for the computer experts (Page 2): You allowed your, I presume very young, grandson to knock your computer off a table more than once? I wouldn't bother doing anything until you figure...

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

bkyser wrote:

Remember this is coming from the guy who is always... (show quote)

You allowed your, I presume very young, grandson to knock your computer off a table more than once? I wouldn't bother doing anything until you figure out how to take better care of your equipment and not leave it around for a young or careless child to get anywhere near it. Until you figure that out any other suggestions would just be a waste of your time and money.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

bkyser wrote:

Wow, thanks to all. Great info. Few years old makes it sound older than it is. Maybe 2 years old? It is a I-7 (or whatever it is called) processor, 64 bit, with 16 gb of ram. Newer may be faster, but doubting it is cheap.

I do like the idea of the off lease at tigerdirect with a warranty. (Thanks SB for the suggestion) also maybe the Toshiba on Ebay (Thanks Apaflo)

If it is that recent, you aren't going to gain much if anything with a replacement. If you do go that way though, refurbs probably are the best deal around.

But given the circumstances you might well consider just using a hub. That is, if that one remaining port is a USB 3.0 port. Multiple slow devices won't slow things down, but in certain circumstances two fast devices might be slower. An example would be two fast disk drives... which can each be used at full speed until you try copying files from on to the other. The port can't go both ways at the same time at maximum speed, and it will be a lot slower than copying to the onboard disk drive. But, how often do you do that while working in the field? Maybe never...

The issue of a powered hub just doesn't make any difference. It would if you had a little tablet with a very small battery and wanted to use an external hard disk. The hub can power the disk, but the small battery will not. Otherwise it only makes difference if you have a long cable to a device that gets power from the port. The cable lengths specified for USB are not limited by how far data can go, but by how far maxium power drain can be extended. If you are connected to a device that is 30 feet away, use a powered hub if the device takes power from the port. If not, just use extension cords.

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

For the usage you describe, you can buy a fine, new laptop for $200-500.

OlinBost Loc: Marietta, Ga.

If the laptop is a newer model the mother boards are in the $125 (plus or minus) range. Chances are that the usb connector has been broken from the board.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

bkyser wrote:

Wow, thanks to all. Great info. Few years old makes it sound older than it is. Maybe 2 years old? It is a I-7 (or whatever it is called) processor, 64 bit, with 16 gb of ram. Newer may be faster, but doubting it is cheap.

It sounds like it is definitely worthy of repair! See if you have a local independent computer repair shop (if not, you might try the Geek Squad at Best Buy as a last resort) and see what they can do for you. If you have a Windows 7 64 OS, an Intel i7 processor, and 16GB RAM, you are all set!

And it is easy these days to have as much money invested in the software on a computer as in the computer itself, so a rather simple hardware repair is WAY worth it!

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

bkyser wrote:

Remember this is coming from the guy who is always... (show quote)

#3 This to my mind is probably the best answer in this case. You can buy a "powered" USB Hub with five to seven ports at Staples or any local place that sells small electronic parts for very little money --- $18 - $35.

You can also Google "Powered USB Hubs" and find a supplier on line.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Also - if your rambunctious grandson sometimes knocks your laptop around, make sure you have everything backed up often - including a full system backup - the hard drive can be pretty sensitive to falls and you could lose everything. Having a full system backup allows you to install a new hard drive and restore it to the same as the old one (operating system, programs, etc.)

Another thought - while you are having the repair folks install one or more new USB ports, ask about swapping your hard drive for a SSD - a solid state drive. They are very inexpensive now. Swapping out involves cloning your current drive so you still have all your software, data, and operating system. An SSD is lightning fast, and might be less sensitive to falls.

stbg1951 Loc: Lewes, DE

Another possibility is a PCMCIA USB Adapter card if you have the slot for it. Under $30..

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

stbg1951 wrote:

Another possibility is a PCMCIA USB Adapter card if you have the slot for it. Under $30..

Yeah, the one thing it didn't have. I did think that was an option, but no such luck.

Thanks
bk

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

sb wrote:

Also - if your rambunctious grandson sometimes kno... (show quote)

Thankfully, my OCD with backups has me fairly well protected.

I think I might start with the powered hub if it is that much faster than the "dummy hub" Then, I'll probably want for the last USB to go.

I do like the idea of the SSD drive. I'm considering going to a local supplier who custom builds computers and having them put together something, especially if they can give me a modular system that is easier to upgrade and keep a while.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

OlinBost wrote:

If the laptop is a newer model the mother boards are in the $125 (plus or minus) range. Chances are that the usb connector has been broken from the board.

I would happily pay that if I knew that swapping out mother boards was fairly straightforward. Do you have experience? I've messed around a lot with desktops, but haven't really cracked open a laptop, other than to add RAM.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

mwsilvers wrote:

You allowed your, I presume very young, grandson to knock your computer off a table more than once? I wouldn't bother doing anything until you figure out how to take better care of your equipment and not leave it around for a young or careless child to get anywhere near it. Until you figure that out any other suggestions would just be a waste of your time and money.

I mentioned this in another post on this topic. My grandson is the joy of my life, but he's SEVERLY autistic. If you've never dealt with the challenges that go along with that, then you don't understand that there is no place safe. I don't need someone preaching that I need to do this or that to avoid the problem. I'm not sending my grandson away. I just wanted help dealing with the issue that I have with the computer. Your post was not helpful at all. Most on here are trying to help resolve my issue, not tell me that I'm doing something wrong.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

bkyser wrote:

I mentioned this in another post on this topic. M... (show quote)

I'm sorry for your troubles, but you misconstrued my post. My point was simply that putting time and money into fixing this computer up is not going to help you sny if it's going to get knocked on the floor again. Unless you do something different, this problem which has happened at least twice, will likely happen again. No insult to you was meant or implied.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

bkyser wrote:

I think I might start with the powered hub if it is that much faster than the "dummy hub" Then, I'll probably want for the last USB to go.

A powered hub is not any faster than a non-powered hub. It's only a matter of how much power can be supplied to devices. A non-powered hub has only the maximum specified for one port, spread between all of the hub ports. A powered hub can supply maximum power to each hub port, and doesn't draw any power from the computer's port.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Apaflo wrote:

A powered hub is not any faster than a non-powered hub. It's only a matter of how much power can be supplied to devices. A non-powered hub has only the maximum specified for one port, spread between all of the hub ports. A powered hub can supply maximum power to each hub port, and doesn't draw any power from the computer's port.

Thanks for the info.

By the way, after watching Youtube......the whole doing it myself option is OUT! :-( Not that I couldn't have done it when younger, but waaaay too many small parts for these fat old fingers. I think I'm going to go with the hub option, probably powered, just in case something "needs" more power. I wish I knew if the last working USB was USB 2 or 3. Not sure how to tell.

Here's the plan, and thanks to the members here that actually stayed on task, and have led me to the final decision.

I will use a hub with the current program. I have a back up laptop that I use primarily for the business side of things (books, taxes, writing checks, etc.)_ I will set it up to work in an emergency as the back up computer. Only 8gb of RAM, and will probably just put elements on it instead of full blown PSCC (not used enough, and might not activate when I need it) I will probably take what I have to the local place that builds laptops, and see if they can build me one that uses the "good stuff" from my current laptop, when we have a lull in business.

Does that sound like a good plan? Hope so.