I have decided to update this blog post because it does have
a resolution, but some twists and turns in the process that I want to share.
Buying a computer can be a time-consuming experience if you
don’t know what you want, or where to start with specifications and
features. I have been using a computer
for more than 40 years, beginning with the Acorn BBC Master 128, then MS DOS, and
finally moving to the various iterations of Windows. My preference is to go for a custom-built desktop
or laptop because I feel it avoids the bloatware that some branded devices
install. A custom-built computer also
allows you to choose the specification of the product such as hard drive
capacity, amount of RAM, the type of processor, soundcard and accessories such
as mouse and keyboard. But custom-built
computers also tend to be a little more expensive, depending of course on what
hardware you choose. Your first
decision, therefore, is to decide whether you want a custom-built desktop or
laptop, or go with the myriad of off-the-shelf offerings at the likes of
Currys, Argos, John Lewis and other outlets.
So once you have set your budget, your next decision is
whether to go for a desktop PC or laptop.
There are advantages to both, probably the most pressing point being
space; desktop computers are now much smaller than they used to be, but you
still have to factor in a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and any other peripherals
you wish to add. A laptop, on the other
hand, is more portable, and has the advantage of being a complete setup in the
one unit that you can take anywhere and run on battery or mains. Computers and laptops now come in all shapes
and sizes depending on what you can afford and have the space to house it.
Your next decision is the specification of your desktop or
laptop purchase. If you go for a
custom-built machine, you are probably going to have to shop around to see
which companies will build it for you, PC Specialist being just one example of
many outlets. On the other hand, you can
wander down to your local Currys or Argos to select something with all the hard
work of specifications taken out of shopping around for specifics. For example, a typical laptop from Currys
might comprise an Intel 5 processor with 512gb SSD drive, 8gb of RAM, and a
whole raft of software such as Norton Antivirus, Office 365 Student Edition,
Adobe Photoshop and other branded ‘power tools’ ready to activate when you have
set the computer up. Personally I
wouldn’t want that lot on my desktop or laptop which is one reason why I order
my computers to specification. This is
what I did recently, and why I am sharing the experience in this blog post.
It's A Matter Of Choice
When I want a new computer, I confess to being quite excited
about choosing components. I start with
what I would like my dream machine to be, then get down to the nitty-gritty of
what I can afford, (there is a compromise between the two in there
somewhere.) I recently decided that I
would like a custom-built laptop for my STRIVE Ability business. Sure I have a desktop machine that I use every
day, and a laptop provided by RNIB for my job with that organisation. But in offering online training as part of my
business, I wanted a good specification that would hopefully last a few years
and be a good workhorse!
I wrote all the components down that I wanted to include on
my new purchase: type of processor; amount of RAM and storage; size of laptop;
type of keyboard; and software. When you
use the likes of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Teams, a web browser, not to mention
a screen reader, all running at the same time, you do need something fairly
substantial. I therefore chose an I7
processor, 32gb of RAM, two Solid State Drives, Windows 11, Microsoft office
365 Business Standard, and of course the necessity to run both JAWS and NVDA
screen readers. I also went with a
numeric keypad on the qwerty keyboard which meant having a 16 inch laptop.
Having settled on this spec, I contacted PC Specialist, a
company based in Wakefield, from whom we have purchased before. They come highly recommended for their sales
and technical support as well as competitive pricing. So the dirty deed of paying for the laptop
and having it built by pC Specialist was done, and I waited for my new beast to
arrive!
Although I love computers, I often have some trepidation
when I first unbox and turn on a new machine, wondering if something in the
setup process is going to go wrong, or finding a fault somewhere along the line
…
For two days last weekend, (October 2024), I set to work on
my new machine; turning on narrator to navigate the setup process before I
could install JAWS or NVDA; dealing with the plethora of Windows updates that
every new machine offers; and generally getting to know the sound and speed of
the machine each time it rebooted. But
that was the problem … the number of times it rebooted was mounting up. I would go downstairs to grab a cup of tea,
and found when I returned to the machine to continue setting it up that it was
sitting at the password field after yet another reboot. A nagging disconcertedness began to settle
over me. The rebooting continued,
without reason it would appear, with some updates refusing to download and
install. So when Monday came, and I
decided to try out copying some files from an external SSD to the laptop’s
internal hard drive, I hit the buffers! The machine would copy a certain
percentage of data then reboot. On the
fourth attempt, I gave up, and knew it was time to contact PC Specialist.
