[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by creative420

For basic image editing, i3 is more than sufficient. I use photoshop and illustrator on my i3 based rig. Just add 2GB of RAM and it'll live up to your expectation. But if you want your lappy to be a bit more future-proof, go for i5.

Thing is, the specs say, no free RAM slot. Seems they have fitted in 2x1GB RAMs. Currently, am using Studio 1555 (C2D - 3 GB RAM - Win Vista - '09). It does lag a bit while processing the RAW files(~10mb), especially if 2 are opened simultaneously. Hence, the dilemma.

But considering linux would be a lot less taxing than Vista, I hope it should be ok.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Yeah ,its a bootable DVD and I am able to enter the BIOS .

The laptop has got hundreds of issues with the anti virus not being able to detect the virus .Couple of SW which I cannot uninstall .

I have been able to do this earlier ,but now I cannot .

one, saved and exited from bios?
two, does the DVD drive start before you hard disk kicks in with its os?
If it does, and you still dont get a "remove dvd", then your DVD may be finished.
try with another bootable dvd.

[speedsatya]

Okay .Thanks ! I will have to try with another DVD.

BTW ,any idea on how much would a battery cost ? The laptop is more like a desktop whenever I use it ...battery doesnt last for more than 2 mins off the power supply

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Okay .Thanks ! I will have to try with another DVD.

BTW ,any idea on how much would a battery cost ? The laptop is more like a desktop whenever I use it ...battery doesnt last for more than 2 mins off the power supply

i just invoiced a battery yesterday for my office dell vostro, cost was 4700 bucks.
same problem, 7 minutes total battery off the power.
may give you an idea of going rates.
happy new year.

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Okay .Thanks ! I will have to try with another DVD.

BTW ,any idea on how much would a battery cost ? The laptop is more like a desktop whenever I use it ...battery doesnt last for more than 2 mins off the power supply

I too faced a virtually finished battery- down to 4-5 mts & then auto shutoff-with my Dell Inspiron, a year or so back.
I researched a bit on the net for a fix/workaround as I did'nt really want to spend 3000+ on a new battery.
Apart from hardware fixes-opening up the battery,changing the cells etc yourself etc,which I was not equipped to do- I came across an interesting & simple fix which worked.
-Go to power options in the control panel( I had Win XP )& disable power alarms & auto shut down options.
- Run the laptop until it shuts down on its own.(Interestingly, the laptop continued to work for almost 15 mts after the battery status showed 0% power remaining.)
- IMMEDIATELY put the laptop on mains charge & charge till battery status shows 100%.
- Use the laptop with the alarms/shutdown options turned off.
After this "battery conditioning" exercise, I was able to get 60 mts of battery power i/o 4-5 mts earlier.
Try it, it might work unless the battery is too far gone.

[Latheesh]

Thanks Kamal!

I will try that, I face similar issues with my laptops (1 give 1-2 min other one around 30 min)

[speedsatya]

Kamal ,

Interesting ! I will try this and keep us posted . Thanks .

[manolin]

Where can i get a fan for sony e series laptop in delhi? have a major fan noise problem which seems to be a problem with sony.

[devarshi84]

@Manolin: If the laptop has been used for sometime, it is time you get it serviced. I have a Desktop cpu specced Compaq and everytime I dust the heatsink and fans, the laptop falls silent.

If the fan is not running freely, you can get one in the market for cheap and install yourself if the chassis lets you.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by Kamal

I too faced a virtually finished battery- down to 4-5 mts & then auto shutoff-with my Dell Inspiron, a year or so back.
I researched a bit on the net for a fix/workaround as I did'nt really want to spend 3000+ on a new battery.
Apart from hardware fixes-opening up the battery,changing the cells etc yourself etc,which I was not equipped to do- I came across an interesting & simple fix which worked.
-Go to power options in the control panel( I had Win XP )& disable power alarms & auto shut down options.
- Run the laptop until it shuts down on its own.(Interestingly, the laptop continued to work for almost 15 mts after the battery status showed 0% power remaining.)
- IMMEDIATELY put the laptop on mains charge & charge till battery status shows 100%.
- Use the laptop with the alarms/shutdown options turned off.
After this "battery conditioning" exercise, I was able to get 60 mts of battery power i/o 4-5 mts earlier.
Try it, it might work unless the battery is too far gone.

It's called battery calibration. Even the latest laptops need it irrespective of what manufacturers say.

There are numerous posts on google on how to do it. It will help resume battery life minus the battery wear.

[Chetan_Rao]

Guys, need some advice.

Dad's finally decided to give up working full-time, and I've decided to replace his trusty 4-yr old Compaq as a retirement gift.

Requirements:

- Light/Moderate spreadsheet and word processing (he intends to carry on consulting part-time)
- Multimedia (photos, music, movies)
- Internet browsing
- Hassle free A.S.S.

Budget: 35k (flexible if something good is available for a bit more)

Now I normally swear by Dell, having one both for personal and office use. But Dell's configuration options aren't what they used to be. Most budget models (Inspiron/Vostro) come with more or less pre-set configs that can't be changed.

I'm forced to look at other brands, but Dad being based out of Bhopal (M.P.), I'm really apprehensive on the A.S.S. front. I can't buy him fancy hardware that'll turn into a service nightmare. What do you guys suggest?

[devarshi84]

Look at models from Asus and Toshiba.

[Aroy]

If IBM/Lenovo have repair facilities, get a Thinkpad with three years warranty extendable to five years.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Guys, need some advice.

Dad's finally decided to give up working full-time, and I've decided to replace his trusty 4-yr old Compaq as a retirement gift.

Requirements:

- Light/Moderate spreadsheet and word processing (he intends to carry on consulting part-time)
- Multimedia (photos, music, movies)
- Internet browsing
- Hassle free A.S.S.

Budget: 35k (flexible if something good is available for a bit more)

Now I normally swear by Dell, having one both for personal and office use. But Dell's configuration options aren't what they used to be. Most budget models (Inspiron/Vostro) come with more or less pre-set configs that can't be changed.

I'm forced to look at other brands, but Dad being based out of Bhopal (M.P.), I'm really apprehensive on the A.S.S. front. I can't buy him fancy hardware that'll turn into a service nightmare. What do you guys suggest?

MY pick is Sony Vaio E series. It's around 29-30K and is very good laptop as I own one for last three months. Give it a try.

[manolin]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

MY pick is Sony Vaio E series. It's around 29-30K and is very good laptop as I own one for last three months. Give it a try.

I have had the completely reverse experience. I have had a Vaio E series for the last 1 1/2 years. The battery life is around an hour and half (from day one, HD screen), the laptop is loaded with bloatware, Sony service is very expensive (1k minimum for touching your laptop, no home service), and for last 3 months, there have been fan noise. The laptop is also pretty slow considering I have a i3 4 GB RAM model (I think the 5400 rom hard drive is the culprit here). The touchpad can be slightly off sometimes.

It has been dissappointing, especially when I had paid 50k for the laptop (then a new model), just before I took a year long sabbatical.

The screen is gorgeous. But what will I do with the screen when the battery runs out in an hour now.