My Laptop is ...dead! ...long live the PC

[papercoffee]

(I am assuming that your optical drive is E:)

Nope ...this is one of the partitions of the HDD
What exactly will I gain if I move my "My Documents" folder?
"Program Files" is also very important for me ...Photoshop, Steam, UT ...should I move this as well?
And how can I make windows for future installs recognize that moved folders as the default one?

[Dr.Flay]

Ahah, well partitioned indeed
If you actually use the My Documents folder it is wise to store it on a partition or drive that will not be locked out by a dead system.
Formatting the system requires less preparation with backups.
Right-click and choose "properties" and you will see option not available on normal folders.

Having XP, means that yes you can tell Windows to use a different Program folder location (even the Windows folder).
All XP system folders can be changed with Microsoft's TweakUI powertoy, or X-setup.
However it is best to do this first before you start installing stuff, because most installers use an environment variable (eg point to %ProgramFiles% and sometimes the registry records that not the full location name.

Windows does not actually care if you simply choose your own location anyway, so I no longer bother to set the new location as default.
Antivirus will only lock the contents of standard system locations such as %ProgramFiles% and %windir%

My common setup is that D: is my Programs partition. Only system tools, web browsers, CoDecs etc. get installed in C: and Games in E: and temp data and swapfile in F: (this reduces fragmentation of your system and programs, and extends the life of a drive).
I just make a new Programs folder in partition D: and when an installer opens always use the custom option, then change the letter C to D or E in the installer.
You can change the steam downloads folder any time, but it is good to install the whole thing on another partition.
I am going to have to re-install steam myself, and no way am I letting that mess into my system partition.

My rule No 1 of hard disk use is;
1 day it will fail, so prepare for that at the beginning.
My rule 2;
Always use a SMART monitor so you see the difference between physical failure and file corruption when it happens.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details ... rtoys.html
http://www.x-setup.net

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/portable-an ... t-utility/
http://crystalmark.info/?lang=en

[papercoffee]

My Laptop finally kicked the bucket. (-__-)
I'm out of the picture for now.

I can't access neither the HDD nor the CD drive.
This time it's a hardware problem which I can't simply repair or replace, because I can't afford it.
Even a used machine is out of my reach.

So ...I search now a way for a fundraise to buy at least a used Laptop.

I won't be much around here from now on.

[UT Sniper (SJA94)]

Try a Raspberry PI, they are cheap new, you might get a second hand one for about $5 if toure lucky.

[memsys]

well, that certainly sucks :/
Does it have to be a laptop btw?

[papercoffee]

well, that certainly sucks :/
Does it have to be a laptop btw?

Yes, because of the power consumption.

[Red_Fist]

Tablet ?

[papercoffee]

Tablet ?

I use right now an i-pod touch to write and read!
I HATE IT!!! How can people wright on such stupid shit without retyping every second word?!
A tablet would be too expensive and too useless. I can't work with it and games like UT would be impossible.
My target is a similar machine with more power for around 259€.
But I don't have the money for it.

So… a Raspberry Pi would be interesting. Can I install WinXP on that device?

[memsys]

Yes, because of the power consumption.

power consumption? Are you so tight on money that those few watts for a few hours really matter? (also I assume that you know that a 300 watt PSU does not use 300 watts all the time but can provide up to 300 watts)

So… a Raspberry Pi would be interesting. Can I install WinXP on that device?

No, you can't run win XP on a pi you can run raspbian (special version of debian for the pi)

[rjmno1]

open your laptop look for the batterie maby he is empty and needs a new one in the laptop.
with a screwdriver you can remove your batery.
Goto the store and bey yourself a new battery
Most comon problem with old laptops.

hope this helps

[papercoffee]

@memsys
because my landlord has an electric instantaneous water heater installed in my flat for warm water.
I have to watch my electric bill.
That's why I changed from a tower PC to a laptop.

@rjmno1
The bios is loading but neither the HDD nor the CD are responsible.
The screen is black only showing the blinking cursor.

[rjmno1]

@memsys
because my landlord has an electric instantaneous water heater installed in my flat for warm water.
I have to watch my electric bill.
That's why I changed from a tower PC to a laptop.

@rjmno1
The bios is loading but neither the HDD nor the CD are responsible.
The screen is black only showing the blinking cursor.

maby your power supply is dead or neat a new replacement
You can,t login into your bios?