The operative who took my call was lovely. He was quiet, efficient and helpful. He logged into the laptop remotely using a
tool called Quick Assist which is built into Microsoft. He ran some diagnostic tests, and eventually
confirmed my own gut feeling that the laptop had a hardware problem with its
CPU, the Central Processing Unit. He
immediately authorised a collection of the machine for the next day. As I write this blog, the laptop has gone back
to PC Specialist. I had to box it all up
in readiness for the courier to take it away, signing out of my Microsoft
Office software and removing my JAWS licence beforehand.
Fortunately, I had not gone too far down the road of
installing all the software I wanted to use and customising it. But I had spent two days trying to wrestle
with updates that wouldn’t install, and the random rebooting sequence. If you know your way round a computer
reasonably well, you get a feel for what to expect, and I realised pretty early
on that this new beast wasn’t happy for whatever reason.
I look forward to receiving a replacement laptop in the
coming week, it has just been bad luck that this happened.
So to the update of this post. The laptop was returned to me the following
week, and I began all over again to set it up.
Even more cautious than before, I didn’t authorise JAWS, so instead ran
it in 40-minute demo mode, and often switched to NVDA to get the basics out of
the way. Again, however, Windows
wouldn’t install all the updates, and my heart really sank when I started
copying files across. The computer did
as before and just rebooted midway through a file transfer. I was now becoming very angry and frustrated,
and contacted PC Specialist. Again, the
operative - a different person this time - ran some diagnostics and concluded
there was still something wrong! Really?
I would never have guessed! So I boxed up the laptop once more after
signing out of Microsoft.
After another week - by which time we were into November - I
was told that the second SSD drive was faulty and needed replacing. Also, Windows itself had become corrupt and
had to be installed from scratch. I told
PC Specialist that they would need to ensure that the laptop came back with all
updates installed, and everything working as it should, otherwise I would be
looking for a full refund and compensation.
Sure enough, my laptop arrived the following week, and
worked perfectly after that. So, end of
the story? Not quite! I then tried to
setup Teams, and while installing and configuring it was easy, I couldn’t link
it to Outlook so that I could create invitations to meetings. I could go into Teams and use its calendar to
create appointments, but I couldn’t do it within Outlook, the Teams link just
wasn’t there. After a lot of Googling
and advice from fellow Teams users, I decided to contact Microsoft Accessibility,
then struck gold. Although I had
downloaded and installed Teams from my Microsoft Admin Centre page, it wasn’t
the correct version for working with 365 Business Standard. Once this was uninstalled by the helpful
operative at Microsoft, I was able to sign into the correct version of Teams,
and now happily use Outlook to create my appointments and send colleagues the
all-important invitation complete with Teams link to join the meeting.
So the moral of this story is probably to have
perseverance. It was a terribly
frustrating experience to have purchased a top spec laptop only to find that
there were faulty components. PC
Specialist apologised and said that ‘These things happen,’ but it’s not ideal
when you have just shelled out £1,500 and had to return it twice. It has been worth the effort though as I am
very happy with the laptop. Do however
be cautious about the version of Teams you install when you want to run
Microsoft 365, the operative who dealt with my issue did say it was incredibly
confusing, and if he thought so, where does that leave the user?
Glossary Of Computer Jargon
Antivirus - software that protects your desktop or laptop
against viruses, trojans or worms
Bloatware - a casual term for collective software that
manufacturers like Dell or HP install on their desktops or laptops to brand it
CPU - Central Processing unit is the heartbeat of the
computer or laptop and controls its speed
Desktop - a name normally given to a tower computer that
sits on or underneath a desk
Hard Drive - an internal component of a desktop computer or
laptop that stores all the program data and any files you create, save or
transfer
Hardware - the collective name for all the components of
your desktop or laptop
Laptop - originally named because people could place them on
their lap with the lid open to reveal the screen
Motherboard - the most important component of any desktop or
laptop on which various chips like RAM and soundcard are mounted
RAM - Random Access Memory is the amount of memory used to
access and run your programs on a desktop computer or laptop
Software - the collective name for any programs you run on
your desktop or laptop
Soundcard - the chip that provides the desktop or laptop
with sound through speakers or headphones
SSD - Solid State Drive is the newer type of internal
storage on your desktop computer or laptop that runs much faster than a
mechanical hard drive does
Resources
Argos
Currys
John Lewis & Partners
PC Specialist