HP 21.5″ All-in-One Desktop, 32GB RAM

I only use the computer for office work and it is so far so very good. It is definitely one of the fastest and nicest desktop you will ever own. The speed of this computer is more than I anticipated. If you are deciding between an apple and a Microsoft, you should always look at the processor, the processor will tell you everything about the computer. Both computers use the same processors, however Microsoft will always give you the better processor at a cheaper price. This computer is very easy to set up and very easy to use. Huge fan of Windows 11. Also, the speech to text that Microsoft offers for free is definitely a plus for me.

I bought this to replace a 3 year old ACER A-I-O. The HP specs are all much higher than the ACER specs, costs more than the ACER, but my 3 year old ACER with a hard drive that is 85% full is still much faster: faster to load programs, faster on the internet, faster with spreadsheets, faster with word processing, etc. Sometimes I think the HP is hung up, but just give it a minute or two, go get a cup of coffee and read the paper and it will catch up. My best guess is that the HP bloatware is to blame. I’m not a gamer, but I thought I would try some online, low-resource intensive game and even online Canasta (a card game) is frustratingly slow. I gave it 2 stars since it works straight out of the box, and looks nice, but that’s about it.

I am giving this a low review first because it came in Microsoft S mode, which prevented me from installing anything not Microsoft – that is, Photoshop, Norton, Malwares, etc. In other words, practically all my software. I finally got S mode disabled but now get a message that I can only use Photoshop on the web because this computer is not equipped to receive it in download, which couldn’t be correct: it’s brand new. I am guessing it’s some relic of the fact that it used to be in S mode. Anyway, if this is Microsoft’s new idea of a computer, I almost feel like switching to Mac. I don’t know whether HP has any control over the matter. The computer works fine, otherwise, though I initially had trouble it to recognize my Hotmail account. But that straightened out. It’s this proprietary situation, approaching Monopoly, by Microsoft that made me lower the rating. If you have no interest in non-Microsoft products, you’ll probably be OK with the computer, as it’s working fine other than in not allowing Photoshop.

CAN’T DO ANYTHING WITH THIS MICROSOFT SYSTEM, IT IS IN “S MODE” WHICH MEANS MICROSOFT DECIDES WHAT I CAN AND CAN’T DOWNLOAD. INSTRUCTIONS CAME WITH “ALL IN ONE” STATING HOW TO DISABLE “S MODE”. FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS AS GIVEN AND POP UP STATES THAT IT CAN’T BE DISABLED. THIS COMPUTER IS USELESS. I CAN’T EVEN SIGN IN MY WITH EMAIL AND ACCOUNT INFO, TELLS ME THAT I DON’T HAVE A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT. THEN WHEN I TRY TO CREATE ONE… IT TELLS ME THAT I ALREADY HAVE ONE! **********************update ! Finally fixed the S mode issue. Can use the All in One! If this happens to you check how your computers are linked! For some reason this HP “found my husbands computer and linked them together. Once I stopped the “link” I was able to use the All in One as a new computer, not an already established unit. Believe me it took days to figure out what was going on……and many steps to fix.