I just got a second-hand laptop--suggestions on what to do with it? - Hardware & Software

So yeah, I got ahold of this laptop that crashes once in a while but other than that functions pretty well. It's an HP Pavilion dv2000, and it barely runs WoW on minimum settings + resolution. Any suggestions on what to do with it? I'm not afraid to experiment with programs on it-- I'll be wiping and replacing the crap hard drive and RAM pretty soon.

Fix it and sell it on.

[QUOTE=Robbazking;17031897]A student should surely buy it for a decent amount.[/QUOTE] I am a student-- but considering I got it after it was brought in to a whole bunch of "specialists" (geek squad guys who know how to press the "debug" button and not much else) who couldn't figure out its problem with better tools than I have available I wouldn't want to give it to someone while it may or may not still have a problem.

Check with a computer monitoring tool, if it's overheating.

[QUOTE=Itszutak;17031903]I am a student-- but considering I got it after it was brought in to a whole bunch of "specialists" (geek squad guys who know how to press the "debug" button and not much else) who couldn't figure out its problem with better tools than I have available I wouldn't want to give it to someone while it may or may not still have a problem.[/QUOTE] No Geek Squads. Ever. They have no clue what a WLAN switch is, they almost charged my friend 200 dollars to upgrade his wireless card, before I flicked the switch on.

[QUOTE=Van-man;17031942]Check with a computer monitoring tool, if it's overheating.[/QUOTE] Overheating is part of the problem, but I can't really do anything about that. "Geek squid" probably cleaned it when they checked it out, and it still overheats, no matter what surface it's on. I think HP may just make shoddy parts that break after a few years.

[QUOTE=Itszutak;17031996]Overheating is part of the problem, but I can't really do anything about that. "Geek squid" probably cleaned it when they checked it out, and it still overheats, no matter what surface it's on. I think HP may just make shoddy parts that break after a few years.[/QUOTE] either they didn't remove dust, or they've had the cooling system disassembled, and forgot to remove old cooling paste, and apply fresh layer of said paste.

[QUOTE=Van-man;17032025]either they didn't remove dust, or they've had the cooling system disassembled, and forgot to remove old cooling paste, and apply fresh layer of said paste.[/QUOTE] Well I may do this, considering I have some AS5 laying around from my last computer build.

[QUOTE=Machk;17031994]No Geek Squads. Ever. They have no clue what a WLAN switch is, they almost charged my friend 200 dollars to upgrade his wireless card, before I flicked the switch on.[/QUOTE] 200 dollars to flip a switch?

[QUOTE=SomeFaggot;17032051]200 dollars to flip a switch?[/QUOTE] It's "Geek" squad. What did you expect?

[QUOTE=Van-man;17032092]It's "Geek" squad. What did you expect?[/QUOTE] 200 dollars to do nothing. :v:

[QUOTE=Machk;17031994]No Geek Squads. Ever. They have no clue what a WLAN switch is, they almost charged my friend 200 dollars to upgrade his wireless card, before I flicked the switch on.[/QUOTE] Yeah I know they suck I doubt they tried anything more advanced than a memory stress test on this laptop before they wiped the HD completely

I doubt they cleaned it, it took me 2 hours to take down an old toshiba laptop to the point where i could remove the thermal paste and clean the fans on the inside. On most laptops it's not easy to access to the CPU cooler or any cooling stuff on the inside. Blowing canned air into the outside vents wont solve the problem. Break the laptop down and do a good cleaning, it's what fixed the crashing and overheating (same problem) on my old Toshiba.

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