When laptops go bad.

[Aaron]

I will, but IMHO it isn't so much their fault, except that a registered and licensed dealer should be able to make the warranty start when he sells it, not when he buys it from Dell.

It isnt there fault that you go online for tech support and they don't answer your question, you wait longer than you have to, and they outsourced the customer service jobs to India where calls always get dropped? Of course its their fault!

Yah my bad, that part is their fault. But once I get in touch with a person from Dell, I understand Dell's point of view with my laptop's warranty.

[zonyl]

So, was the hardware bad?

- hijack -

Stimpy, do you like XM Radio? I have it on two of my cars and found the sound quality disappointing compared to CD.

[stimpy]

I'll start a new thread!

[eHoward]

SIRI > XM

So, was the hardware bad?

- hijack -

Stimpy, do you like XM Radio? I have it on two of my cars and found the sound quality disappointing compared to CD.

[Aaron]

SIRI > XM

So, was the hardware bad?

- hijack -

Stimpy, do you like XM Radio? I have it on two of my cars and found the sound quality disappointing compared to CD.

MP3>Sirius>XM>CD>FM>AM>Tape>8-track.

[zonyl]

SIRI > XM

So, was the hardware bad?

- hijack -

Stimpy, do you like XM Radio? I have it on two of my cars and found the sound quality disappointing compared to CD.

MP3>Sirius>XM>CD>FM>AM>Tape>8-track.

How does my portable 45 fit in that quality comparison? You think XM is better than CD?

[stimpy]

SIRI > XM

So, was the hardware bad?

- hijack -

Stimpy, do you like XM Radio? I have it on two of my cars and found the sound quality disappointing compared to CD.

MP3>Sirius>XM>CD>FM>AM>Tape>8-track.

And what gives you the opinion that Sirius is better then XM, other then someone else said so and you want to be accepted? Do you have both services?

I do.

If you like listening to the same 100 songs over and over again, then Sirius is great fun. Sirius uses all pre-recorded shows that they will re-use over and over again, so not only are you hearing the same songs in the same order at the same time of day, but you're also hearing the same inane chatter from who have to be the absolute worst jocks on the air. Especially heinous is the chick who gets around to all the rock stations, Madison. She makes me want to grab a gun.

XM, on the other hand, made a much bigger investment in their studios, so not only does every station have it's own studio, it has it's own live Jock, and usually someone who has somekind of credibility in that genre. They also have several performance studios where all kinds of acts come in and perform live for studio audiences.

Now Sirius does have some programming I enjoy, we get it free on the Dish TV and the PT Cruiser came wired for it. I don't see any reason why I would have to pick one service, it's not that expensive. But if you put a gun to my head and made me choose, I'd definately go with XM.

Now, in order to get good sound, you want to have your reciever hooked as directly to the head unit as possible. I have my MyFi run into the Aux input of my headunit, the othe alternative would be to get the type of FM modulator that plugs directly into the antenna of the headunit. Anything that has to go through air to get to the receiver is going to sound bad. But I guess if I did a careful listening to a CD vs XM reception, the CD would edge out in quality. But in the environment of my car, I don't think that negates the conveniences of having all that programming.

[eHoward]

You must listen to a lot of radio.

I'll get back to this thread later.

And what gives you the opinion that Sirius is better then XM, other then someone else said so and you want to be accepted? Do you have both services?

I do.

If you like listening to the same 100 songs over and over again, then Sirius is great fun. Sirius uses all pre-recorded shows that they will re-use over and over again, so not only are you hearing the same songs in the same order at the same time of day, but you're also hearing the same inane chatter from who have to be the absolute worst jocks on the air. Especially heinous is the chick who gets around to all the rock stations, Madison. She makes me want to grab a gun.

[zonyl]

SIRI > XM

So, was the hardware bad?

- hijack -

Stimpy, do you like XM Radio? I have it on two of my cars and found the sound quality disappointing compared to CD.

MP3>Sirius>XM>CD>FM>AM>Tape>8-track.

XM, on the other hand, made a much bigger investment in their studios, so not only does every station have it's own studio, it has it's own live Jock, and usually someone who has somekind of credibility in that genre. They also have several performance studios where all kinds of acts come in and perform live for studio audiences.

I love the XM content and was thinking about buying another receiver for my office, however, the sound quality in the car on certain channels (81 BPM) is terrible with the Factory XM head unit. Some channels come in good and some dont. If this is just a problem with OEM car XM units then I would like to know, but I suspect it isnt.

