Computer issue

Gather App
Guns.com Vault
Prior to my second retirement, I was using a desktop(holding a second desktop as a backup in case the primary failed) plus a personal iPAD and a govt issued iPAD. I'm not giving up my desktop with 24" monitor for the limited screen of either iPAD or laptop and certainly not doing internet stuff on a stupid (AKA smart) phone. Just my opinion.
 
If you don't know about DOS, then you are just a whippersnapper.
Buy an older/cheaper computer, and you will get a very S--L--O--W computer with an older chip to run it. I made that mistake. I wanted to use it as a backup, then I found out about external HD's. Faster and holds much more info then my ASUS Vivobook.
 
The last three laptops I replaced all had failures of the power jack and/or headset jack. All of which required replacing the entire motherboard. I finally replaced the last one with an MacAir, because it has the magnetic power connector. Greatest thing since sliced bread, plus Bluetooth for ear-buds. About $990 from Amazon.
The big BUT though is as a lifelong Windows user, the transition is bumpier than I expected.
I do still have my desktop I use a lot, still on Windows 10. I'm about ready to upgrade to Windows 11 before it's too late.
 
Quick note:
Keyboards are cheap if used (paid as little as $2 (works fine)), and the thing to 'watch' for is the connector (where if plugs into the computer, there are at least 3 styles)
"Defrag the computer (hard drive), the program is a utility of Microsuck (they stole it)
Internet has lots of info on Win 7, 10 and 11.
A new computer is nice but NOT necessary if you only "surf".
Finally, do you have the original Win 7 installation diskettes or a backup to do a "fresh" install?
 
I retired in 2006. We had one guy that still used DOS. To him it was kind of bragging rights thing, because no one else knew anything about it. Our household is kind of a mix. Our first smart phones were Apple Iphones and we have stayed with them ever since. However when we were working everything was android/Microsoft and so that's what all of our laptops are. I can easily see why some prefer a desk top with a large monitor but my wife and I both use our laptops while we are sitting in the recliner and it's convenient. Another bonus is when they are worn out they take less space on a shelf than the desk top model.
 
wproct said:
I can easily see why some prefer a desk top with a large monitor but my wife and I both use our laptops while we are sitting in the recliner and it's convenient.
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I haven't liked a laptop's keyboard since my ThinkPad died. I have an Acer laptop but I loathe the keyboard.

wproct said:
Another bonus is when they are worn out they take less space on a shelf than the desk top model.
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My basement was a tech graveyard. Four or five old CRT monitors of various sizes. Old motherboards and power supplies. Old harddrives. Memory of all types. I had a 1 GB SCSI drive, it cost a grand. One day, I packed it all into my station wagon and took it to Goodwill's computer store.

I've been using the same case for nearly thirty years.
 
Yaworski said:
FWIW, I can't stand typing on a tiny keyboard and looking at a tiny screen. I want a big monitor (actually have two) and a classic IBM keyboard. YMMV

I do no banking on my phone nor do I do shopping. Also my phone is not always with me. I leave it in my car. Leave it at home. Forget it at work. I rarely give the number out and hate using it for talking.
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I'm still using the last laptop that I bought just before retiring my business. It is a Windows XP. IMHO, that's the best version ever. Sure, more support. Yeah right....I haven't needed support.

Linked to it is a huge monitor, a mouse and a std. keyboard. The only time the laptop is needed is to open the lid and press the on button.

Most all computers are made with the same oem components. The difference lies in how they are set up. Also IMHO, if a new computer is wanted a DELL is the only choice. For printers it's EPSN and for monitors it probably doesn't matter. Anything Apple will not reside in my house.

Over the years I must have had a dozen different computers. Never had real problems (except with a crappy HP0, but I needed to increase the speed and capacity for my business. I don't play games but I carry a big selection of Engineering programs.
 
