Slow agonizing Death

Redoverfarm · June 09, 2008, 04:30:06 PM

I think my computer is on it's last leg. Doing a lot of screwy stuff lately. So I don't exactly know when the funeral will be. Can anyone give me there recommendations on brand or operating system's that seem to be fairly solid. What I have now is Dell w/ Windows ME system. If I don't answer or repost then you will know why. I will have to get to the DW office to check my mail if this thing is terminal real soon. Thanks

John

Daddymem · June 09, 2008, 06:41:27 PM

What is the machine's problem? If it just old and windows has become bloated, install a linux distro on that baby and don't look back. Knoppix or Ubuntu. Try out a live cd first to see if you like it (no installt, runs off the cd). You may get many more years out of that computer if it isn't hardware troubles. If you don't use specialized software and doodads you download from the web, you probably won't be bothered by not having windows.

Knoppix

Ubuntu

June 09, 2008, 07:01:46 PM

He's having video problems. Very large characters. I emailed a few things to check.

I wish I could get drivers for my laptop in Linux. (I've tried) I hate Vista.

glenn kangiser · June 09, 2008, 07:16:15 PM

We ordered Sassy one of the few remaining XP systems with the Intel core duo on a laptop - HP . I like HP laptops but their power cords suck -- they have broke the connector on the mother board a couple times. This time it is just the cord broke inside the insulation. If you get an HP laptop be careful with that plug in cord connection. It is a problem in nearly any one I think - Vista sucks -- Jonesy has things that won't work with it.

I really hated the AMD Turion -- talk about a slug. Luckily the computer broke and I switched to the Intel on the changeover.

ScottA · June 09, 2008, 08:54:12 PM

Avoid Dell at all costs. Dell is so bad you'd think Bush was running the company. Seriously. I use a commercial grade Fujitsu laptop. It's rock solid stable on (gasp) Vista. FYI many of the problems windows is blamed for don't happen with commercial grade equipment but unless you're using it for business it's hard to justify spending $3k for a laptop.

June 10, 2008, 12:24:53 AM

I'm a Toshiba girl. I've had their laptops since 1995 or so, and beat them to death, but only had 3 so far. This time I'm running on Vista and its fine, except the home design program I just bought for $12 won't run on it. Missing a .dll that used to be in XP. That's the 3A program that is recommended on this site. The old laptop took a header a few weeks ago, and I had to be up and running, no breaks.

Good news is that I do full back ups on an external drive, cannot afford to lose the work, and the computer guru fixed the older XP Toshiba, so I'll still be able to use the program on it. Which is not a business thing anyway.

So, I think Vista was probably a bumpy ride when it first was thrust upon the public, but for me, so far so good.

Plus Toshiba is a good laptop brand. OK not USA, but take a look at the "made in:" labels on your new US machines, they're all made somewhere else.

Homegrown Tomatoes · June 10, 2008, 12:51:23 PM

I'm a little worried about ours, too. It is an Averatec laptop, about 5-6 years old, but recently it has started acting weird. It goes on and off by itself in the middle of the night, and it doesn't hibernate when it should. The fan can't keep it cool enough. The other night DH and I watched a movie on it, and when the movie was over, the bottom of the computer was so hot he had to use oven mitts to pick it up... the foot of the bed where it'd been sitting felt like someone had left an iron on it! I've started unplugging it and shutting it down completely at night because I'm afraid that it'll catch something on fire. I think it is time to at least start looking at new ones. DH will love that... nothing makes his heart flutter nearly so much as that little phrase: "Let's go electronics shopping."

CREATIVE1 · June 10, 2008, 01:07:39 PM

Sometimes just replacing the fan does wonders.

gandalfthegrey · June 10, 2008, 01:11:52 PM

Laptops tend to overheat more these days. Battery problems still exsist even though the industry claims that they have taken care of the fire probem. I use a desktop (old compag en866) it runs slower than my Dell c640 laptop but it runs a lot cooler.

(My DW has hijacked my laptop) I don't mind because I am semi-retired now and don't need the speed I had with the wireless system.

I back up her files to the back up drive on the desktop so we have redundancy of her artwork.

June 10, 2008, 02:49:50 PM

Be careful where you place those laptops. Some of them have the fans on the bottom and if you put it on a soft surface you restrict airflow and lower cooling abilities. Good idea to always put it on a hard surface and make sure the cube on the plug is also on a hard surface, they get hot too.

