If you’d actually bothered to read the stickied thread meant for anyone buying a laptop, you wouldn't be wandering around so lost, and we’d actually have a clue how to help you. Right now, we're flying blind because you haven't even mentioned what size you need (are we talking 15.6", 13.3", or just some 10" 2-in-1 tablet?) or if you need Windows—which matters if you're looking at those 10" options and deciding between Windows or Android.
As for your workload, you can technically get by on any of them. Sure, a bigger screen is more comfortable, but typing on a 10" hybrid is doable enough...
When it comes to movies and entertainment at home, none of these are going to be "perfect" if you're planning on watching with someone else; in that case, you'd want a 17" beast or just plug into a big external monitor. If you're just chilling solo, any of the three sizes will do fine.
So, just let us know the size and which OS you prefer so we can actually give you an answer. And for heaven's sake, read that stickied thread first... 😬
I'm not so sure. How are you even planning to run the setup? Your installation media has to be bootable. Unless you have another PC handy to burn a Windows XP CD or prep a USB drive... if you can pull that off, the setup might actually go through and the laptop might come back to life. You'll get the keyboard working, sure. But the touchpad? I wouldn't count on it. Graphics, internet, sound, ports—it all depends on whether Windows XP can actually handle the drivers. If it manages to pick up the network card using some generic driver and pulls patches from Windows Update, you might be in business. The real question is whether it’ll even recognize the hardware, and if there's a generic driver out there that works with the Windows base... Because honestly, if the touchpad doesn't work, there's zero point in messing around with just the arrow keys. 😬 I mean, you could do it, but it's a massive pain... Or, if you have one lying around (or buy a cheap USB mouse), the issue is finding one that actually plays nice with XP. It needs to explicitly say it supports XP, or you'll have to hunt down some old relic from a junk drawer...
Anyway, I'm predicting a ton of work and a major headache if you even manage to get this thing running at all...
ruggedeagle40 said:I'm looking for a budget-friendly printer that can handle copying.
Using an inkjet for copying is a fast track to bankruptcy. Even if you try to cheat by using the cheapest generic ink you can find, it’s still going to bleed you dry. Jeffrey Chavez6 actually gave me some solid advice: it’s much smarter to invest a little more upfront in a decent laser printer. Once you do, the cost per page drops through the floor. For what it costs to run a single page on an inkjet, you could probably knock out dozens of copies on a laser. It's night and day.
wiredgull80 said:I need some help with an old printer that's still holding up pretty well for me.
That port is either called parallel or Centronics. You can find USB-to-parallel converters for just about any of those ancient connections, but honestly, they’re a total gamble. They fail to communicate half the time, so buying one feels like playing the lottery.
You really need to track down a model where you can be 100% certain it actually works with your specific version of Windows and uses the same USB protocol. You should be able to find something like that around here. This is it. At Chipoteka, besides being outrageously overpriced—not that they're even the same company they used to be—it probably wouldn't even work because it's stuck on USB 1.1 protocol.
Besides, it says it isn't compatible with Windows 7, which basically means you can forget about any newer versions of Windows too. When you're out buying one, watch yourself regarding the parallel connector—there are two different types. That DB25 female connector you see at places like Best Buy is the one with all the holes, and that’s definitely not what you need. You specifically need a male Parallel (IEEE 1284) connector to work with your printer.
You can find them on eBay without breaking the bank, but I'm just saying—there are a million different reasons why they might suddenly stop working on you.
Just find one that says USB 2.0, works with Windows 7 and 8, and is plug-and-play. Just stay away from that Linkani site—their shipping times are absolutely insane.
It looks like... Hey. The bio looks fine, but I can't give you a guarantee. I don't want to be the one telling you to go out and buy something only for it to end up being a total waste of money. 🤷
Looks like a hardware failure to me. Your drive might be dead, so you should probably take it to a repair shop for a proper diagnostic. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to mess around with it yourself, try booting from a live Linux USB to see if the system can even detect the drive. Maybe try a Microsoft boot tool—it has decent HDD diagnostics built in...
If your vision is fine, don't sweat it. But if you're actually struggling—and I'm not talking about a little nearsightedness, I mean something real—then either upgrade to a larger monitor or take fadedorca66's advice and stop spending your entire life hunched over a laptop...
I have no idea how you went about asking them for help, but just so you know, you're supposed to Register on their website, sign up your printer, and then submit an inquiry through the official form on their support page.
If you just sent a random email, it usually just gets lost in the void or ends up buried in a spam folder before it ever even hits customer support...
