever reason?

On the used unit, it did say it has slight scratches/scuffs on the case, so assume this was purchased and returned to the store at some point. Doesn't really matter if it looks shiny and new, just want one in good working order!

My saga continues! Waiting for Tuesday.

[godfatherI]

The pc arrived yesterday, but didn't have a chance to do much other than to open the box and read the warranty card/set up instructions. The first order of business tomorrow will be to start-up and validate the Windows OS, then I'm sure there will be a plethora of updates to download from M/Soft.

Won't attempt any file transfers, software installs, until it looks like everything is running properly and all updates done.
Went to Best Buy and apparently a USB to USB cable isn't available; and I really don't want to attempt to remove the HD from the old machine and install it in the new machine as a second drive. It would make the file transfer easier, but it's not something I want to even try.

Bought MS Office for later install. For file transfers - a Lexar 64gb S45 jumpdrive (USB 3.0); it was just under $20.00, and it's so tiny! About as big as a thumbnail. Technology changes so fast, as I look at my old 20 lb platinum external drive that I have used for back-ups.

Was told to expect a few hours of downloads for all the updates! We'll see how things progress.

[Bsuds]

So what happens today if you buy a one pc license, and you have to do a re-install if the machine needs reformatting for whatever reason?

Without getting too technical they have ways of knowing the computer had Windows before and you just download it and install.

I hope it's all going relatively smooth for you.

[TylerM4]

Without getting too technical they have ways of knowing the computer had Windows before and you just download it and install.

I hope it's all going relatively smooth for you.

True so long as you are not using a OEM license. Over 70% of consumer PCs are running OEM windows licensing. OEM license cannot be transferred which is the main reason why it's significantly cheaper than a regular license.

[godfatherI]

Hi Bsuds,

Thanks for checking in with me.
The initial set-up of the Dell was relatively easy. It is quiet and goes to sleep after 15 minutes. Defender is basically the same program/window as MSE & upgrades on its own. OS has already downloaded some MS updates but they were quick; so maybe any large updates were done when the machine was refurbished. I have kept the set-up instructions and wrote down the MS license number as the one on the sticker required a magnifying glass when having to input to machine.

Got a M/soft account and used the office 365 subscription and have 13 mths before renewal.

Until I can get Outlook going, am just using the Win10 mail. Fairly decent but was used to "bold" unread messages,
not a skinny blue line on the side; my eyes ain't what they used to be.

Printer will not print an email from Microsoft (to confirm subscription). PC recognizes printer, downloaded win10 driver from Canon for 64 bit; even printed a test page but no luck with the email message. Will see if it will print another message.

My speakers do not work on this machine. Speakers are plugged into a box and main plug goes into pc - nada, zip!
Just getting sound from the Dell, although the quality is quite different. Reminds me of listening to the old car radio with the single speaker in the front dash panel.

Edge - OK but having a tough time trying to figure out how to import my favourites. They were on old machine and had all the files copied onto the jumpdrive, then to new machine - in the downloads folder. I can open them from there, but that would mean opening, then saving to favourites. There is an import from Explorer feature on Edge but doesn't give me the option of importing from the actual folders on the HD.

Same scenario with contacts - they are all in my download folder under contacts. If all goes well, I should be able to import to Outlook when I get that set-up. Don't want to try that with the win10 mail as I prefer to use Outlook.

Need to buy another jumpdrive to create something like the old boot disk, before I get too far ahead, just in case something goes wrong. My old back up HD is USB 2.0 and has all the backups from the old machine, so may need to invest in a newer smaller external drive that I can leave connected to do regular backups. There are so many - any recommendations for something reasonable? Seagate?

Skype will probably be next (if I can remember my password).