Risks of buying a used laptop

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 09/02/2019 at 19:10 • Filed to: computerlopnik

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Batteries are completely shot. The two of them together have a lower full charge capacity than either of them did when new. Gives me just an hour and a half of juice running on a full performance power profile. I can watch the battery percentage drop in real time.

Oh well. A replacement for B attery 2 is $40 online so even after that this was still a great price for the machine.

Honeybunchesofgoats > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 19:23

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T-Series Thinkpad?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Honeybunchesofgoats 09/02/2019 at 19:24

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You ask that like there’s other laptops out there .

facw > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 19:28

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Sounds about right. Batteries are definitely than they used to be, but I’d still take reduced capacity to be a very real risk on a laptop more than couple year years old.

What software are you using to get the battery info?  

OPPOsaurus WRX > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 19:30

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I have a Sony VAIO that has been killing it since 2010.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > facw 09/02/2019 at 19:32

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Windows powershell has a command that generates an HTML report, and Lenovo has their own system diagnostic software (Vantage) that tells me the same thing.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 19:34

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Yup, batteries I don’t worry about when buying used laptops as they are pretty cheap online.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/02/2019 at 19:36

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HP Pavilion Touchsmart 15 here....not an amazing machine, but for daily stuff it’s perfectly fine. I run Linux Mint 19.2 MATE on it. I have the touchscreen disabled because I’ve literally never used it EVER.

If I need anything more powerful, I have my Core i7 Win10 desktop for that!

404 - User No Longer Available > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 19:39

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Well there are X-Series ThinkPads, so there’s that.

Honeybunchesofgoats > 404 - User No Longer Available 09/02/2019 at 19:44

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The X61t was the best laptop I’ve ever owned, and I switched completely to Macs when it was crippled by Windows 8

Honeybunchesofgoats > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 19:45

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That battery condition seems pretty good for being six years old. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > 404 - User No Longer Available 09/02/2019 at 19:50

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It’s a T440S, which is practically  an X it’s so slim

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Honeybunchesofgoats 09/02/2019 at 20:00

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It's a far cry from the 7+ hours this thing is supposed to be capable of.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 20:09

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I have a 15” Surface Book 2... It’s remarkably sturdy in spite of being ridiculously stupid in some glaring ways.

404 - User No Longer Available > Honeybunchesofgoats 09/02/2019 at 20:26

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I find Windows 10 actually fixes a lot of things, and the Creator’s Update added a lot of pen features. I use that on my Yoga 260 (basically an  X Yoga)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/02/2019 at 20:26

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I always just assume that any used battery powered device I may be buying is going to require a battery replacement.

SiennaMan > Honeybunchesofgoats 09/02/2019 at 20:37

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 Yeah, when I buy a used laptop I always assume the batteries are shot.  By my standards for a used, 90 minutes of capacity is pretty good..

OPPOsaurus WRX > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 09/02/2019 at 21:15

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yea... i’m going to need a new machine with the end of windows 8 support. i want to get a desktop but i don’ t have anywhere to put it where the kids can’ t get to it. we may be doing an addition in the spring where I would get my son’s room as an office but i wouldn’ t want to run windows 8 until then. (my son  would get the girls’ room and the girls get my room. MY wife and I would move to the new bedroom.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/02/2019 at 21:30

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You know you can upgrade Win8 to Win10 for free, right? (Legally!)

phenotyp > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 09/02/2019 at 23:10

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Me, too. Bought it a year and a half ago. Your summary is extremely correct.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > phenotyp 09/02/2019 at 23:53

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All-in-all, it’s a great laptop/tablet . In spite of the flaws, I’d still take it over the majority of stuff in the same market segment...

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/03/2019 at 02:36

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I picked up a 17" HP i5 last year for $50 and it had absolutely zero life left in the battery  as well as a failing keyboard . I’ve fixed the keyboard b ut finding a replacement battery is proving to be quite a challenge. Lots are available online, but they don’t mention my model specifically. Apparently there are several 15" models in the same series, and their batteries are smaller. It hasn’t bothered me enough to try again, and I just use it on AC only for now.

OPPOsaurus WRX > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 09/03/2019 at 08:05

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do you have to reinstall all your programs when you go from 8 to 10 ? That is going to be one of the biggest issues is that I have programs that i no longer have setup files for. Over the course of like 4 apartments ans 2 houses, things from 10 years ago have disappeared. either way its probably about time it gets replaced. I really cant believe the abuse its taken and still runs.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/03/2019 at 08:14

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Nope - go here and download the Media Creation / Upgrade Tool:

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10

...run it and select the ‘Upgrade’ option...I’ve used it several times now on Win7 for clients to upgrade them to Win10. Should work on Win8 as well as far as I know! It will use your existing Win8 license key and should just activate that automatically as a Win10 key once the upgrade is complete. It will take awhile though, be warned, and it may change some of your default programs to the Win10 Microsoft defaults (i.e. the programs you had set to open picture, video files, etc by default)...but otherwise, all your programs and files remain intact exactly where they’d been. Also FYI, if you have an older printer, keep in mine it may not work once the Win10 upgrade finishes as there may be no Win10 drivers for it.

i86hotdogs > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/03/2019 at 15:38

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So....should I be worried about the laptop you’re sending my way?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > i86hotdogs 09/03/2019 at 15:43

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Nah, she's good. Gets 3+ hours out of a charge.

i86hotdogs > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/03/2019 at 16:20

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I wasn’t worried. Just giving ya a hard time.