Computer problem solved

[clare]

Not Intel processors I'l bet - and I'll never spend a cent on another AMD. and what's with the "new" in quotation marks? I can build a "new " computer out of used and out-of-date parts for under $50. I've got 3 "new" desktops here that cost me less than $50 - My wife uses one of them, and one is my "sandbox" machine. Also 3 laptops that cost me the price of a new battery each - and one I'm waffling over whether I will spend the price of a battery to make it fully functional. One is an AMD, and one is a DELL - the only one of each i "own"

[clare]

Show me something you can buy in the "mass market" that ISN'T made in China, or from parts made in China, and I'll show you something made in Korea, Viet Nam, or the Phillipines - - -

[Terry Coombs]

"New" meaning they're new to me . All were used in another machine before I got them .

[philo]

I had the same job for 38 years...or I should say I never changed jobs. The company I worked for had been bought out several times and I went from working for a small local company to a large world-wide corporation. Ironically, without me changing jobs, the company I ended up with was the competitor to the one I started with.

I was planning on retiring after 40 years but my knees had to be replaced and I had to retire. When my doctor said. "Sorry but you won't be able to go back to work. " I smiled and said, "No need to apologize."

I would have been OK for desk work but I was a field service engineer and had a lot of physical work was involved.

I still do some computer repair work and if I had a paying customer waiting, $7 for a CMOS battery would not have been a big deal.

[Ralph Mowery]

When doing work you can recover your cost it is often better to pay more for an item and get the customer going.

When working a large motor speed control quit. The factory repair main replaced 2 large diodes. There were 3 of them as this was a 3 phase system. I asked him to replace the 3 rd one. He said they were $ 50 each. I told him I don't care as it was costing up about $ 1000 an hour to be down plus your charge to come back in if needed. It may not need changing, but why take the chance.

[Ed Pawlowski]

exactly. If you have a car with a timing belt, it is often just the cost of parts to replace the water pump at the same time. There are a lot of situations like that. $10 or $40 now rather than $500 if it breaks next week.

[Frank]

That's right. People that will only buy American are paying mostly for nameplate. Years ago, my last American car, a Ford, was assembled in Mexico.

[Unquestionably Confused]

Exactly. If two of the three crap out, what are the odds?

LOL! You own a Honda too, eh?

[Ralph Mowery]

I had a Toyota and it is about the same. An independant garage did all my work at one time. The fellow just happened to have a car similar to mine on the lift and the covers off so he could show me the water pump was behind the timming belt that needs replacing every 70 or so thousand miles. He said he only charges the price of the pump to change it out while changing the belt.

[Ralph Mowery]

Funny how what is thought of as American cars are assembled in other countries and now some of the 'imported'cars are made in America. I hate that because seems the imported cars are better than the same brand made in the US.

[rbowman]

My '87 F150 was made in Canada.

[rbowman]

The history of the Lordstown plant is a a capsule summary of the US car industry. GM even tried to reprise their last diesel adventure.

[Frank]

I worked with an engineer that had left Ford. His last assignment was to adapt a Ford model for a Japanese engine.

[clare]

My last aerostar was assemled in St Louis of "globally souced parts"

[philo]

Someone brought me a power supply for a very high end film scanner. It has four bridge rectifiers two of which had been replaced a while back. One of the original ones is bad but I'm going to replace the still-good original one as well. They are about $8 each.

[philo]

They were the CR2032

and one thing I know is batteries. I was a senior service engineer at Enersys-Delaware and had 38 years in the field when I retired. (Previously Yuasa-Exide and before that Exide)

I know how to test a CMOS battery under load and always do so with any that might have been sitting around for a while, but they do have a very long shelf life.

If I really needed the battery that day I would have paid the $7 or stole one out of the machine spare machines I have in my shop.

It was more of a psychological need than a real one.

Example:

Ten years after I had been living in my house, I one day noticed that the bathroom light had no globe. It was just a bare light bulb.

I went over to the nearest h/w store but they were out of the size I needed. The clerk told me he was getting a restock shipment in two days and to come back.

Needless to say I went to another H/W store, no way was I going to wait two more days!

[philo]

On 04/28/2017 07:56 PM, [e-mail] wrote: <

an build a decent machine for $200.

I have never purchased a new computer in my life and never will. I've built or re-built them by the thousands and really enjoy doing so. They have mostly been running trouble free but recently one of my refurnished units bit the dust. MOBO died so I just gave the guy another machine. He is a small time bookstore owner and in the five years I've been doing repairs for him have thus far collected $40.

Had he been someone who was able to pay me, I would have given him better junk!

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

I think my '88 Toyota Camry was made in Japan.

[David B.]

"Wait two more days"! ;-)

Dustin isn't too hot with humor!

You are a card, Philo!

[David B.]

Please don't wish your life away! :-D

Do, though, keep on saving - you can NEVER accumulate too much money!