I need a new laptop...mine was electrocuted!

[Soupermom]

Help! My Dell Studio laptop was fried in a recent electrical storm and I'm not sure what to do. In the past my husband (now ex) and his friend always took care of our computer issues. I can't find a Studio online anywhere, so I'm guessing that model is no longer made. Can someone suggestion a different model for me, maybe not as fancy ($$$). I basically need it for my son to do homework (H.S. and college courses) and for me to edit/save photos, burn cd's, manage iTunes (my phone and iPad), etc. The one I have now has a large screen which is nice, but again smaller would be manageable if necessary. We live rurally so I was actually thinking about ordering from Amazon because I've always had great service with them. Is that a bad idea? In the past we always ordered directly from Dell, but I'm not sure if I'm up to the challenge. Any suggestions where and what to purchase?
On a side note, is there any way to transfer what was on my old computer to my new computer? Things like photo editing software or documents?

Thanks for any help you can give. This is all rather overwhelming to me at this point.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

As long as you have access to your laptop, you can copy everything to the new one.

I did that. But my old one still turned on so if yours doesn't you could probably take it to a computer repair place and they can do the transfer for you.

As far as ordering a laptop online with amazon, I don't see why not. We have access to many computer stores here so I've never done it but plenty of people have.

I've got an HP Pavilion laptop that does just fine for me. It's older so there are probably newer versions out there.
Also you may want to find a laptop with Windows 7 on it instead of Windows 8. I have a small laptop that I use only for traveling with Windows 8 on it and I hate it.

Good luck!

 

[Jimsig]

As long as it did not also fry the hard drive there should be a way to get your stuff off of it.
Good Luck

 

[NEV2OLD4DIS]

Can you can claim this under your homeowners insurance? We had this happen to other electronics in home during a storm and we were covered.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I build my own on the HP site and they ship it to me. I just got the HP Pavilion last week.

On ebates.com there is a 3% cash back bonus and several coupons for HP computers

Even if she could claim on her insurance first she would have to pay her deductible.

 

[Soupermom]

My deductible is $1000 and I'm quite certain my new laptop will not cost that much!

 

[Ranger111]

Actually, a new laptop could easily top $1000 USD.

But...

1) Yes, you can transfer your items from old to new unless, for some reason the hard drive is fried. It can be a little fussy, not too bad, but a little. So, while I do it, I would suggest you get "an expert" to do it. Depending where you buy, it may be included with your price.

2) Many laps nowadays do not include CD slots at all. You can always buy an external CD drive/burner, which is what I would recommend. They are easy to use, but it may be a bit of a jump for you....

3) For family, I buy refurbished laptops. Prices are lower, there are lots of them and in my experience, they have always been bomb-proof. Of course, I have only purchased Dell and HP.

4) Right now, Dell is having one of their periodic sales. I am not going to go through the catalog and suggest one to you, but if you look at the thread here on Slickdeals, it may give you some good insight, as well as coupons codes worth $$$.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6830312-dell-outlet-home-refurbished-xps-8700-i7-for-5xx-tax

 

[NEV2OLD4DIS]

I was hoping you didn't have a large deductible. We were lucky that the same storm that caused the damage to our electronics actually was a piece of a storm that caused a tornado to do a lot of damage in nearby towns (rare around here). The insurance company didn't even apply our deductible. Also, Slickdeals as mentioned is a good place to research sales and opinions of others.

We just bought a Toshiba Satellite through Staples 2 months ago after our desktop of 8 yrs. died. My son told me it is overkill for our needs, but the sale was very good, and of course he couldn't be bothered to come help us pick one out since he has his own.

 

[manning]

Actually, a new laptop could easily top $1000 USD.

But...

1) Yes, you can transfer your items from old to new unless, for some reason the hard drive is fried. It can be a little fussy, not too bad, but a little. So, while I do it, I would suggest you get "an expert" to do it. Depending where you buy, it may be included with your price.

2) Many laps nowadays do not include CD slots at all. You can always buy an external CD drive/burner, which is what I would recommend. They are easy to use, but it may be a bit of a jump for you....

3) For family, I buy refurbished laptops. Prices are lower, there are lots of them and in my experience, they have always been bomb-proof. Of course, I have only purchased Dell and HP.

4) Right now, Dell is having one of their periodic sales. I am not going to go through the catalog and suggest one to you, but if you look at the thread here on Slickdeals, it may give you some good insight, as well as coupons codes worth $$$.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6830312-dell-outlet-home-refurbished-xps-8700-i7-for-5xx-tax

I bought a Dell Inspiron 15Z last year and a Dell Inspiron 15R a couple weeks ago. Both have CD/DVD drive.

 

[reginaastralis]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HRLSSKO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - I just bought this laptop from amazon about a month ago.

I'm in college and use it a lot for homework (almost all of my classes have a significant online portion) and use it for photos. It's a pretty decent laptop.

I had a Hp Pavilion that I'd only had for right around 2 years, and the hinges came apart. The top of the screen literally came detached from the bottom. This laptop is much stronger than the other one, it's pretty hearty.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

I don't like giving advice on buying specific computers because i'm in the business and I have different views than most people. But here's my advice:

- Don't waste your money on an Apple machine
- Buy Dell or Lenovo brand
- Don't skimp on RAM at least 4GB, the 8GB is worth it.
- Seems like you enjoy the large screen, but like the idea of a smaller laptop? Get BOTH you can get a pretty big screen + keyboard + mouse for $150 or less. Just get a small laptop and plug it in when you need a big screen (or two screens at once!)

