[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Can you guys (especially those working in IT etc) give suggestion whether I should retain (and risk) this hard drive or return it? Considering the discount.

If it's for your personal use and not for any official use, I would suggest to keep it. I assume you will have a backup of anything you have in another place atleast. This is essential even if you have warranty for 5 years. With this assumption, the risk you have is that the SSD goes bad and WD won't replace it after 3 years. With the price you got it for, I think it's worth the risk. Prices of SSD would have gone down further in 3 to 5 years and you can use the saved money to buy a better drive if the failure does happen.

Also, if you anyway keep the drive, you can try your luck with WD by sending them the data from CrystalDiskInfo which should show the total Host Write size. I don't think they will accept it, but hey, if you have already decided to keep the drive, you can try your luck.

[ex-innova-guy]

I use a 2019 Dell Inspiron 5570 8GB RAM which is equipped with Intel i7-8550U and Radeon 530. Recently, I am facing an issue on my laptop. I watch quite a few videos the whole day at 2x speed with wired earphones. These days the sound cracks a lot of time. It cracks even more when laptop is not on charge. I am facing this issue on Chrome and Edge.

What reason can it be? Can it be a problem associated with the earphones? Any solution or advice would be great. Thanks in advance!

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

I use a 2019 Dell Inspiron 5570 8GB RAM which is equipped with Intel i7-8550U and Radeon 530. Recently, I am facing an issue on my laptop. I watch quite a few videos the whole day at 2x speed with wired earphones. These days the sound cracks a lot of time. It cracks even more when laptop is not on charge. I am facing this issue on Chrome and Edge.

What reason can it be? Can it be a problem associated with the earphones? Any solution or advice would be great. Thanks in advance!

Modern videos have a lot more sound information compared to older ones. Sound cracking could be due to slow CPU or insufficient RAM - processing bottlenecks.

To test, try and old video (say 5 years old), if there is no cracking, then the CPU is overloading. Try adding RAM it may help.

If cracking persists in older videos, then try defragmentating the disk or running it off an SSD. If it still persists, then you are out of luck. Upgrade the laptop to a faster processor and at least 32GB RAM.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

I use a 2019 Dell Inspiron 5570 8GB RAM which is equipped with Intel i7-8550U and Radeon 530. Recently, I am facing an issue on my laptop. I watch quite a few videos the whole day at 2x speed with wired earphones. These days the sound cracks a lot of time. It cracks even more when laptop is not on charge. I am facing this issue on Chrome and Edge.

What reason can it be? Can it be a problem associated with the earphones? Any solution or advice would be great. Thanks in advance!

What videos are these? Are these streaming videos? Usually an i7 of 2019 +8GB should be way more sufficient to run any video at 2x. Are these uncompressed videos? If so it could be a disk bottle neck. Although I doubt it is.

A more likely culprit is a possible sound driver update that is causing the issue. Carefully note the version of the sound driver and see if it makes sense to go to an older version. Sometimes older versions work better. But if you do choose to try these, ensure to know which version to get back to in case things dont improve.

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Sound cracking could be due to slow CPU or insufficient RAM - processing bottlenecks.

Originally Posted by deep_bang

A more likely culprit is a possible sound driver update that is causing the issue.

Thank you both of you for your inputs. It already has a 128GB SSD which has only 24GB free space left. I have one other drive 'Local Disk D' which is of 1.81TB and have 1.06TB free space on it.

I tried troubleshooting yesterday via sound settings and it asked me to restart while some diagnostics was done. After that the issue has not cropped up again. Hopefully it stays the same.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

I bought a WD SSD from flipkart during sale with following details:

2TB capacity WD Blue SATA SSD
Price: 7900/- (usual price is more than 11k)

I registered the product on WD and got an email stating that unless I can submit document from flipkart stating that this is a new peoduct and not a used/refurbished purchase, they cant support warranty etc for this drive.

2TB drives do not move fast. So it is ok that you got a old stock. SSD's do not go bad sitting on shelf.