MaineRhino · June 10, 2008, 04:19:50 PM

I use a laptop everyday for work. I usually upgrade every 2-3 years.
I have found the HP to be the most unreliable so far. Lousy tech support and customer service too.
Toshiba was very good when I had 2, several years ago.
My last 3 have been Gateway's. My current one has a 17" screen, and most importantly for me, a 10-key built into the full size keyboard, for easy numerical entry.
I dread "downgrading" to Vista for my next laptop. I had it on my main machine. It was horrible. I'm back to XP now....

Daddymem, how correct you are about the fans and the heat issue. I used to place my laptop on my lap to work, usually for a few hours at a time. I would get terrible headaches, nausea, etc..... It turned out that I was slowly overheating my body, due to the heat transfer from the laptop to my legs. I no longer do that, and I haven't had those issues since...

Redoverfarm · June 10, 2008, 04:50:21 PM

Well it is still up an going although all the fonts appear to be mis-sized and the screen is blown up that I have to scroll left and right to view the entire. I am sure I haven't heard the last from it but for now it is hanging on by a thread ( no pun intended ). Trying to decide on an upgrade. SO many choices. But I only use it for home with no buisness or real necessity so it shouldn't hurt too bad.

considerations · June 10, 2008, 04:52:57 PM

Fascinating, I use the laptop in my lap to keep warm in the winter.

...in the summer I put it on a tray in my lap to keep cool.

Madroaster · June 10, 2008, 08:54:04 PM

Quote from: Redoverfarm on June 10, 2008, 04:50:21 PM
Well it is still up an going although all the fonts appear to be mis-sized and the screen is blown up that I have to scroll left and right to view the entire. I am sure I haven't heard the last from it but for now it is hanging on by a thread ( no pun intended ).

This is almost always caused by setting your screen resolution wrong. With some setups, it's possible to change it so that it doesn't fit on your monitor, and you wind up scrolling left and right. If you haven't already tried this, follow the instructions here: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000190.htm.

Sometimes the solutions can be simple. Of course, this might not fix your problem. But it might.

--Derek

June 10, 2008, 10:02:02 PM

Thanks Derek but I went that route already. I just wish that I could transpose this screen to the thread and let people know what it is. I have tried re-seting the size of fonts and screen but it doesn't help. It's like your watching 2 or 3 movies at the same time. One is widescreen with big fonts, other parts are small fonts. Almost gives you a headache. Thanks anyway.

John

muldoon · June 10, 2008, 10:26:00 PM

redover,

I suppose it could be a setting issue as others have suggested, but I tend to doubt it. Given you claim to be running Windows ME, (circa 1998) I assume you have a rather old machine. There are no new updates for ME, so I dont think a driver update messed up your system. If you have already tried changing resolutions and did not solve it it sounds like a bad video card to me. With a 10 year old PC this is somewhat to be expected, the failure rate for everything is 100% given a long enough timeline.

It also sounds like your PC is a desktop. If it is, you might be able to fix this dirt cheap. Go to bestbuy or circuit city, or perhaps even walmart if its sized enough and go to their electronics department. Look for a cheap PCI based video card. It is important to get one that is PCI, ask for it. You should expect something between 15 and 25 bucks. Dont get the gaming cards, nothing new or fancy. Your PC is old, your operating system is old, you want plain jane simple.

print these out ahead so you can read it as you go. When you get home with your new card unplug everything from the big box. Open the screws and look inside. When you look at the PCI video card there will be a green circuit board, a set of "fingers" that have metal plating on the side. Inside the computer there will be plastic slots exactly the length of the the plated part of the card. With all power unplugged slide the card into this slot until it seats firmly (dont jam it). Screw everything back together, but plug your monitor into the new video card. Boot it up and go from there, if anything goes wrong, or if this does not fix your problem simply reverse the steps remove the card, box it up and return it to the store.

Madroaster · June 10, 2008, 10:33:47 PM

Quote from: Redoverfarm on June 10, 2008, 10:02:02 PM
Thanks Derek but I went that route already. I just wish that I could transpose this screen to the thread and let people know what it is. I have tried re-seting the size of fonts and screen but it doesn't help. It's like your watching 2 or 3 movies at the same time. One is widescreen with big fonts, other parts are small fonts. Almost gives you a headache. Thanks anyway.

You could do that. When you've got something you want us to see, hit the Prnt Scrn button on your keyboard. Then you can open up Paint, hit ctrl+v (or Edit-->Paste), and save the image as a jpg. Then you can post the image here like any other.

--Derek

benevolance · June 10, 2008, 10:57:21 PM

wow reading this thread is like trying to read klingon...

I am a complete moron when it comes to anything electronic... Seriously...Tonight I got confused wiring up a thermostat... Which is kind of depressing when you consider my wife was watching me flounder around like pig in a tutu trying to somehow muddle through it...

And a stone age kind of man I guess $:-\$