Comments on: Happy ending for computer disaster in Vietnam

A major PC meltdown ends surprisingly well at a local repair shop in Hanoi that offers super-fast service.

[mattharms]

I've absolutely loved your pieces from Vietnam. It's been great reading these over the past few weeks.

[scratchface]

a happy ending in Vietnam, imagine that :)

Great story though, I'm sure having a regular case will come in handy when it comes time to make an upgrade.

[sanenazok]

Not a bad lesson at all...quick question: did you buy the Vietnamese version of XP?

[adam2099]

He had to have installed XP in the U.S., since the computer was set to 110V the first time he plugged it in in Vietnam.

[megavyrus]

It amazes me how many useless stories get published on CNET these days.

So Dong, you said you "rebuilt" the machine to run Windows XP. Do you always use such pompous words to give the impression you know more than you actually do? Rebuilding the machine would imply taking it apart, possibly changing some hardware and assembling it back together and reinstalling Windows. From what it seems, you just reinstalled Windows. That's not called "rebuilding". Just FYI.

The mere fact that you decided to move from Vista to XP is a clear sign that your computer knowledge is rather limited. You should have been part of the Mojave experiment.

Granted, Dell does use some custom designed parts, including cases and power supplies. Even the motherboards may be customized in that they may have more or less features than the retail counterparts, but the form factor is the same (ATX or mATX, etc). That's why transplanting the contents of the Dell PC to a newer case doesn't pose that many problems, especially as far as the motherboard is concerned. I have done it many times and it doesn't take a genius to do it. You need a new power supply and maybe some new cables, but not much else.

I can't think of a "happy ending" to my comment so I will leave it at that.

[T_Tran]

Megavyrus...have you ever seen that U.S. Military poster that's titled, "How about you sip on a cup of ****"

Who died and made you a computer king? Is Vista the "only" O/S that EVERYONE should run? It's called preference son. We all know that XP uses less resources and runs much faster than Vista if both uses the same amount of RAM. How do you know that his niece isn't a gamer or her school uses XP and that's what she's familiar with? How about everyone jump off a bridge and follow after you? Some people have got to quit complaining and whining like a little..*ahem*

[megavyrus]

To T_Tran:

Nobody died and I never called myself a computer king. My argument was actually that any person with average computer building knowledge could have performed the operations that the author of the article had portrayed as somewhat miraculous.

No, Vista is not the only OS everyone should run, let's not turn this into a OS war. And yes, XP does use less resources than Vista, but so does Windows 98 use less resources than XP and Windows 3.1 less resources than Windows 98. Resources put aside, Vista is just a lot more reliable than XP. I've used Vista since its launch, for 2 years and XP for 4 years before, so I know for a fact, rather than others who "know" based on the impressions other clueless people have.

The 11 years old niece a gamer? Come on... Do you really think she could tell the difference between DX 9 and 10. Nevertheless, if that was the case, I am sure it would have been mentioned in the article. But let's face it, we all know the decision was purely the author's, based on the author's "skewed" view of Vista presumably.

And I agree that everyone has a preference, but here the problem is bigger than that. Here, we deal with an article read by many many people, who may take the author's views for granted, since they'd assume the author is qualified to write about hardware, computer repairs and operating systems. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

So if you don't have any good arguments to bring really, why not go back to Vietnam and stay there?

[Maclover1]

Megavyrus.....you put the "****" in F@c!****. Here is a idea, if you dont like the articles dont read them. If you dont have anything nice to say...****.

It was a great article IMHO.

[DamnPigs]

What a ******.

[megavyrus]

Hey mac loving boy, here's the thing: I can't know if I liked the article UNLESS I read it.

And here's another thing: if you don't like my comment, don't read it and don't react to it. You're just doing exactly what I did. I read a bad piece of text, which stirred some bad feelings, causing me to react with a comment... which I never really do.

[compudoc318]

@ megavyrus....."its not called rebuilding???? what dictionary did your write??? The guy is from vietnam, words don't always translate the same you pompous jerk. Although i agree with the vista comment, it all comes down to choice, the girl is 11, why make her learn a new system, and why would that reflect on his knowledge, after all, he's the one paid to write here.....

[blaster66]

As far as I'm concerned, Vista is a piece of junk. So...it's not that much of a stretch to consider the installation of XP in such a situation. What struck me as enlightening in this article was the fact that these guys could/would do this in 24 minutes. I work in this industry, and we all know that a 3-4 day turnaround is usually the norm.

btw- chill out 'megavyrus'. Your world can't be that bad, can it? Maybe you should consider a Mac so you won't be so frustrated ;-)

[sflocal]

Megavyrus, in this particular instance you are being quite arrogant and rude. Sure many articles from CNet is questionable however the Vietnam articles have been quiet refreshing. This is a classic case of "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything".

While for you, the case-switching solution may seem juvenile and not "miraculous", let's see how you would be in the same situation with a Dell PC in what is essentially a third-world country and the infrastructure is something you would not be accustomed to.

I build my own PC's as well and they are serious high-end systems. I can sympathize with Dong when that PSU toasted knowing Dell makes their cases incompatible with 3rd-party standardized PSU's. They came up with a valid and ingenious solution and in the end, all parties were happy. Perhaps it didn't have the nice-looking Dell case but in the end, it will probably end up on the floor covered in papers anyways.

The Vista/XP thing is a non-issue. I hate Vista even after all the patches are installed. XP is still the way to go so long as no DX10 gaming is necessary.

Your comments were in very poor taste. Shame on you.

Dong, these were great articles. Keep up the good work. I look forward to future articles you write!

