# Replacing PC -oh, just point me to some general direction...



## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Yes, I know it's a dumb question because it depends on tons of stuff. That's why I'm asking because I don't feel like researching this and learning what is what nowadays :laugh: I've always built my own PCs but this one is ancient now and I haven't keep up with things since back then. And this one has probably reached its end... a fin from the GPU cooler that flew away after years of heating up and cooling down. It's not just outdated, hardware material itself is pretty much reaching the end of its life. I can't save anything, not even the chassis.

Today I went to Staples to get pens and pads and stuff and had a look at the PCs they were selling and I was clueless as to why A was so cheap and B so expensive - some general specs like RAM and stuff were not all that different so I imagine there are even new factors I'm not aware anymore.

All that said, I just a want a machine that doesn't drag its arse if I happen to have 10 Chrome tabs opened, a download manager, a media player and a few folders with thumbnails in them. I also don't want to cut it close and have something that because of updates is sloowww one year from now. I don't play video games anymore so I don't need a ultra-mega-turbo graphic card and goldplated, liquid nitrogen cooled RAM sticks.

I don't want to be bothered so I actually prefer a standard PC that you can open yourself and replace something, not those all in one thingys like Apple that you have to send for repair if something goes wrong because there's no way to open them... unless you tell me I can open them. I probably need a new screen, this one was repaired once and I think is going kaput soon again. Plus, it's 19 inches and I should be able to get something bigger cheap nowadays, no?

That being said, what would you pick up? Jsut post a link or something I can google to have some sort of idea of specs and prices to expect. Thanks much!


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2015)

mine field springs to mind :scared:

sorry... not any help


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## Craftycockney (Nov 5, 2015)

http://www.very.co.uk/acer-az1-623-intelreg-coretrade-i3-processor-4gb-ram-1tb-hard-drive-215-inch-all-in-one-desktop-with-optional-microsoft-office-365-personal/1600034731.prd

I know you said you want something to open up if it went wrong but tbh at this price if you 5 years out of it then it becomes throw away. Don't need a seperate monitor and come icore processor so decent enough for your needs.

Hope this helps


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Bruce said:


> mine field springs to mind :scared:
> 
> sorry... not any help


 Mine filed? Look at this... it's a crap shot taken just now with my mobile but I think you can even spot some burnt marks on the inside of the chassis! It's now essentially working with electricity and kinetic energy of my kicks. Graphic card goes out... kick, restart. Wifi board stops working because of the first kick, there goes a second one. 3rd restart and it all might be working. Can't get worst than this, can it? :laugh:



Craftycockney said:


> http://www.very.co.uk/acer-az1-623-intelreg-coretrade-i3-processor-4gb-ram-1tb-hard-drive-215-inch-all-in-one-desktop-with-optional-microsoft-office-365-personal/1600034731.prd
> 
> I know you said you want something to open up if it went wrong but tbh at this price if you 5 years out of it then it becomes throw away. Don't need a seperate monitor and come icore processor so decent enough for your needs.
> 
> Hope this helps


 Cheers! That's the sort of thing people have been telling me to get. I see it has inbuilt speakers, I'm assuming you can turn them off and run with external ones? It's important as my PC is also a bit of a media centre and I need/want to plug in my 5.1 speaker set.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

I've been fundament deep in this stuff for a month now. I started out putting together a new machine for the office. It was for preparing reports using Office 2003 and bookkeeping with Sage 50 2016. Considering the improvements in lower end equipment I decided to go with a small system. A Zotac BI320-U computer with dual core Celeron, 7.4" x 7.4" x 1.75". I put a 120gb Kingston SSD and 4gb Kingston sodimm in it which took about five minutes and only cost $225 Cnd. in total. I installed Windows 7 Pro for an OS. I connected it to existing equipment that was sitting around, 1tb USB drive, USB DVD burner and a 38.5" TV. It's actually pretty sweet.

My next project was a machine for the family room. I ordered an Intel Compute Stick. It turned out to be a lot of work. I tried to upgrade it to Windows 10 right away and it completely F'd up and wouldn't restore afterwards. I manually managed to copy the recovery material back using Ubuntu but the OEM Windows 8.1 Bing just wouldn't upgrade. In the end, I installed a proper version of Windows 10 Home. It turns out you can't have a micro SD card installed while doing major upgrades.  Considering it s only four inches long and sticks out of the HDMI port on your TV, when it works - it works quite well. It has 2gb of ram and a 32gb SSD onboard and is great for Blu-rays, online content and downloading. I added a 128gb micro sd card for storage.

Finally, my i7 system's second motherboard started to fail. It is a 2nd gen i7 2600 with 16gb of ram. LGA-1155 motherboards are somewhat rare now, but I wasn't prepared to give up on the processor because the newer ones are not that much faster (at least not $500 worth faster). I located a new discontinued Intel DZ77GA-70K. A nice board, four SATAIII connectors and four SATAII connectors. Four rear panel USB 3.0s and four rear panel USB 2.0s (two of them high current). HDMI port and 7.2 as well as Optical. An eSATA connector and two gigabyte network connections, also a Firewire connector for some mysterious reason. The motherboard has headers for four USB 3.0s and six USB 2.0s. Also there are some IR and audio connectors. At this point I decided to double my memory to 32gb, then a deal came along for a EVGA GTX 680 4gb video card. :laugh: My system was full of awesome at this point... then the 512gb SSD failed! Anyway, I found a sale on Intel 535 480gb SSDs, so I picked up two of them. A note for people trying to create or restore a system image with Windows 10: When creating, there can only be one EFI partition on the drive being copied and none anywhere else. When restoring, make sure there are no EFI partitions anywhere, or else everything go for a poo.

Okay, if there is a point to this, I guess it is that the smaller systems available right now are great if equipped with an SSD. Also, LCD TVs make great high resolution monitors. :wink:

Later,
William


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## artistmike (May 13, 2006)

I bought my last one from PCSpecialist and I couldn't be happier. You can even configure a computer based on the applications that you're using regularly. Having tried many manufacturers over the years I now don't think I'd go to anyone else for a PC .... https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/


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## SBryantgb (Jul 2, 2015)

When my last PC gave up after many years of service I bought a used Dell Precision 490 Workstation. Not a new machine but for 100quid delivered from ebay I got a proper workstation that's a s heavy as a tank... four quad zeon processors and 16gig of ram. This runs multiple browsers web expression, dreamweaver, photoshop, word etc without missing a beat with no driver issues on windows 10. The other choice was aHP ProLiant workstation of similar specs. These are industrial spec PC and will run forever. Parts are dam cheap as well 8gb of ram for 20quid.


