steve answers:

Im not sure what the phone number is, but you dont have many options.
You need the OLD license key in order to get anywhere. If you dont have this, your out of luck. If you did have this, then you could call microsoft, say you bought a new hard drive, then what they will do is disable the old key and give YOU a new one. This cant prevent the stolen laptop from working, because it will still work. They will just be unable to download updates and any other microsoft downloads that require mandatory windows validation. If the thiefs attempt to download any of the above stated, they will receive a message stating “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting” because microsoft marked your old license key as illegal, or invalid so that they dont give you a new license key and have you keep using your old one at the samew time – - that would be a crime because you would then have 2 license keys–you only paid for one–with the laptop you purchased.
Microsoft also released an update to Windows Systems called WIndows Genuine advantage notification. What this does is give a bunch of annoying popups and black screens to “annoy” you into purchasing a valid license. If this was already downloaded automatically to your laptop when you had it, it would have been valid at the time and then you wouldnt have gotten those popups. Then microsoft would have made it invalid (at your request) then they would get all the popups, get very pissed, and just get rid of your computer. Microsoft at its best…just kidding, actually not.

If you purchased the license online, you should be able to login to your Microsoft/Windows Live account and retrieve it then do the above to make it invalid then tell microosft you bought a new hard drive..etc. Its all stated above.
If the license was preinstalled on a system that you purchased, then you need to get a new license. Because you dont have the old licensing information, Microsoft cant just “poof” and give you a new key and disable the old one. It doesnt work that way. (legal reasons…:( ) You would probably be better off just buying a new laptop with windows preinstalled with a license. Then write that license key down in a secret place and keep it for future use of cases like this. Then you get to do this whole process ALL OVER AGAIN! Doesnt that sound fun? Well then i suggest you 2 things:

buy a laptop lock. They sell them at most office stores and places like best buy, radioshack, etc.

Http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=3738245&st=laptop+lock&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1051384145329

buy a subscription for laptop theft protection. A popular brand is LoJACK. You then install it then if its stolen whenever the thief connects it to the internet your computer will automatically ping to their servers and send you an email or phone call or somehow contact you and give you the location information and help you get your computer back.

Http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/products/

I hope this is helpful to you and good luck at retrieving your laptop, although its not very likely.

Good Luck. Hope this helps. Email me for more assistance.

steve answers:

As far as radiation and laptops are concerned, most of the radiation is coming from the inner workings of the laptop, in other words where the hard disc and memory chips are located. There is also less radiation from a laptop screen than from a standard computer monitor, however, according to reports, wireless radiation is considered to be much more hazardous than what comes from the laptop itself and therefore wireless technology is causing more concern for many people.

I think it is a lot like global warming and other controversial subjects. You can find “experts” claiming both sides.

steve answers:

By default and out of the box, it won’t work on newer Windows systems.

Try installing this on both machines, maybe when she’s not around:

http://www.cezeo.com/products/lantalk-xp/

Then send her a funny hello message like:

“I’m coming to murder you…
(pause for dramatic effect)
Just kidding, it’s me Mom.
But seriously, MURDER!”

steve answers:

Well why don’t you just use a USB cord to hook the too up or get the wires at Circut City or something. As for how it would work for the programs I only have XP on both of mine and well I also have a wireless card for both. It would also be great to get a portable drive for really cheap I have one I keep with me and it has pics, music, games, and much more on them and they are like 20 dollars and higher depending on how much you want on one and I got over 10 of the darn things to take with me to family and friends houses to show off my family or have the kids play there games and one is for just our medical information so I don’t have to remember every little thing for all of us.

steve answers:

Well i have been repairing pc/laptops for over 15 yrs. Im a webmaster, also. To start off. You need basic skills in computer hardware/software, what controls the system, (ram,hard drive, fan, ) along with electrical background. As putting in a wrong power supply can burn out the whole system.
As stated above im a webmaster, here is one page i created for my club to help them with pc repairs as far as virus removal. Pc tweeks. Its a good read, and you will learn a lot from it, nothing to download. As its plain text, im with a law enforcement motorcycle club .http://leecounty.defenderslemc.org/node/40
Glad you have taken a step into learning, as most kids, adults have taken to drugs, violence.
On this page is list of programs on how to use them , best way to remove virus/trojans, an at bottom is a link to my email. So if you have any other questions you can ask. I be willing to assit you in getting started in life/world of computers.
Ps. Let me know what ya think of it. Take care.

steve answers:

Both of the previous two are wrong..the macbooks are not made for college students. Most coleges run windows and 90% of the world runs windows it is not yet safe to spend $2000 on a mac. The hp dv900t is a very good computer but it is too much for a college student. It is very powerful but it is also a desktop replacement and that is not what you want..you want a laptop that is very mobile, powerful, easy to use, and affordable. I think the HP Pavilion dv6000z series is the best. It is the most affordable and it comes with an AMD processor which was proven by cnet ( http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6389077-1.html?tag=lnav ) to be better than intel. It includes all of teh security that you want and it come with the option of a built in webcam and microphone

steve answers:

The Dell E1505…its a great laptop at an affordable price. You can get a 120GB hard drive in it which is all the memory you need. It has been the most picked laptop by students and is an editor’s choice laptop by pcmag.com
I have one and absolutely love it…it hasn’t crashed on me once, and i use it for everything from playing all my music, to video editing, to photoshop, and schoolwork. All-around a great notebook.

steve answers:

The fact of the matter is that no matter when you buy a computer (laptop or desktop) it will be largely obsolete in two to three years. So the real question is really “do you want this laptop now?”

