Laptop PC Problem
Thread Starter
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Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 247
Likes: 1
From: Tupelo, MS, USA
Laptop PC Problem
I have an older HP Pavilion laptop and the battery is very weak and won't hold much of a charge. If the laptop is plugged in for about three days it works fine as long as it is plugged into a wall outlet. Less than three days the screen is very dim with a ghost type image (un-readable). Would buying a replacment battery solve the problem?
If so I would give the laptop to my mom for email and web use. Otherwise I would ebay it for parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
If so I would give the laptop to my mom for email and web use. Otherwise I would ebay it for parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,033
Likes: 1
From: spring, texas
Specs
Originally Posted by weadjust
I have an older HP Pavilion laptop and the battery is very weak and won't hold much of a charge. If the laptop is plugged in for about three days it works fine as long as it is plugged into a wall outlet. Less than three days the screen is very dim with a ghost type image (un-readable). Would buying a replacment battery solve the problem?
If so I would give the laptop to my mom for email and web use. Otherwise I would ebay it for parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
If so I would give the laptop to my mom for email and web use. Otherwise I would ebay it for parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
Processor
Memory
Hard drive
Video
I can help steer you in the right direction from there.
Thread Starter
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Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 247
Likes: 1
From: Tupelo, MS, USA
Originally Posted by malexander52
What are the specs on the laptop:
Processor
Memory
Hard drive
Video
I can help steer you in the right direction from there.
Processor
Memory
Hard drive
Video
I can help steer you in the right direction from there.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,460
Likes: 0
From: NYC, Ct & NC
I wouldnt waste my money on a battery for that specific laptop. Just keep it plugged in if it works. Also when it is runnning on the battery (whether the battery is good or not) you can adjust the screen to brighten. Take a pic of your keyboard if possible and I will let you know that to do to accomplish this.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,033
Likes: 1
From: spring, texas
Tiger Direct
I am not sure what your cash position is, but in light of the specs you gave me I would not consider investing money in the machine. Here is why
Celeron: The Celeron processor is really not good for multi-tasking. If you have numerous windows open, run IM and surf at the same time it really taxes the CPU.
Memory: 512MB is not a lot of memory by todays standards and your particular machine actually uses part of that memory for processing video. This means that you have less resources for opening and closing applications. If you do not have a dedicated video card (and this machine does not) Windows XP really needs 1GB of memory to run efficiently.
Hard Drive: 30GB is not a lot by todays standards either. It fills up fast if you have a lot of music and video.
I would consider the following:
Memory Upgrade - install the maximum memory you can in this machine. I am not sure if you can run 1GB and being that your processor is sub 1Ghz, 512 may be the limit. Older memory is a bit more expensive.
Pawn the bad boy. You could get $150 to $200 for the machine and put that into a new laptop. Tiger direct has many laptops for $400 to $500. They are not high end by any means, however they are considerably better than what you have now. They will have wireless connectivity and cd/dvd writers.
If you choose to purchase a new laptop I recommend requesting windows XP unless you can afford to purchase a machine that runs Windows Vista well.
With Vista we like to see:
120GB Hard drive
2GB Memory
1.6 Ghz processor or better (Pentium M is good)
With XP
80GB Hard Drive
1GB memory
1.5 Ghz Celeron or better
Here is a link to tiger direct:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?Lprice=200&Hprice=499.99&Nav=|c:2 510|&Sort=0&Recs=10
These laptops are in the $500 range.
Celeron: The Celeron processor is really not good for multi-tasking. If you have numerous windows open, run IM and surf at the same time it really taxes the CPU.
Memory: 512MB is not a lot of memory by todays standards and your particular machine actually uses part of that memory for processing video. This means that you have less resources for opening and closing applications. If you do not have a dedicated video card (and this machine does not) Windows XP really needs 1GB of memory to run efficiently.
Hard Drive: 30GB is not a lot by todays standards either. It fills up fast if you have a lot of music and video.
I would consider the following:
Memory Upgrade - install the maximum memory you can in this machine. I am not sure if you can run 1GB and being that your processor is sub 1Ghz, 512 may be the limit. Older memory is a bit more expensive.
Pawn the bad boy. You could get $150 to $200 for the machine and put that into a new laptop. Tiger direct has many laptops for $400 to $500. They are not high end by any means, however they are considerably better than what you have now. They will have wireless connectivity and cd/dvd writers.
If you choose to purchase a new laptop I recommend requesting windows XP unless you can afford to purchase a machine that runs Windows Vista well.
With Vista we like to see:
120GB Hard drive
2GB Memory
1.6 Ghz processor or better (Pentium M is good)
With XP
80GB Hard Drive
1GB memory
1.5 Ghz Celeron or better
Here is a link to tiger direct:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?Lprice=200&Hprice=499.99&Nav=|c:2 510|&Sort=0&Recs=10
These laptops are in the $500 range.