I feel the same way about Avast—it’s a bit much. But just because it acts up doesn't mean it always needs to be downloading something; what I mean is, whenever it starts an update, the whole download just grinds to a halt. Carl Lee10 What kind of antivirus are you running right now?
To start things off, I’d suggest heading straight to the website of whatever laptop manufacturer you're looking at—just to double-check if they actually support Windows 7 or Windows 8. You really don't want to go through the whole installation process only to realize later that you're missing critical drivers... as for installing Windows, I'd just wipe the hard drive completely to clear out Linux, then go ahead with the Windows install. As for that Craigslist listing, I'm not quite sure about it—I wouldn't want to give you a recommendation only for things to go sideways later. Honestly? Just give the guy a call and ask him some questions first...
If you're really looking to go the budget route with a power supply, this is probably your best bet. Click. I'm not quite sure what you mean by that—could you clarify? $13 It’s definitely more expensive—but honestly, you get what you pay for with this one. Click. I could always go with an even cheaper power supply, but honestly—isn't it better to play it safe than to deal with the regret later?
It’s probably just a glitchy graphics driver causing all this trouble. Honestly, you might want to try a clean uninstall and then grab the latest version from the manufacturer's site before reinstalling everything...
I’ve flashed a BIOS maybe a hundred times in my life and I’ve honestly never run into anything like this—usually, you only see trouble if the power cuts out or you accidentally shut down the machine right in the middle of the process, otherwise, it should be smooth sailing. One thing that comes to mind is maybe trying to plug the laptop into an external monitor just to see if you can get a picture at all, though I wouldn't bet much on that working.
The setup Benjamin King2 linked is honestly ten times better than that old junk you're running. Honestly, I think spending those $167 is totally worth it. If you happen to have a bit more cash—maybe around $667—you could actually jump up to the latest socket available on the market right now. We're talking about a completely fresh build from Best Buy with a full warranty on every single component..
EDIT: Since I had some downtime, I did a little digging through the Best Buy inventory.
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1 x Intel Celeron G1840 1 x 1 x Asus H81M-K 1 1 x Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, CL11 1 x HDD SEAGATE Barracuda 7200 (3.5",500GB,16MB,SATA III-600) 1 x LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk 1 x MS ORION case with power supply Total: $556
So, what you're looking at is an Intel processor with integrated graphics—you just plug into the motherboard via DVI or VGA to get your display going—plus 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, an optical drive, and a brand new case that comes with its own power supply. Since your current setup doesn't pull much power, this supply will handle it without breaking a sweat. Like I mentioned, the price is $556; but if that's a stretch, feel free to stick with the Craigslist option I suggested earlier..
I've got this ancient rig from 2002 that's completely dead. I want to slap a new operating system on it—specifically some version of Linux—just so it can act as a basic machine for browsing the web. Nothing fancy.
The issue is, I'm totally clueless about this stuff and don't know anyone who actually knows what they're doing. Does anyone have a recommendation for a decent repair shop or somewhere that won't rip me off to get this sorted? I realize the computer is basically worth nothing, so I'm not looking to sink a fortune into it. Honestly, if I had the cash, why would I even be messing around with this piece of junk in the first place?
So, what should I do? Any advice?
Thanks! 🙂
I'm sorry, but I'm going to need a bit more info here—is the computer failing to power on entirely? Are you getting any specific beep codes from the motherboard, or maybe some error messages popping up on the screen? If we're looking at a hardware failure, it might not even be worth trying to fix it. $1.75 Just save it to that. And honestly, if you just need a fresh operating system, why not just ask a friend or a neighbor who knows their way around a computer to format the hard drive and install Windows or Linux? Just buy them a beer—it’s usually much easier than trying to figure it all out yourself.
So, how do you have your Windows setup—is it an ISO file or are you using a CD? If you're working with an ISO file, did you set up the Rufus program just like it shows in the picture—specifically by choosing "create a bootable disk using ISO image"?
Is that something you can pick up right now? And what kind of price are we talking about? Honestly, if you can snag this rig for a decent deal, it’s a pretty solid machine. 😛
The only thing I can really suggest is to plug that NVIDIA card into a different computer—just to see if macOS actually boots up on that machine. If it doesn't, then you'll know exactly where the issue lies...
That’s pretty much it—you just pick your OS, hit "Next," and you're good to go. Just make sure you uninstall the old audio driver from the Control Panel and give your computer a quick restart before you try installing the new one 🙂
EDIT: Before you dive in, definitely double-check whether you're running an x86 or x64 operating system. It's actually super simple—just search for "find 32-bit or 64-bit" if you aren't sure... http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...=hr&dlc=en#N90
First off, try uninstalling your sound card drivers. You just head over to the Control Panel, find the audio driver under the "Uninstall a Program" section, and wipe it out. Once you've done that, give your laptop a quick restart—it's important. After the reboot, just hop onto Google and search for your specific laptop manufacturer and model number to find their official support page. From there, you can grab the correct sound card drivers, install them, and you should be good to go. If that sounds a bit too technical or confusing, just reply with your laptop's brand and model here, and we can figure it out together...
If you notice any blue coloring inside those USB ports—whether they're on the back of the motherboard or right on the front of the case—that’s your signal that you've got USB 3.0 capability. You can go ahead and grab a 3.0 flash drive to take advantage of those much faster speeds... Just thought I'd let you know. 😁
