Need help asap! Laptop problem - Murphy's Law
Sep 3, 2015, 6:00 pm
#31
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 815
Understood.
Did you try opening a Chrome Incognito Window at the Library, and navigating to a common site such as google.com?
The fact that Internet Explorer also does not display the Splash Screen suggests that the problem may be in Windows rather than the browser, but in Chrome you could go to Menu > History > Clear Browsing Data > Obliterate the following items from: _the beginning of time_ > tick all the boxes > [Clear Browsing Data]
This will delete all of your cookies, saved passwords, automated logins etc. (If you will have trouble logging in to some sites because you do not remember the passwords you may first wish to try it without ticking Saved Passwords.)
How would she know that URL?
Did you try opening a Chrome Incognito Window at the Library, and navigating to a common site such as google.com?
The fact that Internet Explorer also does not display the Splash Screen suggests that the problem may be in Windows rather than the browser, but in Chrome you could go to Menu > History > Clear Browsing Data > Obliterate the following items from: _the beginning of time_ > tick all the boxes > [Clear Browsing Data]
This will delete all of your cookies, saved passwords, automated logins etc. (If you will have trouble logging in to some sites because you do not remember the passwords you may first wish to try it without ticking Saved Passwords.)
How would she know that URL?
Sep 4, 2015, 7:24 am
#32
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If you live near a Microsoft store, they'll be more than happy to assist you with transferring your data over from your old PC to a new one. Yes, this is throwing money at your problem, but you've already admitted that you don't have the time to DIY, and time == money anyway.
If you wind up waiting to buy a computer until after your trade show, I'd recommend the following:
Go to an Apple Store, tell them your needs and let them tell you if it's possible with a Mac. Hang out in the Store for awhile and play with the machines. I think you'll find that they're not as intimidating as you fear.
Go to Best Buy, or wherever, and explain to a sales person what you need. Let them recommend some Windows machines. See if you can hang out and play with the machines.
You do know that you can run Windows on Macs, don't you? Also, that Microsoft produces versions of it's productivity software for Macs?
The most important thing:
Keep an open mind and make an informed decision.
Go to an Apple Store, tell them your needs and let them tell you if it's possible with a Mac. Hang out in the Store for awhile and play with the machines. I think you'll find that they're not as intimidating as you fear.
Go to Best Buy, or wherever, and explain to a sales person what you need. Let them recommend some Windows machines. See if you can hang out and play with the machines.
You do know that you can run Windows on Macs, don't you? Also, that Microsoft produces versions of it's productivity software for Macs?
The most important thing:
Keep an open mind and make an informed decision.
I do know there is an Apple store in a mall in the city 45 miles away. Don't know about Microsoft.
Currently the laptop is working (now that we pulled the battery - the other problem earlier this week when the laptop was confusing which mode it was in) for all activities, just not accessing the internet at the library or Starbucks, which of course has made things more complicated especially given library/other hours/transferring files etc & led to this thread & led to wasted time, etc.
Charter is coming late today & I'll be on my hands/knees praying we can get the d*mn thing to work w/ their internet, in which case I'll be back in bizness short-term & not having to drive 20 miles roundtrip each time to get to the library. I've also got the Kindle Fire HD to check email, but I'd rather not do full-blown releases on it. If there is a problem w/ the current laptop & Charter's internet I just don't know what I'll do.
I appreciate the input you all have been providing. Keep your fingers crossed (I'll be doing the same) all goes well w/ Charter/my laptop today & I can eke out the laptop working just a tad longer.
Cheers.
Sep 4, 2015, 7:33 am
#33
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WAS
Posts: 287
Honestly, it sounds like you need a new IT person, because if you already have one, they've been rubbish at doing their job. Am 'nthing everyone else who says that you should go to an Apple Store/Microsoft Store, play with the machines on offer, and figure out which hardware platform/ecosystem/warranty repair plan will work best for your needs.
Sep 4, 2015, 8:37 am
#34
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Sep 4, 2015, 1:47 pm
#35
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If you wind up waiting to buy a computer until after your trade show, I'd recommend the following:
Go to an Apple Store, tell them your needs and let them tell you if it's possible with a Mac. Hang out in the Store for awhile and play with the machines. I think you'll find that they're not as intimidating as you fear.
