1990 UM fan
09-18-2020, 06:07 AM
I hope this is okay to post in this forum, but this month has been hell for my electronics, new and old, and need advice from those who are more knowledgeable on tech matters.
1. My laptop. My Acer laptop of 11 years gave out at the beginning of the month. For years, it had been giving me issues with file transfers and a fan blade grinding that was never fixed due to not being able to remove the bottom to inspect it. The real issue came this month when my laptop would open tabs on its own and lag really bad. I was getting error messages on sites that I log into, so I figured that malware or some bug had hit it after not having a working security system for years. I had to move stuff off of my laptop, remove junk, change settings and install a new security system. Even after this, it would lag or simply not load any tabs I clicked on, and one Monday, the screen died and nothing would load past that point. I figure that age and constant use took its toll, and I cannot do my usual online work long-hand now that it's dead. I am wondering if repairing it would be worthwhile, as laptops are super expensive this school year. Should I get someone to repair the screen and hard drive or should I try to put my pennies together to buy a new laptop? Who do I send it to so it can be potentially repaired? What laptop should I get that allows me to do my projects as I am used to doing?
2. My CD player. My dad bought me a GPX brand CD player in 2016. I have used it a handful of times since then but not constantly. The last Sunday of August was the last time it functioned properly. Two days later, I go to push the button to open the tray and it would not open and was making a grinding sound. I had to manually glide the tray door upward and it still made the same sound, but stopped when I slid it down gently. I am afraid to put a CD in it with it acting up like this. I had my brother look at the CD player and he thinks the belt that controls the tray door is broken, and/or the treads that it glides on are clogged. The tray itself looks a bit warped, but it has not been hit, dropped, had liquid or solids spilled on it, nor been near extreme heat or cold. What could be wrong with it? How can it be fixed so I can play CDs again? I'd hate to toss it since it's fairly new and the speakers still work too.
3. My Nintendo 64. A few days ago, I put a Goldeneye 007 game cartridge in it and the main menu screen "shakes", but the rest of the gameplay is fine (minus a momentary green blip on the screen). It had not done this before. The Nintendo 64 is hooked to a new Vizio smart TV and I wondered if the two systems are suddenly becoming incompatible, or if the console and/or cartridge are wearing down. I tried using an air can to blow out dust and even gently wiped the cartridge with Windex (it had helped in the past), but the main menu screen still shakes on the Goldeneye 007 game cartridge. I haven't checked to see if my other game cartridges do this, but I'm hesitant to. What could be the issue? How can it be fixed? Is my game console or cartridge dying or is this a temporary sputter that can be resolved?
One other issue is that I've had four power outages/surges from thunderstorms the past month and am wondering if that somehow affected any of these appliances. Two of my outlets in my home were fried because of the storms, so my brother and I discussed the possibility of the surges zapping and damaging the appliances. What do you think? Any help on any or all of these matters is appreciated. I'm at a loss and quite stressed over the loss this month alone.
1. My laptop. My Acer laptop of 11 years gave out at the beginning of the month. For years, it had been giving me issues with file transfers and a fan blade grinding that was never fixed due to not being able to remove the bottom to inspect it. The real issue came this month when my laptop would open tabs on its own and lag really bad. I was getting error messages on sites that I log into, so I figured that malware or some bug had hit it after not having a working security system for years. I had to move stuff off of my laptop, remove junk, change settings and install a new security system. Even after this, it would lag or simply not load any tabs I clicked on, and one Monday, the screen died and nothing would load past that point. I figure that age and constant use took its toll, and I cannot do my usual online work long-hand now that it's dead. I am wondering if repairing it would be worthwhile, as laptops are super expensive this school year. Should I get someone to repair the screen and hard drive or should I try to put my pennies together to buy a new laptop? Who do I send it to so it can be potentially repaired? What laptop should I get that allows me to do my projects as I am used to doing?
2. My CD player. My dad bought me a GPX brand CD player in 2016. I have used it a handful of times since then but not constantly. The last Sunday of August was the last time it functioned properly. Two days later, I go to push the button to open the tray and it would not open and was making a grinding sound. I had to manually glide the tray door upward and it still made the same sound, but stopped when I slid it down gently. I am afraid to put a CD in it with it acting up like this. I had my brother look at the CD player and he thinks the belt that controls the tray door is broken, and/or the treads that it glides on are clogged. The tray itself looks a bit warped, but it has not been hit, dropped, had liquid or solids spilled on it, nor been near extreme heat or cold. What could be wrong with it? How can it be fixed so I can play CDs again? I'd hate to toss it since it's fairly new and the speakers still work too.
3. My Nintendo 64. A few days ago, I put a Goldeneye 007 game cartridge in it and the main menu screen "shakes", but the rest of the gameplay is fine (minus a momentary green blip on the screen). It had not done this before. The Nintendo 64 is hooked to a new Vizio smart TV and I wondered if the two systems are suddenly becoming incompatible, or if the console and/or cartridge are wearing down. I tried using an air can to blow out dust and even gently wiped the cartridge with Windex (it had helped in the past), but the main menu screen still shakes on the Goldeneye 007 game cartridge. I haven't checked to see if my other game cartridges do this, but I'm hesitant to. What could be the issue? How can it be fixed? Is my game console or cartridge dying or is this a temporary sputter that can be resolved?
One other issue is that I've had four power outages/surges from thunderstorms the past month and am wondering if that somehow affected any of these appliances. Two of my outlets in my home were fried because of the storms, so my brother and I discussed the possibility of the surges zapping and damaging the appliances. What do you think? Any help on any or all of these matters is appreciated. I'm at a loss and quite stressed over the loss this month alone.