Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

I own a Compaq and i think it really sucks...it has an AMD 533 processor 64 megs of ram and a 15 gig hard drive (and it is really only like 13 with he system save) it has a "software based modem" and it keeps logging me off my ISP. The Hard drive freezes up sometimes when I am playing MP3's and have IE running. My Gateway PII 400 that I got last year works better, why does Compaq suck? I am upgrading my old 166 to a celron and I am just going to use that one and I still have no idea what to do with this thing[the computer].
I just wanted to complain and ask if anyone had the same problem (helps relieve stress)

Thanks

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Greg Moore
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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049

I have an older Compaq (AMD 266) and it sucks too. I would never buy a Compaq again. I have a Fujitsu laptop I bought at the same time (Pentium 233) which is faster and less prone to crashing. I think Compaq cuts some quality to be more competitive on their pricing. My next desktop will be a Gateway or a Dell

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

My Grandmother has a PIII 450 that she just got from Dell and my dad has a PII 400 that he got last year...both work great, the gateway was a little slow with all that software on it. But i fixed that.



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Greg Moore
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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Columbus, Ohio USA
Posts: 255

I think there is no real determination why Compaqs suck so damn bad.. I had a k6-233 that sucked so bad I told my girlfriend I refused to let her use it. I gave it to my family instead (their old computer was a 386/16, so it would be a god compared to that).

I built a k6-2 450 with 128 megs of ram and it smokes. Beautiful machine, especially compared to the old one. TOday I'm putting together an Athlon 600 so we'll see what I say about compaqs then

Actually, my friend has a k6-2 400 Compaq and mine completely KILLS it. I checked his system resources and he had about 68% free compared to my 90. Compaq loads TONS AND TONS AND TOOOONNNNNSSS of stuff when it boots up. Do Start->Run and type msconfig then go to the startup tab. I had to scroll through his forever whereas mine fits in one small space.

You should ONLY have things like taskbar, whatever mouse program you use, explorer.exe (or if you use litestep.exe or something similar) and that's pretty much it. Anything else kills resources and makes your computer run like a 486 again.

Compaqs are just piss poor quality wise (My buddy's computer also had a hard drive crash on day 3 of owning it and 3 months later his Mobo died). I built my own, saved some money, and got exactly what I wanted.. plus I learned a ton and am very happy for it. But, if you don't want to deal with that go with a better name brand company (NOT IBM or HP).. basically any company that uses standard, upgradable parts.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

I knew it wasen't just me...i am never going to buy a compaq again...i am just going to build my own computer and live happily ever after.

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Greg Moore
[email protected]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

Hey, i just got my new computer built...works great...boots up quick...when i boot up i have 95% resources free. I love it...i used the video card from my 166 and it sucks...like 2 MB or something..anyone wanna give a poor boy like me a new video card???

PLEASE!!!

thanks,

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Greg Moore
[email protected]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Columbus, Ohio USA
Posts: 255

Greg:

I don't know how you like 3Dfx or anything, but one of the best CHEAP cards you can get is a Velocity 100. They might be slightly more now, for some strange reason, but I got two of them for 45 bucks each. They're almost identical to a Voodoo3 2000 but almost half the price. Or... you can get a Voodoo 3 2000 AGP/PCI for 70 bucks OEM online which is a darn fine card and really cheap for what you're getting.

But if you can find the velocity for 50 bucks, go for it.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

Thanks...now all i need to do is save up the money. Anyone wanna trade a usb cradle / serial cradle for a video card?

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Greg Moore
[email protected]

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario CANADA
Posts: 14

Greg, I just got a new Compaq with the 500 mhz Athlon chip.

The problem with the system freezes (especially when you are on the web) have more to do with the software configuration than anything else.

I went into msconfig and took out all the start up garbage (read compaq software) and I changed virus software (real time scanning really sucks resources).

There are also a number of software patches available on compaq's web site for the system freezes (probably the soft modem too).
There is also a faq on microsoft's web site to guide you through the msconfig surgery.

After all this work, my system hums along nicely.

Later,

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

hey, so I am not going crazy... My parents own a compac too (PIII 500 high end model).

I installed a CD-RW in it and after that it would freeze EVERY time you are online for more than 3 minutes...

I eventually completely reinstalled windows from scratch... that solved it.
If you do so, be sure to get the right drivers first before you do a rebuild... and make a list of the brand and model of all the components... I had to do a lot of puzzling to find out what was inside that box....
This is Why I prefer a clone, that way you can build it with the components YOU choose and not some guy at compaq...