Solved Finding the right laptop

Hazel123 said:

In between dealing with all this, my Father died. Which has been tough. At least sorting this issue distracted me.

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So sorry to hear about this.

Hazel123 said:

In between dealing with all this, my Father died. Which has been tough. At least sorting this issue distracted me.

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My condolences to you and yours. Wishing you strength for the days ahead.

Thank you. It’s been expected for some time but still gut wrenching. It’s two weeks now so not quite so headless chicken. You just find moments out of life each day.

Back to laptops. I did a system image of set up and it says my c drive is encrypted- but the backup won’t be encrypted. Do surface laptops all have encrypt c drives? And how are they encrypted?

Hazel123 said:

Do surface laptops all have encrypt c drives?

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Yes, as by default do all W10 and W11 devices that support Modern Standby.

Modern Windows devices are increasingly protected with BitLocker Device Encryption out of the box and support SSO to seamlessly protect the BitLocker encryption keys from cold boot attacks.

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You can turn it off iif you like, as I did. My most recent purchase was a Dell 5410 with the OEM installed Dell W10 bitlocker encrypted. So was the clean install of W11 I gave it.

Bree said:

I have just clean installed W11 Pro using a USB made by the MCT on a laptop with Modern Standby. That too had bitlocker encrypted drives by default.

Oddly, at no time was I asked to save any key, nor did Control Panel say that bitlocker was turned on. The properties for C: however showed it was encrypted, and the command Manage-bde –off had Control Panel showing 'Decrypting...' for quite some time until it was done.

Actually, this PC had an OEM W10 Pro on it when I bought it, and that too was in the same state - bitlocker encrypted drives, but Control Panel still saying 'Turn on Bitlocker'.

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Windows 11 encrypted my drive automatically - post #69

Bree said:

Yes, as by default do all W10 and W11 devices that support Modern Standby.

BitLocker overview

Learn about BitLocker practical applications and requirements.

docs.microsoft.com

You can turn it off iif you like, as I did. My most recent purchase was a Dell 5410 with the OEM installed Dell W10 bitlocker encrypted. So was the clean install of W11 I gave it.

Windows 11 encrypted my drive automatically - post #69

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Quite curious. So presumably if I restored that unencrypted image, it would encrypt it again magically without me doing anything?

barman58 said:

Non ebay options ...

To fit into regular household Doubles as a lap tray for food

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VPGFM8Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For extra cooling and flexibility

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007CYBRSQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have and use both

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Thanks. I was thinking something like this maybe - so I can continue to slouch :)


https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074473...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

But then I thought - it's so basic I might as well just use a large book!

I use nothing, I lie down on the sofa and enjoy the warmth of the laptop on my chest

Hazel123 said:

In between dealing with all this, my Father died. Which has been tough. At least sorting this issue distracted me.

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So sorry to hear about the loss of your father.

IMHO, whoever decided on the name laptop was an idiot. They should have been called portable or even table top. Yes, one can use them on their lap but it's not the ideal place. I have used laptops on my lap and even though they were only warm after a while I felt like my legs were starting to cook. Plus, one has to make sure that the air flow doesn't get blocked. You mentioned that the seller stated that the laptop was a replacement for a laptop that was sent back under warranty. If it was, the replacement was a refurbished laptop and not a new laptop. That would explain the small dent in the case. I also think that the seller probably bought a new laptop before they received the replacement so they never had to use it. I wonder if the update that solved your heat problem fixed a software problem with the fan? My guess is that before you did the update the fan was either running to slow or not at all. The good part is that your problem is now fixed and you can enjoy your new to you laptop.

Winuser said:

IMHO, whoever decided on the name laptop was an idiot. They should have been called portable or even table top. Yes, one can use them on their lap but it's not the ideal place. I have used laptops on my lap and even though they were only warm after a while I felt like my legs were starting to cook. Plus, one has to make sure that the air flow doesn't get blocked. You mentioned that the seller stated that the laptop was a replacement for a laptop that was sent back under warranty. If it was, the replacement was a refurbished laptop and not a new laptop. That would explain the small dent in the case. I also think that the seller probably bought a new laptop before they received the replacement so they never had to use it. I wonder if the update that solved your heat problem fixed a software problem with the fan? My guess is that before you did the update the fan was either running to slow or not at all. The good part is that your problem is now fixed and you can enjoy your new to you laptop.

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Thanks. Well it's a very nice laptop and I'm mostly enjoying it. Not sure about the different screen format (taller). Maybe just adjustment. Prefer using it on battery to plugged in. When charging it kind of slightly has a static type minor vibration (which apparently is normal with these laptops).

Funeral things going on right now but it's helped me keep organised.

Right. So back to the drawing board. I'm selling on the Surface Laptop 3. Because I'm awkward. Had RSI in the past and after two nights of using this, it has been triggered. Simply to do with all the touch being too light (mousepad, keyboard etc). So thin laptops definitely not for me. I need something like my old one that takes some welly and bashing the keys hard.

