<p>I second Gladgraddad. I’ve only had to replace failed hard drives twice in my 20 years of using computers. </p>
<p>One was a symptom of a larger quality control issue with my first laptop that older STEM relatives mis-advised me on purchasing with my own money when I didn’t know any better. Second one was a 20 GB laptop drive I got used with a corporate notebook after being in a corporate environment for 2 years…and continued to use for another 4 as my 24/7 office/internet/downloading machine. </p>
<p>Most of the time, I replaced desktop/laptop hard drives because I was upgrading to a higher capacity/greater RPM hard drive. In many cases, I sold off the old drives. </p>
<p>Once I learned about backup and learned how to be more organized in how I stored my data files…hard drive replacements/failures were just a mere inconvenience.</p>
<p>coolweather-do you play football or something with your computers? How do you use your computers? Do you turn them off and on frequently during the day? We have 4 Dell laptops and 1 desktop and have had NO issues with any of them. The desktop was purchases in 2004, one laptop in 2006, 2 in 2008 and one in 2010. We have upgraded memory in 1 laptop and the desktop but no other issues.</p>
<p>In my experience I had less hard drive failure with older computers than with newer computers. With older computers I only need to add more drives, not to replace drives. The first HD failure was on my D’s Compact laptop in 2005. I stopped buying HP since then. I bought most from Dell. I just re-switched to HP last year for my D’s laptop for college but it’s not better. I mentioned about the HP multiple failures on this laptop in another thread couple weeks ago. The desktop I am using now is a Dell Studio. The statistics I posted about HD failure is more reliable than what I said.</p>
<p>I haven’t had any failures with internal hard disk drives with many systems over long periods of time but I do upgrade disks for higher capacity on machines that are older than four years old. I generally go with high-quality hard disk drives. My current laptop has a 48 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD so I get the speed and performance of an SSD + a ton of space that costs a lot less. This kind of setup could be used for Windows laptops that support multiple drives.</p>
<p>I did have to replace the hard drive in my oldest daughter’s laptop but it is about 7 years old (Dell Inspiron 6000) and I am still using it. We bought my younger daughter a Dell Studio 1555 when she started college over three years ago and she is still using it (no HD failure). My son started college this past year and bought the new Dell XPS 15z. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy at least a 3 year total care plan or a 2 year plan if you purchase with AMEX card as they double the warranty. My daughter spilled chili all over hers (don’t ask) and they replaced it at no charge. I agree with most of the other poster’s that if your laptop only lasts two years you are really hard on your equipment or buying inferior products. A laptop should last a MINIMUM four years.</p>
<p>P.S. With the low cost of external hard drives and high capacity of flash drives it doesn’t take much to back up important documents. This makes replacing a hard drive a simple process in the unlikely event that you do have a failure.</p>
<p>I generally agree with this. I have two refurbished Dell Inspiron laptops from 2000 and 2001 and they still work. One required a hard disk replacement but that’s about it.</p>
<p>I like the Dell XPS line - it’s their premium consumer line (outside of gaming). I have one that’s four years old and has a vast array of features and it’s worked well for many years. My wife was using it up until a month ago and I only recently loaned it to a co-worker that needed a machine with Windows 7 for development. The thing is built like a tank and I expect it to last ten years.</p>
<p>Recently retired a bottom-of-the-line 6-year old Dell Inspiron because the power brick failed and I needed a more powerful machine. The computer itself still worked fine. </p>
<p>DD’s school dropped Lenovos from their recommended list because of reliability issues. </p>
What do you do with them? I gave away laptops older than 2007 to my relatives. I cannot afford sitting several minutes to wait for my laptop or desktop to load my software development tools and take several minutes to compile, let alone running performance troubleshooting tools. All the guys in my office have laptops newer than 2010 and most of them will get the latest dell latitude in couple weeks.</p>
<p>My friend buys and sells old laptops. Most of them are newer than 2009 and he sells for $100-$300 each.</p>
<p>They are sitting in the basement. I should probably get rid of them.</p>
<p>The laptops that folks have at the office are pretty old. I loaned a co-worker my 4-year-old Dell XPS and he said that it’s the fastest system he’s ever used (he has two office systems). I think that he would be amazed on my 8 core SSD-based systems.</p>
<p>I’m more inclined to give away hardware than sell it - it’s much less work.</p>
<p>You can probably sell them for $100 or so or better yet, give it to someone who needs a basic office/internet machine for resumes/job search/school. </p>
<p>My late '90s Toshiba notebook is doing precisely that for a friend’s friend who’s down on his luck and never had a computer before that one.</p>
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<p>Interestingly, I was given a spare Lenovo from 2008 from a client who hired me to replace a destroyed LCD on his work laptop. </p>
<p>Incidentally, it had the same specs as the work laptop…just a slightly slower 64-bit processor and a 12.1" screen rather than a 15.1". </p>
<p>Nice…especially considering what he paid me for the LCD replacement job.</p>
<p>I go with the enterprise equipment for myself and have had no problems in over twenty years and go with Dell with the kids…have not had a problem in the past with S1 and S2 other than normal wear and tear type stuff, but S3’s computer has had the hard drive replaced twice…it is new so has been under warranty but still…it has given me pause. The irony is that kids think of technology as “disposable”, use it til it breaks, while I remember when a new computer cost thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars so I’m more careful about keeping my equipment running and more adroit and ‘fixing’ things myself than the kids. So for me, durable, is the most important aspect of getting kid laptops.</p>
<p>I’m old enough to remember when a low-end desktop would go for $1200-1600 and their laptop counterparts…starting at 1700. </p>
<p>Also recalled that while the mid-high end brands were really high quality for the most part…we also had our bottom-of-the-barrel crap as well…like Packard-Bell or Compaq. </p>
<p>I find it doubly ironic that many folks see laptops as more disposable than back when I was in college. </p>
<p>Back then…you can actually make a decent case for upgrading a year or two if you had a few grand to burn as the speed/technological upgrades would be a noticeable improvement even for students/professionals who just needed a basic office/internet machine. </p>
<p>Nowadays…I can’t see that unless you are a professional who needs the latest/greatest such as multimedia creation/editing specialists, computer programmers, etc. </p>
<p>Even then…I know of several small-medium sized tech companies which still has their programmers using desktops/notebooks released as early as 2004-5…and while they’re griping…they’re still able to get work done without serious issues. </p>
<p>For someone who just needs a basic Office/internet machine for nothing but serious non-technical/multimedia intensive school/officework…even a PII/PIII from 2001 is still serviceable…though not ideal.</p>
<p>I know you made your decision but S1 just got a new computer (rising sr in college) and it is an asus you may consider; 14" screen, i5, 8gb ram, ASUS U46SV-DH51 14-Inch Thin and Light Laptop (unfortunately amazon just went out of stock). (was $799)</p>