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## Faze (Mar 1, 2013)

artistmike said:


> I bought my last one from PCSpecialist and I couldn't be happier. You can even configure a computer based on the applications that you're using regularly. Having tried many manufacturers over the years I now don't think I'd go to anyone else for a PC .... https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/


 PCSpecialist have been around for years and are great. Also to consider are Overclockers and Mesh.

And perhaps not what you want/need, but this month I bought one of these - Sumvision Cyclone Mini and connected to the living room TV. The WIFI connection is very good, but I connect to the router with these BT Broadband Extender 500 Powerline Kit

Paired up with wireless keyboard, mouse (back button is a must), loaded Kodi and I'm well chuffed :thumbsup:


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

I had a similar dilemma earlier this year, and decided to have my current machine spruced up with a ssd and extra ram, as well as a system cleanse. It cost me about £240 and the computer is now whizzy quick and reliable.

SSD is great!


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## artistmike (May 13, 2006)

scottswatches said:


> SSD is great!


 Yes, and thankfully now the prices are much more sensible which makes using them more realistic to use.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Cheers! That's the sort of thing people have been telling me to get. I see it has inbuilt speakers, I'm assuming you can turn them off and run with external ones? It's important as my PC is also a bit of a media centre and I need/want to plug in my 5.1 speaker set.


 I bought an all in one Lenovo a bit back, and yes I can hook it up to my speaker set I've got for my tv and play a bit of youtube music so I suspect most will, I've no interest in computers so as said it's pretty much disposable, if it packs up I'll just buy another one. So far though I've had this one for a few years now and it's still going. No idea of the spec and even less interest but there is still plenty of space on it and mine has a touch screen which is handy now and then. The only reason I might upgrade both this and my speakers is so that I can have a wireless connection but other than that I can't fault it.


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## Peacefrog (Nov 15, 2013)

Samsung 700A3D 23.6 inch All-in-One Touchscreen Desktop PC (Black) - (Intel Core i3 3220T 2.80GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, DVDSM DL, LAN, WLAN, BT, Webcam, Integrated Graphics, Windows 8)

Bought this for my teenage son. Very reliable, easy to use and no fancy set up requirements.

We got the best price from amazon, but as it is a popular model they sell it in most high streets electrical retailers.

Failing that, have you thought of just getting a laptop?


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

One of our senior developers just purchased himself a PC for home, he chose a Bare-bones'' super power midi PC from China, via Ali Express and he was impressed with the spec/value/quality ratio. It was free shipping but you will probably have to pay import tax etc

Renato, I can ask him more info on Monday & PM more details, if you like?

Cheers Martin


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## RTM Boy (Jun 1, 2011)

With tech moving ever faster I wouldn't know where to start either - ask 10 people you get 30 different views - so I always have a look here http://www.alphr.com/alist

Scroll down for desktops...


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## Timez Own (Oct 19, 2013)

What kind of Police Constable are you looking for?

It's a minefield, there really are all sorts to choose from! :wacko:


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Timez Own said:


> What kind of Police Constable are you looking for?
> 
> It's a minefield, there really are all sorts to choose from! :wacko:


 One like this?










Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> Okay, if there is a point to this, I guess it is that the smaller systems available right now are great if equipped with an SSD. Also, LCD TVs make great high resolution monitors. :wink:
> 
> Later,
> William


 Yeh, you mentioned those SSD as something that makes a lot of difference before, had forgotten about that. Was also wondering about those LCD TVs, I see them bigger and cheaper than some PC screens...

I'll try to go point by point here... I went to that pcspecialist link and this is what their wizard gave me as to their recomendations:




Processor (CPU)

*Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core G4400 (3.30GHz, 3MB Cache) + HD Graphics*
 










Motherboard

*ASUS® H110M-D D3: Micro-ATX, LG1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs*











Memory (RAM)

*4GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)*











Graphics Card

*INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)*











1st Hard Disk

*500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE*











1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

*24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM*











Power Supply

*CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY*











Processor Cooling

*INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER*











Thermal Paste

*STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING*











Sound Card

*ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)*


Ok, a lot of stuff I don't like in there but my main question is are the onboard GPUs all that good nowadays that you don't need an half decent graphics card? I might still want to play my Total Wars from time to time...

Onboard sound card... well, I'm using that already as my f***ing graphic card steals all the juice from the PCI slots and I can't use my Audigy 2, which is an ancinet sound coard but I still think it's better than anything they came out with since then (own an X-FI that doesn't jold a candle to the Audigy).

No SSD...

350W PS?? Is that enough?? I have a 750W on this old one and it's almost not enough...

€440 for that stuff :wacko: Why??



Faze said:


> And perhaps not what you want/need, but this month I bought one of these - Sumvision Cyclone Mini and connected to the living room TV. The WIFI connection is very good, but I connect to the router with these BT Broadband Extender 500 Powerline Kit
> 
> Paired up with wireless keyboard, mouse (back button is a must), loaded Kodi and I'm well chuffed :thumbsup:


 That's the sort of stuff that is alien to me. I've also saw these small cubes from Asus that you connect behind a screen. They are tinny and apparently they are a complete computer and a good one at that. Were much more expensive than that one though, I thing the one I saw was over 500 quid.



scottswatches said:


> I had a similar dilemma earlier this year, and decided to have my current machine spruced up with a ssd and extra ram, as well as a system cleanse. It cost me about £240 and the computer is now whizzy quick and reliable.
> 
> SSD is great!


 Mine has to go, I doubt they can salvage that... if I did it myself I wouldn't even use the same case. MoBo has some conductivity problem, won't power stuff if not at an angle which tells me some circuit is broken. Graphic card sucks all the power from everything as it's a factory overclocked GPU. Needs a special Zalman ultra-mega-turbo cooler and fan that is falling to bits doe to material fatigue. PCI slots won't work with anything that needs a bit of juice, so forget about adding RAM through there. Two slots of DDR2 and I can't upgrade it to 4GB without spending a fortune on two paired sticks of stone age technology RAM...



BondandBigM said:


> The only reason I might upgrade both this and my speakers is so that I can have a wireless connection but other than that I can't fault it.


 I'm pretty much at the point you described for yourself but couldn't quite catch this last point... what do you mean, you don't have nor can you upgrade to wireless or bluetooth speakers?


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

I've got a Bose set but it isn't bluetooth so I have to run a cable, the computer doesn't have bluetooth either. I never really thought about it when I bought them.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Peacefrog said:


> Failing that, have you thought of just getting a laptop?


 Nooooo!!! No laptop! Screen is too small - i know I can hook it up to a bigger screen but... they use low power parts because of size and battery size that are more expensive and can't preform as well as the a similar part that doesn't need to be engeneered with those concerns in mind.

