For educational purposes only.
NOTE: This went in Hardware because the problems are all directly related to hardware. As far as I know, Compaq never did much in the area of software or anything.
I recently discovered the many downs of Compaq computers. Not necessarily HP comps, but the ones before HP took Compaq over (don't know if HP is any different from Compaq or not). Most of you gurus already know this, but for other people who don't or people who can't remember, I've listed the 5 biggest disadvantages of Compaqs:
1) Big One.... BIOS are stored on the primary hard drive in a special partition. If you swap hard drives or some how delete this, you'll be in trouble. I'm not aware of any other x86 type PCs that do this, and honestly I don't see the logic behind it.
2) Inferior case designs! Usually cramped, and not good for ventilation, with little room for upgrading (if any). Some companies, like eMachines, actually provide you with cases and motherboards that allow for upgrading! And room to work with. I can barely fit my hand in the case I have (provided that all hardware is connected).
3) Conflicting hardware. They usually use hardware that limits the actual abilities of other hardwares. I don't know the logic of this, either, but as far as I know, they do this.
4) Non-standard hardware. Independent of the confliction problems, they have hardware that doesn't always work with generic drivers. My Presario 1410 monitor and the onboard video dropped down to 16 colors and lost the option to go higher after a formatting and reinstallation of Windows (only other option is 2 colors). Haven't found drivers yet. The network card wont work either, now. Gotta look for drivers.
5) Aforementioned BIOS are unhelpful and difficult to use. The BIOS with this Presario 5020 I have.... don't have Boot Order options.
Correct me if anything is factually wrong.
Now I'm sure there's got to be people out there who dissagree. That's fine. And I'm sure there's people out here that already know all this, or know even more.
I'm curious as to the forum's general opinion of Compaq computers. Feel free to let your aggressions or opinions free :b
NOTE: This went in Hardware because the problems are all directly related to hardware. As far as I know, Compaq never did much in the area of software or anything.
I recently discovered the many downs of Compaq computers. Not necessarily HP comps, but the ones before HP took Compaq over (don't know if HP is any different from Compaq or not). Most of you gurus already know this, but for other people who don't or people who can't remember, I've listed the 5 biggest disadvantages of Compaqs:
1) Big One.... BIOS are stored on the primary hard drive in a special partition. If you swap hard drives or some how delete this, you'll be in trouble. I'm not aware of any other x86 type PCs that do this, and honestly I don't see the logic behind it.
2) Inferior case designs! Usually cramped, and not good for ventilation, with little room for upgrading (if any). Some companies, like eMachines, actually provide you with cases and motherboards that allow for upgrading! And room to work with. I can barely fit my hand in the case I have (provided that all hardware is connected).
3) Conflicting hardware. They usually use hardware that limits the actual abilities of other hardwares. I don't know the logic of this, either, but as far as I know, they do this.
4) Non-standard hardware. Independent of the confliction problems, they have hardware that doesn't always work with generic drivers. My Presario 1410 monitor and the onboard video dropped down to 16 colors and lost the option to go higher after a formatting and reinstallation of Windows (only other option is 2 colors). Haven't found drivers yet. The network card wont work either, now. Gotta look for drivers.
5) Aforementioned BIOS are unhelpful and difficult to use. The BIOS with this Presario 5020 I have.... don't have Boot Order options.
Correct me if anything is factually wrong.
Now I'm sure there's got to be people out there who dissagree. That's fine. And I'm sure there's people out here that already know all this, or know even more.
I'm curious as to the forum's general opinion of Compaq computers. Feel free to let your aggressions or opinions free :b