Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with upgrade

Are laptop screen parts autodetected by the system?

laconic skeuomorph — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:33:21 -0800

Can I simply physically replace the 1366*768 LCD in my HP EliteBook 8440p with the 1600*900 part and have the laptop autodetect the new screen and show the proper resolution? Or is there extra logic or connectors or dongles or whatever in the main body that must also be modified in order for the display to work, (or maybe it Just Won't Work)? Put simply, is HP 594090-001 plug-and-play? I am familiar with ribbon cables and ZIF sockets. I am confident in laptop repair and have done many, I've just never attempted a complete swap-out for a different screen part such as I would like to do here.

Where can I purchase a non-oem version of Windows 7 Upgrade Pro w/ SP1?

colecovizion — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:05:40 -0800

I'm looking to upgrade our XP PC's to Windows 7. I'm having a hard time finding a legitimate source for non-oem Windows 7 pro upgrade with SP1 already baked in. Thanks for any help!

Can I upgrade without activating on Verizon?

jozxyqk — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:32:03 -0800

I have not been able to find a definitive answer on this question. If I am eligible for an upgrade on my Verizon mobile phone, can I buy a new phone at upgrade price without activating it? If not, what is the minimum amount of time it needs to be activated? My wife and I share a mobile phone plan on Verizon.
Both of our upgrade dates are coming up within the next couple of months, but she is not interested in upgrading her phone (for reasons outside the scope of this question).

What I'm hoping to be able to do is use the "first" upgrade to get a phone at upgrade price, keep it in a sealed box, and sell it or give it as a gift.
Then use the "second" upgrade to get my actual new phone.
I could wait until both of the upgrades are available and do it all-at-once, or I could wait a few months between the steps.

My current phone is a Galaxy Nexus, so as far as I know, the "activate" step is just swapping the SIM card into the new phone (I could also be wrong about this).

So can I do it? Online and/or in the store?

If I can't, and I have to do a token activation of the new phone, what is the minimum amount of time that the phone has to be activated before I can swap my SIM back?

How to upgrade Mac iTunes library from v6 to v11?

raspberry jam and clothes iron — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:34:20 -0800

Computer #1 runs iTunes 6, and uses a library that's on a remote SAMBA share (NSLU2, if it matters). I want to move the library to a local drive on Computer #2, which came with iTunes 11. What do? Computer #1 runs OS X 10.6.8, computer #2 runs OS X 10.8.2.

For what it's worth, I can't just re-import all the tracks manually, because a large number are WAVs which don't have ID3 tags, and also MP3s and AACs that I've had to tag manually in iTunes over the course of several years.

The iTunes folder on the SMB share contains the following files:

iTunes Library
iTunes Music (folder)
iTunes Music Library.xml

I've tried simply copying this iTunes folder to a local drive on computer #2, and then in iTunes 11 going into preferences, and pointing it to that folder. But whether I point it to the root 'iTunes' folder or the 'iTunes Music' folder inside it, iTunes 11 won't see it.

I've even gone through and used Perl to change the path of each track in 'iTunes Music Library.xml' to point to the appropriate path after I copied this folder to computer #2's local drive, and then done 'Import Playlist', but in that case for some reason it only sees about 1/4 of the 50,000+ tracks.

I've tried following several online tutorials, but to no avail.
Ideas, hivemind?
Thanks!

Upgrade my expletives!

Archibald Edmund Binns — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:43:05 -0800

What do the classiest people you know say when they stub their toe, get cut off in traffic, or otherwise need a short noise more important for it's sound than it's meaning? I'm looking for a nice little kit of words to try to get in the habit of using.
Here's what I currently use:

Mild Frustration (it's very cold outside): 'Fuck', 'Christ', 'Balls'.
Intense frustration (minor car accident): 'Jesus Christ', 'Holy Fuck',
Pleasant affirmation (someone tells me they can come to the bar tonight): 'Cool Beans', 'Cool Cool', 'Magnificent', 'Golden'.

I'm not at all interested in long clever things. I really want phrases that roll off the tongue with all the satisfaction of an emphatic 'God Dammit' that are unusual enough to be interesting but not so unusual that they are distracting. I'd prefer non-religious and non-vulgar cusses that I can use in all sorts of company (from peers to grandparents to toddlers).