Another question you didn’t address in your original question is your price range. If you are looking to get a Windows-based laptop, your options for an affordable computer are greatly increased, as even the most bone-stock MacBook will start at a thousand dollars.

You say that you enjoy playing guitar and singing. While this is all well and good, the MacBook would only benefit you if you plan on doing some recording and editing in the near future. Also, there are a number of programs for Windows that are as good as or better than GarageBand. I just bought myself a relatively powerful Toshiba for under five hundred dollars, and I have not had a single problem with it yet.

If you decide to go Windows-based, it is really a crap-shoot which brand you go with (for the most part.) Having owned several computers as well as having worked at a PC repair store for a while, I have seen laptops from all the major brands crash and burn, as well as seen people have absolutely no problems over the course of their computer’s life. I had a Gateway for two years and had neigh a problem with it, but my mom has a two-year-old Dell and she is on her fifth motherboard, due to both technician incompetence and faulty parts.

In summation, if you decide to go PC, get a Dell, a Gateway, a Toshiba, or have a local PC store custom build you one.

If you decide to go Mac, you’ll get a less powerful computer for more than you would have paid for it’s PC counterpart, and you will have compatibility issues with various and sundry things till the day it dies.

steve answers:

Dont buy apple. In college you will need a windows based laptop to run certain programs,in addition,apple is having difficulty dealing with new viral outbreaks on apples. Among many other issues with apples.there is a reason they are still only a fraction of the market place after almost forty years.i would suggest an amd a10, and i would look at clearance deals at places such as best buy and fry’s electronics. Contact me if you need more help. Jdbj32m@yahoo.com

steve answers:

The Dell Inspiron line should be familiar to anyone who has shopped for an affordable laptop in the past decade or so. The 15R is another serviceable configuration in a long line of serviceable configurations. It packs an Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB RAM, so it’ll handle just about any task you throw at it, including some photo or video editing. The 15.6-inch LED screen is big enough for watching movies, but small enough to move around. For students and casual users, this is a great middle-of-the-road option.

steve answers:

THIS ONE IS BEST ACCORDING TO YOUR REQUIREMENT

Toshiba Satellite C655-S5118 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
*Intel Core i3-370M Processor 2.40 GHz, 3MB Cache
*Configured with 3GB DDR3 (max 8GB)
*320GB (5400 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive
*15.6″ diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT display at 1366 x 768 native resolution (HD) with native support for 720p content
*Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with a 6 cell/48Wh Lithium Ion battery pack; Battery Life (measured by MobileMark 2007): 3 hours, 51 minutes

steve answers:

Look on your power supply to the laptop. Most are able to work on several voltage ranges. If it says something like “input 110-220 (or240) you will be fine with the basic adaptor

steve answers:

First of all lets come to sony, it is a very reliable brand and of course very durable, now lets come to mac, macs are different but highly incompatible with every day usage softwares and also its gui is very complex, and thirdly dell. It is a middle class brand with though high customisability but they lack durability

So i will suggest you to get sony and if you are looking for a highly affordable model then i will suggest you to buy Sony VAIO VPC-EB42FX/BJ 15.5-Inch laptop, with its sleek design , high compatibility extreme performance and high affordability it is best of the best laptops i have used so far, look at it here:

http://amzn.to/hH2SlN

Here are its specifications:

Intel Core i3 processor (2.53GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
15.5″ LED (1366×768) widescreen display
4GB of RAM & 500GB Serial ATA HDD
Intel wireless display technology

steve answers:

If you want a personalized, reliable and quick advice, you should check out ProCompare.com (http://procompare.com/top/notebooks). They have a recommendation engine that ranks laptops and other tech products based on ratings and reviews from a community of trusted IT professionals. They also have a cool personalization slider that lets you personalize the results based on the criteria that are most important to YOU.

Hope you’ll find this answer useful…

steve answers:

Press “shift” + “3″

steve answers:

How to use Remote Desktop Connection (RDC)
I travel about once every month and my primary computer is a tower sitting under my desk. For the longest time, I accessed my email directly from my laptop on the road and tried to make sure I copied every file I might need from my home network to my laptop. The rub in this system is many hotels and WiFi networks block the port for sending email, making communication a hassle. At home, I connect to the three other machines on my local network using Remote Desktop Connection, because I have more computers than I do monitors, but I never bothered to try it from outside.

If your home computer has Windows XP Pro (or Media Center Edition) installed, you can access it from any other computer running Windows from anywhere in the world using Remote Desktop Connection. Some versions of Windows, like 98, Me, 2000 and require software available from Microsoft.com:

steve answers:

I’ve noticed no slowdown whatsoever, on either my older PC with XP or my current beast of a machine with Windows Vista. However, note that with the expansion pack Bon Voyage,* you will want to download the Patch because there is a glitch that spawns extra NPCs on vacation lots every time you visit one and then leave, and that will lag a machine after a time without the patch that corrects it.