Go to Best Buy, or wherever, and explain to a sales person what you need. Let them recommend some Windows machines. See if you can hang out and play with the machines.
You do know that you can run Windows on Macs, don't you? Also, that Microsoft produces versions of it's productivity software for Macs?
The most important thing:
Keep an open mind and make an informed decision.
Go to an Apple Store, tell them your needs and let them tell you if it's possible with a Mac. Hang out in the Store for awhile and play with the machines. I think you'll find that they're not as intimidating as you fear.
Go to Best Buy, or wherever, and explain to a sales person what you need. Let them recommend some Windows machines. See if you can hang out and play with the machines.
You do know that you can run Windows on Macs, don't you? Also, that Microsoft produces versions of it's productivity software for Macs?
The most important thing:
Keep an open mind and make an informed decision.
I speak from 3+ years of personal experience trying to make this kind of "solution" work. Finally gave up on my MacBook Pro (excellent hardware) and returned to a Windows machine. Never will go back.
Sep 4, 2015, 3:06 pm
#36
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,925
For someone who's not particularly tech-oriented, Macs are extremely ill-suited to running Windows. And the Mac versions of Office programs are so different from a user-interface perspective that productivity will suffer.
I speak from 3+ years of personal experience trying to make this kind of "solution" work. Finally gave up on my MacBook Pro (excellent hardware) and returned to a Windows machine. Never will go back.
I speak from 3+ years of personal experience trying to make this kind of "solution" work. Finally gave up on my MacBook Pro (excellent hardware) and returned to a Windows machine. Never will go back.
Sep 4, 2015, 3:40 pm
#37
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I am sure I will get flamed incessantly for this, but:
Buy a Mac.
No, I am not kidding. Seriously, get yourself a Macbook. If you tend to keep a computer longer than most, I think a Mac will make you very happy. Macs, in particular, tend to permit you upgrade the operating system over a greater number of releases. While not necessarily quantifiable, a 4 year old Mac laptop doesn't "feel" its age like a Windows machine seems to. Your use cases are all well within the scope of Mac OS X and Microsoft Office for the Mac.
Buy a Mac.
No, I am not kidding. Seriously, get yourself a Macbook. If you tend to keep a computer longer than most, I think a Mac will make you very happy. Macs, in particular, tend to permit you upgrade the operating system over a greater number of releases. While not necessarily quantifiable, a 4 year old Mac laptop doesn't "feel" its age like a Windows machine seems to. Your use cases are all well within the scope of Mac OS X and Microsoft Office for the Mac.
Sep 4, 2015, 4:08 pm
#38
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Charter guy came today. Internet and telly set up. Laptop can access the WiFi, but you guessed it not able to access the internet. The install guy tried a number of things (too quick for me to follow), but with no luck. He has to do another install so couldn't stay any longer. He also agreed that I need a new laptop at this point.
I was wondering if I plugged the laptop into I-net via Ethernet if that would help, but realized not. It's the last step connection to the internet that is screwed up, not connecting to the signal.
So guess I'll be jury rigging with usb and library I-net terminal getting some of these press releases out. I'll bead over to the library in the morning and see if I can get to best buy in the aft to look at laptops or do it on Sunday since some folk are coming over tomorrow aft to help put one room we had to partially disable to get furniture in it put back together.
But again, it's not going to be as easy as just pick laptop up and good to go, get things transferred over. And of course it's not being helped by my clients just now getting me info. Better check McDonald's hours again.
Dif questions - since I use carbonite for back up, can I download everything that was backed up to the new laptop when I get it? How do i transfer programs such as eset to the new one?
The install guy gave up on showing me the universal control since for some reason I was drawing a blank on how it all works, so he said to just use it for cable and keep 're cable box on, and continue with the other controls for tv and DVD since I'm used to those. I think he was shaking his head a bit.
Or to quote my sister the park ranger, Sharon hpw can you explain how visual effects work in films, broadcast, and that technology, but be such a nimrod when it comes to everyday tech/electronics.
Cheers
I was wondering if I plugged the laptop into I-net via Ethernet if that would help, but realized not. It's the last step connection to the internet that is screwed up, not connecting to the signal.
So guess I'll be jury rigging with usb and library I-net terminal getting some of these press releases out. I'll bead over to the library in the morning and see if I can get to best buy in the aft to look at laptops or do it on Sunday since some folk are coming over tomorrow aft to help put one room we had to partially disable to get furniture in it put back together.
