Hardware and Software Discussion, For bragging about your PC, or if your 'puter is misbehaving. Options

[mALX]

Speaking of which - I just got my PC back from the shop. They copied all my files onto an external hard drive thingy (375 gig). They were supposed to put them back on the PC when I got it back but had not done it. When I complained they said I could do it myself or leave it another few days (after I drove over an hour to get to their shop).

I took the PC and external drive - but don't know how to get my files back on there.

Then, the PC was filthy and filled with dust when they handed it to me. I said, "What's this? Why didn't they clean it when they were working on it?"

They said I didn't ask them to. So I told them to CLEAN IT !! I had to wait another half hour, they give it back to me, and as I am carrying it out, the case falls off. They didn't put the screws back into the case. I had to bring it back in, and they said, "Oops!"

Geek Squad, people. Take it as a warning.

[TheOtherRick]

Speaking of which - I just got my PC back from the shop. They copied all my files onto an external hard drive thingy (375 gig). They were supposed to put them back on the PC when I got it back but had not done it. When I complained they said I could do it myself or leave it another few days (after I drove over an hour to get to their shop).

I took the PC and external drive - but don't know how to get my files back on there.

Then, the PC was filthy and filled with dust when they handed it to me. I said, "What's this? Why didn't they clean it when they were working on it?"

They said I didn't ask them to. So I told them to CLEAN IT !! I had to wait another half hour, they give it back to me, and as I am carrying it out, the case falls off. They didn't put the screws back into the case. I had to bring it back in, and they said, "Oops!"

Geek Squad, people. Take it as a warning.

My mother uses her computer for work. She has a monster that I drool over every time I am at her house. She is a graphic artist for a company that makes beach towels, boogie boards, beach chairs and umbrellas, etc., so her computer is her life. She took it to The Geek Squad (she bought the machine from Best Buy and paid for the best warranty available) and they had the machine for 3 WEEKS!

Bottom line...Best Buy and The Geek Squad are pure crap for buying and servicing computers. I'll never buy an in-store pre-built computer again.

[Thomas Kaira]

Speaking of which - I just got my PC back from the shop. They copied all my files onto an external hard drive thingy (375 gig). They were supposed to put them back on the PC when I got it back but had not done it. When I complained they said I could do it myself or leave it another few days (after I drove over an hour to get to their shop).

I took the PC and external drive - but don't know how to get my files back on there.

Then, the PC was filthy and filled with dust when they handed it to me. I said, "What's this? Why didn't they clean it when they were working on it?"

They said I didn't ask them to. So I told them to CLEAN IT !! I had to wait another half hour, they give it back to me, and as I am carrying it out, the case falls off. They didn't put the screws back into the case. I had to bring it back in, and they said, "Oops!"

Geek Squad, people. Take it as a warning.

Now you can advise with experience. NEVER EVER EVER let the Geek Squad look at your computer. They have no clue what they are doing and their work ethic SUCKS. No professionalism whatsoever.

When it comes to computer maintenance, I always always always DIY. Either that, or let a trusted source look at it, and to earn my trust with my machine takes a lot of work; currently only two people have it (my step-father and his true son).

@mALX: For getting all the data off the hard drive, you will need a program like Symantec Norton Ghost, which is a disc cloning/imaging tool. I can't advocate which one supports Vista best, but if you were on XP, I would suggest 2003. Ghost 2003 has practically never let me down (though the Ghost brand has taken a dive in recent years.

What you should do, however, is go back, demand to speak with their manager if need be, and get them to give you your data back. That's personal info; you can sue if they refuse.

EDIT: It is also possible to clone your disc in Linux. If you can get your hands on a copy of Ubuntu Linux 10.04, I can help you through the procedure there. I recommend getting a version you can boot from a disc; that way you don't have to screw around with partitions on your hard drive.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 20 2011, 10:38 PM

[Olen]

DIY is all very well if you know what you're doing but with more advanced things it takes a while (and mistakes) to learn. I wouldn't recommend learning on a computer which has data you need.