I don’t have a Mac, or a laptop, so honestly I cannot say if what works for my PC would be the same for you. It *shouldn’t* worsen the graphics; that’s up to your graphics card.

The stuff packs aren’t full expansion packs, so all they add are new hairstyles (not too many good ones, IMO), furniture, clothing, and build stuff. If you love decorating, by all means get stuff packs! If you prefer gameplay to decorating and building, you would likely prefer University or a similar expansion pack.

University adds musical instruments: guitar, bass, and drums. It also provides university lots (3 varieties, plus the ability to make your own) with all sorts of interactions available. I did find that after playing through the whole “college experience” once or twice, it became more tedious. The semesters are all the same year to year … BUT … You do end up with perks from graduating: more Want slots and an extra Want lock, the opportunity to change your aspiration, and a big boost to whatever career is complimented by the major you chose. Plus you can hang a degree on your Sim’s wall at home. The dorm experience is kinda fun, especially when first playing. (I get bored kinda easy!)

I believe University also introduced new TV channels (like Sports) and new kinds of parties to throw, plus (my favorite part) new career paths! Art, Paranormal, Natural Science, and 2 others that I will leave for you to discover if you get the expansion pack.

For all the new interactions and objects, I really do believe University is worth it. It’s not that much more expensive than a stuff pack anyway.

Oh yes, new Career Reward objects that are rather cool, like the camera and the carnivorous cow plant and the resurrection phone. I believe (?) that University’s supernatural addition to the Sims 2 world is ZOMBIE.

*EDITED. I had that wrong when I typed Open for Business. It’s Bon Voyage that has the spawning glitch.

steve answers:

Try safe mode
—————————————————————————————————
f 8

computers what a world
i would try
1 – turn on monitor
2 – turn on computer
3 – constantly tap f8 – located at top of your key board
4 – when new screen comes up – use up and down arrows on your key board
to high light safe mode last know good configuration etc
5 hit enter on key board
5 – windows should start or it will give options on how to start windows

do this last

system restore

1- click start at bottom of screen
2 – then click choose all programs
3 – then click pc help tools or could be in accessorys
4 – then click on system restore
5 – then click on restore to an earlier date or factory settings
6 – choose a date when it was working – or factory settings
7 – let it run it may take a while – follow directions – if any
8 – if does not work – restart THEN CHECK STATUS
choose destructive recovery as last resort you will have to look hard to find this option
BUT thats what it took to restore mine to get settings i wanted etc
BACK UP IMPORTANT THINGS TO CD NO MATTER WHAT OPTION(S) YOU CHOOSE

User accounts and screen saver password

start
control panel
user accounts
do settings your way
you can set up so they can not view your info
create them pass words
you can delete or change passwords at any time you want to

password protected screen saver is good

i use it my self

do this by

close all windows
right click on open area of desk top
choose properties
choose screen saver
choose password protect on resume
this will be your password as you are the administrator
be sure to set the time for screen saver to come on

steve answers:

Just for future reference, you should always back up anything you need. This is a device that allows you to do so:

http://www.topmicrousa.com/bt-300.html

You connect the old hard drive to this device, and then the device to a another computer or laptop via USB. You would then be able to access all the files on it.
I got the device off a PC World Magazine Article.
Best of luck!

steve answers:

Well first of all the Mac is equipped with about $200 of free software called iLife that PCs don’t have and it’s fully integrated with its OS-starting out the Mac has Video Photo, music, DVD creation. It automatically organizes your library by events. If you want to make web pages, iWeb, is incredible. You can make professional looking web pages in a matter of minutes in a way that people using windows would take days and weeks to do or may never be able to achieve. IPhoto enable you to make book, calenders and cards way better than PCs -totally neat. All fulling integrated and will enable you to mix it all. Just the process of sorting through your photos, music and movies is so less difficult than with anything on a PC. I you buy a PC, you will have to buy all the different card readers for all your devices. With a Mac, you use firewire for everything and you are moving at warp speed as your Mac recognizes the media you have and organized it in a time less that it takes to use you are. IChat and garage band are fantastic

The Macs also have a Matte screen that I prefer over the glossy and reflective screens of PCs that are easily thumbed. It provides crystal clear colors that are real. If you have an iPod or other apple products-no problem in using them on your apple.

In my case, I was a life time PC user, but because Vista sucks, I returned 3 high powered PC and decided to try a MacBook Pro. I had XP and because the Macs now all come with the intel processors was able to load XP, using bootcamp in the Mac OS. So I now have the best of both worlds with awesome OS and don’t have to deal with the nightmares of Vista. By 6/30/08 (a few days from now), Microsoft will stop allowing sales of XP over the counter. If that is the route you want to take, you may need to buy that software now and you Mac later. Education discounts should enable you to still get it at $80 and under.

The Apple computer is quiet and I have not heard my fan. They are far lighter and have state of the art technology that is fully integrated with its software. OSX is already 64 bit OS that works with 32 bit applications. With drivers that have already been tested and works perfectly with all platforms in OSX-unlike Vista.

If you buy a MacBook Pro or MacBook and are a student, in addition to the student discount, Apple will give you a free iPod Touch (valued at $299).

Apple Laptops are lighter than virtually all PCs, and always have stronger processors and graphics cards.

