Laptops Arena

Sometimes, I think I've seen it all when it comes to computers, but something comes and turns my entire world upside down. No, it's not the fact that I get to solve problems that I can't actually describe or name their causes. The fact is that I always end up facing some "computer specialist" that comes with lame excuses for his incompetence. Before we move to the question we'll answer today, I have to tell you a very short story...

... and the story is exactly about such a person. A friend of my father has an older computer, and he got a new LCD TV to go with it. So far, so good, but when he got the LCD TV installed(it also acts like a LCD monitor for the computer), there were some problems with the video drivers, so he ended up with a very nice 640X480 pixels at 8 bit desktop.

The funny part comes when a guy from the local ISP comes to setup the connection, and he says there's no way to get the MAC address unless the video drivers are properly setup! Sure, you need 32 bit colors to read some white text on black background in the Command Prompt window...
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This is a true story, but there's always something even more hilarious comin' up, time has made me understand that. Anyway, the question about hooking up a laptop to the Internet isn't that lame, after all. In fact, it's a decent question most beginners would ask... so how do you hook up a laptop to the Internet, after all?

Before anything else, you should check the features list of your mobile computer, to see the connection types you can use. For example, being able to hook up to a cable network at home and via some USB modem while on the road is no big deal, and there's even more to it, since Wi-Fi capabilities are also very common these days.

If you run into any problems, be sure to check that all drivers are properly installed, before calling your ISP. After all, you wouldn't like to be laughed at, right?

In the end, there's only one answer to the question - THINK! Before asking how do you hook up your laptop to the Internet, think about the OS you're using, and the connection type, just as I mentioned above. Once you know a little about those, everything should become clearer - just look for the answer to your specific question, like "creating a wireless connection on Vista" or "connecting to the Internet in Ubuntu," that's all!

Just one more thing - if you really get in trouble, post a comment below, and we'll all be happy to help, and you'll also help others having the same problem by asking your question. Just don't be shy - in the end, everything will be fine, sooner or later...

A few days ago, I was thinking about those horrible days when I had to face irrecoverable data loss, and the fact that it has all and nothing to do with today's laptops. No, the laptops we can buy these days are not the cause of my past data loss adventures, but they are also prone to data loss, and this gave me the idea of this article. I know this doesn't give you a single clue about the things I have in mind, so let's get deeper, shall we?

The SSD, SSD drive, solid state drive, also even referred to as SSD hard drive is the new trend in storage for a lot of mobile devices, but there are still enough laptops with "classic" hard drives on them. Some attributes, like lower power consumption and, according to some sources, higher reliability, recommend the SSD as the best thing you can get in a laptop, but please allow me to disagree with that. Let's destroy the myth... or at least let me die trying!

I fully agree with the fact that, if you drop your laptop, the SSD has much higher chances to go through it without problems, simply because it has no moving parts. That's the same reason allowing it to draw less energy than a "classic" hard drive.
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On the other hand, think about this scenario - you have two dead laptops. One has a HDD, the other has a SSD. Both are booting up nicely using a diagnostics CD, and after conducting some tests, you end up with the unwanted conclusion that the drives are dead. Which one is more likely to still have some recoverable data on it, and why?

The SSD, as I just said, has no moving parts. This means that, basically, we're talking about the same technology used in most USB thumb drives. In some areas, this also gives a small performance advantage over the traditional hard drives, but when such a drive dies, we're talking about a fried memory chip, in most cases. Data recovery chances? Virtually none. Nunca, nada, niente, hasta la vista, baby!

At last, the good news - when a HDD drive dies, it's one out of two - the electronic part, or some mechanical part, usually the engine spinning the platters. In both cases, replacement or the defective parts or data recovery in a specialized lab is possible, and the only problem could be the price of such operations, in some cases exceeding the price of the drive itself ten times or more. Anyway, the idea is that if you want to be sure your data can be recovered... the SSD hard drive isn't the best solution.