Now, in order to get good sound, you want to have your reciever hooked as directly to the head unit as possible. I have my MyFi run into the Aux input of my headunit, the othe alternative would be to get the type of FM modulator that plugs directly into the antenna of the headunit. Anything that has to go through air to get to the receiver is going to sound bad. But I guess if I did a careful listening to a CD vs XM reception, the CD would edge out in quality. But in the environment of my car, I don't think that negates the conveniences of having all that programming.

I would agree that the quality is adequate for a normal car environment, however, in our TL it is very noticable because it is a quiet car. Im not going to drop it though, however, I would like to buy a reciever for my office which I would definitely hear distortion. Maybe they are running some sort of digital mp3 jukebox device at the studio that compresses the music before it hits the XM transmission.. Ill have to write them an email and see if they respond.
[/quote]

[stimpy]

You know, I have noticed that certain stations on certain receivers have sounded like crap. On my Pioneer Ethel sounded scratchy at times. I don't know if it's something in the signal or what.

If BPM and The System are some of your XM faves, you might like Sirius. I actually prefer Sirius' dance and electronic programming far over
XM's. Nothing beats XM150, though.

[stimpy]

You must listen to a lot of radio.

I haven't listened to a CD in years.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Back to your laptop problem. Have you tried to delete the faulty hardware using the control panel\ add\ remove hardware, then reboot to see if it sees it and tries to load drivers for it? It's worth a shot.

[Aaron]

Back to your laptop problem. Have you tried to delete the faulty hardware using the control panel\ add\ remove hardware, then reboot to see if it sees it and tries to load drivers for it? It's worth a shot.

No I havn't.

I spent yesterday doing a full Windows repair and that didn't work. So I did the next logical thing. Wiped my hard drive (without backing up my files), and reinstalling Windows. Didn't do a fucking thing.

Fuck Dell and their expensive shitty ass laptops that they refuse to warranty less than 2 weeks after the warranty expired.

So it is a hardware issue.

A) A pin or solonoid is bad somehwere. Somewhere. That is the problem, I'd have to completely disassemble it and test EVERYTHING. Fuck this.

B) The actual USB recognition thingy is bad, and since it is integrated in the motherboard, I'd need a new one of those. Cost, around $600, and I'd still have to install it, which in itself is just asking for problems.

C) I can get a PCI card that converts into a couple USB ports. I'm not sure how much these run, but it'd float my boat.

FUCK DELL. And the guy that sold me the computer just said that is how all Ebay-sold computers are. I am not sure if I'm actua;;y going to pursue a lawsuit. He is/was a really nice guy, and has been nothing but helpful, but this does piss me off.

[zonyl]

If you care to further diagnose this, with the Knoppix CD you should be able to tell if the controller is dead or a trace on the motherboard to the connector is broken. One is easier to fix yourself than the other.

Solenoid?

[Aaron]

I still don't have the PCI-USB card adapter in yet, and it is pissing me off.

And after talking to one of my friends who knows a lot more about computers than I ever want to know, the issue came up of whether it will even work or not. He is afraid that the USB recognition hardware or something is damged/screwed up, and the signal from the PCI card won't do any good.

I will be so pissed if this is the case.

[Series8217]

That PCMCIA USB card doesnt need motherboard support for USB to work.. so you won't have any problems.. those cards are designed for people who don't have USB ports on their laptop
Sounds like he doesn't know much about computers either.

[Aaron]

That PCMCIA USB card doesnt need motherboard support for USB to work.. so you won't have any problems.. those cards are designed for people who don't have USB ports on their laptop
Sounds like he doesn't know much about computers either.

Sounds like I may be in luck then. Odd that a computer would have a PCMCIA slot but not USB ports...lol

Yah I know enough about computers, but by no stretch of the imigination a lot. I know enough to build my own PC, and do all my own anti spam and virus stuff myself (Until I delete the System32 folder...)

[Series8217]

That PCMCIA USB card doesnt need motherboard support for USB to work.. so you won't have any problems.. those cards are designed for people who don't have USB ports on their laptop
Sounds like he doesn't know much about computers either.

Sounds like I may be in luck then. Odd that a computer would have a PCMCIA slot but not USB ports...lol

Yah I know enough about computers, but by no stretch of the imigination a lot. I know enough to build my own PC, and do all my own anti spam and virus stuff myself (Until I delete the System32 folder...)

PCMCIA has been around longer than USB..

[Aaron]

I see :salute: