Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / For a geek, what could be worse?

Author
Message
adr
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st May 2003
Location: Job Centre
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 12:53 Edited at: 7th Apr 2004 12:54
Link
Just as my laptop started to bleep low battery at me last night, I thought to myself "I'll just finish up what I'm doing here before I find the power supply". So, 10 minutes later, when the laptop starts to get really angry, I cave in and go off in search of the life-giving cable.

Much to my horror, when I find the cable, it's broken! The moulded end which plugs into the laptop was snapped. Just then, my laptop gave up the ghost, and self-hibernated.

ARGHHH! All my work is trapped! I've ordered a new one straight from dell (at a cost of £40 GBP) and it'll take 3 to 4 working days, which, given that it's Easter Weekend, (4 day weekend) I'll have to deal with being laptopless for a long time....

stop();
hammertime();
Back to top
Profile PM Website
indi
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Earth, Brisbane, Australia
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 13:11
Link
OUCH!


fall down seven times, stand up eight
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Critters
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 11th Apr 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 14:57
Link
nooooo

How will you survive? lol

"If you do not master your anger, your anger will master you, I should know"
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Van B
Moderator
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Oct 2002
Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 15:05
Link
A deceased monkey could fix a broken power lead!

Honestly, get hold of a new plug for the end - some plug kits don't even need soldering!

Even if you have an old power supply, you could take the plug from the end, twist the old wire onto the new plug wire and tape it up with electrical insulating tape. It'd do until your new power supply arrives.


Van-B


The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
adr
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st May 2003
Location: Job Centre
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 15:25 Edited at: 7th Apr 2004 15:25
Link
Unfortunately, it's not your standard metallic cylindrical power socket/plug in the laptop. It's some custom-made plastic moulded affair. In other words - I can't get a new end. It's all good - it's winging its way through our crappy postal system.

stop();
hammertime();
Back to top
Profile PM Website
Dazzag
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Cyprus
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 15:41
Link
Yeah, my laptop battery now lasts about 10 minutes once it gets to 50%. And when the warning appears to shut down it shuts down withing like 10 seconds rather than the usual 10 minutes. My settings have not changed, just looks like the battery is stuffed. Checked on the web and most batteries are only expected to last about 3 years before going down hill (mine is about 4 years old). They are about £60 a throw too! Luckily I'm giving it to my parents, and getting a new superlaptop. And losing several grand... ho hum...

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
BadMonkey91
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 13th Jan 2004
Location:
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 16:24
Link
that sucks, I'd try cutting the end off and bypassing it with some Power cord that you could rip off of any old piece of crap, then maybe making a cheap end out of silicon, so the ends dont touch.

c'mon! cob that b!tch!

Badmonkey91@hotmail.com
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Lord Ozzum
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Oct 2003
Location: Beyond the Realms of Death
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 19:18
Link
I have the same problem
Mine broke two.
I'm using a 8 year old compact adapter as we speak

You're just jealous cuz the voices don't talk to you!!!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Mentor
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 27th Aug 2002
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 23:41
Link
serves you right for buying a (Hell)Dell , any other brand (like my cheapo Acer) has a standard power lead end and can run from one of several alternative supplies available almost anywhere (plus I can fall back on the car adaptor in a worst case scenario), the only downside is it can`t run DB (integrated INTEL graphics are just about capable of basic 2D LOL)

Mentor.

PC1: P4 hyperthreading 3ghz, 1gig mem, 2x160gig hd`s, ATI radeon 9800 pro gfx, 6 way surround sound, PC2: AMD 1.2ghz, 512mb ram, FX5200 ultra gfx, stereo 16 bit soundblaster, ups.
Back to top
Profile PM
Lord Ozzum
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Oct 2003
Location: Beyond the Realms of Death
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 23:50
Link
LOL, MENTOR!
I hate Dell
Everyone says they're great though
I know next to nothing about computers, so I tend to sway away from something that openly invites idiots to buy it.
I let Uncle Ronny pick them out, he used to fix computers

You're just jealous cuz the voices don't talk to you!!!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
HZence
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Mar 2003
Location:
Posted: 7th Apr 2004 23:59
Link
Dude, that's what you get for getting a Dell!


Team EOD :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
Back to top
Profile PM
adr
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st May 2003
Location: Job Centre
Posted: 8th Apr 2004 01:54
Link
Sorry, but you can't turn me off buying dells. I've found that they're by far the best value laptop. I've had experience with a whole load of laptops, all the way from crappy Umax Actionbooks all the way to the lurvely Sony Viaos. Now, granted the Sony's are gorgeous machines, but you can't beat the value you get from dell's online outlet store.

This laptop has lasted me 3 years and it's still going strong. Yeah I'm annoyed about the power cable, but I'm gonna place most of the blame squarely on my clumsy girlfriend who can't seem to avoid stepping on the cable and whipping the power lead out...