 

[auralia]

Costco has good prices on laptops and great warranties. I got a very nice gaming laptop (not what you need I know the the price was great) for 1000$ with 16gb ram 8 core processor, 2gb graphics card and a 3 year warranty that even covers drops and spills for 1099$ (that included the warranty).

Fair warning. if getting windows 8 get at least 6gb of ram

also you will have to wipe and reload all your apple devices. If you had lots of music burned to your computer that didn't come from itunes you should get a program to rip it from you apple devices first (I use cucusoft). When you sync a apple device to a new computer you have to wipe it. It really blows. They don't allow the devices to be synced to multipul computers. I don't know if there is free software to get your stuff off your devices first. Everything you bought direct from itunes can just be redownloaded though It is just CD's you may or may not have ripped that you will have to add again yourself. I don't even know where in the attic my CD's are so I just used cucusoft to get it off the ipod when my computer crashed... I did not want to have to rip 5000 songs again!

 

[auralia]

oh and for what it is worth I love love love my mac. It is almost 4 years old, still runs great, and still has value in resale (I have a unibody white macbook). The operating system is easier and more reliable, imovie is great, and it is light and the battery lasts FOREVER. My windows laptops never last more than 1-2 hours. This 4 year old mac can go for 6+ hours. If you are in the mac market I suggest going apple certified refurbished route. That said I have my windows PC's for gaming. I use open office on the mac for word processing. I use my mac 80% of the time, the other 20% i'm either gaming, on my ipad, or my hubby wont let me have the mac!

P.S. currently typing this on my super old (as far as computers go) still totally functional for the things you listed mac!

 

[ldo]

also wondering about a MAc Pro 13"f or $1300? PP said forget Apple--why?

 

[SUSIEQ]

Also you may want to find a laptop with Windows 7 on it instead of Windows 8. I have a small laptop that I use only for traveling with Windows 8 on it and I hate it.

Good luck!

GREAT advice for the OP!

 

[Soupermom]

Sooo...OP here. My son and I arrived home from school yesterday, plugged the computer in for the umpteenth time, and it powered up! I have a friend researching a replacement for my anyway, because I think this one is on its last legs; its a bit over four years old. He also suggested Dell or HP, which is fine with me. He is the tech guy for a major chain of banks so I think he will be very helpful. He also said he has the "tools" needed to switch over what is on this computer.

I greatly appreciate everyone's help and suggestions and offers!! Since I am still in the shopping stage (just not as much of an emergency), I continue to welcome any suggestions you may have.

Thanks again!!

 

[Jimsig]

If it's now powering up remember to back it up very soon, as in right away. Don't take for granted that it will continue. It just may, but better to be safe then sorry. You should pick up an external hard drive if you don't already have one. They plug in to a USB port and are easy to use. You can get a 500mb at Best Buy starting around $45 or Walmart for $55, and 1T drives start at $65 at Best Buy and Walmart. Probably a lot cheaper for you to buy a drive and back it up yourself then paying someone to do it for you, especially if it dies again I have a feeling the price will go way up.

 

[Soupermom]

I've been looking on Amazon for external hard drives. I see Toshiba and Seagate, 500GB, for around $55. Toshiba has 1TB for $65. What is a TB? Double a GB? How much storage due I need? I really only have documents and a few photo editing programs. I saved my photos already. Are these hard to use?

 

[duffdo]

I've been looking on Amazon for external hard drives. I see Toshiba and Seagate, 500GB, for around $55. Toshiba has 1TB for $65. What is a TB? Double a GB? How much storage due I need? I really only have documents and a few photo editing programs. I saved my photos already. Are these hard to use?

A TB is 1000GB, 1TB is usually plenty for most people. An external drive should just plug into the USB and work straight away. Some need to be plugged into the power. Personally I swear by Western Digital drives, but if I had to choose between Toshiba and Seagte, it would be the Seagate.

Laptop wise I would be looking for any of the following brands:

Sony; (VAIO)
Acer;
Asus;
Lenovo

I bought a Dell machine a few years ago (because it was incredibly cheap.) After 2 years, it gave up and was uneconomical to fix. In the family at the moment is a 12 year old Sony, a 9 year old Acer, a 7 year old Sony and another 5 year old Sony. All still work!

 

[disneylove69]

Mine too just crashed. I looked around online to getva basic price idea. Went to Staples and found what you are looking for in the $299 and up range. I ended up with a Dell normally $799 for $599. The cheaper ones were slow and pic quality wasnt what I wanted. I always get the store warranty. I have had 3 replacements and new batteries each yr.for the price of the warranty. Staples was $149 and includes 2 day turn around, anti virus on all my electronics for 2 years. U will also need at least the student/home microsoft office which is $129-139. They can also help transfer old to new. I have had a vaio for many years and it broke, 2 toshibas. The cheap one was terrible out of box and that is what im replacing. I did read Sony is stopping on the making of computers.