Own one and barely use it! I'll be needing to replace it soon also but it will be replaced by a tablet with keyboard cover. I just need something with a word processor in it and Polaris is fine.



martinzx said:


> One of our senior developers just purchased himself a PC for home, he chose a Bare-bones'' super power midi PC from China, via Ali Express and he was impressed with the spec/value/quality ratio. It was free shipping but you will probably have to pay import tax etc
> 
> Renato, I can ask him more info on Monday & PM more details, if you like?
> 
> Cheers Martin


 Thanks Martin! Don't bother yourself, I'm actually quite up to speed with China's sites now... with all the vaping gear being made and sold through there at at least half the price it retails on a really cheap online shop here. I'll go and have a look at Gear Beast and stuff. One thing I was planning already was to learn more about Chinese branded smartphones. All these big companies source production to there but it seems they are now paying the price... Chinese aren't dumb and now that they saw how to make stuff and have the blueprints, I see smartphones and tech stuff being sold that seems as good or better than known brands. I saw one phone from what someone called the "Chinese Apple" which looked just like a Iphone 6 with same specs as flagship phones but 1/3 of the price. And running pure Android like a Nexus. I'm pretty sure the machine comes from the same people that makes stuff for Samsung, LG, etc but then they stamp their own logo.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

BondandBigM said:


> I've got a Bose set but it isn't bluetooth so I have to run a cable, the computer doesn't have bluetooth either. I never really thought about it when I bought them.


 ...and there's no way to upgrade it? I think I saw some sort of USB bluetooth thingies that are external, you just need to plug them into a port. No idea if they will allow you to use a wireless speaker(s) but I don't see the point of that accessory if it isn't a general bluetooth wireless addon...

Here, it's something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Version-Adapter-Computer-Compatible/dp/B0095R9MA8/ref=sr_1_14?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1448754511&sr=1-14&keywords=desktop+bluetooth


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> ...and there's no way to upgrade it? I think I saw some sort of USB bluetooth thingies that are external, you just need to plug them into a port. No idea if they will allow you to use a wireless speaker(s) but I don't see the point of that accessory if it isn't a general bluetooth wireless addon...
> 
> Here, it's something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-Version-Adapter-Computer-Compatible/dp/B0095R9MA8/ref=sr_1_14?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1448754511&sr=1-14&keywords=desktop+bluetooth


 Good idea and for a few quid worth a try, my Bose set isn't bluetooth but I do have another speaker that is. The work around I use just now for music is sticking it on a usb stick from the computer then putting that in the tv which is connected to the Bose speakers.

:laugh: :laugh:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

BondandBigM said:


> Good idea and for a few quid worth a try, my Bose set isn't bluetooth but I do have another speaker that is. The work around I use just now for music is sticking it on a usb stick from the computer then putting that in the tv which is connected to the Bose speakers.
> 
> :laugh: :laugh:


 Mine is having a spider web of cables in my room as a 5.1 system makes you have speakers on the four corners of that room. And a freaking subwoofer that weights a ton and makes the ground shake for no good reason if you're not careful.

That's also going, don't need a quadrophonic experience, THX, dts or surround sound for music or watching movies. One of those single, long but small , wireless speakers are good enough for me. I was in someone's place the other day that had a Phillips one and that sounded great! I bet a Bose is even better but for the space I have and the fact that all my music is digitally compressed anyway, a 60 or €70 speaker like that is more than enough for me (at least that's the price she told me that thing goes for).


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Mine is having a spider web of cables in my room as a 5.1 system makes you have speakers on the four corners of that room. And a freaking subwoofer that weights a ton and makes the ground shake for no good reason if you're not careful.
> 
> That's also going, don't need a quadrophonic experience, THX, dts or surround sound for music or watching movies. One of those single, long but small , wireless speakers are good enough for me. I was in someone's place the other day that had a Phillips one and that sounded great! I bet a Bose is even better but for the space I have and the fact that all my music is digitally compressed anyway, a 60 or €70 speaker like that is more than enough for me (at least that's the price she told me that thing goes for).


 Mine is only a two speaker and a subwoofer, the speakers are only about 50 or 60cm square and the sub is reasonably compact so it's tidy when fixed to the tv and there is a separate volume control with a couple aux sockets but it's surprisingly loud given the size, I had a listen to a few others at the time but I like the tone from it.

The bluetooth speaker is a Tinchy Stryder that I picked up out of a basement bargain bin for £20 and it's actually not to bad, for the garden or sunbeds on holidays.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Yeh, you mentioned those SSD as something that makes a lot of difference before, had forgotten about that. Was also wondering about those LCD TVs, I see them bigger and cheaper than some PC screens...
> 
> I'll try to go point by point here... I went to that pcspecialist link and this is what their wizard gave me as to their recomendations:
> 
> ...


 A few points about this system to consider...

1) SSD is a key feature to any modern system and a 240gb is fairly cheap and can be combined with a really cheap external USB HDD for less important storage.
2) Sound card isn't as important if you are using digital audio through HDMI, otherwise it does not appear to have an S/PDIF connector on the motherboard, so you are limited to the less feature rich Realtek drivers.
3) Intel video isn't too bad these days and does a great job with video playback. As far as gaming is concerned, I suspect it will crush what you have been using but you'd be better off with 8 gigs of system ram.
3) If you want a PCIe 3.0 x16 video card you will need a more powerful power supply.

All things considered, there are smaller less expandable systems that are far cheaper and almost as good. There also are slightly more powerful systems for the same sort of money.

Later,
William


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> Nooooo!!! No laptop! Screen is too small - i know I can hook it up to a bigger screen but... they use low power parts because of size and battery size that are more expensive and can't preform as well as the a similar part that doesn't need to be engeneered with those concerns in mind.
> 
> Own one and barely use it! I'll be needing to replace it soon also but it will be replaced by a tablet with keyboard cover. I just need something with a word processor in it and Polaris is fine.
> 
> Thanks Martin! Don't bother yourself, I'm actually quite up to speed with China's sites now... with all the vaping gear being made and sold through there at at least half the price it retails on a really cheap online shop here. I'll go and have a look at Gear Beast and stuff. One thing I was planning already was to learn more about Chinese branded smartphones. All these big companies source production to there but it seems they are now paying the price... Chinese aren't dumb and now that they saw how to make stuff and have the blueprints, I see smartphones and tech stuff being sold that seems as good or better than known brands. I saw one phone from what someone called the "Chinese Apple" which looked just like a Iphone 6 with same specs as flagship phones but 1/3 of the price. And running pure Android like a Nexus. I'm pretty sure the machine comes from the same people that makes stuff for Samsung, LG, etc but then they stamp their own logo.


