Is there any good Inspirons??

Let me just point out to you that this forum is mainly for people to get help with problems, and thus nearly every message you read reports a problem.   People don't post if they are not having a problem.  Furthermore, a high proportion of the problems that are reported here ultimately have been caused by the device between the keyboard and the chair (or lap in the case of a laptop).  You cannot take a message board like this as representative of quality or lack thereof.   Yes, there are problems with specific devices that have been reported often enough to make one suspect of that particular device (for example the Intel wireless network cards installed in many Inspirons).  But, just to let you know - I have an Inspiron 5100 that's now about 2 years old.  During the last three months it has been in use nearly 19 hours a day and, because I live in an area severely affected by Hurricane Katrina, it has been my lifeline to the outside world and  real workhorse in my conduct of research on the levee breaches that were largely responsible for the disaster.  Despite a lot of reports on these forums about the 5100 having overheating problems, my 5100 has performed superbly in less than optimal conditions (lack of air conditioning through most of September and October, lots of dust in the streets, etc.)  Still this is the first time I have posted a message in praise of this computer and don't recall ever haviing a posted a message concerning a problem with the computer. 

Steve

Thanks.. It is good to know that there are some that I can look for.. Though looking at the forum it makes it kind of hard to find one that would have the least amount of problems.. I know very little about  computers in general, so I rely on otheres for information on how they are..

I don't know if you have read any of my other posts, but I am totally happy with my i6000 laptop! I would recommend it to anyone!

:smileyhappy:

west, what do you want to do with the notebook?  list your desired uses and people can better post a good system for you

Well, perty much I want to be wireless.. I need to be able to go out to my garage.. It is about 25' from the house.. With all of the temp ranges, and snow I can't be wired.. I am mainly going to be online. I need to search down parts, and engine codes and such. I would like a CD/DVD drive, and good memory. I have a high speed cable modem on my main PC right now. I also have the Linksys router hooked up, seeing that I sent back the B120.. I don't want to spend a fortune on a notebook.. Just something that will be reliable for me.. Thanks..

I have read alot of the posts for the Inspirons. Like I said before I had the B120, execpt I didn't know that it couldn't go wireless. I tried to get the B130 in a exchange, but they wouldn't go for it. Now I have to wait untill the money that I spent on the B120 gets back into my account before I go looking again. All I basicly need is a basic level computer.. I just need it for online work when I am wqorking on my hobby. I am a 54 year old janitor at a hospital.. Not very computer minded.. I built my last car from junk, and now I show it. There were alot of parts, and custom paint ideas I had to go online to get. So that is why I need the memory, and a good hard drive. I also need to be able to run Cd's, and DVD's. The B120 was $499. The B130 is $499. now, but by the time I get my money back that sale will be over.. I thought of refurbished notebooks, but you never know just what you will get..

Where I have my router is near a window. The garage is only about 20' away. I also don't have heat in the garage. That is why I would need something that I could move easily.. When I am in the garage for long periods of time I heat with a kerosene heater, so it would be about +60 in the garage when I bring it out. With the B120. Ididn't want junk hanging out of it.. Right now I do have the Linksys wireless card.. I bought the whole wireless "g" kit off ebay for $60.00 I thought I got a good deal.. If I sell the car I have now I would upgrade to a higher priced notebook, before I bring home my next project, but I don't expect to sell it untill the spring..

25' line of site between two windows (i.e. no trees in the way and you can see one window from ther other) will likely work.

So what would you suggest for a basic wireless?? Like I said. I do have a main computer.. I have a Dell demention 3000. It has worked very well for me so far.. I had one of the cows from another company before, and had alot of trouble with it.

I do have to say that right next to the garage I have a portable garage. It is one of those plastic covered ones from Harborfreight.com, though I do still have another window that I can see from the window where the router is.. Does it make that much difference weather or not if I have a clean shot?? Is it possiable to put a power booster on the antenna?? It might jack the range of the antenna.. That is why I was looking at the B130. It came with a wireless card, unless you think there is something else that I should look at..

Let's clarify something, is your current router wireless?  Regardless, you'll want a laptop with built in wireless (like the B130).  If the notebook can connect to the wireless router from the garage, then great, you have no problems.  If not, it becomes more compicated and more expensive.

One alternative would be to run ethernet cable from one of your router's LAN ports to the garage.  You would connect this cable to the ethernet port of an access point.  It would then broadcast wireless coverage to the garage.  Cable can be a pain though.

There are other alternatives.  Most of them involve using two directional atennas to replace the cabling.  In one example you would buy a wireless to ethernet bridge that allowed for external antennas to be attached (most do).  The bridge does exactly what it says -- namely it joins a wireless and wired network.  You would connect the bridge to the LAN port on your router via ethernet cable.  You would then attach a directional antenna to it and aim it at your garage.  In the garage you would buy another wireless the ethernet bridge with directional antenna and aim it at the other antenna (you need line of sight).  You connect this new bridge via ethernet cable to a new access point which will then cover the garage.  This setup will be expensive but should work.  I'm not sure if the environmental specs on the hardware will cover an unheated garage or not -- check them out first!  If they don't, you need to consider running cable and connecting your notebook directly to the cable.

There are other alternatives of course...  if the garage has power and it is fed off of your own home (the same would apply to phone lines) then some other options are presented.  There are devices that will let you create networks via home power or phone line.  You'd buy a bridge version of one of these devices and connect the ethernet end of it to a LAN port on your router while connecting the other end to an AC outlet in your home.  In the garage, you'd have a similar bridge.  You could either plug your notebook directly into the bridge via ethernet cable or connect the bridge to a wireless access point to make the garage wireless

Message Edited by NemesisDB on 12-18-2005 11:19 PM

I have a Linksys wireless g router, with a wireless g notebook adapter. On the CD for the router it says: Wireless-G Broadband Router. Model # WRK54G.and on the CD for the card it says:Wireless-G notebook adapter. Model # WPC54G Is that what you wanted to know?? The guy from Radio Shack said this is what I would need..

it's a low end linksys router ... it can't use open-source firmware which you may or may not care about.  it may work fine for you though, only one way to find out really

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3562391