Need help deciding on a laptop

Hello everyone. I am new to the forums and new to laptops. Lately, our desktop computer has been randomly freezing up, redirecting me to other sites, shutting down on it's own, and getting loads of viruses. We've had it fixed countless times, updated, scanned, etc you name it, but nothing helps and the computer is fairly new. This is not the first time we've had this problem which is why I'd rather have a laptop because I do a lot of digital drawing and sketching and it gets frustrating when my computer lags. I am on a budget so I won't be spending more than $350. I'm basically looking for a laptop that will run fast and smoothly, has at least 3-4 GB of memory, has a 15.6" screen display, and has a battery life that lasts 3+ hours. I am staying away from Compaq and Acer laptops as I've heard with those, you get what you pay for.

If its fairly new then another new one wont solve your problem. Not likely. You will have a hard time buying the laptop you want for that price. Work your way to the security section and let JohnB look at it and follow the instructions there. there is sticky's at the top. Read'em then do it. Chances are you will have the same problem again after buying a new one. Best you will do and what you want for that price would be a netbook and likely not get all. Have a recovery or installation disk then ya could wipe clean, full format and reinstall.
just a suggestion.

Existing PC - Try format and reinstall the system.

$350 is very low budget...

Have a look at these $380 lenovo/ toshiba. But I don't know if they are fast enough for you.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba...lver/2833778.p?id=1218354838379&skuId=2833778
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+...lver/2762943.p?id=1218349684658&skuId=2762943

Lenovo ideapad is horrible, do not buy. In my opinion you should never buy a laptop that is under $599, poor quality build.

I would recommend a reformat or....
Download AVG free Edition and Malwarebytes from cnet.com under the downloads tab and run both of them. If there is any kind of viruse, spyware or malware that is slowing down the computer those will fix it.

Then go start>control panel>uninstall programs and go through the list of software and uninstall any software you dont use, leave anything that is Microsoft or driver related.

Then open up start and in the search bar type "run" click on run and type in the bar msconfig. Once that opens click on "startup", uncheck anything that is not Microsoft or driver related and then click apply.

Finally but not least, go to start>accessories>system tools. In there you are going to do two more things, click on disc clean up, when it open click on every box and click apply. Once that is done go back through those steps but instead of disc clean up open system defrag and run that.

As a final option, you can go to cnet.com>downloads and also down load a program called CCleaner. But do all the above first and in reality with the exception of the time it takes to do a defrag it maybe will take you 30 minutes to do all that with a good internet connection.

Everything has pretty much been said already, but I'm in favor of you saving your money and keeping the desktop. Buying a new computer will NOT solve your problems. If you're having trouble keeping your desktop system clean, you'll have the exact same problems on a new laptop. You should learn how to keep your system clean first simply by watching which sites you go to and not downloading random files.

I would recommend that you format and re-install your operating system from scratch. Having a brand new, freshly installed operating system on a 4-year old machine is just as comparable to purchasing a cheap laptop for $350.

Save your money.

The things I listed above usually does the trick if you do not have the reformat disc, I did this on my buddies 3 year old acer that was loaded with crap cause over the three years he had owned it he thought un-installing programs was taking the desktop icon and putting it in the recycle bin . That HDD needed some love.

I would go with a refurbished model since your budget is so low

Never heard anything good about refurb's.

Info about refurbish.
Dell, and never 0wned one. Ive heard this info twice.
If someone buys and delivered and they refused to accept it, its refurbished.
just a thought. never owned a oem before. An idea though.

DMGrier said:

Never heard anything good about refurb's.

Click to expand...

I won't sell refurbs because of the headaches involved with them sometimes, but for a budget of $350 I would take a refurb Toshiba over a Acer.

I would say expand your budget just a little, check this one out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146995

Sorry to hear about your desktop issue. Did you give the model of your desktop? You have received excellent advice--buying a new notebook will not resolve your issue, especially given your budget which I agree is very low given your purpose. You may seriously want to consider the advice to have JohnB, the super, super moderator on this Forum, assist you with your PC clean-up, etc.