 I bought one of the Android Chinese clones even before the the release of the iPhone 6, it was an excellent bit of kit. But it had sleeper malware/adware it started to function full page ads after about a month. Turned out not to be malicious but I bricked the phone trying to root it. Besides that the spec was really great it also came with two batteries. But not trustworthy.

So I got a Note 4 for and rooted that have not looked back since.

Cheers Martin


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

martinzx said:


> I bought one of the Android Chinese clones even before the the release of the iPhone 6, it was an excellent bit of kit. But it had sleeper malware/adware it started to function full page ads after about a month. Turned out not to be malicious but I bricked the phone trying to root it. Besides that the spec was really great it also came with two batteries. But not trustworthy.
> 
> So I got a Note 4 for and rooted that have not looked back since.
> 
> Cheers Martin


 Yes, that's what I wanted to learn first, if you is able to completely wipe out their ROM and just put a pure Android in there. My current phone is just fine for now, it's an LG G2 which still has one of the biggest screens for the size of the body, it's almost a flameless screen and very compact next to a G3 or G4 (or Galaxy, etc) which are much bigger but he screen is only slightly bigger.

Best thing this phone has of all the phones I've owned is battery life, it lasts me the whole day comfortably.

The problem is that it's a AT&T model and even has some hardware differences and there's just no way to replace its... don't recall what it's called, it might not be a ROM but it's something that makes it permanently and software-wise the AT&T version. You can root it or get a custom ROM in there but it must be compatible with that phone.

These things also depend a lot on how many people own this or that phone so that enough developers can look into it and provide software and ways around it. Something you always have with Samsung.

This will be something to consider after the PC thing and a quick visit to XDA forum will answer all my questions, I still know enough about Android phones to at least know what to look for.


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> Yes, that's what I wanted to learn first, if you is able to completely wipe out their ROM and just put a pure Android in there. My current phone is just fine for now, it's an LG G2 which still has one of the biggest screens for the size of the body, it's almost a flameless screen and very compact next to a G3 or G4 (or Galaxy, etc) which are much bigger but he screen is only slightly bigger.
> 
> Best thing this phone has of all the phones I've owned is battery life, it lasts me the whole day comfortably.
> 
> ...


 Indeed there are custom Roms available and XDA is the place to find them.

Cheers Martin


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> A few points about this system to consider...
> 
> 1) SSD is a key feature to any modern system and a 240gb is fairly cheap and can be combined with a really cheap external USB HDD for less important storage.
> 2) Sound card isn't as important if you are using digital audio through HDMI, otherwise it does not appear to have an S/PDIF connector on the motherboard, so you are limited to the less feature rich Realtek drivers.
> ...


 Well, I thought that much, that this couldn't possibly be a good setup for the price. I could get a lot better for not a lot more money or something slightly less powerfull for a lot less.

Anyway... so an onboard GPU these days will eat a PCI-E Nvidia 8800 GTX 512MB?? That's pretty impressive if it does...

Sound is actually less important, even the onboard one I'm currently using is fine. I remembered how the Audigy worked after Bond's post. Yes, it was a great card but all the digital, fiber optic connections etc were on a dedicated deck that would go into a disk drive slot in the front. So tons of cables and wires and jacks stuck in there.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

BondandBigM said:


> Mine is only a two speaker and a subwoofer, the speakers are only about 50 or 60cm square and the sub is reasonably compact so it's tidy when fixed to the tv and there is a separate volume control with a couple aux sockets but it's surprisingly loud given the size, I had a listen to a few others at the time but I like the tone from it.


 I shouldn't have said my subwoofer weights a ton for no good reason, Was just looking at it and the amp is bolted on its back, so there's a very good reason for it to be heavy. Also the reason why I cant run the other speakers without it and I think I remember reading some warning on the manual about having to have all 5 speakers plugged in because of wattage or something.


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> I shouldn't have said my subwoofer weights a ton for no good reason, Was just looking at it and the amp is bolted on its back, so there's a very good reason for it to be heavy. Also the reason why I cant run the other speakers without it and I think I remember reading some warning on the manual about having to have all 5 speakers plugged in because of wattage or something.


 Yep the Bose is the same the sub has the amp in it so I could upgrade to a bigger set of speakers which I could have done at the time but I liked the more compact small ones. I had a neighbour from another flat recently ask me if I had one of those woofer things, apparently he couldn't music just a dull thudding and he wondered what it was. I told him it was just Bill barking at the paper boy.

:laugh: :laugh:


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

BondandBigM said:


> Yep the Bose is the same the sub has the amp in it so I could upgrade to a bigger set of speakers which I could have done at the time but I liked the more compact small ones. I had a neighbour from another flat recently ask me if I had one of those woofer things, apparently he couldn't music just a dull thudding and he wondered what it was. I told him it was just Bill barking at the paper boy.
> 
> :laugh: :laugh:


 You sound like a great neighbour :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

He bought that?? Bill had to be the size of Chewbacca and having a sense of rhythm :band:


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Wow, this thread is well and truly full, and it shows just what a tricky minefield this business of replacing one's computer can be. I purchased the last two computers I have second-hand on Amazon and was very pleased with them. I currently still use one, a Lenovo laptop, and it works a treat and has no external signs of wear. The other computer I currently use in my room, a Toshiba laptop, was also bought pre-owned but in person and not from Amazon, and it isn't quite so nice. Both machines are using Windows 7, and my dilemma is whether or not I should upgrade to Wiondows 10 on a free upgrade. My feelings about this are that, given the secondhand nature of my laptops and their limited memory, it is probably wise to keep on cugging along with Windows 7 until I actually upgrade the computers themselves.


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

martinzx said:


> You sound like a great neighbour :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:


 I have to drown out the racket coming from the rest of the block. Big M and I are pretty much deaf as posts, I could put the woofer under her pillow and she wouldn't hear it.

:biggrin:

I work on the idea if you can't beat them you may as well join them

:laugh: :laugh:


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Another place to look at is just down the road from me. Ccl computers, they have a massive choice of components & fully built machines and seem to have good prices. Worth a look.

http://www.cclonline.com/


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

> Wow, this thread is well and truly full, and it shows just what a tricky minefield this business of replacing one's computer can be. I purchased the last two computers I have second-hand on Amazon and was very pleased with them. I currently still use one, a Lenovo laptop, and it works a treat and has no external signs of wear. The other computer I currently use in my room, a Toshiba laptop, was also bought pre-owned but in person and not from Amazon, and it isn't quite so nice. Both machines are using Windows 7, and my dilemma is whether or not I should upgrade to Wiondows 10 on a free upgrade. My feelings about this are that, given the secondhand nature of my laptops and their limited memory, it is probably wise to keep on cugging along with Windows 7 until I actually upgrade the computers themselves.