In my view if you are getting a computer and thinking about using Vista, it is a mistake because Vista gives you no reason to upgrade at all. A brand new computer with Vista with 2 GB RAM still cannot run any applications better than currently runs on a 5 year old PC running XP any faster. In all testing Vista cannot out perform its older version XP on any level except security.

Of lesser concern to me because I’m strong on PCs is that there are no serious virus for Macs so far You will not require any anti virus or spyware or see many, if any pop-up.
There are also other things you can do like split your screen and work and see both applications at the same time without going back and fourth. There are features that also allow you to customize and personalize your Mac to you so easily. The options with e-mail are very nice and I’ve posing a link below. The e-mail also allows you to get definitions from the New Oxford American Dictionary

In addition, you can get to the exact place in whatever application you want to go with just 3 executions as oppose to 5-6 with a PC. The software is simply more efficient and integrated. I believe its because Jobs use to be with a software company and brought those skills to improving the OS and avoid the Vista debacle
I am spending more and more time on the Mac OS than on XP. I hope this helps you.

steve answers:

If you have the desk top set up for auto updates then this would not be the problem.
To find and download the drivers go to http://esupport.sony.com/ enter the model number and then click drivers then download them.

steve answers:

Your best bet is to use a driver locater utility like:

http://www.officialdrivers.com

It will scan and locate every driver you need automatically…

Hope this helps!

steve answers:

Turns out your notebook goes by the product name Sony VAIO VGN-S91PS. Give that a search and hope it comes up with the correct drivers.

steve answers:

VGN-S660 drivers can be downloaded from the website below.

steve answers:

Amazing. Someone else asked this same exact question 2 years ago

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090426050020AAwAr4R

… And when I say same exact, I mean the way you capitalized the H in “have”… Which is pretty unique.

At any rate, Sony doesn’t list any model earlier than the PCG-505 at the American support site http://esupport.sony.com which would indicate they are cleaning up the site and removing support for older models. So, I assume when you go to the Sony Support site and you tell the site to detect your model http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/select-system.pl?DIRECTOR=DRIVER&PRODTYPE=24 it tells you that your model doesn’t exist, or that you aren’t actually using a Sony laptop?

At this point, you should be calling Sony tech support and asking them where you can download the drivers from, and not letting them off the phone until they send you a specific link.

End of line

steve answers:

Hi, Princess Yoda, when choosing an eReader, you need to consider not only the physical properties of the device, but also compare eBook stores behind it. Sony has never been a contender for any comparison by anyone as they only have like 5 books in their Ebook store and their devices are way overpriced for what they offer. Borders is behind Kobo/Cruz devices in US and as you might of heard, Borders is on a brink of bankruptcy. Kindle and Nook are the only devices to be considered as their eBook stores have over a million of free public ebooks as well as over a million of ebooks that you need to pay for available.
Having that out of the way, you should then decide which screen you want: e-Ink or LCD. It depends on what you’re reading. If just black & white novels then the better one would be Kindle or e-Ink Nook from Barnes & Noble. If you read electronic magazines or college text books with a lot of color graphs and charts or children’s’ books with a lot of pictures then the better would be Nook Color LCD from Barnes & Noble. Then, you should understand the limitations of e-Ink eReaders – they are limited to be black & white for now they “blink” at each ebook’s page turn, they’re not too good for web browsing, they need external light source for reading when dark, and they cannot handle videos.
Whichever device you choose, here’s the advantages of the Nook’s (both e-Ink black & white and Nook Color) over Kindle:
- Any Barnes & Noble store provides free Wi-Fi to Nook’s
- Nook allows to lend Nook books for two weeks to friends and family or share with your other devices that run B&N app (PC, MAC, Android phones, Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad, etc.) Barnes & Noble allows (when you walk in with the Nook to B&N store) to read any available eBook for free while in the store via free provided in the store Wi-Fi. With Nook, while in BN store you get exclusive articles from top authors, and great offers including cafe treats and unique deals.
- Nook (unlike Kindle) can be used for library ebooks.
- Nook (unlike Kindle) can be used for renting text-ebooks.
Nook Color is worth mentioning separately as this is a hybrid Android eReader/tablet device, something between Kindle and iPad. Even though Nook Color has LCD touchscreen, it’s a new generation screen which is anti-glare coated and is better performing in sunlight and produces less glare all of which are dooming reading on iPad. Also, the screen is amazing and readable/viewable at wide angles.
Overall, Nook Color is more than e-Reader as you can also watch video and use Android applications on it. It’s a hybrid device, much more than just an e-Reader but not a full tablet as it doesn’t have a camera. If all you want is to read novels, Kindle (or the original e-Ink Nook) might be better for you. If you want something more from your device (color graphs and charts of college text books, childrens books, photos and videos, web sites in full color) at half of the price of iPad or Galaxy tab, then Nook Color is your best bet.
Nook Color has several apps that already come with the device (Pandora Internet radio, QuickOffice, etc.) Also, Barnes & Noble recently released Nook SDK and Nook Developer platform that will allow most of the existing 100,000 Android apps be ported to it. Also, you can use the Social Settings screen to link your NOOK Color to your Facebook account and your Twitter account. You can also import all your contacts from your Google Gmail account. Once you have linked to Facebook and Twitter and set up email contacts, you can lend and borrow books, recommend books, and share favorite quotes with your friends.

steve answers:

Macbook’s are good but because of the recent popularity of Tablet PC’s and iPad’s they are also some great options. Whether it’s an iPad or an Android Tablet – or perhaps a new Windows 8 Tablet which will be out later this year like the Microsoft Surface recently announced they are all very good devices. You can pick up Android Tablets for less than $100 including shipping to your door these days, devices like the M009s by Eken have been extremely popular because of that price point. This gives you another option for people if they are on a tight budget. At the end of the day though you really need to work out how much your willing to spend, and what the best device you can buy is for that amount.

steve answers:

I am not familiar with Genius, only Wacom. They have introduced a new line of Pen Tablets called the Intuos4 and range in size from Small (4×6) Medium (6×9) Large (8×13) and Extra Large (12×19).

The Intuos4 Small Tablet is a great portable, lightweight affordable unit for occasional use in Photo Editing, Drawing etc. The Wacom Medium Tablet is buy far the most popular. What makes the new Intuos4 tablets unique are the ergonomic comfort design for left or right hander’s and the 8 illuminated shortcut keys on the tablet with a wheel similar to the iPod for setting up Hotkey Shortcuts.

The Intuos4 Large and Extra Large are primarily for serious Photo and Drawing work if you plan on doing multiple touch-ups or editing and Drawing from scratch on the tablet without ever using the Mouse to keep your attention focused on the work at hand.

Prices range from $229.00 (Small) to $789.95 (X-Large) and all Wacom products come with a Two year warranty.

When you buy an Intuos4, you will receive free software downloads for Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 7 for the PC, Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 6 for the Mac, or Autodesk® SketchBook Express® 2010.

For ease of use and co-ordination, I suggest getting a Tablet that has a working screen so you can keep focused on the work and use the Pen and Hotkeys to navigate from painting-editing-drawing etc without leaving the tablet. Working with a Tablet that depends on mouse movement and looking at a monitor can be tedious when working with fine details.

And when you need more than just fine photo editing and drawing, check into the Wacom Cintiq 21ux. The flagship of Graphics Pen Tablets for the serious Photographer/Designer with a screen size of 21+ inches (about 2K).

Hope this helps

steve answers:

Archos 10.1 Internet Tablet – Android Froyo 2.2 Operating System w/ Flash 10.1 support – 10.1″ compared to the iPad’s 9.7″ but it is lighter. Has a webcam and USB ports and MicroSD slot for added memory. Price: $300-$350. Coming out next month.

Galaxy Tab – 7″ with – Android Froyo 2.2 Operating System w/ Flash 10.1 support but a rumored price tag of up to $1.000 or $300 with a 2 year required 3G contract is really making people second guess this one.

HTC Tablet – Rumor has it HTC is planning to release a tablet PC, most likely equipped with Android 3.0 at the beginning of 2011. Nothing yet on price and specs however.

Motorola Android Tablet – early 2011.

And about half a dozen others.

The Tablet market with Android 2.2 with Flash 10.1 support is about to become a BOOMING market. There are so many coming out in the next 3-4 months that it will be unbelievable. Most are between 7″ to 10″ in size and are meant to compete directly against the iPad.

steve answers:

You have a lot of choices.
You can investigate one of the new Lenovo Yoga’s for $1000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312448

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7616787

It is a touchscreen convertible tablet/laptop with a midgrade processor and graphics and a relatively small solid state drive, but is incredibly great looking with a 13.3″ x900 screen with Intel 4000 graphics and benchmarks just above the i5-3317U

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

It is Dimensions13.1″ x 8.9″ x 0.67″, Weight 3.3 lbs
Review:

No DVDRW. To change to 8GB is not from the back:

Here is something a little more traditional:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127874

SONY VAIO S Series SVS13125CXB Notebook Intel Core i5 3210M(2.50GHz) 13.3″ 8GB Memory DDR3 1333 750GB HDD 7200rpm Slot Loading CD/DVD Player/Burner NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE
You get DVDRW in a 3.8 pound system that is about an inch thick and a reasonable graphics card.

There are so many options, was trying to find a couple of interesting ones.

steve answers:

You can find laptop chargers on ebay.com, google shopping, or online stores for various prices.

However, I would recommend buying from Topmic.com because they offer life time warranty and free shipping for only $58, which is $30 cheaper than buying from Dell with the life time warranty. This way, you don’t have to worry about buying another replacement laptop charger.

Http://www.topmic.com/

http://www.topmic.com/dell-inspiron-1500-laptop-ac-adapter-power-supply-charger-and-power-cord.html

Oh, the Dell Inspiron 1500 is compatible with 1525, so it will work with your laptop.

Best of luck.

steve answers:

Well, those are pretty low specs. It’s going to be tough to run anything modern on that system. Having said that;

Make sure that all of your drivers are up to date. Then, open your task manager, and look for things in the processes tab that aren’t opened under the user name “system”, or with a blank user name. Make sure that you click the “Show processes from all users” button. If the process isn’t blank or “system”, check the description to see what that process is related to. Leave the ones that are related to the system environment, like dwm.exe and explorer.exe, as well as any process related to your specific hardware or your antivirus/malware, firewall, etc. And try and end the ones that aren’t important. Then, run the game and see if it’s any more playable.

