Dealing with Setting up a Brand New PC

[GimmeSlack12]

I was thinking about the question of "Is a Mac easier to setup than a PC?"

And of course I just thought, yes, you take a Mac out of the box, plug it in and boom you're pretty much ready to go.

But then I realized that I've never had to setup a PC before, and would like some insight on the differences. What does it take to get a PC up and running after plugging it in and turning it on. Is there much of a difference? Do you have to deal with crap the first time you start Windoze?

We are talking about your basic run of-the-mill Dell, or HP I suppose. Let's not get into custom builds. And the perspective is from the average computer user, not illiterate, but not a power user.

 

[mad jew]

I find them about the same now. The only difference for me was that I have an iMac (and iBook) which was plug-and-play whereas my Dell obviously came with a box, a screen etc. It meant it took longer to plug everything in however it'd be the same for a Power Mac or mini.

 

[grapes911]

There are sometimes a couple of extra cords on a PC than a Mac, but other than that, neither is that different. HP, Dell, etc, "customizes" windows to work out of the box with their hardware.

 

[mad jew]

It's not the set up time that matters though IMO. It's the time spent maintaining the system and working around the faults. This applies to both operating systems however I'd argue there's more of this dead time when using Windows rather than OSX.

 

[grapes911]

It's not the set up time that matters though IMO. It's the time spent maintaining the system and working around the faults. This applies to both operating systems however I'd argue there's more of this dead time when using Windows rather than OSX.

 

[mkrishnan]

Yes, plus, all those confusing wires are color-coded on PCs so you can figure out where to plug which one. On my Mac...hmmm...oh, wait. There aren't any confusing wires.

Oh, well, never mind.

Meh, I dunno that setup is that different. I'll ditto the Jew on this one.

 

[superwoman]

It's not the set up time that matters though IMO. It's the time spent maintaining the system and working around the faults. This applies to both operating systems however I'd argue there's more of this dead time when using Windows rather than OSX.

I agree whole-heartedly. Another point: It is easier to upgrade to a bigger harddisk with Mac OS X (indeed, Unix in general), than Windows. On Mac OS X, you just clone the hard disk with freewares like Carbon Copy cloner, and off you go. With Windows, you'd have to use expensive tools like Ghost, and even that may not whole properly.

 

[tag]

Well I just set up my aunt's new Dell a few weeks ago. It wasn't a ton harder than setting up a Mac, though it did take longer, more cords like others said and color coded ones are nice to have when you have so many, but then again in most of these Dell systems, each cord only has one possibility of where to go, so half the time color coded ones aren't needed. Software configuration does seem to take longer on Windows though in my opinion.

HP, Dell, etc, "customizes" windows to work out of the box with their hardware.

Oh my god those customized systems can be a pain though. Nothing like starting up a computer each time to be greeted by 8! different programs giving popups on what is now needed to be done. I almost died laughing (or nearly crying you could say even ) when I first saw it.

Though I do have to say I did set my own personal BSOD record when setting up the Dell. Was able to crash and bring it to bluescreen within 1 hour of opening and setting it up. What a joy. (It turned out it had major conflicts when using just Mcaffe firewall with Norton antivirus).

 

[Saluki Alex]

I would also add that there is usually an un-Godly amount of what is essentially "crap-ware" loaded on them which takes up system resources and takes time to rid the system of, and you can't reformat using the reinstall disc or reformat partition to get rid of it because the "crap-ware" is loaded on that too. Of what I know this is more prevalent on Dells than others (I have an HP which isn't nearly as bad as my brother's Dell). But expect this to be the norm on all PC's except the home-built ones.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

The Crap-Ware I am aware of. It always seems that hitting the "Don't Show Again" button doesn't seem to work on those initial pop-ups of dumb software. Just a big marketing thing with companies that piggy back their lame-ass software with the big wig PC makers.

Alright well my consensus, as was already anticipated, is that a Mac is no easier to turn on out of the box, but essentially from that point on, the threshold of computing enjoyment is reached.

I've had enough experience with Mac that I figure I should know both sides of the argument.
Peace.

 

[mkrishnan]

each cord only has one possibility of where to go

It never fails to amaze me how hard that is to grasp.

"Where do you plug this thing in?"

"Ummmm, maybe in the port that the plug will fit into?"

"Which one?"

"Any one. If it fits, it'll probably work."