2 May
2002
2 May
'02
4:19 p.m.
From: Richard Erlacher <edick(a)idcomm.com>
What's always annoyed me with
"brand-name" PC's is that the packaging
ALWAYS
deviates from the "norm" established by the
DIY market. Consquently,
your
DELL, Gateway, or Compaq was never upgradable, because
the CPU or hard
disk
wasn't supported by the BIOS, or some peripheral
wouldn't fit in the
system
because of address conflicts. Simple things like the
on-board video
caused
problems when they failed because one couldn't
disable them, or, if one
did,
the now-broken native video interfered with the
replacement. Even
printer
ports posed such problems. Many times the packaging
itself was the
problem.
Have you ever tried to replace or upgrade the CDROM
drive in an HP PC?
Actually I've found that CD-ROM drives are among the easiest components to
replace in HPs. Often the floppy disk drives and power supplies have a
weird form factor, and when it comes to motherboards, forget it.
I have found HP and Compaq units where, in order to replace the CD-ROM
drive (or *any* drive) I had to pull the motherboard, which seems pretty
bizarre in itself.
Glen
0/0