Before I did this stuff myself I found tiny little computer shops were the best. The ones which aren't part of a chain can't afford lots of advertising so rely on word of mouth and customers returning. They're not as cheap, but they do sort things out. Just ask around for recommendations.

Failing that find someone who knows, but give them something for their time (booze is a good bet, here at least). Once people think you know computers you get asked quite a lot, it's a lot easier to give an explaination you know is useless than to actually fix it.

[treydog]

When I worked at the Computer Store at the University, we tried to always give people their money's worth. Helped that we were "cost-recovery" rather than "for-profit".

Do not know how close you are to Knoxville- or if the Computer Store still does repairs. But I would trust them.

Another alternative would be to see if a nearby technical school or community college with a Computer Science program could do the work...

I did my classes at Pellissippi State- and look where I am today! Drooling in a corner... no, wait.

Actually one of their former students is the head of IT for the Mercedes plant in Birmingham. So---

[Thomas Kaira]

Just in case you weren't already convinced these guys are trouble... here's a few more tales.

One of them should look familiar to you, mALX...

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 21 2011, 12:55 AM

[mALX]

They sent me home with my files on something called "My Passport Essential 320 GB - thingy - but I had to pay retail cost for it, of course. But I'm not sure how to get the files off it. He said, "just stick them on your desktop in a folder and just go in and out of that folder whenever you need anything from your old files."

The thing is, when I was dropping it off, they said they would put it on this device for storage, then when my PC was fixed they would put all the info back on. I believed them, because that is exactly what Acadian's shop did for him when he brought his PC in for upgrades.

I had to re-install my email, internet access, printer, scanner, etc. - that meant digging through my house and finding the old discs for everything (thank goodness I had everything in one place.

They said they restored my PC to its original new state (which had a bunch of 6 month free trial stuff on it - including Norton anitivirus, which is almost like giving yourself a virus in itself). They deleted all access to the 6 months free, but left Norton on the PC - even though they all carry "Norton removal tools" on a thumbdrive around their necks. I asked him to take it off, he said no. He said I had to go home and do it myself, that they didn't do that out of hand without an order for it. I said ... But you are the one that put it on there! GAAAAH !!!

My son said if my PC was food, the geek squad would have spat in it before giving it back to me. (because I was getting very ticked off).

@ Treydog - Is the PC shop you are talking about on the UT campus? (Where? - pant, pant) - UT is like an hour away, I know most of the campus though. (well...I know the strip, UT hospital, the Vet hospital, and 17th street - Ft. Sanders Hospital, lol). I may or may not have climbed a telephone pole on a dare on the strip at one point in my early twenties ... not admitting to anything though.

[Thomas Kaira]

:facepalm:

You have left me well and truly speechless with horror. "Just put the files on a folder and drag the ones you want off to the desktop?" I need to shoot that bozo right now.

mALX, take it from me, do not return to the Geek Squad, ever. If I received my PC back with Norton on it, I would have marched straight back and demanded it be removed with much vigor and anger. That thing is such a resource hog and is so difficult to remove it's like a malignant tumor.

You still have the external drive they put all your data on, right? I suggest finding someone who knows his stuff (ask around, they rely on word of mouth for business), and have him figure out what's on that external disc. Afterwards, if all looks well there, have him WIPE your hard drive as it is now to EVISCERATE Norton with extreme prejudice, and clone the contents of the external drive back onto your disc. However, I still fear for you. Knowing the geek squad, they may have screwed that up, too.

Really, how hard is it to run a simple disc clone? It only takes about an hour or two.

I beg this of you mALX, never ever ever ask the Geek Squad for help again. They'll just take your problem and make it ten times worse. They are a horrible blight on the computer market and deserve to die a slow and painful death.

[King Coin]

I didn't like the Geek Squad just because they are Best Buy but they sound truly terrible.

