I'm not trying to flood this board with posts but a 'curious' QUESTION ??



I have a bad habit of buying computers on sale and never getting to use them.


I do not think these 'sales' are 'junk in the box' as to all of them.



BUT EVERY computer I start using is a defective nightmare. I'll open it 'never used'
and try to troubleshoot until I'm totally burned out.


So far the solution has been to do a total re-install of Windows. So far 2 W98 computers..2 WME....3 WXP....


Even the 'restore disk' will not even run. If it's in a partition that won't restore.


At least the ME/XP have been solved by a re-install of Windows by a computer shop around here. Bring the dud home and it works fine.



My strange question ??



Do these things loose their data with time ??


I thought hard-drives were good places to store data but sit for several years and it might be corrupted ??





Computer hardware doesn't last forever...and will eventually fail.

I'm sorry you have to deal with such nightmares, but it's LIKE buying a used car...

"Let the buyer beware"So far it has not been hardware but data on hard-drive.

Operating system corrupted.

If you're saying you've bought computers and never used them...brand new...and then when you do open them...you have problems right from the get go?

That's not good...

If this is what you mean...I don't mean to sound sarcastic...but that's really bad luck...and I thought my luck was bad...Of recent I've bought nothing. Vista came out and any bargain probably means Vista is too big for it.

I saw a Compaq 'new' at Staples a week or so ago. $250 with $50 rebate.

I'm not rich and credit cards HELP and that's sort of the way I've picked them up over time.

BUT==my little pile of XP's (or EARLIER) 'every one of them' when taken out of the box is 'dead on opening'.

So far every one works wonderful as long as Windows is 're-loaded'.

So that gave me the thoughts how long data can sit on a hard-drive. Maybe I just live in the wrong place. (radiation field..giant magnet ?)



Let's be honest here...

Data will remain intact as long as there are no hardware issues...or malware infestations.

If leaving a computer sit around without being used for a few years caused data degradation...that would be a major issue for a lot of computer manufacturers looking to unload obsolete computer systems mass produced for the general public.

My guess is some type of magnetic field had to come into contact with thes computers...hence the data loss...of course, that's just a guess.

If you got most of these computers from Staples and they were deals like the one you got for the Compaq...then they may not be telling you the entire story behind these computer purchases...again, this is just an opinion.

BTW...I'm not sure how many of these computers you have, but I'm always looking for a good deal...if I can get one, that is.

Best of luck to ya!

-Steve