Updating firmware used to be a huge deal for those laptops that couldn't handle fan speeds properly, causing them to overheat like crazy. That clearly isn't your issue since your machine has been running fine from 2012 until now. The problem here is actually pretty simple, though annoying: it's just material fatigue. The fan is made of plastic that’s worn down over time, and now the ball bearing isn't seated right—it's basically wobbling inside the housing, which creates all that vibration and noise. If the bearing damage isn't too bad, you might get lucky by carefully applying a tiny amount of graphite or some other specialized bearing grease to fill the gaps and balance the rotation. But honestly, you have to be extremely careful; if you overdo it, the spinning motion will just fling the grease all over the inside of the case and potentially cause even more damage.
The best move is to just swap the fan out for a high-quality, quiet one (doesn't matter if it's an OEM part or an aftermarket one).
It all boils down to how much you're actually printing. All those fancy estimates manufacturers throw at you are based on a measly 2% page coverage. But let’s be real—if you’ve got small fonts, bold text, images, or graphics, you’ll hit 5% or 10% coverage before you know it, and suddenly every single calculation goes right out the window.
Look, if you just want something on hand, you can grab a cheap laser printer for maybe $50 or $60. You might even get the cost per page down under $0.07, or perhaps even lower than $0.05, and the machine will probably last you somewhere between two and five years. Honestly, you won't do better than that.
But trying to compete with a local print shop charging $0.03? Yeah, forget it. 😬 That's still going to be your cheapest option by far.
Honestly, your easiest bet is just grabbing whatever router the ISP provides. At least then you know it’ll actually do what they promised. If you go out and buy your own gear, they’ll just blame any connection issues on an "incompatible device" since it didn't come from them. That's just how the service providers work here. Some of them won't even let you use anything other than their own hardware.
And what do you mean by a switch, two routers, and three computers? I don't really get how you're planning to wire this together. Are you trying to run everything off a single 100mbps WAN connection? Or what? And why two routers? It's not like Lego bricks where you can just snap them together and hope for the best...
I second that. If you're thinking about picking up a new laptop, you aren't going to find anything even remotely this good, and you'll end up paying way more for it.
I'm with you on this. If you go looking for a new laptop, you won't find anything even remotely close to this quality, yet you'll end up paying a massive premium for it.
Yeah, a Microsoft wireless keyboard... Look, I’m usually the first person to trash everything Microsoft makes, but honestly, almost all their stuff is absolute garbage—except for that one power supply that’s just a rebranded Fortran...
That’s just how their peripherals are. A Genius wireless desktop i8050 goes for less than $60. And even the cheapest Logitech wireless sets, like the MK235 or MK270, are under $80. Why bother with anything else?
But, whatever...
So, I'm not sure if the USB dongle has a pairing button. If it does, you need to press it, and once you see some signs of life (maybe), you have to pair them in order: first the keyboard, then the mouse, using the buttons on the devices themselves. Do all of this while the dongle is plugged into the PC. It should work instantly, though you might need to reboot the machine.
Second thing: pick your USB port carefully. Not all USB ports provide the same amount of power, so try the ones directly on the back of the motherboard and test a few different ones. Also, there might be too much interference between the dongle and the keyboard/mouse, causing a weak or non-existent signal. When you're testing this, try getting as close to the dongle as possible, or maybe lift the case onto the desk to see if that helps.
And yeah, check your BIOS to make sure "USB keyboard support" hasn't been accidentally disabled, if that's an option.
Otherwise, a pro tip for wireless setups is to use a USB extension cable. Plug it straight into the computer, run it up to your desk—maybe hide it behind the monitor base—and plug the dongle into that. That way, you minimize obstacles between the transmitter and receiver for a stronger signal, and naturally, your batteries will last longer too.
Nice. Had a good experience there. Links has really stepped up lately, turning into a major player with more than a couple of locations 😬 across the US, and they actually nail both the selection and the pricing... Personally, even at the store in Columbus, the staff was pretty helpful and knew their stuff.
1. What kind of fan are we talking about here? Size, plug type, and voltage? 2. Where exactly are you planning to mount it? 3. Do you have any spare power connections available? If not, what's currently plugged into your power supply and what are you running on them?
By the way, layouts are set by standards. You usually see the European style with 102 or 105 keys, or the US style with 101 or 104 keys (depending on if it's a Windows setup or not). The European ones have that oversized Enter key and a tiny left Shift. And that's just talking about the physical layout; once you get into the actual character mapping, it depends on the country or region and whether Microsoft actually decides to support that specific layout or not. As for height, it’s measured the same way as length or width—just the distance between the outermost points when the keyboard is in its working position (feet up). Doesn't matter if you're measuring from the top of a key or the casing itself.
wearymason4 said:- I don't know how you, darkowl72, get notified if someone tries to hit your router so you can decide whether to let them in?
It doesn't. I wasn't being clear. It's just that when I turn on pairing mode, the router scans for wireless devices—maybe for five minutes or so—lists everything it finds, and then asks if I want to authorize the connection.
When pairing mode isn't active, I have no idea if anyone is even trying to connect.
You’re acting like one of those old, grumpy mechanics... Someone walks into his shop, he just sits there in silence, refusing to say a word until someone pushes him first—mostly because he’s just looking for an excuse to yell at them...
Look, good for you, you clearly know everything there is to know about printers, no argument there, but can you please, just once... pleeeeeeease... give a simple answer to the question of which printer she should buy based on what she actually needs?
Please, just this once...
Without all the extra fluff calculating how many miles a Michelin tire gets versus a Pirelli, or how much gas they'll burn and how loud they'll be...
or:
Dammit, which printer should she buy? Give me an unambiguous answer, ideally with a link to a store.
I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how to even put this into words. My mind is honestly just racing between what I think about you and what I think about your boss... but honestly, what's the point?
Both of you have made it crystal clear just how little you actually value someone else's hard work, time, and expertise...
Your router either has a physical button you need to hit to allow new devices to register, or you have to go into the settings and tell it to look for new clients and permit them to join.
If it’s a public network, you could just hop on without any credentials. My home network shows up as visible, but no new device can actually log in unless I manually tell the router to scan for new hardware. Once it finds something, it asks me whether I want to authorize the connection or not. Only after that does it even bother asking for a username and password....