Other things that you can try;
Defragment the hard disk
Run system cleanup tools
Reformat/reinstall Windows(worst case)

Ultimately, though, your system is nearing the end of it’s usefulness as a casual gaming machine. Facebook games and the like will probably be playable on it for a couple more years or so, but that’s probably the extent of it.

steve answers:

@Other user who recommended the M14x: First of all, you can’t just straight up recommend the Alienware M14x. There’s an important detail you’re leaving out, that needs to be mentioned any time you recommend the M14x, and needs to be taken into consideration any time you buy the M14x. (Don’t take this the wrong way. We’re both on the same side in that we share the common goal that is to help people make the best decisions when making their laptop purchases, but this is a detail you need to mention if you’re going to recommend that computer.)

If you’re going to buy the Alienware M14x, then you need to make sure that you buy it in a configuration that includes the upgraded 1600×900 display, and not the stock 1366×768 display. If you’re ordering online, this means you need to select the display upgrade. If you’re ordering over the phone, this means you need to tell them to add this upgrade.

The Alienware M14x should not be bought in any configuration that includes the default 1366×768 display. The 1366×768 display makes things onscreen large, and is a low-grade LCD panel with very poor image quality due to low contrast. The 1600×900 display does much better in both of these regards, and is a decent display overall, but the reason you need to be getting the upgraded 1600×900 display and not the stock 1366×768 display isn’t just because of how good the 1600×900 display is, it’s also because of how bad the 1366×768 display is.

The display is a $75 upgrade. If you need to save that money, then the Alienware M14x in a configuration with the stock display is not an alternative nor a good choice; you should look at other laptops that offer decent displays and decent GPUs at the same time, for cheaper.

—————

Regardless of whether the $1074 price tag of the cheapest decent M14x configuration is within your budget, I don’t normally hold this as a top recommendation anyway. Despite being 14″, it’s heavier than most 15.6″ laptops, and you can match or beat its gaming capability while at the same time also getting an even better display, for a similar or cheaper price.

**Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 SLI** (NVIDIA GT 650M x2 / **SLI**, 15.6″ 1920×1080 [glossy] display) – **$899**
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312438
- http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+IdeaPad+15.6%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+6GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/7900057.p?id=1218862009712&skuId=7900057&st=lenovo%2015.6&cp=2&lp=8
- This is for if you really want to maximize your game performance for the price, and don’t need a DVD drive. When working ideally, the GT 650M SLI setup in this laptop performs a good bit better than a single GT 650M.

**Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 Non-SLI** (NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6″ 1920×1080 [glossy] display) – **$809 + tax**
- http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/barnesnoblegold/StdAffinityPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=5B0116E237099FA0FCA012D9B20ED2FB&action=init
- Follow the above link, sign up for an account and sign in, then it’ll take you to the B&N Gold homepage. Don’t navigate to the model from the homepage; instead come back here and click the link again. It’ll take you to the model.
- Click the activate coupon button in the cart.
- Avoid any models that come with the 1366×768 display and not the 1920×1080 display. The Y500 is only a good choice if you buy one of the models that come with the 1920×1080 display. The 1920×1080 display is great, but this isn’t just about how good the 1920×1080 display is, it’s also about how poor the 1366×768 display is. 1366×768 resolution in a 15.6 inch display make things onscreen large, and 15.6 inch displays that have 1366×768 resolution tend to be low-grade LCD panels with very poor image quality due to low contrast. You should make a point to avoid displays like this when it is reasonable to do so, unless you require the larger text for eyesight related reasons. And this is an issue in a number of laptops, not just this one.

**MSI GE60** (NVIDIA GT 650M, 15.6″ 1920×1080 [matte] display) – **$899 no tax**
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152388
- Only 5.28 lbs

**Dell Inspiron 17R Special Edition** (NVIDIA GT 650M, 17.3″ 1920×1080 [matte] display) – **$849 + tax**
- http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=fncwn09&model_id=inspiron-17r-se-7720&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19
- Apply coupon code **?SR7RGSF91NZCS**
- Avoid any models that come with the 1600×900 display and not the 1920×1080 display. With the 17.3″ screen size, you’ve got essentially the same issue with 17.3″ 1600×900 displays as you do with 15.6″ 1366×768 displays. They make things onscreen large, and tend to be low-grade LCD panels with very poor image quality due to low contrast.

—————

steve answers:

Your computer either needs an HDMI port, or a VGA output which it should have. They look like this…

VGA-

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/SVGA_port.jpg/300px-SVGA_port.jpg

HDMI-

http://photo-dictionary.com/photofiles/list/9276/12630HDMI_port.jpg

If you have either of those… Here are the cables you’ll need for the option you choose.