 I ended up ugrading mine and Win10 is actually lighter than win7, so yes, go ahead and update them!


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## SBryantgb (Jul 2, 2015)

Kutusov said:


> I ended up ugrading mine and Win10 is actually lighter than win7, so yes, go ahead and update them!


 To long a thread for my attention span, but if you are running Win 7 Home edition there are some upgrade issues MS hasn't addressed yet. I have had several clients who have had failed installs. No data was lost and the PC's all reset to the original Windows. The only way to ensure a complete upgrade with this edition if this happens is to use the windows 10 install utility and prepare/create either a CD or USB drive install of the OS. Its a free download :yes:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

I'm sort of feeling stupid by asking this... but it's so damn cute... thoughts on the Acer Revo?


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Kutusov said:


> I'm sort of feeling stupid by asking this... but it's so damn cute... thoughts on the Acer Revo?


 A cute machine but not very powerful. Nice looking though.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Stan said:


> A cute machine but not very powerful. Nice looking though.


 I think the most intensive stuff I would ever put it through would be Medieval II: Total War :laugh: Is this enough?


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Kutusov said:


> I think the most intensive stuff I would ever put it through would be Medieval II: Total War :laugh: Is this enough?


 The i3-4005U version should be okay, much like a modest laptop but using a separate monitor more conveniently. :wink:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Stan said:


> The i3-4005U version should be okay, much like a modest laptop but using a separate monitor more conveniently. :wink:


 Thanks! I'm turning into one of those blokes I loved to hate... I look at that thing, I know it has to be limited but I immediately go "But it's so cuuute!". That and finding out that I love Somersbys... I think it's all over for me artytime:


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

> Wow, this thread is well and truly full, and it shows just what a tricky minefield this business of replacing one's computer can be. I purchased the last two computers I have second-hand on Amazon and was very pleased with them. I currently still use one, a Lenovo laptop, and it works a treat and has no external signs of wear. The other computer I currently use in my room, a Toshiba laptop, was also bought pre-owned but in person and not from Amazon, and it isn't quite so nice. Both machines are using Windows 7, and my dilemma is whether or not I should upgrade to Wiondows 10 on a free upgrade. My feelings about this are that, given the secondhand nature of my laptops and their limited memory, it is probably wise to keep on cugging along with Windows 7 until I actually upgrade the computers themselves.


 Windows 7 has security support until 2020, but no real feature improvements planned (as yet).

If Win7 works well on your machines and you're happy, that's all that matters. :wink:

If you don't want to upgrade your hardware you don't have to until you feel the need, Windows 10 may work on it, or may not. I'd wait until early June 2016 to test the theory. Any hardware that fails to upgrade by then, when Win10 is more mature, will need to be replaced.

All of my machines can work on Win10, I've done practical tests. My main desktop is still on Windows 7 until "certain" software catches up.

Do the one at a time, oldest first. :wink:



Kutusov said:


> Thanks! I'm turning into one of those blokes I loved to hate


 Hate? I doubt it, dislike more like.

Keep searching, you'll find what you need and like.

If you like a good, cheap capable computer, search places the sell "off lease" corporate desktops. There should be some nice Dell OptiPlex 9010 MT units appearing soon.

Do a Google. :wink:


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> I'm sort of feeling stupid by asking this... but it's so damn cute... thoughts on the Acer Revo?





Stan said:


> The i3-4005U version should be okay, much like a modest laptop but using a separate monitor more conveniently. :wink:


 I've been playing around with some of these mini systems and I am really liking them. The dual core Celeron 1.4 processors are surprisingly quick and the graphics aren't bad at all. The real key is to have the OS running on an SSD and have at least 4gb of ram. If you were willing to spend just a bit more money, you could get an Intel NUC. Nice small size and can be mounted with a VESA bracket on the back of your TV. They come with a longer warranty than most systems do as well.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> I've been playing around with some of these mini systems and I am really liking them. The dual core Celeron 1.4 processors are surprisingly quick and the graphics aren't bad at all. The real key is to have the OS running on an SSD and have at least 4gb of ram. If you were willing to spend just a bit more money, you could get an Intel NUC. Nice small size and can be mounted with a VESA bracket on the back of your TV. They come with a longer warranty than most systems do as well.
> 
> Later,
> William


 Yeh, I was wondering about those VESA thingies! I know I had seen some little computer cube that would plug into a TV, I'm pretty sure it was from ASUS but couldn't find it on their site. Maybe it's some old model, I saw that a while back.

The Acer... well, I was looking around local shops websites and I can't get solid specs for those. They probably just typed the thing all wrong because they don't match up to what I'm seeing on the official site, Amazon, etc. I came across a reference that some shops sell them with lower specs, so don't know what's that all about. A reviewer on Amazon.de mentions how he poped an SSD drive in there and made it the boot disk, so the cheaper Celeron version was working very well for him.

I think they all come with 4gb of RAM but like I said, I can't get a consistent picture of the damn thing. I'll look into those Intels, all of a sudden the idea of having something this small makes a lot of sense. I mostly use this thing nowadays for internet browsing, Word and as a media centre anyway. Not having cables and wires and extension leads all around would be just great.

BTW Will, does any LCD TV work or what do I have to look for? I once plugged my laptop to a regular sized Samsung HD LCD Tv and it was pretty crappy. But it was the laptop's fault, it wouldn't clone the screen with a high enough resolution.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> BTW Will, does any LCD TV work or what do I have to look for? I once plugged my laptop to a regular sized Samsung HD LCD Tv and it was pretty crappy. But it was the laptop's fault, it wouldn't clone the screen with a high enough resolution.


 Providing you are connecting the HDMI output of the computer to the HDMI input of the TV, the only issue you are likely to see is that some cheaper LCD TVs oversize the 1080p input. This is easily rectified with the graphics utility that is associated with the video system on the computer. Usually though, most TVs adjust automatically or have an easy to change setting in their menu.

Later,
William


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

Check out Morgans...

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> Providing you are connecting the HDMI output of the computer to the HDMI input of the TV, the only issue you are likely to see is that some cheaper LCD TVs oversize the 1080p input. This is easily rectified with the graphics utility that is associated with the video system on the computer. Usually though, most TVs adjust automatically or have an easy to change setting in their menu.
> 
> Later,
> William


 Right, thanks! It's a brave new world! :laugh: Pretty sold on the mini PC idea :thumbsup:


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

So I completely forgot whatever you guys said I should look for and I'm pretty set on this tinny thing:






It's the 300-050np version which has an Intel q5, 8gb of Ram and a 1tb Sata drive (don't think I can put an extra SSD inside).