That said, my glowing adoration for Dell ends at their laptops - I'm not too keen on their desktops. We have 8 in our office (Those P4 xeons come in handy for a bit of Unreal 2k3) and they're ok (even though all the machines are identical, a colleages machine makes a load of beeps on a warm reset) but my dad's dell desktop seems to be mysteriously sluggish. Then again, he has a habit of clicking "yes" on anything that pops up on the internet...

I think I need to buy a new laptop soon. DBP games are a little sluggish and the poor old intel 815 chipset is a little long in the tooth

stop();
hammertime();
Back to top
Profile PM Website
HZence
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Mar 2003
Location:
Posted: 8th Apr 2004 02:03
Link
Quote: "That said, my glowing adoration for Dell ends at their laptops - I'm not too keen on their desktops."


We're agreed as far as that goes. I currently have a Dell and am working on upgrading it. By the time I'm done, it won't even be a dell.

I think a key point (that I've made before) is that the reason Dell is America's #1 PC is because the general American public knows very little about computers. They make themselves look flashy by offering a "free CD-burner", "free DVD Player", or "free printer" with the purchase of a desktop. What they don't tell you is that if you wish to upgrade almost anything, you'll have to buy the part from dell (at a high price!). You know how you can plug laptops into cigarette lighters? My friend bought an adapter to do so, and it ended up that the port on the back of his computer was the wrong shape! He had to buy a separate adapter from Dell (I recall him saying it was close to forty dollars). What a rip off.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
Back to top
Profile PM
BadMonkey91
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 13th Jan 2004
Location:
Posted: 8th Apr 2004 16:16
Link
Just buy newer parts, and put them in your old case. It's a lot cheaper that way.

Badmonkey91@hotmail.com
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Drew Cameron
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 8th Apr 2004 19:20
Link
Tough luck about your laptop.
Sorry about this link: http://www.ddrw.dbspot.com
I'm having problems with DBSpot hosting

The Old Remedy 3D Skateboarding - coming April 27th 2004 : 65% completed - website coming soon!
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
HZence
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Mar 2003
Location:
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 04:52
Link
Quote: "Just buy newer parts, and put them in your old case. It's a lot cheaper that way."


Eh, Dell got me there too! My case is probably about three inches wide. You know all the slots on the back of your mother board (they're horizontal on normal cases)? Well, because my case is so thin, all the slots are vertical. This means my current mobo won't work with a new case - which in turn means if I want to upgrade my PC, I need a new mobo...not only that, new ram (mostly because most new mobos dont use SDRAM).

Ah, the joys of "America's Number One PC!"


Team EOD :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
Back to top
Profile PM
Lord Ozzum
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Oct 2003
Location: Beyond the Realms of Death
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 04:54
Link
lol
That's why I use HP!
America is wonderful, ain't it?

You're just jealous cuz the voices don't talk to you!!!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
HZence
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Mar 2003
Location:
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 04:54
Link
Quote: "That's why I use HP!"


...I may not like Dell, but HP is no better.


Team EOD :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
Back to top
Profile PM
Lord Ozzum
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Oct 2003
Location: Beyond the Realms of Death
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 04:55
Link
ahhhh, but it's much better
buy a compact though
Use it for 7 years.
See what I went through.

You're just jealous cuz the voices don't talk to you!!!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
HZence
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Mar 2003
Location:
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 04:57
Link
Quote: "buy a compact though"


See the last post I made before this one, and replace HP with Compaq.

Just please, oh pretty please, don't go with a store-bought computer. They put all kinds of ad-ware on the machines and you really don't know what you're getting. They tell you that you have a "Pentium 4 Processor and a FREE CD-Burner!" And because of that, it sounds just dandy...

Man did I learn that the hard way...


Team EOD :: Programmer/Storyboard Assistant
Back to top
Profile PM
Lord Ozzum
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 29th Oct 2003
Location: Beyond the Realms of Death
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 05:00
Link
that's why I search through my system for stuff by hand whenever I get a computer
Also do that once a month
But yeah, mostly msn and aol
I delete that stuff

You're just jealous cuz the voices don't talk to you!!!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
hyrichter
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 15th Feb 2004
Location: Arizona
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 05:42
Link
Doesn't anyone build their own computers? I would never buy a prebuilt desktop! I have to buy every little part and put it together myself so that I know everything is just how I want it.

I know most people don't have the knowledge to do that, but my computer is always reliable.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Wik
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 21st May 2003
Location: CT, United States
Posted: 9th Apr 2004 06:46
Link
Even if they don't, you should re-format to get rid of all the junk computer companies put on it.
I built my computer and I havn't had to reformat once. Then again, sometimes it makes a buzzing noise...I just hit it or push on the front and it stops.


Back to top
Profile PM
Pricey
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 22nd Feb 2003
Location:
Posted: 11th Apr 2004 14:56
Link
i am concidering getting one of those £2 486 laptops from e-bay (postage & packaging £15!). i am typing this on my mum's 1ghz laptop but i just want something to carry around, seems very useful. i guess i could find some freeware windows 3.1 games to play. there are some allright looking colour ones on there.


Dig a pit and poo in it
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2024-11-25 01:55:38
Your offset time is: 2024-11-25 01:55:38