Today my laptop's backlight stopped working. The screen is visible, but very dim. I can't repair it immediately (if it's even worth it). Does anyone have any tips for lighting the screen to make it more visible? Shining a penlight didn't seem to help much, because the screen is so reflective. [more inside]
posted by Charmian on Jul 5, 2009 - 8 answers

New laptop choices - Fujitsu? Sony? Dell? HP? I know what I want in a notebook, but trying to figure out which maker will best meet my needs. I'm an English and Theatre teacher soon to move to Norway and I don't think my old laptop will last much longer. Looking for a Core 2 Duo and up, a 4-500 gig hard drive, Nividia or ATI graphics, a decent amount of RAM about a 16" screen. [more inside]
posted by aimeel on Jul 4, 2009 - 27 answers

Laptop (running Vista) connects to home wireless network full strength but not to internet. The other laptop (OS X) connects to internet wirelessly no problem. The Vista laptop can connect the internet via ethernet cable. This seems to be a common problem but i cannot find an appropriate solution [more inside]
posted by criticalbill on Jul 4, 2009 - 8 answers

Where in Los Angeles can I get replacement parts for my Dell laptop? [more inside]
posted by dogwelder on Jun 29, 2009 - 0 answers

I've got $500.00 to spend for a new computer. I want to get the most bang for my buck. My needs are: - Play music - Edit and view photos - Edit and view videos - Create DVDs & Surf the Internet. My past history has been in PCs. I am open to building my own computer. So what should I get?
posted by jserdula on Jun 29, 2009 - 19 answers

Which MacBook should I get? [more inside]
posted by joshuaconner on Jun 29, 2009 - 24 answers

Calling all introverts: I need suggestions for places in or around Oak Park/Chicago where I can chill with a laptop or a book and not be bothered. [more inside]
posted by desjardins on Jun 29, 2009 - 10 answers

Help me replace my laptop (UK) [more inside]
posted by ninebelow on Jun 29, 2009 - 14 answers

How can I maximize my laptop's ability to pick up wireless signal? [more inside]
posted by btkuhn on Jun 28, 2009 - 6 answers

I'd like to purchase a cheap (~$400-$500) laptop with certain requirements. The more I look, the more confused I get. Please help me. [more inside]
posted by billysumday on Jun 25, 2009 - 27 answers

Need new laptop - professional / heavy duty. [more inside]
posted by charris5005 on Jun 23, 2009 - 16 answers

I own this exercise bike. I would like to set up some kind of laptop stand so that I can watch DVDs and surf the web while riding. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Jun 21, 2009 - 15 answers

When will Windows 7 be standard on new computers and how should this affect my intent to buy a new laptop? [more inside]
posted by jefficator on Jun 17, 2009 - 13 answers

Can anyone recommend a lightweight gaming laptop? Everything out there seems rather massive, I am looking for something with a 15-inch screen and a weight under 8 pounds with some actual battery life; I won't have to worry about price. [more inside]
posted by blahblahblah on Jun 17, 2009 - 16 answers

Please help me find the best laptops for our teens! Specifics inside. [more inside]
posted by misha on Jun 16, 2009 - 16 answers

Dell media Cente light illuminated all the time [more inside]
posted by maxmix on Jun 10, 2009 - 1 answer

Looking for a netbook to buy. [more inside]
posted by althanis on Jun 4, 2009 - 33 answers

Making a Hackintosh out of an EEE PC, but failing on the first step (booting from an external USB drive). What am I doing wrong? [more inside]
posted by dougunderscorenelso on Jun 3, 2009 - 8 answers

How can I get Geek Squad/Best Buy to replace my laptop? [more inside]
posted by emilyd22222 on Jun 2, 2009 - 18 answers

This public transit commuting young woman needs a bag that will fit her 15 inch Macbook Pro as well as gym clothes/sneakers. [more inside]
posted by metamush on Jun 1, 2009 - 21 answers

What European country will offer the lowest price for the same mini-laptop? (list of countries inside) [more inside]
posted by gttommy on May 30, 2009 - 9 answers

Dell E6400 or Lenovo T400? Or will a newer, better product be out in a month or two? [more inside]
posted by maelanchai on May 28, 2009 - 9 answers

My old laptop computer is acting funky; for extended periods of time it will act like the CTRL key is pressed down, which makes it really difficult to do anything that requires anything more than clicking (no typing can be done basically because the CTRL keys are shortcut commands). I can't figure out what's wrong or how to deactivate the laptop computer. Please help! [more inside]
posted by jkl345 on May 26, 2009 - 8 answers

How to fix laptop keyboard keys that fell off? [more inside]
posted by macsigler on May 20, 2009 - 7 answers

A friend of mine has a 1 Ghz Apple TiBook. He has to reselect his local wireless router in the wireless menu each time the laptop sleeps or is rebooted. What's the fix for this? [more inside]
posted by diode on May 16, 2009 - 7 answers

When I turn on my Asus A8Jm (NVIDIA go7600) laptop, I get a strangely beautiful cross-hatching of colored lines. This sounds like a fried video card, right? Luckily, the card is replaceable... how likely is that this is the only problem and replacing the card will fix things?
posted by geos on May 15, 2009 - 6 answers