I might go out for a drink tonight and, if so, won't be getting it tomorrow. Still time to tell me if I'm doing a terrible mistake artytime:


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

I thought you wanted a PC, not a bread maker?!

Would it be a pain to ask you for a bullet point recap of your budget and requirements?

The heaviest work you'd put it through? Do you need a monitor? What else do you need / want to plug into or out of it? Do you have data / drives to transfer? Do you want a cute pink one?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

KrispyDK said:


> I thought you wanted a PC, not a bread maker?!
> 
> Would it be a pain to ask you for a bullet point recap of your budget and requirements?
> 
> The heaviest work you'd put it through? Do you need a monitor? What else do you need / want to plug into or out of it? Do you have data / drives to transfer? Do you want a cute pink one?


 Wait, what's a bread maker? Don't bread grown on trees?...

Heaviest work I put it through... well, where my current one drags its arse is when I have 2 browsers opened with multiple tabs, folders with media files with thumbnails, Word and email manager also opened.

I essentially need a media centre that can also handle Word. No gaming... except Medieval 2: Total War :laugh:

It will be hooked up to a 32" LED TV.


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Sound via the TV? Or separate AV?


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> So I completely forgot whatever you guys said I should look for and I'm pretty set on this tinny thing:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Not bad... but you need an SSD. Buy a $50-60 120gb SSD and a $30 2.5 USB 3.0 external case. That likely has 8.1 on it so you can make a disk image, but you'll need an external DVD writer for a boot disk. When you have that worked out flip the machine over and pull the plastic base mat off and unscrew the bottom. There's a 2.5 drive cage right there, so swap the drives and put it back together and recreate the image on the new drive. It'll be a million times quicker and you can use the 1tb as excess storage. That is if you are brave enough. :wink:

I was looking at those Pavilions but they were a bit pricey for what I wanted to do.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> Not bad... but you need an SSD. Buy a $50-60 120gb SSD and a $30 2.5 USB 3.0 external case. That likely has 8.1 on it so you can make a disk image, but you'll need an external DVD writer for a boot disk. When you have that worked out flip the machine over and pull the plastic base mat off and unscrew the bottom. There's a 2.5 drive cage right there, so swap the drives and put it back together and recreate the image on the new drive. It'll be a million times quicker and you can use the 1tb as excess storage. That is if you are brave enough. :wink:
> 
> I was looking at those Pavilions but they were a bit pricey for what I wanted to do.
> 
> ...


 You lost me on the 2.5 drive cage. I know that you have the space for a SSD on the Asus version of these but I don't know how the HP is. You mean I can install the extra SSD drive and keep the SATA one also? I do know how to do the rest (well, I know how to follow step by step guides :laugh: )



KrispyDK said:


> Sound via the TV? Or separate AV?


 Via Tv for now. It's more than enough for me... maybe some better speakers in the future but never some really crazy hifi, dts, super expensive speakers.



William_Wilson said:


> Not bad... but you need an SSD. Buy a $50-60 120gb SSD and a $30 2.5 USB 3.0 external case. That likely has 8.1 on it so you can make a disk image, but you'll need an external DVD writer for a boot disk. When you have that worked out flip the machine over and pull the plastic base mat off and unscrew the bottom. There's a 2.5 drive cage right there, so swap the drives and put it back together and recreate the image on the new drive. It'll be a million times quicker and you can use the 1tb as excess storage. That is if you are brave enough. :wink:
> 
> I was looking at those Pavilions but they were a bit pricey for what I wanted to do.
> 
> ...


 Oh, I got it now! You mean getting the SATA that comes with the machine to be an external HD. Well, I even have that already, that's where all my media is.


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Budget?


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

As I remember it, it is a singe 2.5 mount and a special SATA connecter on the motherboard side. That's what the USB 3.) external drive case is for, the terabyte drive. An excellent place for MP3s, porn and so forth, and keeps the main drive reasonably free. :laugh:

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> As I remember it, it is a singe 2.5 mount and a special SATA connecter on the motherboard side. That's what the USB 3.) external drive case is for, the terabyte drive. An excellent place for MP3s, porn and so forth, and keeps the main drive reasonably free. :laugh:
> 
> Later,
> William


 Yes, need to keep my porn separate from the rest :laugh:


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

I just had another look, I think there is an eMMC slot for a drive on the motherboard, which would let you keep everything in the same case. After you have it up and running I think something like that would be worth the cost and effort, and the cost of a reasonable sized eMMC isn't very much.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

KrispyDK said:


> Budget?


 I don't know!!! Don't ask me hard questions! For the machine? Around 500 to €600. But I also need to replace my screen, so add 250 to €300 for a 32" TV.

Oh, and BTW, I've looked into the Intel NUC Will but no one sells them around here.



William_Wilson said:


> I just had another look, I think there is an eMMC slot for a drive on the motherboard, which would let you keep everything in the same case. After you have it up and running I think something like that would be worth the cost and effort, and the cost of a reasonable sized eMMC isn't very much.
> 
> Later,
> William


 Had to google that but yes, it does have a slot for something like that, I've seen it mentioned on specs! Had no clue what it was. Great, big help Will, thanks!

Oh, BTW, don't know if I had mentioned this or not but no one sells LCD TVs anymore! Even on those huge stores that have from high end, curved, wall sized TVs to unknown Chinese branded TVs, they are all LED now!


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> I don't know!!! Don't ask me hard questions! For the machine? Around 500 to €600. But I also need to replace my screen, so add 250 to €300 for a 32" TV.
> 
> Oh, and BTW, I've looked into the Intel NUC Will but no one sells them around here.
> 
> ...


 I'll double check the specs and board of your machine.

The TVs are still LCD, but the backlight is LED instead of florescent as far as I know.

Later,
William


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Ok, did some hunting. This is basically what it looks like:










The top of the unit is sitting face down and the drive cage is unbolted from the motherboard. The SODIMM slots are at the rear of the photo and the WI-FI card is towards the front of the photo, and has a white label on it. In between them is the M.2 connecter that accepts 42mm long SSD drives, you can see the bolt that secures the drive in the middle of the mobo.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> Ok, did some hunting. This is basically what it looks like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Thanks Will! Any idea if can take both dirves at the same time or would the SATA had to be replaced by the SSD? Looks like there's enough room for an SSD beneath the regular one.... I bet the guy at the store won't be able to tell me this or he'll go "Oh no, you can't open it or there's no more warranty! Ever!!! You philistine!!"