If you need to find a place I recommend just getting on google maps and typing "computer repair near [your town and state]" I did that for my town and I found lots of small places.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Mar 22 2011, 06:22 PM

[treydog]

Apparently the Computer Store (in the Student Center) does not do much PC repair anymore. They use PCS Computers, located in Louisville. (Literally within walking distance of where I grew up).

Anyway- to echo the above- generally smaller shops are better. But how do you know until you have had an experience with one of them? In future, you might ask small businesses/professionals you frequent who they use and are they happy with service. Every office has computers now- and someone has to be maintaining them.

Really sorry for your experience, mALX. Even though I am more a "hobbyist" than a technician, it gives all computer repair a black eye to have someone treat you like that.

[mALX]

I've been up all night. I loaded in Oblivion, then (just copied) files from that external hard drive into the Data folder. So far - I still have Maxical and Shivani (YEAH!) - but the "Ring of Console" is not working. That means I can't access the console anymore. I can still get that mod at TESNexus though. The basic instincts mod is working well. (haha).

The Pirates and Werewolves mods are not working. Shivani appeared in the Tiber Septim hotel. (I'll live with that).

I had to reinstall EVERYTHING - email, internet connection, printer, scanner, Kaspersky Antivirus, had to re-register everything including my word docs before it would let me on to them. It was ridiculous.

Each one of those things has a code you have to have to re-register them, so I had to dig all through the house to find the original paperwork with those codes on it - and the codes are glued onto the little white paper disc covers, not always in great shape when you find them. GAAAAAH !!!

The good news is, Maxical is still Maxical, and Shivani is still Shivani !!! WOO HOO !!!


@ TK - Oh, the Geek Squad had def lost me as a customer after this crap. They used to be very good here, but all the people I always dealt with are gone now. The ones that have taken their place don't know, don't care that they don't know, and could give a crap about the customer in general.

I agree totally that Norton is like a malignant tumor, you can't get rid of it once it is in and it drains the life blood from your PC. Kaspersky is quit a drainer too, but at least it doesn't crash your PC. Wait, my PC did just crash! GAAAAH. It'll be Trend Micro for me from here on out, never had a problem with them.

@ Treydoggie - The closest PC shop to me (that I could find) was around Callahan and I-75. I went in there and they sell PC's that they have repaired (supposedly) - my PC ran better than any of them when it was crashing. Everyone of them was filthy - I decided to drive the whole [censored] way to Best Buy - which is like ALMOST as far west as you can get and still be in the ANNEXED part of Knoxville. I found another small one (before going to Best Buy) over in the middle of town Merchants & Clinton Hwy - their shop was clean, but they didn't have a single gamer in there, and when I asked a few questions (that I know the possible or probable answers to) - the guy kept saying, "A yuk...der...I dunno." - which is why I went to Best Buy, lol. - I would LOVE to find one that handles gamers, but I'm sure that is just dreaming, lol. I would settle for someone that knows the case gets screwed shut at this point.

@ King Coin - Oh, that is a great idea. I may need to find a way to rate them though - maybe just go in and ask them how many Geek Squad's does it take to screw the case on a PC - (answer: none, because they forget it needs them to stay together....gaaaah !!

@ Olen - DIY is out for me. I already pictured that. Forgetting to unplug the PC before sticking a screwdriver in was the least of it. Trying to vacuum the dust out and having the metal vacuum cleaner nozzle sucking the motherboard into pieces while the PC is plugged in - that was about when my thoughts of doing it myself hit a big NO!!! GAAAAAH !!! Lol, and my vision of how I would do was probably as accurate as it would be if I tried.


@ Rick - Three weeks! They had mine one and I became a surley monster. If your mother goes on a nice vacation and leaves you minding the shop - I'll bet she comse back to find Oblivion on her PC, lol.

This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 21 2011, 03:31 PM

[TheOtherRick]

@ Rick - Three weeks! They had mine one and I became a surley monster. If your mother goes on a nice vacation and leaves you minding the shop - I'll bet she comse back to find Oblivion on her PC, lol.

