Gail Phillips on fri 14 dec 07
Now hold on, Mayor Mel -
It ain't just electronics for furnace repair that they can gig you on. I had a situation where I needed a furnace part replaced (I wasn't home, and the ex, who was a heating/air business owner in a previous life - so there was no excuse for this IMHO - dealt with the service tech who came out to work on the furnace). The tech said it would be $200+, I don't remember the exact figure - it was "special order". It took forever to get this "special part", and then, when they finally came out to do the repair, the tech used about $2 worth of various PVC parts that you could get at any hardware store, which is exactly what he did. No difficult access, no long time duration. Charged us the original quote. When I found out what the repair actually was, I went through the roof. Couldn't get the company to provide any refund at all, but I have NEVER had them back, NEVER will, and I tell all my friends here about what a rip their company is. Buttholes.
On the computer topic, don't be so sure that you can fix a virus problem in 15 minutes. I have spent days trying to eradicate them for customers, only to have them pop right back up the minute I deliver the computer back to them. Some of the virii are insidious. The only recourse is to do a full reformat/reinstall, a.k.a., nuke and pave. That takes about 8 hours, when you count all the time to format, load, download and install all the Windows Updates (over 100 now, and that doesn't count service pack 2 if they don't have that on their original CD), antivirus and updates, spyware protection packages and updates, java, flash player, shockwave player, quicktime (and iTunes, if they want it), Adobe Reader, set up maintenance instructions and shortcuts, and run all scans, disk cleanup, and disk defragmentation. You want cheap? I charge, on average, $120 for that service. So.
Hope you are all ready for Christmas, I know I'm not.
Love to all,
Gail
-------------- Original message from mel jacobson : --------------
> i just want things fair.
>
> repair parts have gotten out of hand.
> check and double check...esp electronic repair
> parts.
>
> here is a real story: (second telling)
> my daughters furnace at the farm...brand new mind you,
> stopped working...-20 for a week. i went up and the
> house was frozen. toilets had solid ice.
> i called a local furnace guy. started a slow warm up of the house
> with electric heaters...he installed a new electronic igniter.
> cost $468.51. part was $250.00.
> all working fine.
> house was saved..no damage.
>
> at the pool last december, and a guy said to me...`man,
> i just had an igniter put in my new furnace...and before he
> could finish i said...`$500`...`wow, how did you know?``
> hmmm,
> so, i went to midwest electronic supply. asked the guy
> the price of a honeywell/3562 igniter. `hmmm, lets see,
> igniter...hmmm, around twenty bucks.` depends on the model.
>
> now, this install is: remove two sheet metal screws, pull out the
> igniter, unhook a four wire bundle, remove. slide in new
> igniter, add wire bundle, screw in two sheet metal screws...
> start furnace.
> and, i know you have to be able to diagnose the problem...but
> hey, even david hendley could figure this out.
> (when david is cold he throws a log in his stove.)
>
> my friend virgil and me each purchased a replacement igniter.
> next time...we are ready.
> mine was around 35 bucks. virgil's was $12.95. of course, mine
> was honeywell. his was chinese/odd brand. (but, looking closely, mine
> was chinese too...just a honeywell label.)
>
> so...lessons learned.
> those little circuit boards for many appliances cost about 3 bucks
> wholesale. they charge hundreds for them.
> so.
> i just want it fair.
>
> we do have a mystique over electronic parts.
> it is like voodoo. so. watch out. check prices first.
> take your time. my friend in phoenix had a virus taken off his
> computer...i saw the billing...$396.00. tune up.
> god, anyone of you could have fixed it in 15 minutes.
> ( and i know the guy just messed with the start up/config
> and got rid of about 80 things running on start up.) did some
> delete internet stuff/cookies/defrag...and the machine runs 80 times faster.)
> my friend said...`man, that guy is cheap...and look what he did for me.`
> hmmm, to each his own.
> if you do not know anything about modern times...the scam is
> out there to get you...don't even talk about cars.
> mel
Arnold Howard on fri 14 dec 07
From: "Gail Phillips"
> On the computer topic, don't be so sure that you can fix a
> virus problem in 15 minutes.
--------------
I have a 120 gb hard drive that contains viruses. I removed
it from a computer and bought a new hard drive.
Should I reformat the infected drive or throw it away?
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
John Post on fri 14 dec 07
Gail wrote...
>The only recourse is to do a full reformat/reinstall, a.k.a., nuke and pave. That takes about 8 hours, when you count all the time to format, load, download and install all the Windows Updates (over 100 now, and that doesn't count service pack 2 if they don't have that on their original CD), antivirus and updates, spyware protection packages and updates, java, flash player, shockwave player, quicktime (and iTunes, if they want it), Adobe Reader, set up maintenance instructions and shortcuts, and run all scans, disk cleanup, and disk defragmentation. You want cheap? I charge, on average, $120 for that service...
Or buy a Mac.
Why drive a Model T when a Ferrari is available?
I own both pc's and Macs but the pc's sit and collect dust. I make
everything on my Macs.
Defrag? - Don't need it.
Viruses? - Nope.
Service packs? - Nope to that too- Apple's software works when you buy it.
Why buy a tool that you have to fix all the time? I spend Zero time per
week fixing my Mac. All I do is periodic data backups and that's while
I sleep.
If I make a Powerpoint presentation on a pc it might take up 70-80 megs
of disc space. If I make the same one on a Mac, it ends up using only
3-8 megs. How is that for bloated pc code?
Those mac/pc commercials are so funny because they are so true.
John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
http://www.johnpost.us
http://www.schwarzkoff.com
http://www.plumbrook.org
Steve Slatin on fri 14 dec 07
Arnold --
My suggestion would be to buy an external USB connected
box and controller, put the diseased drive in the box,
attach and format it, and use it for backup. You can
backup tons of files and pictures on a 120 gigger.
-- Steve S
Arnold Howard wrote:
From: "Gail Phillips"
> On the computer topic, don't be so sure that you can fix a
> virus problem in 15 minutes.
--------------
I have a 120 gb hard drive that contains viruses. I removed
it from a computer and bought a new hard drive.
Should I reformat the infected drive or throw it away?
Steve Slatin --
History teaches us that there have been but few infringements of personal liberty by the state which have not been justified ...
in the name of righteousness and the public good, and few which
have not been directed ... at politically helpless minorities.
-- Harlan Fiske Stone
---------------------------------
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
John Post on fri 14 dec 07
You can add the 120gb drive to the computer and use it as storage.
On the back of the hard drive you will see some little tabs called
jumpers. They make a bridge between two electrical pins.
You can use these jumpers to set the new drive in your computer to
Master or Master w/slave and set the infected drive as a slave. You can
then reformat the 120gb drive and use it as storage. Once you reformat
it, the viruses are gone.
John Post
>
> I have a 120 gb hard drive that contains viruses. I removed
> it from a computer and bought a new hard drive.
>
> Should I reformat the infected drive or throw it away?
>
Donald Burroughs on sat 15 dec 07
Arnold
Before re-formatting the drive and after you hook it up as an auxillary
drive go to trendmicro.com and use their on-line anti-virus program to
completely disinfect the drive. Trendmicro is very reliable. Then re-
format after the drive has been cleaned. Re-formatting does get rid of a
virus,but if you have info you want to recover better to use a "free"
online anti-virus program to clean and recover those important files you
may not have backed up.
Don
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