Why is my laptop display tiled and how can I fix it? [more inside]
posted by tdismukes on May 15, 2009 - 11 answers

Best Checkpoint-Friendly Laptop Bag? [more inside]
posted by hokie409 on May 14, 2009 - 5 answers

I've noticed that mobile phones have a much easier time talking to each other than to most laptops/PCs. Is there any software out there that can make a PC behave like a mobile phone? For some reason I'm expecting mostly open-source, but anything is welcome.
posted by d7415 on May 14, 2009 - 12 answers

Outside of porn which I am not concerned about what does UK/US customs look for on laptop computers? Specifically, I have some movies that I have 'ripped' from dvd and I wanted to know if those are something they get finicky about.
posted by occidental on May 11, 2009 - 47 answers

I'm looking for a comparable replacement for a friend's Voodoo Envy laptop, and I desperately, desperately need help. [more inside]
posted by AgreeableAnne on May 10, 2009 - 5 answers

Can anyone suggest a remedy for a slowed up wireless connection? [more inside]
posted by tangyraspberry on May 8, 2009 - 8 answers

Tomorrow I'll list my ACER Aspire 3680 for sale on eBay. I want to be as sure as I can that there the lucky buyer has as little chance as possible of seeing passwords/pics/personal info. Normally, I would just format and do a clean install of XP. But I've moved house and my install disk is one of 19 packing cases stored 2500km away, so that option is out. I've listed what I've already done after the jump, but I'm hoping a more tech-savvy mefite might spot a hole in my erasure efforts. [more inside]
posted by t0astie on May 6, 2009 - 10 answers

I have a 3 1/2 year old Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop. It's a 1.86Mhz Pentium Centrino with a 17" screen and on-board video. I'm still pretty happy with it overall. However, I was wondering if it is possible to add a discrete video card to it? [more inside]
posted by atm on May 1, 2009 - 5 answers

I have a Toshiba laptop running Vista (alas) and a recent spate of problems (extremely slow operations, mostly) seemed to have possibly been caused by fragmentation. I tried defragging, with mixed success. [more inside]
posted by ricochet biscuit on Apr 30, 2009 - 9 answers

Can anybody recommend a laptop bag that will hold two laptops? [more inside]
posted by TurquoiseZebra on Apr 29, 2009 - 14 answers

Which laptops on the market currently have no fans whatsoever? [more inside]
posted by fantasticninety on Apr 25, 2009 - 20 answers

Laptop rain cover/bag... does such a thing exist? [more inside]
posted by asterisk on Apr 22, 2009 - 12 answers

I am trying to find my boss a work laptop in the $750 to $950 range. [more inside]
posted by jellywerker on Apr 22, 2009 - 8 answers

Which is better, one 4GB stick, or two 2GB sticks of DDR2 RAM in my Laptop? [more inside]
posted by brenton on Apr 20, 2009 - 8 answers

Help me take a forlorn old gateway laptop and transform it into a sleek new multimedia monster. Or something. [more inside]
posted by googly on Apr 20, 2009 - 8 answers

spilled wine on the corner of my laptop, everything works, but there's a small "permanent" stain just on the LCD display! [more inside]
posted by yonation on Apr 18, 2009 - 1 answer

Speeding up DVD Shrink ripping on my laptop? [more inside]
posted by wastelands on Apr 16, 2009 - 19 answers

I have a spare 17" widescreen laptop (single core, 3GHz) that's not too shabby, but I don't use it anymore. Help me do something neat with it! [more inside]
posted by phrakture on Apr 16, 2009 - 20 answers

Laptop filter: please help me find an awesome laptop for business and personal use for the next 3-4 years. (Feel free to recommend an ideal setup, rather than the hardware itself if you feel so inclined.) [more inside]
posted by gwpcasey on Apr 16, 2009 - 24 answers

My Dell Inspiron 1100 is limping along, and its time to start thinking of replacing it. Ideally, I’d like a laptop that I can get a docking station, external larger monitors, and a keyboard, etc for later. But for right now, just something about the same size as my current laptop would work. I work doing program management for a web design team – no real coding on my part, mostly lots of email and checking over sites. I’m not doing a ton of graphics, but I do occasionally like to play games or visit Second Life -though that’s not essential in the slightest. Webcam would be nice, but not essential. XP would be nice, but I understand that I may be stuck with Vista. [more inside]
posted by korej on Apr 15, 2009 - 7 answers

Just spilled coffee into a 13" macbook. Remediation tips? [more inside]
posted by Orb2069 on Apr 15, 2009 - 9 answers

Down (up) grading a new HP DV7T-2000 to XP. The video card is an ATI Mobility Radeon 4530. I have had no luck in finding an XP driver. Does anyone have any experience with this card and have any ideas about a possible driver or workaround?
posted by MattScully on Apr 14, 2009 - 6 answers

My partner always meets up with his family at the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, and next week I'm coming along. I may or may not have a ticket. What do I do while they're wandering around NAB? [more inside]
posted by goofyfoot on Apr 14, 2009 - 5 answers

How do I secure a FireWire ExpressCard/34 that jiggles around inside an ExpressCard 34/54 slot? [more inside]
posted by frenetic on Apr 12, 2009 - 3 answers