LOL....I already have it on her machine. But I don't get to play it much there. She usually has it balled up with her work. Plus, she won't let me put mods on her machine. She is uber-tight when it comes to downloading ANYTHING on her computer. I told her I could bring it over on a flash drive instead of downloading anything...but....

[mALX]

@ Rick - Three weeks! They had mine one and I became a surley monster. If your mother goes on a nice vacation and leaves you minding the shop - I'll bet she comse back to find Oblivion on her PC, lol.

LOL....I already have it on her machine. But I don't get to play it much there. She usually has it balled up with her work. Plus, she won't let me put mods on her machine. She is uber-tight when it comes to downloading ANYTHING on her computer. I told her I could bring it over on a flash drive instead of downloading anything...but....

Lol, I can see it now...she gets up from the PC to use the rest room and hears mysterious noises coming from her home office. "For the Empire!" "CLACK CLACK!" "I've fought mudcrabs more fiercesome than you!"

[King Coin]

@ King Coin - Oh, that is a great idea. I may need to find a way to rate them though - maybe just go in and ask them how many Geek Squad's does it take to screw the case on a PC - (answer: none, because they forget it needs them to stay together....gaaaah !!

Quite frankly... it sounds like anything at this point would be better than the Geek Squat. Small places need to do their job well because they can't afford to piss off customers. Best Buy is big enough that pissing off everyone doesn't really hurt them. (At least not right away)

I use McAffee anti-virus. It seems to do well.

[mALX]

@ King Coin - Oh, that is a great idea. I may need to find a way to rate them though - maybe just go in and ask them how many Geek Squad's does it take to screw the case on a PC - (answer: none, because they forget it needs them to stay together....gaaaah !!

Quite frankly... it sounds like anything at this point would be better than the Geek Squat. Small places need to do their job well because they can't afford to piss off customers. Best Buy is big enough that pissing off everyone doesn't really hurt them. (At least not right away)

I use McAffee anti-virus. It seems to do well.

I never had a problem with Trend Micro as far as coverage on my PC went - it did a great job. The company made one of their products obsolete while I was using it once, and I got into a big huff with them over it because I still had 6 months left on my subscription. They didn't want to upgrade me to their new product unless I bought it first - which I refused to do because I knew down the road they would short me the 6 months I had already paid for.

We argued back and forth for a month before they upgraded my service, and I refused to go back with them after that. However, seeing as I've tried all the others and their products aren't near as good as Trend Micro - I am willing to try them again. I got it for the new laptop - just have to wait for the Kaspersky to end in like 233 days before the PC's get it.

[King Coin]

My Intel i7 2600 and Gigabyte P67A-UD3-B3 motherboard have arrived! Just waiting for the new memory to come in now!

[Thomas Kaira]

Keep in mind you will need to re-install your OS if you perform a MoBo upgrade, King Coin.

[King Coin]

Time to hunt down that external HD then.

[mALX]

I had some mod files GHOST'd on Wrye-Bash when my PC went to the shop a while back. They transferred all my files to an external drive, then just handed me that and told me to put them back on my PC by myself. (after charging me for the external drive).

I put the Wrye-Bash files back where they were originally in the Oblivion/Oblivion Data/ and Desktop - but Wrye-Bash and Boss won't open - they are trying to reinstall instead. My mod list is showing in Boss, but the files that were GHOST'd are all missing except a few misc. files from some, the .esp's from others.

Does anyone know how I can recover GHOST'd files from Wrye-Bash under these circumstances?



** IF I can't recover them, (after I am done crying and smashing my PC) - I plan to "Uninstall" and then "reinstall" Oblivion to start with a clean slate again (since for some ODD reason my landscape has all disappeared and my character is running around on a green and purple rubber mat suddenly).

Is this hard to do? Can anyone give me tips (step-by-step instructions would be welcomed and appreciated) on how to do it?

Thanking in advance for any help !!

[Thomas Kaira]

Could you get a screenshot of the problem? Purple(ish) landscape can take several forms and there are multiple reasons for it occurring.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 28 2011, 05:42 AM