'No Stupid Questions' (NSQ) Internet & Technology Edition

KidSparrow said:
I'm rather tech illiterate myself but need to help my parent find a decent laptop that is suitable for working from home, playing movies, drop proof and won't catch a virus from some shitty bing popup. She's set on a surface pro but i don't think it'll survive her. And my suggestion on her getting a desktop is moot. Any suggestions on a portable laptop that runs well and can take some damage? Or even a diy build.

Whatever she gets, i plan to block out certain search engines and phrases to prevent her from destroying another laptop. And i have enough 3d and casting experience to make her a laptop case that will survive a drop and fit her "aesthetics".

I feel like a parent trying to buy a teen their first phone, and the kid wants a shitty rose gold iphone that they'll break in a week.

Edit: budget is under $600. Also open to sites i can look into that sell refurbished ect
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Just get any laptop that will do the basics and install ubuntu or something else on it and then make it look close enough to windows so she doesn't go getting viruses. If she's anything like my dad she will click the most obvious "do not click" thing ever and it will slowly ruin the computer.

Everyone does everything through a browser these days, the hard part is keeping them from getting malware or giving someone control of their machine like a tech scammer. Good luck
 
Aidan said:
Just get any laptop that will do the basics and install ubuntu or something else on it and then make it look close enough to windows so she doesn't go getting viruses. If she's anything like my dad she will click the most obvious "do not click" thing ever and it will slowly ruin the computer.

Everyone does everything through a browser these days, the hard part is keeping them from getting malware or giving someone control of their machine like a tech scammer. Good luck
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There's an idea. Thank ya

And yes, that's how she installed a virus on dad's laptop. Never thought id had to explain that a flashing ad on aol is not a free virus scanner
 
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if the universe is so big, why won't it fight me?

Okay but I have an actual question. Can't figure out why, but my laptops battery won't charge now. I plug in the AC adapter, and it stays at the constant number. Occasionally, itll say "plugged in, not charging" but when I pull out the power cord and plug it back in, it says its charging but it doesnt increase or decrease.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the compliant control method battery, and the adapter itself, as well the as drivers for both, but it's not working. It did in the past, but not now.
Thing is, i had this problem once before, and it solved itself after a while. Some are telling me it's the motherboard, others are telling me its either the adaptor or the battery itself.

Can I get a second opinion, merci beaucoup?
 
Aidan said:
Just get any laptop that will do the basics and install ubuntu or something else on it and then make it look close enough to windows so she doesn't go getting viruses. If she's anything like my dad she will click the most obvious "do not click" thing ever and it will slowly ruin the computer.

Everyone does everything through a browser these days, the hard part is keeping them from getting malware or giving someone control of their machine like a tech scammer. Good luck
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I've taken two simple precautions with my grandparents:
1) I installed uBlock Origin and hid the icon so they don't accidentally turn it off.
2) I told them them to shut down their laptop and call me whenever they get notified of a virus or a problem with their PC, no matter who phones or what pops up on their screen.

It's a pain in the arse for me because I get phone calls about some really trivial stuff that they freaked out about, like Java/Adobe popups saying "Update ready to install", but I'd rather that than them getting scammed for thousands or losing 50 years worth of photographs to ransomware.
 
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Alcatraz said:
if the universe is so big, why won't it fight me?

Okay but I have an actual question. Can't figure out why, but my laptops battery won't charge now. I plug in the AC adapter, and it stays at the constant number. Occasionally, itll say "plugged in, not charging" but when I pull out the power cord and plug it back in, it says its charging but it doesnt increase or decrease.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the compliant control method battery, and the adapter itself, as well the as drivers for both, but it's not working. It did in the past, but not now.
Thing is, i had this problem once before, and it solved itself after a while. Some are telling me it's the motherboard, others are telling me its either the adaptor or the battery itself.

Can I get a second opinion, merci beaucoup?
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How old is it and what's the general usage?
If you use it for low-performance stuff, it's probably the battery.
If you use it for high-performance stuff, like gaming, it might be the motherboard as well.
However, if it's old enough, a failing battery can cause a cascade of failures like killing the charging port (motherboard) and the AC adapter.
 
Alcatraz said:
Okay but I have an actual question. Can't figure out why, but my laptops battery won't charge now. I plug in the AC adapter, and it stays at the constant number. Occasionally, itll say "plugged in, not charging" but when I pull out the power cord and plug it back in, it says its charging but it doesnt increase or decrease.
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If it gives the "plugged in, not charging" message and you power off the laptop without touching the power cable at all does it still stay where it was, does it charge or does the battery drain?

Edit: I should've started with this question, what's the model number of your laptop?
 
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Is there a way to force brave mobile to use a searx instance as default search? It's not one of the options and I don't see a way to add it as one. I was using startpage but it's acting fucking retarded lately and I don't really want to use any of the available ones.
 
Bender said:
If it gives the "plugged in, not charging" message and you power off the laptop without touching the power cable at all does it still stay where it was, does it charge or does the battery drain?

Edit: I should've started with this question, what's the model number of your laptop?
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Its a Toshiba L-55A Satellite running Windows 8.1. I dunno the exact model number, but the battery is internal. I mostly use it for work, internet browsing and the occasional ps1 emulation, but beyond that, not too much.

