I gave my laptop some personality

[Big Frank]

My keyboard should be here Wednesday, but I need to start getting ready for my trip and won't have time to work on my POS laptop. If I can get it working, I'm planning to add more memory. It only has 4 GB of RAM. Dell wants $70, now $65, for 8 GB. Dell can kiss my pimply white butt. I'll find something compatible elsewhere for less or do without. This thing isn't worth sinking that much into it. I just looked in the box with my old Nvidia graphics cards and found 2 1 GB 240-pin cards that are about twice as long as the one in the laptop. There was a computer store nearby that would take old RAM as trade-in for new. I don't think they're still there, but if they are, maybe I could trade all 3 in and save 10 bucks or whatever they decide it's worth. This thing is small, and there's only one slot so I can't stick another one in next to it.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-memory-upgrade-8-gb-1rx8-ddr4-sodimm-3200-mt-s/apd/aa937595/memory

[Jim Kennedy-ar154me]

My keyboard should be here Wednesday, but I need to start getting ready for my trip and won't have time to work on my POS laptop. If I can get it working, I'm planning to add more memory. It only has 4 GB of RAM. Dell wants $70, now $65, for 8 GB. Dell can kiss my pimply white butt. I'll find something compatible elsewhere for less or do without. This thing isn't worth sinking that much into it. I just looked in the box with my old Nvidia graphics cards and found 2 1 GB 240-pin cards that are about twice as long as the one in the laptop. There was a computer store nearby that would take old RAM as trade-in for new. I don't think they're still there, but if they are, maybe I could trade all 3 in and save 10 bucks or whatever they decide it's worth. This thing is small, and there's only one slot so I can't stick another one in next to it.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-memory-upgrade-8-gb-1rx8-ddr4-sodimm-3200-mt-s/apd/aa937595/memory

You might think about this. It is NOT Dell but I have these all over the place and they do work. This is for a 32Gb module so smaller amounts would also be much cheaper. IMHO Dell will really mess you over on memory.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QMMZ9TW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[alfsauve]

Unless you need super graphics or super mobility I've found these are great.   I've got two in operation, one for almost 3 years now.  The second is configured ready to go to replace Miss Kitty's Mac Book Pro which is struggling, but hanging on.

For <$300 you can get the computer and a 24" monitor.  The box itself can mount on the back of the monitor. 


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C81DGX1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8

[Big Frank]

You might think about this. It is NOT Dell but I have these all over the place and they do work. This is for a 32Gb module so smaller amounts would also be much cheaper. IMHO Dell will really mess you over on memory.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QMMZ9TW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

That looks like the right size/format, and I can probably get 8 Gigs for 20 bucks. That would be worth it to double my RAM, but not $70. It was a refurbished laptop to start with, and since it didn't cost a lot, isn't worth putting much into. My new keyboard came yesterday. The old one was "permanently" attached to the palm rest. When it was assembled, it fit over a bunch of plastic pins that were then melted and flattened out, in effect riveting it all together. So I drilled the heads off all the tiny pins with an 1/8" bit in one of my cordless drills, and put little dabs of Amazing Goop over the corresponding holes in the new keyboard before setting it in place. After I pressed it down firmly I added a bit more Goop over the top of the holes were the "heads" of the pins should be and pressed it down several more times. I didn't get much else done because it's hard to figure out which screws are M2x2, M2x3, M2x4, and big head screws, etc. and get the right ones in the right places. I'll have to look at it with fresh eyes after I get some more sleep. I guess x2 is 2mm long and x4 is twice as long as that. BBs are 4.5mm and I think I have the right screw holding the main board in, but that's the only thing holding it in. I want to try to figure out how many of each screw there are and where they go before I finish assembling it.

[Big Frank]

Unless you need super graphics or super mobility I've found these are great.   I've got two in operation, one for almost 3 years now.  The second is configured ready to go to replace Miss Kitty's Mac Book Pro which is struggling, but hanging on.

For <$300 you can get the computer and a 24" monitor.  The box itself can mount on the back of the monitor. 


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C81DGX1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8

Those are interesting but I need a laptop to take to bed and in my tent with me. I already have a Windows 11 and Windows 7 desktop. I'm just waiting until the laptop is FUBAR before replacing it with something better. If I don't get it working with this new keyboard, I'll either s**tcan it, or see if Sarge wants to work on it. I might get my next laptop from him since he can buy old ones cheap on eBay or someplace, and rebuild them better, faster, stronger, like the Six Million Dollar Man, for a fraction of the cost of a new one. This is my first time even looking inside a laptop and I've taken everything apart except for taking the display out of its frame. There's no guarantee this will even work when I'm done with it.

I have over 650 movies on the Windows 7 desktop now, and I think the 20" monitor I have it hooked up to is an inch larger than my friend's portable TV/DVD player. I know my 24" monitor on the main desktop is bigger, but I'm not taking it again. That was too much hassle. I plugged in my free Bluetooth speaker from Xfinity and got that working too. I smashed the end of power cord sideways with a BFH to squeeze together the contacts inside it, and twisted the 3 pins on the back of the monitor around at angles to try to get better contact with them. It doesn't fall out anymore but is still position sensitive and will shut off if the cord is turned around the wrong direction. I squeezed some dielectric grease into the hole on the cord, and after I pressed it in as far as it would go, I had it face down on my desk drawer while it was turned on so I could see that it was still working. Then I applied a lot of Goop in a wedge shape to hold it in place and seal the hole in the back of the monitor, as well as serving as a strain relief. After it sat a few minutes I stood it up and used the computer for quite awhile, and I only had to turn the cord a little bit when I set it up. That's good enough to have it setting on the picnic table so I can see to see to log on, then turn it around so we can watch moves next week. At this point, it doesn't matter if I get the laptop working in time or not, and I have lots of other things I need to do.

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