So.I bought something today

[LeftInTX]

My old computer suddenly bit the dust on Oct 18th. The on/off switch stopped working. Took it to the shop. They ordered a new power switch. It didn't work. Meanwhile I'm spewing VAN lists on a tiny, dingy chromebook. My only recourse was data recovery. I waited until after the election because I was so busy.
Finally today I found a computer I liked. Dell had models, but they were weird and more expensive. Like you couldn't get more thsn 16 gb of ram on their Inspiron. To get the equivalent would cost $1500. I could have orderd from HP, but it would have taken weeks and Amazon had the price.

This the longest I have been without a desktop. I am a heavy user.

It's also the most expensive I have bought at 1200

[mama]

1. The specs are great for the money.

I just bought the exact same configuation in a laptop. So far, I'm very happy with it.
I don't game much, but I do want to play the new version of Riven, a favorite of my husband and I back in the 90's. My other laptop wasn't robust enough for gaming, and I felt like consoling myself with a new toy last week.

[LeftInTX]

3. I don't game. But I work on lots of files etc.

I felt I needed the 32 gb of RAM. The processr sounded good and I didn't want integrated graohics.

[Silver Gaia]

2. I've been looking, too.

There's nothing wrong with my current computer EXCEPT that its CPU doesn't meet Microsoft's standards for upgrading to Windows 11, and I've been procrastinating. It's either rebuild what I have (hubby built it), or buy a new one already built. Gads. New ones are so expensive! That's a nice one, though.

[LeftInTX]

4. Yes they are expensive!

I think I paid $900 in 2000, but the price and specs on subsequent computers were better and prices were in the $800 range.

I could have paid $900 for similar specs direct from HP, but it would have been a month wait!
Dell had faster turn around, but not the best selections. Dell's specs went from ho-hum to high-end, but not many options in between.

This is the first time that I have had computer completely die a sudden death. I didn't want to wait another month.

I also couldn't upgrade to Win 11 on my old model and was already planning to buy a new one. I was shocked when this one suddenly died. Thank goodness for data recovery. I psid $148. I had not backed up in awhile.

[Silver Gaia]

5. I've only had that happen once.

It was probably around 2001, I think. I also hadn't backed up in a long time. It was a lot harder to do backup back then. I lost everything. Nothing recoverable. I had been doing genealogy research for my dad. I had documents that someone had sent me digital copies of proving that one of my great-great grandmothers was Choctaw (she was not on the Dawes rolls). Gone. I didn't even have the name or email of the guy who shared it and couldn't duplicate the string of contacts that had led to him. It had just happened and it was all on that hard drive, which was fried. That was a hard lesson to learn.

[Sector 001]

7. I had the same issue with my 10 year old HP desktop.

I used Rufus to bypass that issue, Windows 11 runs great on my old system.

[Silver Gaia]

8. How did Rufus help?

Isn't that Amazon's shopper AI?

[Sector 001]

9. Rufus is a tool to create bootable USB drives.

Here is a video tutorial to show you how to use Rufus, It's really easy.
If you like, just do a search on YouTube for Rufus tutorial for Windows 11.
If you are nervous about screwing something up, I suggest putting in a spare hard drive into your computer and practice the installation.

Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO

[LeftInTX]

6. Arrived and set up!

It immediately ran Windows Update (something I was trying to postpone, but wasn't successful at. I tried to create a local account using an old keyboard that I didn't know was broken. So, I plugged the router in. That's when I realized the keyboard was no good)

But it installed the fall 23 and fall 24 megaupdates in only an hour or so. No problems at all. Only one reboot was involved! It went very smooth!

Just gotta create a recovery, clean out bloatware etc.