You get a few bux ahead, and what happens?
I think my laptop is failing. Turned it on, it promptly crashed, and now the sound doesn’t work. A cabinet full of DVDs and a file folder full of music, suddenly useless.
Unless I can find a fix, I’m suddenly looking for a new used ‘pooter. And Claire’s not around to do the Linux guru thing, which is the only way I got this one up and running a few years ago.
Bugger. Poop. Assorted scatological words. I know nothing about computers. Truly hate screwing around with them.
Joel it might be getting to hot with the record heat. Laptops are bad for overheating check it again when it is cool in the AM
True, laptops often have heat problems. I used to use an ancient NEC whose CPU would exit its socket after extended use. I used a cardboard filler under its access panel to keep it in.
But if that fails, a couple years ago one of my own readers, knowing I’m poor, sent me an old used laptop he found for $45 at a school surplus sale. No operating system, no optical drive, but it ran. (He sent a more-complete one to Mike Vanderboegh.) I used library bandwidth to download an Ubuntu Linux install package, jumped through a couple Windows hoops on my main computer to make a bootable USB device, told the laptop to boot from that, and it’s been working quite well ever since. I found the AC charger on Amazon for something less than $15, a spare battery for less than $20, and a DVD-RW drive for $30-something. So if yours really does die, it’s possible to get a replacement on a budget.
You’ve probably already checked this out but a lot of laptop heat problems stem from dust accumulation. Turns out that a few years of fans blowing through a confined space builds up some pretty big bunnies. If you’ve got a small enough driver to open her up it might be worth checking out. At the very least it can’t hurt.
If you end up in the market for a new one both tablets and netbooks will do fine for blog posts and movies. They’re cheap and have more efficient/slower processors which translates to lower heat. If you get the former just make sure it’s a model with a full-sized USB port instead of the mini ones.
In this environment the insides are probably stuffed with dirt and dog hair, but I’m really afraid to open it up lest I never get it back together. This laptop has always run extremely hot since I got it; since the hot weather started at the beginning of the month it could only run for brief times in the afternoon before overheating. I got one of those laptop stands with a big fan, and that improved performance a lot. Before today, that is.
Right now everything is fine except sound, which is totally fubar. Do computers still have discrete sound cards? Because that’s how long it’s been since I really worked on one’s innards.
I had a computer that kept shutting off. I downloaded a motherboard temperature monitor (speedfan from CNET) for free which showed it was running at 54 degrees Celsius. I “fixed” it by aiming a small fan at it. Now it runs at 38 degrees Celsius and never shuts off.
http://download.cnet.com/SpeedFan/3000-2094_4-10067444.html
Some desktop computers still have discrete sound cards but with laptops everything is integrated. Besides cleaning them up and changing out the memory there’s not much you can do on a modern laptop without specialized tools. Have you plugged something into the headphone port to make sure that it’s not just the speakers failing?
Yup. That was my first option. Headphones don’t work either.
Also, the one noise the ‘pooter will still make is the sign-off BEEP. Speakers work fine, there’s just no impulse going to them.
Can you tell if your hard drive is failing? I’ve had a fee different laptops crash on me and its always been the HD. Those can be found on EBay for less than the cost of buying a used laptop. My sggestion for you? Download Ubuntu and create a bootable CD or flash drive. Instructions on how to do this are on the same website as the Ubuntu download. Then buy a HD on Ebay. Removing th current HD is not difficult but you will need a screwdriver small enough to handle laptop screws which are SMALL. REMOVE THE POWER SOURCES FROM YOUR COMPUTERBEFORE YOU START (including the battery). Minimize walking away from your project to avoid static electricity discharge damaging the computer and/or components. If you MUST walk away due to unforeseen circumstancrs (which somehow aways seem to happen when we least want them) find a way to ground yourself before resuming your task. Out with the old in with the new. Reverse the installation process with the new HD. Be careful to note if the old HD is mounted on a tray that holds it securely in place. You will need that tray for the new HD. Once insta you’ll need to install the operating system. Power up the laptop. Be careful to note which function key allows you to adjust the boot order (settings). On my Acer laptop it’s F12. On yours it might be different. Select the correct boot order dependng on whether using a USB drive or a CD/DVD drive. Save your changes and exit. With your CD/DVD or USB flash drive in place, reboot the computer and go throuh the operating system installation process. End result? Working computer for a fraction of the cost of buying another one either new or used.