Tev has computer woes

[Batman]

Quoting from what she told me on FB, relating per request

The on button on my computer will light up, but the screen stays black.
I hold down the on button ten second for the hard reset
It Doesn’t Turn Off
I closed the laptop lid, left it for 4 hrs, which should have it sleep or shut down
I open the lid and the on button is still glowing
I tried the hard rest again.
The light didn’t turn off.

Nonremoveable battery

[Mr Bean]

Quoting from what she told me on FB, relating per request

The on button on my computer will light up, but the screen stays black.
I hold down the on button ten second for the hard reset
It Doesn’t Turn Off
I closed the laptop lid, left it for 4 hrs, which should have it sleep or shut down
I open the lid and the on button is still glowing
I tried the hard rest again.
The light didn’t turn off.

Nonremoveable battery

Motherboard first guess, let the battery drain out but it might take a day or two plug it in and see if it will power on. Is it under warranty of any kind? Failing that see if there's a local shop that might be willing to do a free diagnosis. Damn Tev

[Batman]

Deleted for not making sense without context not provided

[Batman]

Is this an HDML cord?
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
You sent
Looks USB to me.
You sent
But these days all of those cables look alike.
You sent
By the way Bean mentioned warranty but as you said your PC is from 14 or 15 I assume 'no'.
You sent
But there's a very simple method to find out if that is a HDMI cable- find a device in your home with a HDMI socket, and if the cable fits it's likely a HDMI one
You sent
Can even be your laptop. The device doesn't have to be ON for the connector to physically fit!
You sent
As you're apparently gone so am I.
Kathy
No I was busy looking for a cord because that wasn’t it
Kathy
And moving the tv into the kitchen because the room it was in doesn’t have a 3-prong outlet
Kathy
And then moved the tv Back because it wasn’t an HDMI
Kathy
Cord
Kathy
Tell SDNet I followed the suggested troubleshooting online, got stuck at”plug into external monitor” because I can’t find a HDMI cord.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
I have an HDMI tv I can use as an external monitor
Write to Kathy Kemmish
The rest of the conversation , unedited

[Batman]

I plugged the computer in just now
The On button lit up without me touching it
Hooking an external monitor via HDMI resulted in “No Signal”.

[Batman]

Apparently computer is confirmed dead by now

[Broomstick]

Are we going to pass the hat so she can get a new one and stay in contact?

[Batman]

I don't know that she's started a new GoFundMe but she said on FB donations are welcome

[Zaune]

I'm game. Wouldn't cost that much, just search eBay for "refurbished SFF desktop" and you can pick up basic but perfectly serviceable kit for $100 or less.

[Batman]

She's a gamer so she'd likely want something a bit more performant.

[Broomstick]

Way back in 2008 or 2009 my WoW guild bought me a new gaming computer for Christmas - get a dozen or two people to chip in it's not that much per person. I'm happy to PayPal some money towards the effort if someone sets up the donation page (I don't know how to do that and I've got a couple other irons in the fire right now).

[Batman]

sharing with permission
Tev's Paypal

[Batman]

You sent
maybe not invest half a years' earnings of a job you don't yet REALLY have on a PC you don't really need?
Kathy
That’s where you’re wrong.
I need the laptop for SCA. I have the class schedule and descriptions that will need copied and printed to the site pamphlet
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
I need to print off the scroll words so I don’t skip a paragraph or word
You sent
You need an internet capable laptop. I get that. What you don't need at least initially is the gaming rig.
Kathy
I need FFXIV so I can ignore mom and her stupid game shows
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
Of course I won’t play as much once I’m working, but still
You sent
That's a lot of money you're planning on spending there.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
Do you think I don’t know that?
You sent
I thought maybe get the minimum you need to be back online for keeps and then go from there.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
I can only afford one
You sent
You can afford a 2K gaming laptop but not a 150$ Chromebook and then a REAL Laptop half a year or so later?
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
Why spend money twice?
You sent
Because for people like you,spending small amounts of money comes easier?
You sent
And maybe, just maybe, You'd be able to afford the initial purchase without going into debt.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
And then I have a Chrimebook I don’t use that’s just sitting around gathering dust.

It’s wasted money
You sent
So because it won't run FF 15 you won't use it.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
See, that’s where you’re wrong.

