Deciding Whether to Repair a Laptop
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about a crashed laptop, the new iMacs and high-speed data networks from cellphone companies.
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Q: It's the first week of my senior year at college and my [laptop] Windows PC just crashed and died with the blue error screen. I've had my laptop since freshman year, so should I bring it to Best Buy or Circuit City to see if they can replace my hard drive or should I find someone on campus who's a computer genius? Should I get a new computer altogether?
A: What you need to do is get this diagnosed right away, see what's wrong and then make a decision. It doesn't matter if you take it to a store or to a "genius" on campus, as long as they can deduce what's wrong. It could be a number of things, not necessarily a bad hard disk. Once you know the problem, and how serious and costly it might be to fix, then you can decide if you should buy a new PC, assuming you can afford it.
If it does turn out to be the hard disk, and you have important files on there that haven't been backed up, you will also want to find someone who might be able to recover your files and move them to a new disk or a whole new PC.
Q: I am switching from a Windows computer to the Apple iMac. I just read your Sept. 23, 2004, article on the iMac G5. Can I use this article as an information base for buying an iMac, or have there been important changes since then that later articles would bring me up to speed on?
A: While today's iMac looks a lot like the G5 version I reviewed in 2004, there have been huge changes in the machine. Today's version is thinner, faster and more capable, but it actually costs less in most cases. The G5 processor has been retired in favor of dual-core Intel chips. There is now a built-in camera, a remote control and built-in wireless networking. Plus, the new models can run Windows as well as the Macintosh operating system.
Wednesday, Apple announced yet another boost in features and cut in prices on the iMac. All iMacs now have Intel's latest Core 2 Duo processors. The models with built-in 17-inch and 20-inch screens also have twice the memory, but have been cut in price to $1,199 and $1,499, respectively, from $1,299 and $1,699. And there are two new models -- an entry-level 17-inch unit with slightly reduced specs for $999, and a new top-of-the-line model with a huge 24-inch screen and a better video card that goes for $1,999. I have previously called the iMac the best desktop computer on the market, and the fact that you can now get one for $999, and get another with a 24-inch screen, makes it even more attractive.
I haven't reviewed these latest models yet. But my review of the first Intel-based iMac, from January of this year, can be found at:
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20060118.html. This column mostly focuses on the processor switch. A slightly earlier article, from late 2005, focusing more on the overall design and other hardware features, is at:
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20051130.html. Both articles are free.
Q: In your review last week of new laptop cards that connect with high-speed data networks from cellphone companies, you compared the Verizon and Cingular networks, but left out Sprint. Why?
A: I received a batch of emails stating this question, mostly from Sprint employees around the country. The answer is simple: I was reviewing a new type of connection card that fits in a new, smaller slot called the ExpressCard slot, which is showing up in new laptops and which can't accept older cards. So far, these new ExpressCard cellular modems exist for Verizon and Cingular, but not for Sprint, so Sprint was irrelevant to that particular column.
Sprint lagged behind Verizon in launching a high-speed technology called EVDO, and it is also behind Verizon in coming out with ExpressCard data cards. But it plans to move first to a new version of EVDO, called Revision A, that permits faster upload speeds, and it is likely to have an ExpressCard modem, and other types of modems, in the coming months.
苹果iMac的新变化
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者关于笔记本电脑出现问题的解决方法以及苹果(Apple)iMac电脑近来的主要变化等问题。
问：这周是我进入大学四年级的第一周，但是我的Windows笔记本电脑因碰撞出现了蓝屏报错并死机。我自大学一年级就开始使用这个笔记本电脑，现在我应该把它送到Best Buy或Circuit City那儿看看他们能否更换我的硬盘呢？还是在校园里找个电脑天才？或者我是不是该买台新电脑？
答：你现在需要作的是马上对电脑的问题进行诊断、看看到底出了什么问题，然后再作决定。你把它送到商店或者找个“校园电脑天才”都没关系，只要他们能够诊断出电脑的毛病。电脑出现这种状况的原因有很多，不一定是硬盘的问题。一旦你知道症结所在、需要修复的程度以及费用，你就可以决定是否应该买台新电脑了（假设你承担得了这笔费用）。
如果最终发现确实是硬盘出现了问题，并且硬盘里面还有尚未备份的重要文件，你还得找个人帮助你恢复这些文件，并把它们移到新硬盘或者新个人电脑里。
问：我准备把现有的Windows电脑换成苹果iMac。我以前曾读过您关于iMac G5的评论文章。我是否可以用那篇文章作为购买电脑的参考？之后这些机型还有什么大的变化吗？
答：虽然如今的iMac电脑与我之前评论的G5版看上去非常相似，但实际上它们已发生了巨大的变化。现在的机型都比较轻薄，运行速度更快，且运行能力更高。在多数情况下，价格比以前还低。由于英特尔(Intel)双核芯片的诞生，G5处理器已经“退役”。现在的机型中配有内置摄像头、遥控器以及内置无线网卡。另外，新机型可以运行Windows以及Macintosh两种操作系统。
苹果周三宣布了iMac性能新的提高并降低了价格。现在所有的iMac都使用英特尔最新的酷睿2双核(Core 2 Duo)处理器。它配有17英寸及20英寸显示器的两种机型的内存也增加了一倍，但是价格已经分别从原来的1,299美元及1,699美元降至1,199美元及1,499美元。另外苹果还推出了两种新机型：一种是配有17寸显示器、规格略低的入门级产品，价格为999美元，另一种是拥有24寸超大显示屏以及高质量显卡的全新顶级产品，价格为1999美元。我以前曾说过，iMac是市面上最好的台式电脑。现在你花999美元就可以买到一台iMac，而且还可以买到24英寸显示器的iMac，这些都使它更加具有吸引力了。
Walter S. Mossberg