Speeding up Lightroom on Mac Pro

Admiral Haddock — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:39:47 -0800

I use a mid-2009 Mac Pro for photo editing / cataloging in Lightroom. Performance has been increasingly unsatisfactory. Looking for your advice re: upgrades to the Mac Pro, or perhaps getting a new Macbook Pro. Specs inside. The Mac Pro is a 2 x 2.26 quad core Xeon running 10.6.8 with 14 GB of physical RAM (I can't remember how the sticks are configured--but it's not perfectly matched (maybe 2 6s and a 2gb?)). Main hard drive (i.e., where applications reside) is a 640 GB 7200 RPM WD Caviar Blue. All my drive bays are filled (one with a Time Machine volume, and the other two with drives for the Lightroom catalog). I'm running LR 4.1 (build 829322).

I'm editing full-size RAW files output from a 5dMKIII. Maybe 25MB+ each. I increased the size of LR's cache, but I can't remember to what. I have LR set to render full size previews.

LR is really laggy, whether switching between images in the catalog, using the mask brush, the spot healing tool--really anything. It's getting really annoying.

Obviously, I haven't upgraded to the newest OS or the newest version of LR. I've been reluctant, given that each version of LR has gotten (IMO) progressively laggier.

What's the best way of getting some (go on, say it) snappiness back? More RAM? Increase the size of the LR cache? Upgrade to LR 4.3? SSD (and if a SSD is the way to go, do you have a particular model to recommend for a desktop)? Or is this just throwing good money after "bad," given that this is coming up on a four-year old machine, and should I just get a new retina Macbook Pro?

Thanks!

Pinning Excel docs to the taskbar doesn't work with Office upgrade

merocet — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:23:31 -0800

So I upgraded from Microsoft Office Starter 2010 to Microsoft Office 2010. I uninstalled the Office Starter program. Then things went wrong. Please help! This is Windows 7 Home on a PC.

If I double click an Excel file it opens dutifully in Office 2010.

If I drag the same icon to the taskbar so that it's available to open from there it shows "Pin To Office Starter 2010" and a shortcut to Excel Starter is added to the taskbar. If I right click on that link to get to the list of documents pinned to that taskbar icon it lists the program as Microsoft Excel Starter 2010 but if I choose my recently added document from that same list it opens in Excel 2010 (not Starter) This is good.

If I then click the Excel icon on the taskbar to open Excel, I get a message that says "Click-2-Run Configuration Failure" which suggests that the icon is looking for the starter version which is uninstalled. This is bad.

If I pin Excel 2010 to the taskbar and then try to drag the document onto that icon it shows "Pin To Microsoft Excel 2010" but then doesn't show up in the shortcut list when I right click the Excel icon. Right clicking on this icon however shows that it is the correct version of Excel (not Starter) and clicking on the Excel icon on the taskbar opens Excel normally.

Errr Help? How do I get a working Excel icon on my taskbar that'll both open my installed Excel program when clicked and show my shortcuts to individual documents when right clicked?

Can I take advantage of $40 Windows 8 if I don't have an older Windows?

grobstein — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 10:29:26 -0800

I currently don't have any version of Windows installed on my PC (it's a Mac). I would like to install Windows on a Bootcamp partition. I noticed that Microsoft has a special offer where they are selling a Windows 8 download for $40 through Jan. 31. That's a good price for me. The possible catch: Microsoft seems to be saying that I need to have an earlier version of Windows installed in order to use that download. I can't quite tell whether they are serious about this. Do I really need to have a preexisting Windows install to take advantage of the $40 Windows 8 offer? For clarity: this is a question about what Microsoft is selling in their $40 deal. Is the download they're selling good enough to allow me to install Win 8 on my Mac, even though I do not have a previous version of Windows installed? If it won't, what's a good alternative?

Beam Me Into 2013

Andrhia — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:59:02 -0800

What new tools, apps, or environmental changes have you started using in the last few years that have improved your life the most (or at least made it less worse)? Recently, I took to wondering if some new hotness has replaced Quicksilver, which has grown slow and very, very crashy. It turns out yes! And its name is Alfred. Apparently it's been the new hotness so long that it doesn't even qualify as the new hotness anymore! But since 43folders stopped being a blog about the shiny, my knowledge of what tools are the most awesomest has basically stopped dead.

This led me to wonder what else I've completely missed the boat on in the last few years, since I'm in a good quiet spell for upgrading and trying new things.

