homemade vs. company build

[thePh@r@oh]

ok ive noticed something alot of my friends have company builds ( dell, HP, emachine, etc.) and the have BSOD alot almost daily in some cases. My systems here are all home built and i NEVER get those whats the deal?? when companys setup the OS do they throw alot of junk in there or is it cause they use cheap crappy parts so they can turn out a huge profit

[agathodaimon]

both

Alot of the time they use kinda crappy parts to save money... That's why they're often inexpensive compared to a home-built machine.

But they ALSO do install a lot of useless software that's running on your computer... I really CANNOT stand pre-built machines because they've got all this stuff on it that I don't know what it is or how it got there.
I like to know what everything is on my system and whether or not it should be there. I hate cluttered machines.... grrr

[CraigK]

I'm not sure if this is correct, but the companies seem to have slightly modified OS's. many of my friends have Dell's and when they start up they have the DELL boot screen before (or after?) the windows boot screen.

besides form that theory. The average person who buys a brand name doesn't know how to maintain their system properly. And because they didn't configure it like us builders, when they try and change something (even menial) they can't remember the original setting.

[agathodaimon]

yeah, and they're configured in a way that even SLIGHT changes you make can cause things to go wrong...
You're just NOT supposed to mess with pre-built machines. They're pre-built for a reason!

[Bill in SD, CA]

I think it's probably more a function of the interweaving of the OS and the proprieatary software than the hardware.

I've known people who eventually just loaded the OS from scratch and dump the makers stuff and the problems tended to go away.

Bill

[Beemer]

Yes.

When ever I have a friend that buys a OEM computer, I try and talk them into returning it. We then build a real one.

Second, if they don't want to build one, we re-install the O/S right out of the box.

The OEM PC will only be as good as the original cloned HDD will allow it to be. I don't trust OEM manufactures installation of O/S's.

I don't believe thorough testing of every PC off the manufacturing line is possible.

Packard Bell was the worst. BSOD right out of the box. 50/50 chance.

A simple RAM upgrade on a Compaq requires a BIOS update first.

Installing a new HDD on a Compaq may require EZ-BIOS first.

The other thing is upgradability. This will bite you in the butt sooner or later.

Cheers!

[woodbutcher]

Compaqs are famous for unwanted software as well.
I upgraded my nieghboors comp from ME to XP (mistake) and I could not believe the amount of crap that Compaq puts on there computers.
I've already deleted most of it but there are still bits and pieces of it left.
Dell's are famous for that as well. My uncle had ME running to find out that Dell was monitoring his computer.
Remember that "predictive failure" software. Sure.
Since wiped and replaced with XP.

DIY for me.

WB