VGA-

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Vga-cable.jpg/220px-Vga-cable.jpg

HDMI-

http://www.optimization-world.com/img/prod/hdmi.jpg

If you choose to do either of these, I would highly recommend buying them online, especially ebay. They are alot cheaper than in a store, where you could be spending like $40 on either separate cable, and maybe $10 or so online.

steve answers:

On most (not all) laptop models you can buy the LCD panel cheap and replace it yourself using easy instructions off the Internet. Replacing the panel is the only way to fix the damage though.

steve answers:

NU Slim USB External SuperMulti Drive DVD Burner ESW860

Product Description
Product Description
It goes without saying that netbook such as acer aspire one and ASUS Eee PC are very popular these days. This trend has changed the notebook product roadmap in the coming year. Now net-top or mini-desktop have just been launched by ASUS and some other brands. This nettop such as Eee BOX is compact sized and trendy looking without built in DVD burners. It will be future mainstream for desktop as well. In such a scenario, it stands to reason that nettop users might need to have extra external slim DVD burners like NU ESW860 for CD/DVD playing and burning use. This is great market potential which you need to look at.
ESW-860 DVD SuperMulti drive(BUS POWER READING AVAILABLE). The drive is able to write DVD-RAM, DVD+-R/RW discs as well CD-R/RW discs and can perform as a regular DVD-ROM drive. The ESW-860 has 5X speed DVD-RAM, 8X speed DVD+/-R disc writing, 8X speed DVD+RW / 6X speed DVD-RW disc writing, 8X speed DVD-ROM disc reading, 4X speed DVD+/-R Double Layer writing, 24X speed CD-R disc writing, 24X speed CD-RW disc writing and 24X speed CD-ROM disc reading capabilities. Furthermore, the ESW-860 supports all writing methods specified in industry standards and the functions of writing conform to them.

steve answers:

I assume that you’re talking about netbooks. Netbooks are good for web surfing, checking your e-mail, social networking, chatting, etc. Most netbooks have an Intel Atom processor (running at 1.6 GHz) and it can’t handle heavy programs like photoshop, video editing softwares, and especially, games! But they’re really portable compared to notebooks and they’re cheaper that laptops too. If you or your Dad is planning to get one, I’d recommend Acer Aspire One, Eee PC, or Dell Mini 10.

steve answers:

Well dell vostros are good but you can also get an ACER laptop- 4gb memory and intel core 2 duo for the same price. For quality – go to dell, for quantity , go too acer.

If you’re a student use the fun Acer Eee PC!

steve answers:

Buy.com has refurbed Asus eee pc’s for $229. I’d take that over a POS Acer anyday.

Http://www.buy.com/prod/asus-eee-pc-1005hab-netbook-intel-atom-n270-1-6ghz-1gb-160gb-10-1-inch/q/loc/101/215889174.html

They were $199.99 a couple days ago. They might be again soon.

steve answers:

Netbooks are meant to be portable internet devices, and not much else. They may store a few documents, but if you need to do more than surf the net and answer emails, you need a regular size notebook.

Netbooks don’t have much memory, the processors aren’t generally very fast, and there are generally no frills – you won’t have a graphics card worth playing games, watching videos, etc. For any length of time, nor will you have space to install one. If you like other extras, like working with photos, creating websites, or using other professional programs, you won’t have the space or processor speed to do this….

Basically, netbooks are for emails & surfing only. Try to do anything else and you’ll generally end up being disappointed.

As far as I’m concerned, the ASUS Eee PC is the best netbook out there – ASUS is far superior to the majority of PC brands, and has an incredible record for stamina and durability (I’ve had my ASUS desktop, my ASUS 16″ laptop, and my ASUS netbook for ten years without one single issue – and I’m a heavy user – I leave them all on 24/7, and the desktop & laptop run tons of professional programs for work. In comparison, the Compaqs, Gateways, HPs, Dells, Lenovos and Toshibas I had all required maintenance and had frustrating “breakdowns” during the first year of light use!

However, I have tested, used, and liked the Acer and Nokia netbooks for durability as well – if I couldn’t buy an ASUS I’d definitely go with one of these.

steve answers:

It all depends on your needs, and budget. A PC is best for office work and games. A Mac is best for creating movies, and other media such as music, or pictures. The cheapest Macs are $1,000.00 but they don’t have big screens, and they have less computing power. If you want the best Mac then you’ll have to save a lot of money. Although Macs never get viruses. PCs are great for office work and Playing games, and are generally cheaper. They have great computing power. More games are available for PCs. If you want a PC make sure it has a Core Dual Processor or Higher, so that’s fast. Actually if you’re buying any computer make sure that it has a Core Dual Processor. Try getting one with Windows Vista or Windows 7 because these operating systems are more stable and safe than Windows XP. As for the memory, it depends on what you do. Just ask an employee, and they will guide you. I don’t know anything about the Linux operating system. Sorry! All I know is that it’s very cheap but reliable (although there are limited features), according to these reviews I’ve read.

Try going to Best Buy or the Apple Store… But that all depends on you. There is no particular “Best” brand among PCs. It depends on who you ask. Although in my opinion the best brand is by HP. I love HP as well. Toshiba is also great, and Dell is the cheapest, but still good quality. The best net-books (mini-laptops) are by Acer. But in general Acer sucks. You can also get a used laptop, for the same quality, although the Hard Drive may have some information from the previous owner.

steve answers:

You can consider buying
1)Dell Inspiron iM1012-687OBK Mini 1012 10.1-Inch Obsidian Black Netbook – Up to 8 Hours 8 Minutes of Battery Life
*1.66GHz Intel N450 Atom Processor
*Memory: 1GB SD RAM
*160GB Hard Drive (5400RPM); 802.11 a/b/g Wireless Connectivity
*10.1″ Display; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
*Windows 7 Starter; Integrated 1.3mp Webcam; 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-iM1012-687OBK-10-1-Inch-Obsidian/dp/B00361G10S/?tag=best-laptops01-20