[Dr.Flay]

I feel for you, and understand how stuck you are.
All my equipment is gifted or second-hand, but I have enough spare parts to get something working.
My new 64bit rig may be dead, but my old XP box still works between crashes (no gaming for me).
Damn, Gecko is also limping along with a tablet.

If I had a laptop, it would be yours to have, and if I had a real job I would buy you something without a second thought.
You have a Patriion account for the Katran comics.
As far as I am concerned you can publicise it here and those that can contribute, can do so via that.

For those of you that are not aware, Papercoffee is also known as "JoKeR" and has for many years been the author and artist of a top quality fantasy comic.
His heart and soul goes into the comic and all his artworks, and is a more important part of his life than UT.
Many of the long-standing members of the site will remember his occasional Unreal art, so even if you don't like comics or fantasy stories, you could contribute towards more UT artwork.
Click in his sig to read the Katran story, and donate if you can.

Papercoffee, do you sell original works via ebay or similar ?


OK. Suggestions for the laptop.
Disconnect the HDD and see if the CD drive now lists.
If it does then the boot sector of the HDD is bad and the BIOS is stumbling over it.
A new drive is needed or a scan with SpinRite or HDD Regenerator.

If you can boot from USB;
You can use the Ultimate Boot CD to test the motherboard and sockets etc.
The partitioning option runs a small Linux Live setup, which can go online if it detects your network cards.

Booting from a full Linux Live ISO on a USB is slow but will allow you full internet access.
Depending on the amount of RAM you have, you may be limited to certain distros.

[papercoffee]

I feel for you, and understand how stuck you are.
All my equipment is gifted or second-hand, but I have enough spare parts to get something working.
My new 64bit rig may be dead, but my old XP box still works between crashes (no gaming for me).
Damn, Gecko is also limping along with a tablet.

If I had a laptop, it would be yours to have, and if I had a real job I would buy you something without a second thought.

Thank you ...Yeah, we are a special breed.
Always short on money but enthusiasts till the end.

You have a Patriion account for the Katran comics.
As far as I am concerned you can publicise it here and those that can contribute, can do so via that.

For those of you that are not aware, Papercoffee is also known as "JoKeR" and has for many years been the author and artist of a top quality fantasy comic.
His heart and soul goes into the comic and all his artworks, and is a more important part of his life than UT.
Many of the long-standing members of the site will remember his occasional Unreal art, so even if you don't like comics or fantasy stories, you could contribute towards more UT artwork.
Click in his sig to read the Katran story, and donate if you can.

Papercoffee, do you sell original works via ebay or similar ?

Patreon doesn't work for this kind of stuff ...at least not for me.
The Paypal donate button works a little bit better ...well, a little bit.

I do commissions normally. But till now I had only two customers.

OK. Suggestions for the laptop.
Disconnect the HDD and see if the CD drive now lists.
If it does then the boot sector of the HDD is bad and the BIOS is stumbling over it.
A new drive is needed or a scan with SpinRite or HDD Regenerator.

If you can boot from USB;
You can use the Ultimate Boot CD to test the motherboard and sockets etc.
The partitioning option runs a small Linux Live setup, which can go online if it detects your network cards.

Booting from a full Linux Live ISO on a USB is slow but will allow you full internet access.
Depending on the amount of RAM you have, you may be limited to certain distros.

After disconnecting the HDD nothing happened ...but after a long time suddenly the IBM boot manager appeared and I could hear the CD spinning. tried it 3 times till I used the bios boot device selection screen and after second try was the CD drive responding and did load the Live CD with Linux Mint.
It seems to be pure luck if and when the CD is loading.

I have now to connect the HDD somehow with a USB port to see if all my work is lost. Or if I can rescue something.

Edit----------------------------------------------
Oh ...some further informations:
The laptop overheats often, sometimes it freezes randomly with the mouse cursor stuck in the upper left corner (?) of the screen (even after the new WinXP install) And in the last two weeks it rebooted 2 times out of nowhere. It was irrelevant if there was a program running or just a system idle process.
I'm puzzled... I think my rig is finally kaput.

[memsys]

@memsys
because my landlord has an electric instantaneous water heater installed in my flat for warm water.
I have to watch my electric bill.
That's why I changed from a tower PC to a laptop.

Blergh... That sucks :/
As for a replacement what kind of hardware do you need for what you do?