When I worked, I would buy an expensive laptop ($2500) every 3 years then throw the old one out. All I could get was about 3 years of reasonably good service from one. After I retired, I bought a $1700 Dell desktop and never looked back. The Dell lasted about 8 years then died. Since that I buy a $700 desktop Dell every 4 years or so and am very happy with them. My wife has a smart phone and it is nothing but trouble for her (as I know absolutely nothing about them). I have a dumb flip phone that I use for calls and texts.
 
gnappi said:
FYI some later windows versions do not like older hardware. My older 2012 vintage HP machine was pokey with Windows 7 and I installed the Linux Mint operating system (OS) and never looked back.
In your case if you find that a hardware upgrade is needed, before investing in a newer generation PC to support Windows trying a free Linux Mint (much like Windows in the front of screen) OS is an inexpensive (free) upgrade that will last several years before the need to upgrade anything.
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I agree, Mint is about as easy to install and get up running as can be. Learn your way around and there is much fine tuning that a person can do with Synaptic.
 
Yaworski said:
FWIW, I can't stand typing on a tiny keyboard and looking at a tiny screen. I want a big monitor (actually have two) and a classic IBM keyboard. YMMV

I do no banking on my phone nor do I do shopping. Also my phone is not always with me. I leave it in my car. Leave it at home. Forget it at work. I rarely give the number out and hate using it for talking.
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Outfit i drive for now, has 2 apps on my phone (the newer one, i helped work on, could be one reason they are "always" doing something new to it) so i recently upgraded from my milspec heavyduty kyocera (tmobil quit talking to it, same reason i got it, they quit talking to my blackberry) to a motoroller, but the previous outfit had me downloading apps that kept giving me static, snow, mojobaki, and splitpages. I dumped all that after they broke down and put their own tablet in the trucks. One outfit before that i replaced their gaxaly with a kyocera to match mine and used that solely for their commo. Everybody kept telling me, gotta get a smartphone, and were usually getting the every next new one to show off. This moto aint so bad, nor so expensive, but i still miss my blackberry.
 
Our first computer in 1998 was a Gateway desktop model. It lasted maybe 4 years. Then our son gave us a couple of laptops, one was Dell and the other I can't remember for sure. They were well used and lasted maybe a couple of years. Next one we bought for my wife was a Lenova, bought it new from a local computer store, supposedly a commercial model and I thought it would be nice to buy it from a local small shop and if I had a problem they would take care of me, that turned out to be not the case. My next was a Sony bought from Walmart and it was a good one. Got about 5 years on that one and it finally got unmerciful slow. So then is when we migrated to HP and I'm not suggesting they are the only good brand but they have served us well ever since. Just to clarify, everything since the Gateway have been laptops.
 
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wproct, It's good to find a brand you can trust.

After retiring from a large PC company that sold to the Chinese I bought HP and after 13+ years with only minor problems I have to say that HP hits the mark for reliability.
 
larry8 said:
Cant you put Windows 11 on any Windows 10 system??
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No, not every system. I have an older Lenovo laptop that MSFT will not let me install Windows 11 on it. They say the processor isn't the right "type."

I would be willing to bet that Lenovo didn’t pay Microsoft a fee to get this laptop’s processor tested out for the Windows 11 OS.
 
So far Linux only warns that a TPM chip is not available but MS Windows 11...

"Most PCs that have shipped in the last 5 years are capable of running Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 (TPM 2.0). TPM 2.0 is required to run Windows 11"
 
wproct said:
Our first computer in 1998 was a Gateway desktop model. It lasted maybe 4 years.
Click to expand...
Maybe I have been lucky. Of the dozen or so 'puters I have owned only a single HP was discarded because the motherboard crapped out.

The ONLY reason I upgraded every time was because my business needed more horsepower or larger storage capacity, and I chose not to add more chips to an existing model.

My very first was an IBM AT desktop that ran DOS. I still have it and it has "lasted" for over 30 years. The only reason I keep it is because it has the Lee Ballistics program and I use it from time to time, mainly for nostalgia.
 
Mobuck said:
I'm not 'near' anything that sells computers other than Wally. I have a spare that I got so I could separate work and personal computers. The big question is whether Grand Son can swap parts cheaper than I can buy another computer. :unsure:
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You can order a computer on Amazon, and have it delivered to your house.
I've ordered my last two computers from them.
Amazon is so convenient, I've gotten to missing going to an actual store, unless I just want to.