SSD's rarely go bad. I have three which is 5+ years old and no issues. Retain the original invoice and that should be sufficient in case you need to make warranty claim. WD India does not ask for product registration to be done to honor warranty. Original invoice is sufficient.

[dearchichi]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I have been using Thinkpads since 2003 and feel that they are superior to most of the competing laptops - excellent build, Excellent screen and over all support. Once you use thinkpads, you do not think of anything else.

Both my sons have Apple laptops - top of the line with the works, but I still prefer my Thinkpad.

Where do you suggest one buys Thinkpads and Apple laptops? Do you recommend Amazon for the same?

Thanks.

[m8002?]

Folks, it would be great if someone can help me with options to restore MS Office login.

I got an Acer Aspire 5 laptop for my son last Nov/Dec from Croma. It came preinstalled with Windows 11 and MS Office 2021 Home and Student. The sales exec there activated the Windows and Office using an outlook account that we created at that time. My son has now forgotten the account name and password and hence Office apps are "read only" currently ( out mistake we did not create a backup email for that )

I contacted MS support and Croma and both said nothing can be done about it - only option is to remember the password. MS even wants to know details of emails sent/received from that outlook account to reset the password. Of course, since the email account was created just for registration, it was not used at all.

What are my options to get MS Office working now? is there a factory reset option like in mobiles and re-register using a new account?

[The Rationalist]

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad which I got from Canada, its motherboard is gone and not available here. Is there anyone who can repair it in India? Sending it to Canada is a hassle. Learnt a costly lesson, don’t get Windows laptop from North America, if you get make sure the motherboard is one which is present in Indian models also.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Where do you suggest one buys Thinkpads and Apple laptops? Do you recommend Amazon for the same?

Thanks.

Unless it is sold by Amazon, do not buy. The reason is that though the prices quoted are less than the shop, the items are generally used/opened/returned.

I always buy from Lenovo store (first time in 2002). Most of the time they match the online prices, unless the price is way too low (that should flag concern!).

To find the Lenovo store nearest to you, go to the Lenovo site and get the list of dealers/resellers. In my case I go to Nehru Place where there are dealers and shoips for all major brands. Some negociations are always needed. It is best to show them online offers.

You can also buy from Lenovo online store, but the prices are higher than the shops.

[dearchichi]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Unless it is sold by Amazon, do not buy.

Thank you so much for your response.

[avingodb]

i have a unique problem. I bought a Lenovo Yoga 14.5-inch laptop and now I am unable to find the exact snug-fitting sleeve for this laptop. Does anyone know where I can find it?

or is there any customization option available on any online store?

[sagarpadaki]

The speakers on my Dell Inspiron 7548 have gone bad and are crackling. Cannot hear anything meaningful from them when making video calls and have to plug in Headphone.

Any idea where I can get replacement speakers? Dell service center said they do not have in stock and cannot give any timelines. Cost is exorbitant too from Dell! Any outside sources where I can check?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

The speakers on my Dell Inspiron 7548 have gone bad and are crackling. Cannot hear anything meaningful from them when making video calls and have to plug in Headphone.

Any idea where I can get replacement speakers? Dell service center said they do not have in stock and cannot give any timelines. Cost is exorbitant too from Dell! Any outside sources where I can check?

No idea of Bangaluru, but in Delhi Nehru Place market has computer repair shops for every brand.

Go to market where they repair computers. They will have the relevant parts (speakers etc).

[shresan23]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

The speakers on my Dell Inspiron 7548 have gone bad and are crackling. Cannot hear anything meaningful from them when making video calls and have to plug in Headphone.

Any idea where I can get replacement speakers? Dell service center said they do not have in stock and cannot give any timelines. Cost is exorbitant too from Dell! Any outside sources where I can check?

Well, here in Chennai there is a place named Richie Street where you get cheap copies of pretty much any electronic part. I reckon that Bangalore will also have a place like that. I assume that your laptop is fairly old, or atleast out of that honeymoon period. If cost is the issue, i suggest some sort of second rate speaker for the time being. Or, if you dont want your laptop to be violated, its best to go for some wired zebronics speakers that can help you for a couple of months.