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

It Looks like there is only one connector for standard 2.5" form factor drives. When I was looking at these in the stores I never checked the BIOS to see if the M.2 drive option was available with the HDD present, but I suspect it was. The Stream Mini, the lower end model used the M.2 connector with a 32gb drive. Anyway, I think both should work but I can't find an example of someone doing it.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Thanks Will, really appreciate your time and effort but I´ll have to look into that sometime later. Bought the thing, plugged it in, comes with widows 8.1 but... there's an HP administrator acc that won't let me install or do anything!! Not even update to windows 10 so I can later do a clean install. "This will make changes, bla bla bla, insert password".

Haven't found a way around this yet, except trying a clean install with a cracked windows 7 I have around here somewhere. Hating this thing already :aggressive:


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

A long shot, but assuming you can log into the machine with your own account and the HP administrator account is a windows user account that you have rights over - you could try and reset it's password.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Can't!! HP acc is the freaking administrator. Can't install anything on this POS. UAC keeps popping up with the request for a password. ....


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Looks like no bread for you then!

Seems odd they'd let it leave the factory configured like that?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

I've contacted them through CS and their forum asking how's that? I buy a brand new PC that I'm locked out of? We'll see, I'm probably missing something but if not... I'll wipe it clean and put a dodgy OS in here.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

That sounds crazy. The HP machine I had a few years ago installed on the initial fire up and I left it wide open, no passwords. When you get the PW make the required system backups and image files and upgrade to Windows 10. After Windows 10 installs and activates with the Windows 8.1 product key you can do a reinstall of 10 and keep personal files but lose all of the HP bloatware.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> That sounds crazy. The HP machine I had a few years ago installed on the initial fire up and I left it wide open, no passwords. When you get the PW make the required system backups and image files and upgrade to Windows 10. After Windows 10 installs and activates with the Windows 8.1 product key you can do a reinstall of 10 and keep personal files but lose all of the HP bloatware.
> 
> Later,
> William


 I can't upgrade to 10, that's what's driving me insane. Straight from the box, if I tried to open the win10 setup the fecking user thingy would pop up and say something like "this is going to make important or permanent changes to your machine. Want to continue?" and there's a box for the administrator account's password or clicking ok is denied. If I could go into win10 I could make a clean install and wipe every single acc.

And I'm sure it's an HP set password. The account I go in from is the one set by the store and that's just a user account. No administrator rights at all.

It's now 5:40 and it's still updating 8.1. I'm hoping the win10 upgrade will pop up when it is done. If not, there's only two options: either I return that thing for a full refund or I'll just format the disk with a win7. I'm assuming I can at least do that as apparently even the windows license is buried in the BIOS and not available to me. From the tons of crap I've read, the licence key is not mine, it's HP's. They let me use it because I was kind enough to buy their POS computer. I would have to retrive the key with special software... that it won't allow me to install.

Took me ages just to figure out how to get into BIOS and change the drive priority to try a password recovery program from a bootable USB drive. No joy with that also. They don't make it easy to mess around with their set-up.


----------



## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, at least I found the windows license key. I think I can make a clean install of windows 8 as long as I have it. Going to sleep a few hours now.... :wacko:


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Well, at least I found the windows license key. I think I can make a clean install of windows 8 as long as I have it. Going to sleep a few hours now.... :wacko:


 Your version 0f 8.1 may be special. The 8.1 on my compute stick was special, "OEM Windows 8.1 with Bing" and its product key wouldn't activate a normal version of 8.1. Another important thing to know, always keep a system image of your 8.1 install. If you need to do a complete reinstall of Windows 10 at some point you will need to start with your original 8.1 install and upgrade. Microsoft has chosen to make this as difficult as possible.

Thinking about your earlier post, I wonder if the store you purchased it from activated the Administrator account?

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, it's sorted out. It was a useless HP representative that is assigned to that store that set up an adm acc named HP. So neither anybody at the store or HP knew anything about this. I won't go through all the silly details but let's just say that at the end the HP man refused to tell me the password but whispered it to the store manager that was right next to me, immediately wrote it down in a piece of paper and handed it to me :laugh: The whole affair was so ridiculous that at some point it did cross my mind that might be for some Candid Camera show or something of that nature.

Now I have it running on windows 10 and am about to do a clean install to get rid of the tons of useless stuff HP puts in their machines. Unfortunetly, it seems a waited a bit too long to replace my PC, external HD is kaput, won't work even out of the chassis via SATA cable and all my music was there. I have about 1/3 of the it on a 120GB ipod, so not all is lost.

Off to take everyting out of this old machine to the new one so, if you don't hear from me again, I was probably killed by some shrapnel during the process...


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Good luck...see you on the other side, hopefully!

Just thinking though...is a complete rebuild not a bit drastic for just removing the HP shi'ite? It's not 'baked in' to the OS so could just be uninstalled...no?


----------



## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

KrispyDK said:


> Good luck...see you on the other side, hopefully!
> 
> Just thinking though...is a complete rebuild not a bit drastic for just removing the HP shi'ite? It's not 'baked in' to the OS so could just be uninstalled...no?


 Still here... well, there's a reset feature apparently... I'll see how that goes but I'm sure it won't wipe the HP recovery partition. And that might be fine in case I have to send it back under warranty or something.


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

I'd just go with the uninstall route I think. You don't even need to uninstall the HP junk - just run msconfig and remove anything you don't want from the start up routine - same goes for any unneeded autorun services....

msconfig is every PCs best friend - I'm sure you've used it but it's a good first line of defence against any nasties or bloatware...

If you run it, you cold just stop the HP programs from running at startup by deselecting them:










Same goes for any services that autorun at startup (select the option to hide all microsoft services):










WARNNG: Don't stop anything just because you don't recognise it! Google the service or executable first to make sure it isn't required. (Unknown manufacturers are always good to look in to)


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

They looked a lot more tamed under windows 10 and login inf rom the adm acc but the HP stuff was pretty intrusive. There wasn't even a Windows update, just an HP app thingy that would take over that. Don't know, I don't like the idea of having that sort of stuff on my machine, it can add a lot of variables to solve some future issue.

...besides, it's either this or going to try and put togehter a bunch of Ikea shelves. At least with this I'm sitting down. :laugh:

Ok, 5 minutes in and the "resetting this PC" is just at 1%... I could go and put a shelf togheter... or I could go and look for a nice keyboard/mouse online as this one even has cigarette burns. Uhm... tough choice.... :laugh:


----------



## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Still here... well, there's a reset feature apparently... I'll see how that goes but I'm sure it won't wipe the HP recovery partition. And that might be fine in case I have to send it back under warranty or something.


 I guess this was a bit too late.

If you get into the Windows 10 recovery mode, either F8 or with a recovery boot disk, you have the option to recover saving everything (reset), reinstall saving personal files or reformat and clean install. *DO NOT *do a format and fresh install! It will need a product key and your key *WILL NOT* work! Use the option that saves personal files and removes installed programmes. The Windows 10 key is part of your personal files.