Itll say "plugged in, charging" for a while but then say "plugged in,not charging" after a day or so. Unplugging and then replugging refreshes it back to "plugged in, charging" but the percentage doesn't go up or down. Sometimes the battery number goes down by a percent now.


I realize i sound exceptional describing this, but any and all help is appreciated. Im not the most tech saavey.
 
Alcatraz said:
Its a Toshiba L-55A Satellite running Windows 8.1. I dunno the exact model number, but the battery is internal. I mostly use it for work, internet browsing and the occasional ps1 emulation, but beyond that, not too much.

Itll say "plugged in, charging" for a while but then say "plugged in,not charging" after a day or so. Unplugging and then replugging refreshes it back to "plugged in, charging" but the percentage doesn't go up or down. Sometimes the battery number goes down by a percent now.


I realize i sound exceptional describing this, but any and all help is appreciated. Im not the most tech saavey.
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Does it work without the charger plugged in? Does the battery readout go down then? It sounds like the battery readout does change sometimes, so it's not a Windows driver issue. I would avoid running it completely flat, it might not work run full flat and that might not even be rectifiable if one disconnects the battery (which does appear to be connected via a cable, so that should be possible).

If you don't really need to use it on the go, maybe just make sure things are backed up and see if it dies.

It sounds like a hardware issue. Maybe a replacement battery in the $30 range would fix it. But... might be some other component in the charging system. Which may of may not be readily replaceable.
 
3119967d0c said:
Does it work without the charger plugged in? Does the battery readout go down then?
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Yeah, it works without the charger plugged in, and the battery readout still goes down. I turned it off for the entire day, and when I booted it up, the readout was at 89%. Which would mean the battery is slowly dying even when I'm not using it. What the fuck gives?
 
Alcatraz said:
Yeah, it works without the charger plugged in, and the battery readout still goes down. I turned it off for the entire day, and when I booted it up, the readout was at 89%. Which would mean the battery is slowly dying even when I'm not using it. What the fuck gives?
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Hmm. So it does charge, but it sounds like it might max out as a battery level <100%, like 89% or whatever, and then show as 'not charging', rather than '100% Fully Charged'?

I probably wouldn't stress too much about it then. It's probably the battery, either the cells or charge control circuitry that might be built into the battery unit, that's screwed up. In either case, if it's got to that point, the battery probably doesn't last very long at all, but whether that actually matters obviously depends on how you use it. If you're using it plugged in, unless the battery heats up to some insane temperature where you feel like it might be about to explode, you probably don't need to replace it. If it does get real warm, and you don't need to use it on the go, you could probably find a video explaining how to crack it open and unplug and remove the battery (or replace it).
 
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3119967d0c said:
Hmm. So it does charge, but it sounds like it might max out as a battery level <100%, like 89% or whatever, and then show as 'not charging', rather than '100% Fully Charged'?

I probably wouldn't stress too much about it then. It's probably the battery, either the cells or charge control circuitry that might be built into the battery unit, that's screwed up. In either case, if it's got to that point, the battery probably doesn't last very long at all, but whether that actually matters obviously depends on how you use it. If you're using it plugged in, unless the battery heats up to some insane temperature where you feel like it might be about to explode, you probably don't need to replace it. If it does get real warm, and you don't need to use it on the go, you could probably find a video explaining how to crack it open and unplug and remove the battery (or replace it).
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Yeah, something similar happens with my phone. It works fine so I haven't felt the need to replace it even though it's 5 or 6 years old, but if it drops down to about 14% battery it'll instantly shut down like it's reached 0%. I guess his laptop firmware reports the worn cells as empty and my phone reports them as full.
 
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3119967d0c said:
Hmm. So it does charge, but it sounds like it might max out as a battery level <100%, like 89% or whatever, and then show as 'not charging', rather than '100% Fully Charged'?

I probably wouldn't stress too much about it then. It's probably the battery, either the cells or charge control circuitry that might be built into the battery unit, that's screwed up. In either case, if it's got to that point, the battery probably doesn't last very long at all, but whether that actually matters obviously depends on how you use it. If you're using it plugged in, unless the battery heats up to some insane temperature where you feel like it might be about to explode, you probably don't need to replace it. If it does get real warm, and you don't need to use it on the go, you could probably find a video explaining how to crack it open and unplug and remove the battery (or replace it).
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Bender said:
Yeah, something similar happens with my phone. It works fine so I haven't felt the need to replace it even though it's 5 or 6 years old, but if it drops down to about 14% battery it'll instantly shut down like it's reached 0%. I guess his laptop firmware reports the worn cells as empty and my phone reports them as full.
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I mostly just use it plugged in anyway. I guess its just a 'tism thing at that point, and If I really need to travel with it, I can always buy a replacement somewhere? It sounds like it's mostly a battery issue, and those can be replaced.

Anyway, thanks for the help.
 
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Alcatraz said:
I mostly just use it plugged in anyway. I guess its just a 'tism thing at that point, and If I really need to travel with it, I can always buy a replacement somewhere? It sounds like it's mostly a battery issue, and those can be replaced.

Anyway, thanks for the help.
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If you mostly use it plugged in then I'm pretty sure the battery is fucked. Every time I see someone pretty much always leave their laptop plugged in they get like 30 minutes of battery life when they unplug it.
 
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