So please: Clue me in. What indispensable pieces of software or hardware have you purchased or downloaded lo these past five years? What's the best thing I should be using that I'm not because I just didn't know about it?

For compatibility purposes: I am a Mac Mountain Lion and iPhone 4S user with a Nexus 7 tablet. For functional purposes: I'm a freelancer and writer. I have kids. I'm a lousy housekeeper. I'm still using mostly the same old stuff since 2007: Google Reader, Adium, Scrivener. I use a mashup of Google Calendars and iCal for scheduling. I do task management on paper.

Thanks!

Choices, Choices, Choices!

Fuzzy Dog — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:53:07 -0800

[MAC FILTER - Follow Up] Upgrade the HDD and RAM? Buy a new-but-used MBP? By New MBP? What would you do? Intermittent Flurries Inside This is a follow-up to this question.

Having done a fair amount of research on the SSDs available for my mid-2009MBP 17, I find myself at the cross-roads-of-decision!

I use my MBP all day for work and in the evenings for entertainment. It's on ALL the time and gets 7-15 hours of use 5-6 days a week--editing video, photoshopping, coding, NetFlix marathons--you know the deal.

I love my 17 inch screen when it's not plugged into my even bigger 24-inch screen at work.

So I see three options:
1. Upgrade the existing MBP's RAM to 8Gb and HDD to SSD--Thinking the OWC Mercury Electra 3G because the according to the OWC rep the 6G drives get downclocked to 1.5 by my MBP5,2 (Mid-2009) SATA2 Connection!
Cost: ~$650

OR

2. Sell the Current MBP (for about $800-1000) and buy referb Late-2011 MBP17, max the RAM and swap the drive for a 6G HDD.
Total Cost: ~$1800

OR

3. Throw caution to the wind and buy a new MBP15--upgrade the RAM and HDD to SSD after the fact--and admit defeat and suffer the smaller screen while traveling--which I expect to do much more of in the coming year.
Total Cost: ~$2700 (Retina) Could be ~$1900 assuming I sell the 17MBP rather than give it to Mrs. FuzzyDog for her next laptop..assuming she wants it.

What I am after is the biggest bang for the buck. Thoughts?

HDD replacement macbook walk-thru

Brian Lux — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:39:36 -0800

SSD Filter: Macbook Pro running 10.5.8 WLTM Solid State Drive, NSA Apologies for a very similar thread to those posted before but I haven't been able to find an answer on askmefi or elsewhere.

I have a 2009 MBP (5.5) running OS 10.5.8 (Leopard?). I'm also semi-permanently plugged into an external 1TB disc where I keep my itunes library and Time Machine back up.

I have a Samsung 830 256 SSD and an 8gb RAM Upgrade sitting on my desk which I am about to install but I'm a bit nervous about what to do first. I want to do this properly, I don't mind doing it the long way if it means it will all happen without problems. I could do with a numbered step-by-step walk-through but only up to the physical replacement of the drive, which I'm fairly confident about.

my questions:
- Before I start cloning drives should I upgrade my OS? What is a "clean install"? I probably have the original DVD that came with my MBP - why would I want to reinstall that? Doesn't reinstalling the OS wipe all your docs and files?
- To clone the drive should I use the bundled Norton ghost or superduper, or carbon copy or just the apple OS native drive cloning utility? Why use one rather than the other?
- Are Samsung 830's safe to use with Macs now. Did they have some sort of firmware problem?

Best time to ask for a hotel upgrade-- prior to check-in or during check-in?

chloe.gelsomino — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:08:11 -0800

Best time to ask for a hotel upgrade-- prior to check-in or during check-in? I'll be staying at a fairly respectable hotel (around 4.5 star average) tomorrow and am curious whether I should be in contact with the hotel before checking in to see if I can arrange for an upgrade (from a basic room). I know the hotel is not fully booked. In addition, I booked my reservation through Expedia-- not sure if that would have any affect on an upgrade.

Best practices for upgrading MBP RAM and HDD?

Fuzzy Dog — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:01:34 -0800

[MACFILTER] Best way to upgrade my Mid-2009 MBP? I have a 17-Inch mid-2009 MacBook Pro that has been a true workhorse and champ over the past 3 years. I use it all day for work and in the evenings for entertainment. It's on ALL the time and gets 7-15 hours of use 5-6 days a week--editing video, photoshopping, coding, NetFlix marathons--you know the deal.