Ignore whiners like that guy. Apparently, his parents forgot to lock the door to the basement and he got out.

[perontopsp]

whoa, you are a HUGE ****** BAG!!!
This is just a heartwarming story.
So just calm down, you heartless wench.

[bknowledge]

You stupid b*****d. As it may be easy to run down to your local Best Buy, Staples or Target and pick up the cables & new power supply that you want. That is not so easy in the third world i.e. VIETNAM nor is getting support for Vista. The computer is for an 11 year old child and Dong is not going to be around to offer support so XP would be a better choice. Are you an 11 year old child?

"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped." Elbert Hubbard

[real_bgiel]

Great article. What's next in this series? How to find gas leaks with a match?

[ckurowic]

"Dell's proprietary motherboard": See? Apple is NOT the only one that is proprietary! So, get off that bandwagon PC trolls.

[sanenazok]

Hey, at least the proprietary Dell stuff is *everywhere* even Hanoi and I would venture a guess Habana. Good luck getting an Apple fixed anywhere outside the US. I think Apple's worldwide presence is in the margin of error (2%).

[sythara]

Dell propriatery means that it s amotherboard designed for Dell. In my experience with Dells, they still have a standard ATX (maybe mini-ATX) mobo and all other components are not trully propriatery. The case may have been designed to fit only Dell mobos, but you can still swap things around. Apple is completely propriatery because to my knowledge you can't take my nVidia card from my PC and slap it into a Mac. You can, however, do these things with PCs.

[compudoc318]

youre the troll bringing up apple, no one else here was comparing....

[chrispenner]

Welcome to the 1990s. Brand names have always had proprietary parts to varying degrees. Thing is, it's not necessary to buy a brand name machine when one can build a PC from standard components. You can't do that with a Mac (Hackintoshes don't count as a) they're not legal, and b) they don't work with all hardware).

So, those that cite non-proprietary parts when defending their decision to not buy a Mac are making perfectly valid points. Even if Mac has gotten a little better of late.

Also, a Mac is a Personal Computer. Are you referring to Windows when you say "PC?" Because that is inaccurate.


To those ragging on Megavyrus... he has a point. He may be blunt, but he has a point.

Finally, to Mr. Ngo: setting that machine up for your niece is a great thing. Hopefully that will open some doors to her and give her a head start in this world. Knowledge is power, and you've given her a key.

[pithenumber]

You can find manufacturers of Dell compatible stuff

search Newegg for a Dell PSU and you get results for PSUs compatible with Dell

search Newegg for an Mac PSU and you get a bunch of crap that has nothing to do with the internal components of the Mac

[Mr. Bloggerific Himself]

Sorry to see these come to an end.

[d.gallea]

Laptops and printers have universal power supplies that will run on anything from 100v to 240v, no switching necessary. Why desktop PSUs don't do this is a mystery.

[sevort]

Why in the world would he took desktop in Vietnam instead of a laptop? It's easy nowadays to buy a laptop in the US for less than $400 dollars...

[lord_r4pt0r]

Actually, as a former Dell's technitian, I'm aware that some dells used to come with a PSU that change from 110 to 220v depending on the connection, but I think that those are a little more expensive that the new ones.

[skrubol]

'universal' power supplies have a fair amount of redundancy (some of the components have to deal with the high current from being connected to 100v, and the high voltage from 250v,) which adds weight, cost and probably reduces efficiency. This isn't much of a problem on a <100W power supply, but when you get into >250W, things start to add up. Having a 110-220 switch adds only a few cents worth of components (maybe a dollar or 2 if you include the bigger capacitors needed) to a 220 only supply, so it's a cheap and easy way to add dual-voltage capability.

[softwarepro]

funny or stupid that you plug in your computer into 220v so it can die.. but it happens

I mean laptop power supply can work on 100-220v.. why not desktop...

[sythara]

Some PSUs have a switch in the back for different voltages. Some PSUs (to include laptops) are automatic.

[mad1111]

+1 to that comments above...great stuff and a good insight to another "world" over there!

[royby]

It's funny how we each take different things from any story. What I got out of this article was the ability of Vietnamese to quickly work out a solution to a problem and work on it immediately to the satisfaction of the customer. I'm an Australian who has been living in Viet Nam for the past 5 years and Dong's story is not news to me. From the guy sitting on the street next to a compressor who will fix a puncture on the spot for very little money to my motorbike mechanic who will complete most jobs while I sit and wait, (no appointment necessary), there are many examples of entrepreneurship that me and my fellow Australians could (and should) learn from.

Having said that, there are many times here in Viet Nam when bureaucracy and antiquated systems utilising massive amounts of paperwork make some tasks here maddeningly and painfully slow. Try sending a parcel by the post or, even better example, collect some personal items from customs and you will see what I mean.

But I never failed to be impressed by Vietnamese ingenuity when they are sole operators or otherwise free from the shackles of bureaucratic stupidity. Some of my happiest moments living here have been sitting around talking and watching these guys work. I'm glad for your sake Dong that you were able to experience it for yourself.

[lord_r4pt0r]

I want to add something. The size of the PSU could be non-standard, but the connector is. Dell is not using a propietary connector on the dimension computers from some years ago. Also, I cheked the documentation of this model, and the connector is a standard ATX. I found it here: http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insp530s/en/OM/HTML/parts.htm#wp1602242

[etyb2007]

I thought Dell stopped the proprietary power supply arangement about 2000

[1mitee]

I am confused. The power cord for the 110-Volt computer would not plug into the 220-Volt socket in Vietnam. You would have to use a converter with different prongs. How did he toast the power supply unit ?

[pithenumber]

They plug in, I've seen sockets that accept lots of plugs.