I do have a tower I update periodically, with parts from a local parts vender (motherboards, processors., memory, hard drives, etc.). The tower came from this store, as well.

I use my tower as an entertainment center (TV, internet,,streaming, DVD/Blue Ray movies), and it's always participating in group computing for various science projects, over the internet 24/7.
 
Kevin said:
No, not every system. I have an older Lenovo laptop that MSFT will not let me install Windows 11 on it. They say the processor isn't the right "type."

I would be willing to bet that Lenovo didn't pay Microsoft a fee to get this laptop's processor tested out for the Windows 11 OS.
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It needs the newer chipset that comes with the new computers.
I miss the old days, when I could just plug in the newer chipset..
 
I used to keep the old computers after getting a newer one, and run updates on them every few months. Until one time, the Vista computer said something about invalid version of windows. Took a few hours on the phone with microsoft, and had to type in a couple of 36 character numbers, but got it updated. A few months later it did it again. I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle, and destroyed the hard drive before disposing of it.
 
My previous HP laptop lasted almost 6 years and still functioned but was just getting very slow. Finally it got hacked, a scam and totally my fault. I then did a complete restore to as new status and thought maybe that would fix the slowness but it didn't. That's when I went to the new HP with solid state drive and oh my, it is fast!
 
GasGuzzler said:
As I already said, Windows 10 is going away this year. 7 was cached a few years ago.
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I have been in the computer business since 1969, starting with mainframes, then dabbled in mini's later PCs, and then moved onto the PC as my own business. I have seen the migration from Dos to Windows 3.1, all the way to today with Windows 11. Their decommitting a version of the operating system simply means that they will not be proving any updates to it. My brother still runs his Windows 7 system, with almost no issues, and all his apps still work. I run Windows 10, and I have no plans to move to Windows 11 because Microsoft completely screwed up the taskbar, and I run hundreds of sessions all at the same time, so their restriction they artificially placed on the management of the taskbar makes Windows 11 nearly impossible to use.
 
GypsmJim said:
Maybe I have been lucky. Of the dozen or so 'puters I have owned only a single HP was discarded because the motherboard crapped out.

The ONLY reason I upgraded every time was because my business needed more horsepower or larger storage capacity, and I chose not to add more chips to an existing model.

My very first was an IBM AT desktop that ran DOS. I still have it and it has "lasted" for over 30 years. The only reason I keep it is because it has the Lee Ballistics program and I use it from time to time, mainly for nostalgia.
Click to expand...
Congrats on your antique PCTell me about your Lee Ballistics program. I have my very own ballistics FILE, which is all about ammo for handguns and rifles. If you started with DOS, then you might be in my age bracket! I was living in Silicon valley when the PCs first came out in the 'early 80s. The IBM At was followed by the open market of PCs, starting with the 286, then the 386, then the 486, and so on! The OS moved from a text based one to a graphic one with Windows 3.0, the Windows 3.1 very soon afterwards. Then all the rest of the MS OSs followed.
 
vlavalle said:
Congrats on your antique PCTell me about your Lee Ballistics program. I have my very own ballistics FILE, which is all about ammo for handguns and rifles. If you started with DOS, then you might be in my age bracket! I was living in Silicon valley when the PCs first came out in the 'early 80s. The IBM At was followed by the open market of PCs, starting with the 286, then the 386, then the 486, and so on! The OS moved from a text based one to a graphic one with Windows 3.0, the Windows 3.1 very soon afterwards. Then all the rest of the MS OSs followed.
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What can I say? Lee developed the program way back when. If you entered the data it provided velocity, energy and trajectory information out to whatever yardage you input. It came on a 5" floppy. As the years went by they upgraded to 3" discs and added features. It was discontinued in 2012.

I AM old. DOS was an improvement. I started with punch cards and a mainframe.

Windows 7 was OK. I use a current desktop with Windows 10, but when I travel my laptop is still running XP.
 
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