I agree--it's sort of scary seeing one retailler with so much power that they feel they can dictate business practices to the world! I stay away from that store whenever possible. Used to be they bragged that they sold only US made merchandise. Not so any more. IMHO, they are too big for their own good (and ours, too).
I like your answer. I guess in the end, it's my experience that wins out over diagnostic software. I have never bought a POST card--too spendy and I can swap out a lot of parts for the cost of one of those puppies! After a while, you can pretty much tell what the problem might be. When I mentioned QuickTech, I think I talked about using it for burn-in. That is where it does good. It can point you toward problems with memory, etc, too.
I, too, have tried a bunch. The latest one I have uses is QuickTech Pro from Ultra-X. Seems to work reasonably well for burning in systems, but it can be spendy to keep up to date. You can test individual components or run a batch running a "burn-in." It's time to renew it, but I don't know if I want to put out the bucks. I'd rate it reasonably good, but as in other programs, the explanation of the error messages leaves something to be desired.
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I agree--it's sort of scary seeing one retailler with so much power that they feel they can dictate business practices to the world!
I stay away from that store whenever possible. Used to be they bragged that they sold only US made merchandise. Not so any more.
IMHO, they are too big for their own good (and ours, too).
Art
I like your answer. I guess in the end, it's my experience that wins out over diagnostic software. I have never bought a POST card--too spendy and I can swap out a lot of parts for the cost of one of those puppies! After a while, you can pretty much tell what the problem might be. When I mentioned QuickTech, I think I talked about using it for burn-in. That is where it does good. It can point you toward problems with memory, etc, too.
I, too, have tried a bunch. The latest one I have uses is QuickTech Pro from Ultra-X. Seems to work reasonably well for burning in systems, but it can be spendy to keep up to date. You can test individual components or run a batch running a "burn-in." It's time to renew it, but I don't know if I want to put out the bucks. I'd rate it reasonably good, but as in other programs, the explanation of the error messages leaves something to be desired.
I know there is at least one in the Seattle area, but you didn't specify geographic location