That's it folks, if you think I'm not right, please go ahead and drop a comment. Knowledge makes us strong, and where there are more opinions, there's more knowledge - don't be shy! ;)

I was afraid of laptop operating temperatures for a long time, and I still have that fear of burning hot laptops. I know, I know, the latest processors are much cooler than the ones laptops used about a decade ago, but that's not the main issue. Have you ever wondered about health issues that can be closely related to the laptop operating temperatures? Probably not, so here's the story...

If you’re one of the males using a laptop, various studies conducted a few years ago have shown that you may want to get a cool one. No, not necessarily a cool laptop computer like the MacBook, but a cool one like any laptop that doesn't get hot... Why that?

Well, these studies found that, as long as the laptop operating temperatures are high, the result is an excessive amount of heat being transferred to the scrotum, and ultimately affecting the quality and quantity of the user’s sperm. So that's why Peter North doesn't have a notebook, now I finally know the answer!
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Now, don't throw away your hot laptop, because this only happen when you are using it on your lap. Simply place it on a desk, and everything should be fine, but...

...what are the best laptop operating temperatures?

Well, some may tell you to get a certain program to find out how hot is your laptop, get some additional cooling, and so on, but I am not one of those. As long as your laptop runs fine, it doesn't really matter how hot it is, as long as it's not outside the warranty period. Just be sure to always backup your precious data, because we all know that laptop operating temperatures are higher than those of desktop computers, so breakdowns are more frequent.

These being said, remember there's no such thing as best laptop operating temperature. If it works, be happy with it and backup on a daily basis. Good luck!

If you missed digging this topic so far, you should know that hibernation is one of the most useful power management features available for laptop users. Basically, it's all about quickly turning off your computer, and starting next time right from where you left. You can compare it with StandBy mode, only that this time your power consumption will be 0. Now, what kind of Hibernate or StandBy issues could you run into?

First of all, let's see why would your laptop have problems entering Hibernation? The only issue I can think about is not having enough free disk space, since hibernation requires you to have at least the size of your memory available on the startup partition(for example, if you have 2GB of memory, you should have a bit over 2GB of free space on your C: drive).
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StandBy issues? Sometimes, your laptop may not enter StandBy mode, or will exit instantly because your mouse has some problems that make it send movement info to your computer, although you're not touching it.

Now, let's see what can be done if your laptop simply won't start after placing it into Hibernation or StandBy mode, shall we?

- Patience is a virtue - some of the older laptops may take up to 40 seconds to completely wake up - that's also true with people...
- Some laptops have special keys or buttons for 'Wake Up' - read the manual to find out more, or simply look carefully at it
- Press and hold the Power button for five seconds or more - this usually resets and allows you to reboot your laptop
- If all else fails, remove the laptop battery and the power cord, wait for a minute, and then replace the batteries, reconnect the power cord, and press the Power button

These being said, I hope all Hibernate or StandBy issues you may encounter won't scare you. Good luck with your troubleshooting tasks, but let's hope you won't have to use the knowledge gained today too often!

If you laptop is frozen, one thing is certain - next time you go to the North Pole, you should leave it behind! Anyway, you don't have to go in an area with extreme temperatures to see your laptop frozen - sometimes, it's enough to have some defective hardware inside it, or various software issues. OK, so how can you find out what's wrong with your laptop and causing it to freeze so often? That's what we should find out next...

If your laptop is frozen, and your keyboard or mouse/trackpad are not responding, Shutdown also being impossible, here's what you should do:

1. Disconnect the laptop power cord if inserted/remove the battery
2. Wait at least 15 to 20 seconds
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3. Put back the battery
4. Reconnect the power cord, if you're going to use the AC adapter
5. Turn the laptop on
6. Just in case, be sure to perform a virus/spyware scan, update all your drivers, and clean your Windows

If you're still having problems, get back here and ask for our help, it will be our pleasure to help you as much as we can! After all, what could be worse than a frozen laptop? A frozen desktop computer, I guess...