I have very little money.
Spending the money to buy TWO things when I just need ONE is wasted money.
You sent
No, you're wrong. The first thing is something you can afford without going into debt and will serve your basic computing needs. The second thing is a luxury you want and MAY be able to afford a bit down the line .
Kathy
Look.
If you think it’s such a good idea post it to SDN and see what they think of it.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
Hell. Copy this discussion to there.
You sent
That's sort of the point. With the Chromebook, you wouldn't NEED me to.
Kathy
I NEED MORE FUNCTIONALITY THAN A CHROMEBOOK.
Kathy
Kathy Kemmish
now go post this to SDN and see who they agree with

[Jub]

I get that she's stressed and wants to escape into games, but given her constant financial struggles, you're 100% right here. She should get a cheap Chromebook and lean into streaming movies and lightweight indy games that even a Chromebook can run. Once she's able to get a new gaming rig, then the temp laptop can be saved as a backup, used as the unit she takes with her to events or donated/sold as she sees fit.

[Broomstick]

We can definitely chip in enough for an adequate Chromebook, I don't know if we can manage a gaming rig.

I get that she wants the more expensive one now, and if she doesn't get it now given her ongoing money issues she may not get it at all for quite awhile. That said, we can't fix her financial problems for her. I get it, I was without my favorite game/realm to escape to for nearly five months, it sucks, but as you said that sort of gaming is a luxury, not a necessity.

A Chromebook or the like gets her back on line quickly and I'm presuming works for everything but the gaming. When she can afford the bigger rig then, as you say, she can either keep the Chromebook as backup, use it for traveling, sell it, donate it, use it as a doorstop, whatever.

The only way around that is if we can get enough people to pitch in so small number donations add up. Do we have that many? Because while I'll kick $5 or even $10 into the hat my own resources are limited, too. We're all on a budget during uncertain times.

[Steve]

I'd say you're both right, in that your advice is the more practical and realistic approach, but her mental health requires distractions that streamed shows and the like may not be sufficient to provide. And I can also see the logic of "Why spend the money twice?" even with "use initial minimal machine to get back online and resume minimum requirements".

[Broomstick]

Steve, you make a good point, however, it still comes down to how much money we can raise. If we pass the hat and at the end there's enough for the computer Tev really wants that's great, let's do it. However, there aren't as many people here as there used to be, and most of us to not have a lot of money to give. How much can we raise?

[LadyTevar]

NO NEED TO PASS THE HAT!!!

A fellow Scadian had an 'accidental overbuy' two years ago and received TWO laptops. She opened one and left the other still in the shipping box.
When I received her gift today, it was literally "Mint In Box", not even the packing tape had been disturbed. I'm typing from "Philedelph" right now.

He's a HP Pavilion GTX 1650. I5in screen "Gaming Laptop"
Intel i5-9300 processor
256GB solid state drive
3-cell 52.5Wh
8GB Sodium DDR4 SDRAM
Nvidia Geforce GTX 4GB

Drawback - no Optical Drive, and I'm sad over the smaller screen.

on the Plus Side -- Google Chrome found all my bookmarks and passwords, I got all my emails reset, and I'm in process of getting my games back. I will be able to get my old HD transferred over at some point, just gotta wait for a caddy.

If anyone would like their donation back, please PM me, and I'll be happy to refund you.

[Batman]

Will it pass the gaming rig test though?

[Dominus Atheos]

Drawback - no Optical Drive, and I'm sad over the smaller screen.

USB optical drives are about $20-$25 on Amazon.

[Zaune]

Will it pass the gaming rig test though?

Could do with a second stick of RAM at some point, and like all laptops it has the problem of being far less serviceable than a tower, but it'll definitely get the job done.

And if you want some more screen real estate, projectors are actually getting cheaper than monitors these days: About US$50 buys one that's got picture quality more than good enough for watching films, and a screen and a tripod doesn't run to that much more. The only caveat is that you need a big stretch of blank wall to mount said screen.

[Jub]

Nice get Tev. I'm glad you'll be able to play games and have maintained the ability to stay connected to people that are important to you.

[LadyTevar]

So... after I got all the rest of the stuff set up, I started downloading Final Fantasy XIV. It's the third day of downloading, as it was a 74400MB download, and my Internet download speed is 2000-6500 KB.

I love living in an area with only one Cable/Phone/Internet option, and this is what they claim is "High Speed".

I hope the download for M:tG Arena isn't this big.

[Solauren]

What's your TV set up like? If it has the needed ports and you have the needed cables, you could use that as a bigger monitor instead of going the projector route.

[LadyTevar]

What's your TV set up like? If it has the needed ports and you have the needed cables, you could use that as a bigger monitor instead of going the projector route.

Again, it's the Portability Issue, Solauren. The Dining Room is where I have to set up, because its' got the 3-prong plugs. My bedroom and the 'junk room' do not. Hell, the Junk Room's overhead light's not worked in 25years, and as far as I've been able to find there is ONLY ONE PLUG (and it's a 2-prong). Then there's the matter of moving all of Mom's junk out of the Junk Room so I'd have a place to set up a desk.

One day we might get that done, but right now Mom's not wanting to throw things away.