It really comes down to your phone's hardware (the GPU), but honestly, you should just judge based on which video player you're running. There are plenty of solid free options out there—think MX Player, KMPlayer, or VLC—and they usually come pre-loaded with all the codecs you'll actually need.
If you really want to dive down the rabbit hole of file formats, you can check them out roughly here:
But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter much which format you download since any file can be converted into something an Android device will actually play. For converting those stubborn movies that refuse to cooperate, you can use the super simple, intuitive, and free Freemake video converter. It’s got just a few big icons, so even a kid could figure it out, and it gets the job done quite well.
Alright, there you go. The screen is an 11.6" with 1366x768 resolution and features LED backlighting. If you're hunting on eBay, just make sure you're looking for LED backlit models—avoid the CCFL ones, they won't work for you.
There might also be an issue with the connector, based on that eBay link I sent, but honestly, there's no way to know for sure without cracking the thing open...
You can have the exact same model but with different graphics cards or screen resolutions. You really need the full model number and that secondary identifier to be sure. Any idea what your resolution was?
edit:
If you’re talking about that standard one from Visa, it should be an 11.6" with 1366x768 resolution, which means this might be the screen you need:
Those are two distinct technologies—either IPS or VA. Basically, they're types of monitor panels that are miles ahead of the standard TN panels you find in old, or even newer, budget monitors. The difference is massive; just go on YouTube and search "TN vs IPS" and you'll see for yourself. Viewing angles, color reproduction, brightness, etc.
Look, even if cheaper manufacturing means TN panels seem destined for the scrap heap, stop hating on them so much. If they’re built right, they’re actually decent panels. They've come a long way lately—color accuracy and contrast aren't half bad, and the viewing angles are passable. Honestly, most gamers avoided IPS panels until very recently anyway because of all the ghosting and input lag...
Let's just assume for a second that Windows 7 actually did its job and installed the right audio drivers...
You’ve got the speaker icon, which is a good start. You mentioned there's a red circle on it. What happens when you hover your mouse over that icon? You should see some kind of status message pop up...
When you click that icon, a volume slider should appear along with the speaker icon and that red circle—which basically means the sound is muted. If you click the icon so the red circle disappears and then crank up the volume slider, do you actually hear anything?
Look, sorry if this sounds condescending, but I can't see you and I have no clue what your tech skills are. Besides, anyone can overlook something simple; I’m the first to admit I do it all the time. I once spent way too much time troubleshooting audio only to realize my speakers were turned off. 😬
If you still aren't getting any sound, right-click the speaker icon on the taskbar. A menu should pop up; you're looking for "Playback devices"...
That'll open the Sound window. Right-click somewhere inside that window to bring up another menu—usually, you'll see two options: "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices." Check both of those. Now, a speaker icon should show up in that window. It should list which device is playing the audio and have a little green checkmark next to it to show it's active. If it doesn't, left-click the speaker icon, right-click it again, and select "Set as Default Device." You might have to disable another device first if something else is currently set as the default and stealing the audio signal.
That should do it, provided my opening assumption was correct. If you're still stuck, tell me exactly what you see on your screen and any error messages that pop up while you're following these steps...
Adam Moore3 said:It’s highly unlikely you’ll get your money's worth out of a repair since those monitors are pretty ancient. I’m not sure what kind of quality you could even find for $67, maybe something used if you strike gold, though that’ll still be old tech. Then again, everyone has their own definition of a "good" monitor. But by today's standards, a "good" monitor really ought to have at least an IPS or VA panel. And you aren't exactly going to find something like that for $67 🙂
Go online and Register your device. Grab the latest drivers and utilities directly from the site because those old CDs are almost always outdated junk. Once you actually get the network printer set up correctly—assuming you don't mess it up—you shouldn't have to run installations ever again since it'll be sitting on the network with its own IP address. It should show up once you open your wireless network folder. I think Brother has some kind of Add Printer utility to help you link it to other PCs on the network; just look in the Downloads section or check within that massive bundle of drivers and tools you download at the end...
The name says it all: it’s a generic toner, not an official HP product. Let’s be real, original toners and inks—the stuff actually made by the printer manufacturer—can cost several times more than the off-brand stuff. Manufacturers love to claim there's a massive quality gap and threaten that using third-party ink or toner will "break" your machine. On the flip side, the people selling the replacements say that's total nonsense, and honestly, most users stick with them because they're just way cheaper 😬 and nobody seems to have a printer die just because they used a compatible cartridge... provided you actually buy one designed for your specific model, of course.