Interesting though. It was an Apple keyboard that gave me RSI in the first place many years ago.

For future reference. Resetting the Surface Laptop 3 restores everything as before. Keeps preinstalled programs and all drivers. It's basically a restore to factory settings and starts again with an out of box experience.

As it seemed impossible to create the recovery image, I have had to work out how to restore ready to sell. So wiped the drive with the microsoft surface erase tool. Then reinstalled my system image from initial set up (meaning my email address and microsoft password would be back on the drive). Then did a reset to restore to factory settings with a full clean. I'll change my microsoft password just to be on the safe side.

Just for reference Itzoo site is a Microsoft authorised reseller company that offers refurbished laptops. At the moment, selecting 8th gen CPU's, gives Dell mostly as a choice. I've not used them myself but heard they are good to deal with. Worth a bookmark.

Thanks. It’s about keyboards for me. Having had RSI badly in the past it has reminded me that shallow keyboards that are easy to type fast on, aren’t for me. I wasn’t able to type at all for 10 years after having it. But relearned to type in a different way that didn’t trigger it - which was two finger typing and bashing the keys hard. I was already a touch typist so knew where all the keys were instinctively and could still type fast with two fingers.

So I definitely need something chunkier so I can bash the keys hard.

It’s true the surface laptop has a nice keyboard- but still not enough travel or cushioning for me.

And I think it is definitely a “device” rather than a laptop. A tablet with a thin keyboard attached and better used as a desktop.

Ironically a laptop is better than a desktop for preventing the static posture issues that go with RSI. If working at home.

For now I have ordered another used HP Pavilion DM4 for £100. I have plenty of spare parts from my old one. If it’s no good I can just swap the hinges or screen over to my old one - which runs well.

Obviously others will have no issues with thin laptops!

But if you’re prone to recurring RSI then key travel and sturdiness is important. And shape of keyboard.

You can type and click with no effort and very light touch on the surface laptop - too easy to go too fast. And the small light movements are the issue with RSI.

I need something I can lug onto my lap and bash hard! Although I have no issues with netbooks. Smaller keyboard maybe and they weren’t that thin (and had bouncy keyboards).

Thin = flat.

Sorry for the long diatribe! Computers can be a love/hate thing!

RSI is painful. But my symptoms will wear off in a couple of days if I stop keyboard typing for a couple of days.

Difficult for a typoholic who writes but I can still use my phone meanwhile.

I’m also sticking with Windows 10 on the HP - but have Windows 11 on the netbook - to see how it goes.

With Windows 11, I'm finding that dictation is so good that it's replacing my keyboard typing much of the time. That's what I'm doing right now! Every word here is being dictated! All I did was press the windows key and the letter H and start talking. It's interesting that dictation now knows to put in proper punctuation most of the time.

Windows Key + H and you're dictating anywhere you would previously have been typing. Would that help your RSI, Hazel?

Thanks! That is really useful to know - I'll try it out. I kind of just love typing and writing and can't stop. Lol. With the right set up it's easy. I'm already feeling quite positive about having two old HP Pavilion DM4's :). I remember when getting that I thought it was "thin"! Compared to other computers at the time. Maybe it'll be like phones. Laptops will get smaller and smaller and then get bigger and bigger again.

Maybe it'll be like phones. Laptops will get smaller and smaller and then get bigger and bigger again.

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Many a true word......

Well I'm kind of getting used to using the family HP Spectre X360. Kind of adapted how I use the laptop so the edges don't cut into your arms too much - the keyboard is very good to use. It's still too "flat" somehow. These solid metal ones need a bit of a front curve to them really. Anyway. My £100 Hp Pavilion DM4 has arrived - not had time to set that up yet. So that'll keep me going for a while. I'm in a muddle now as all my files are on the old one with no screen - so have to keep using the back up drive to find things. Plus a whole load of new stuff I've done since the old one broke - spread about between the Spectre and the netbook. So when I do finally get a full time laptop again there'll be a lot of tidying and backing up to do.

Hazel123 said:

I'm in a muddle now as all my files are on the old one with no screen - so have to keep using the back up drive to find things.

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When I replaced my main laptop with my System One below I took the most recent system image of my old laptop and restored it to my replacement one. Both machines had a digital licence for Home in their own right, so Windows activation wasn't an issue. The end result was I had all my user files and installed software exactly as I had before, effectively it was the same machine - just with all its hardware replaced.

This wasn't just so that I would have a Windows 11 capable machine. The old laptop was well past its use-by date being a 2011 model, my System One over on Ten Forums.

@Hazel123, can you connect your old laptop to your TV with a HDMI cable, select the proper input on the TV, then boot the laptop. Press the Windows key and P until you get the screen on the TV.
I don't know if this will work from the lock screen though.