Hey you can visit below link you can find more options here :

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mini+netbook&x=0&y=0&tag=best-laptops01-20

or
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574865779&toolid=10001&campid=5336686710&customid=laptop+best+deal&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%2Fi.html%3F_nkw%3Dlaptop%26_dmpt%3DLaptops_Nov05%26_fln%3D1%26_ssov%3D1%26_trksid%3Dp3286.c0.m282%26_mPrRngCbx%3D1%26_udlo%3D200%26_udhi%3D300

steve answers:

A net book is basically a smaller laptop, it normally has no cd/dvd drive and is very small, a net book is more for using the internet and is much smaller. A laptop is like a portable desktop, for net books i recommend the HP Mini 210 10.1″ Widescreen Netbook PC with Intel Atom N455 Processor & Windows 7 Starter Bundle for $298.00

link to the netbook: http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Mini-210-10.1-Widescreen-Netbook-PC-with-Intel-Atom-N455-Processor-Windows-7-Starter-Bundle/15737755?findingMethod=rr

in summary: i would recommend a netbook for him.

Hope hi likes it,
bone

steve answers:

Since there is no formal definition of netbook it is impossible to give a proper answer to this question.

There were ultirportable laptops before the netbook craze started (e.g. The toshiba libretto and some of the sony vaios) but in terms of capability they were generally lower than todays netbooks

Now to answer the question in modern terms lets first consider a typical “netbook”s specs so we can consider what better products are out there.

~9 inch or ~10 inch 1024×600 screen
either a crappy tiny ssd (most 9 inch models) or a 80-160GB laptop HDD (most 10 inch models, usually replacable with whatever size drive you want)
Intel atom 1.66 GHz or worse processor

There are some ~10 inch machines with a screen resoloution of 1366×768 (e.g. The HP mini 5101 and the sony vaio w). This is slightly more pixels than the 1280×800 that many low end regular laptops have and crucially is as tall as 1024×768 (which many software vendors treat as the lowest common denominator) but they still have the same low power CPUs that netbooks use. There is also the sony vaio p which is smaller than most netbooks AND has a higher screen resoloution but it’s not cheap and IMO the pixels are just too small.

I’ve also seen some machines at just under 12 inch with better proccesrs than most netbooks but I don’t remember the model numbers off the top of my head.

— responses to additional information points below—

“i want a laptop that is very mobile.”
The decision you have to make is what you are prepared to sacrifice to get more portability.

Personally I like my mini 5101 with “HD” screen a lot. Yeah the processor is a bit slow but it’s quick enough for most stuff I want to do on the move and I don’t see the point of an optical drive on an ultraportable (are you really going to carry a load of CDs with you anyway?)

“no its notebook without a cd/dvd driver”
I don’t think i’ve ever seen a machine under 12 inch with an optical drive. Optical drives are one of the largest components in a computer and also one of the least vital. There are 12.1 inch machines out there (e.g. The dell vostro 1220) with optical drives and ordinary laptop CPUs though.

steve answers:

Netbooks (also called mini notebooks or subnotebooks) are a rapidly evolving category of small, light and inexpensive laptop computers suited for general computing and accessing web-based applications; they are often marketed as “companion devices,” that is, to augment a user’s other computer access. Walt Mossberg called them a “relatively new category of small, light, minimalist and cheap laptops.”
By August 2009, CNET called netbooks “nothing more than smaller, cheaper notebooks.

A laptop (notebook) is a personal computer designed for mobile use and small and light enough to sit on one’s lap while in use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a touchpad, also known as a trackpad, and/or a pointing stick), speakers, and often including a battery, into a single small and light unit. The rechargeable battery (if present) is charged from an AC adapter and typically stores enough energy to run the laptop for two to three hours in its initial state, depending on the configuration and power management of the computer.

steve answers:

Visit XDA Developer’s Forum. They have ways of doing exactly what you are asking. For me to effectively describe how to, here, would be less than desirable. But you can learn a lot from XDA.

The basic, non-technical details, would probably be:
1) obtain Root Access to your device.
2) update your device’s recovery mechanism to ClockWork Mod.
3) obtain S-Off
4) Nandroid backup your device
5) update your hboot
6) obtain honeycomb rom, and install to your SD card.
7) boot into clockwork mod recovery, and install zip from SDcard.
8) wait for it to boot,
9) enjoy

steve answers:

Dude you wont get a high quality tablet with that much money, my best bet right now is the motorola XOOM, better yet you can get a refurbised ipad 1 at apple.com for $300

steve answers:

I know a guy with a cheap 10 incher. Im sure he can dip in honeycomb.

steve answers:

You’re going to have to write new XML layouts with different screen size qualifiers. Most of the time a layout designed for a small phone screen will have to be substantially redesigned to look nice on a tablet.

steve answers:

If high-end video recording is important to you, consider the LG G-Slate, which can record at 1080p.

If you want the best value, consider the ASUS Transformer (TF101). For under $400, it has a better display (ISP, 1280×800) than most more expensive devices. Also, transforming into a laptop via an optional dock (which can provide an additional 7hrs of batter life) is a very useful capability if you have more than short stretches of typing to do.