But again, it's not going to be as easy as just pick laptop up and good to go, get things transferred over. And of course it's not being helped by my clients just now getting me info. Better check McDonald's hours again.
Dif questions - since I use carbonite for back up, can I download everything that was backed up to the new laptop when I get it? How do i transfer programs such as eset to the new one?
The install guy gave up on showing me the universal control since for some reason I was drawing a blank on how it all works, so he said to just use it for cable and keep 're cable box on, and continue with the other controls for tv and DVD since I'm used to those. I think he was shaking his head a bit.
Or to quote my sister the park ranger, Sharon hpw can you explain how visual effects work in films, broadcast, and that technology, but be such a nimrod when it comes to everyday tech/electronics.
Cheers
Sep 4, 2015, 10:00 pm
#39
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I don't think anyone has mentioned ipconfig commands yet, so it may be worth a shot:
https://us.battle.net/support/en/art...-and-flush-dns
Note the space between ipconfig and the slash when entering in the command prompt.
https://us.battle.net/support/en/art...-and-flush-dns
Windows 7 and Windows Vista
1. Click Start.
2. Select Programs.
3. Select Accessories and locate the Command Prompt shortcut.
4. Right click the Command Prompt shortcut and select Run as Administrator from the drop down menu.
5. Type ipconfig /release in the command prompt.
6. Wait a few seconds for a reply that the IP address has been released.
7. Type ipconfig /renew in the command prompt.
8. Wait a few seconds for a reply that the IP address has been re-established.
9. Type ipconfig /flushdns in the command prompt.
10. Close the command prompt and attempt to make a connection.
1. Click Start.
2. Select Programs.
3. Select Accessories and locate the Command Prompt shortcut.
4. Right click the Command Prompt shortcut and select Run as Administrator from the drop down menu.
5. Type ipconfig /release in the command prompt.
6. Wait a few seconds for a reply that the IP address has been released.
7. Type ipconfig /renew in the command prompt.
8. Wait a few seconds for a reply that the IP address has been re-established.
9. Type ipconfig /flushdns in the command prompt.
10. Close the command prompt and attempt to make a connection.
Sep 5, 2015, 1:29 am
#40
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Connecting out via some connections, but not others. If you've confirmed you can see the router, but you have a connection sometimes then it's got to be at your end. Ethernet connection work? Time to unintsall the wifi card, restart and let Vista reinstall the card and drivers from scratch.
Or, just visit Best Buy and get whatever ~$450-600 laptop with Win7Pro they have.
Or, just visit Best Buy and get whatever ~$450-600 laptop with Win7Pro they have.
Sep 5, 2015, 9:17 am
#41
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This one is on clearance at your local Best Buy...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....equestid=56416
Actually, I can't remember if you like watching DVDs on your laptop. If so, this would not be a good option.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....equestid=56416
Actually, I can't remember if you like watching DVDs on your laptop. If so, this would not be a good option.
Sep 5, 2015, 2:39 pm
#43
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If you do need a DVD drive, something like this would be strong enough to last you perhaps another ten years:
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPa...cm_wl_huc_item
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPa...cm_wl_huc_item
Which office suite would I get w/ that?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...t+office+suite
Sep 5, 2015, 5:31 pm
#44
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It's only $100 difference. The main thing is to get a solid state drive instead of an old style disk drive - this will make things much faster for you, and if you're only buying laptops every decade, you need to be as future-proof as you can.
What suite are you using now? I'm still on Office 2010 and am quite happy with it. Office 2013 is more Windows 8/10 centric. I don't recommend Office 365 at this time.
Sep 5, 2015, 7:09 pm
#45
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 220
A. She doesn't strike me as the type who will be swapping components.
B. Let's take a 2011 Macbook Pro for example. Which, had she bought a Mac at the time of her last purchase, might be in about the same neighborhood.
In mine, I have upgraded the spinning HDD to an SSD, upgraded the RAM from 8 to 16GB, and added a second HDD for additional storage by replacing the now useless optical drive.
What was that about not being able to upgrade? And, that actually wasn't even my original point. The reference I was making to it was how a mac machine will still feel more "crisp" several years after the fact. How is Vista feeling these days vs. Snow Leopard, for example??