Later,
William


----------



## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> They looked a lot more tamed under windows 10 and login inf rom the adm acc but the HP stuff was pretty intrusive. There wasn't even a Windows update, just an HP app thingy that would take over that. Don't know, I don't like the idea of having that sort of stuff on my machine, it can add a lot of variables to solve some future issue.
> 
> ...besides, it's either this or going to try and put togehter a bunch of Ikea shelves. At least with this I'm sitting down. :laugh:
> 
> Ok, 5 minutes in and the "resetting this PC" is just at 1%... I could go and put a shelf togheter... or I could go and look for a nice keyboard/mouse online as this one even has cigarette burns. Uhm... tough choice.... :laugh:


 Pricey - but well worth it!










http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/product/wireless-performance-combo-mx800



William_Wilson said:


> I guess this was a bit too late.


 I fear we've lost him.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> KrispyDK said:
> 
> 
> > Pricey - but well worth it!
> ...


 Hopefully he will make it back. :wink:

Renato, you likely need that recovery partition for warranty. I know Intel won't honour the warranty on Compute Sticks unless the partition is there if you sre having OS issues.

Later,
William


----------



## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> I guess this was a bit too late.
> 
> If you get into the Windows 10 recovery mode, either F8 or with a recovery boot disk, you have the option to recover saving everything (reset), reinstall saving personal files or reformat and clean install. *DO NOT *do a format and fresh install! It will need a product key and your key *WILL NOT* work! Use the option that saves personal files and removes installed programmes. The Windows 10 key is part of your personal files.
> 
> ...


 What?? Great... Well, I went through recovery from within windows 10 settings -> Reset this PC -> Remove Everything -> Just remove my files. I've been checking, different forums say it's fine, have't come across anybody saying they lost their licence... that's all I needed now... :wacko:



KrispyDK said:


> Pricey - but well worth it!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 ...and I don't get that choice at all!! It's not cute and cuddly and it's terribly expensive!! I bough a bread maker, remember? What would I do with that thing? I want something like this, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ONMDYE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005ONMDYE&linkCode=as2&tag=digitren08-20

^^Although that's not a Portuguese keyboard, so I can't/shouldn't buy it. No ç and á or à or â or ã the easy way.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Ok, ordered this one:



Like it @KrispyDK?


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Ok, ordered this one:
> 
> 
> 
> Like it @KrispyDK?


 You realise that Hello Kitty is actually a little girl, don't you? :laugh:

I've heard there have been some issues with UEFI imbedded 8.1 product keys and Windows 10 product keys derived from them. Providing 10 activated properly and the license lodged into your Microsoft account it should be ok, but a plan B is always a nice option.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, I think I bricked the thing... it's now on a restart loop just barely showing a 64% instalation complete, restart, same thing. Microsoft says to get a bootable USB... dowloading the damn thing... think I'm going to have to return to the store on Monday :taz:

What happened to the days you had a f***ing CD and just rammed your way into things??


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Kutusov said:


> Well, I think I bricked the thing... it's now on a restart loop just barely showing a 64% instalation complete, restart, same thing. Microsoft says to get a bootable USB... dowloading the damn thing... think I'm going to have to return to the store on Monday :taz:
> 
> What happened to the days you had a f***ing CD and just rammed your way into things??


 Try F8 at boot up and see if you can recover to 8.1.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> Try F8 at boot up and see if you can recover to 8.1.
> 
> Later,
> William


 It's "Esc" in this one... doing that, seems like it has recovered but I don't know to what yet.


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Back to 8.1... sigh... well, at least I know it's pretty hard to brick this thing, with a recovery from Bios there. Love you HP. :alcoholic:


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Do a search for Windows media creation tool from Microsoft. Download it and use it to create a bootable USB flash drive that will initiate the upgrade and cut down on update time. The instructions are on the page where you download it from MS.

Later,
William


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> Ok, ordered this one:
> 
> 
> 
> Like it @KrispyDK?


 It's gotten to the point where I don't think you're joking!

How's the bread maker today?


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

William_Wilson said:


> Do a search for Windows media creation tool from Microsoft. Download it and use it to create a bootable USB flash drive that will initiate the upgrade and cut down on update time. The instructions are on the page where you download it from MS.
> 
> Later,
> William


 Yes, I had that one ready in case recovery failed at some point... or something. It's now upgrading again from there but honestly, after 2 or 3 days of sleeping 5 hours a day, I really don't know what sort of upgrade it is. I think it will keep the HP stuff but I'll go with KrispyDK's method for now. I've wasted waaaaaay too much time on this already.

Need to get it ready so it can take the files from this old machine and then I'll regret not living in the US or Canada. I would love to shoot it to bits.



KrispyDK said:


> It's gotten to the point where I don't think you're joking!
> 
> How's the bread maker today?


 I was joking... I haven't order it. I'm trying to find a cuter one with fury ears.

Bread maker is back! A bad thing about a good thing in it is that there's no HD drive lights blinking or any HD sound at all. It's virtually silent and it's hard to tell during a big update that stays at a certain % if it's doing anything or just stopped there.

Speaking of which... a bluetooth keyboard and mouse can be bought and run separately right? I mean, no need to pair them up like with regular wireless that have a specific receiver dongle.


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## Krispy (Nov 7, 2010)

Kutusov said:


> Speaking of which... a bluetooth keyboard and mouse can be bought and run separately right? I mean, no need to pair them up like with regular wireless that have a specific receiver dongle.


 I guess...it will just mean you'll need a dongle per device?


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

Wireless Logitech keyboards and mice can be setup to use a single USB dongle. There may be a problem with Bluetooth letting you into the BIOS screen at boot-up. This is a problem for some machines, though I don't know specifically about this one.

Later,
William


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

KrispyDK said:


> I guess...it will just mean you'll need a dongle per device?


 No, no dongle at all for bluetooth devices... Probably wont matter, theres 4 usb ports in this but two are on the front. The whole idea with a mini PC was going as little messy as possible with cables and stuff but I might have to get a hub.

But hey, Im typing on from the bread machine, all shelves assembled... yey!!



William_Wilson said:


> Wireless Logitech keyboards and mice can be setup to use a single USB dongle. There may be a problem with Bluetooth letting you into the BIOS screen at boot-up. This is a problem for some machines, though I don't know specifically about this one.
> 
> Later,
> William


 Yes, good point... I think this would be one of those machines, I don-t (damn it, need to change the keyboard layout) think you get wireless at that point...

The problem with current Logitech keyboad/mice is that they are all ugly! Last one I got was a Microsoft because Logitech was making everything SS/white like Apple. Now that I wanted something like that, they make them all black plastic...


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