It's starting to get the random-spinning-beach ball a little to often and cleaning up the permissions is having less and less effect. The local Mac Guru say I should reinstall the OS on a clean slate and reload all the stuff I am using.

All the work of reinstalling and such on a clean install of the OS got me thinking, why not add an SSD and max out the RAM?

So my questions are:
Is this a good idea? Or a total pain in the ass?

Can I bring my apps and data back from my time machine backup? How?

Can you recommend online dealers and brands for SSD and RAM that you've had positive experiences with?

Can you point me to a complete walk through for swapping the drive and reinstalling 10.6.8?

If you're one of those master-tinker types, what suggestions and advice do you have for this endeavor?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Upgrading an old laptop.

graventy — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:35:29 -0800

I have an old laptop. Would it be worth my while to upgrade its RAM? Specifically, I have this laptop. It has 256MB of RAM, which is woefully inadequate for anything. If I spent ~40 bucks upgrading to 1 or 2GB of RAM, would I notice enough of an improvement to make this laptop useable? Using XP right now is an exercise in clicking and waiting.

Can you help me upgrade my MacBook Pro (late-2008) hard drive?

barnone — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:23:15 -0800

Need advice on how to update an older MacBook Pro with a new hard drive. I have a late-2008 MacBook Pro: 2.53 GHz, 320GB hard drive, 8GM RAM (4GB in two slots). My drive is getting full and I don't have the cash at the moment for a brand new laptop. Should I replace the optical drive with a SSD? Or just upgrade the regular hard drive with a new one with 750GB or 1TB? If I swap my optical drive for a SSD:
- Looking at a 120GB ($120) or 240GB ($225) replacement
- Do I move my applications onto that drive?
- Would my documents and files be kept on the new SSD drive or would they remain on the older one?
- Given the higher cost, what's the benefit to this solution?
- Anything else to consider with this scenario?

If my current SATA 320GB hard drive is swapped for one with a larger capacity:
- Looking at a 750GB option ($59) + DIY kit to use the old one as an external drive
- Will the weight be about the same?
- Should I make sure to get a 7200RPM rather than 5400, or does it matter much?

In terms of use:
- Rarely, if ever, use my optical drive
- I'm on my laptop about 12-14 hours a day, every day, and always have many windows and applications running, including Photoshop, Illustrator, multiple browsers, music, image management apps, random other apps throughout the day
- At the moment, yes, I do need the additional storage on the actual laptop. I've already deleted a ton of unnecessary files, and do enough travel without access to the internet that the files need to be on my actual computer and not just the cloud
- I'm also too lazy to have half of my regularly-accessed files on an external drive, which then has to be connected each and everyday, and which must be remembered when leaving the house for work or travel

Looks like my options are about $100-$250 - I'll probably get another laptop next year so I'd prefer to spend the $100 unless you think the SSD gives much better performance.

If you could do one of these options, which would you suggest? Anything I'm not considering here? Thanks in advance for your advice!

Cheapest / smartest way to upgrade new Macbook?

grobstein — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:34:14 -0800

Help me navigate buying and upgrading a new Macbook Pro. Can I upgrade the HDD or RAM myself without voiding the warranties, or am I stuck paying the Apple tax for more HDD and RAM? I am planning to buy a new Apple Macbook (probably a Pro, but you can answer for any current model). When I last bought a Macbook, both the hard drive and RAM were easily user-serviceable. So back then the smart thing to do was buy the default configuration with the cheapest HDD and least RAM, and then order commodity HDD and RAM from Newegg and swap them yourself. That way you got a Macbook with a better than default configuration, without paying the big margins Apple charges for computers with bigger HDDs and more RAM.

It seems to be a different world today. The current-gen Macbook Pros and Macbook Airs are more tightly put together, and it looks like in order to replace the HDD and RAM you have to open up the case. I've done that before but I don't like to do it. Furthermore I'm concerned that it would void the warranty on the new laptop.

I feel like I understood all of this really well the last time I bought a computer, but I am kind of at sea now.

So my questions are:

Is there any current-model Macbook where HDD or RAM can be replaced without opening the case?

Does opening the case on a current-gen Macbook Pro (or otherwise) void the warranty? Would it void the Applecare extended warranty?

If doing it myself is a bad option, what else is a smart and economical way of upgrading a new Macbook's HDD and RAM above the basic configurations?

Many thanks.

Re-upgrading a home computer for Revit

LionIndex — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:18:02 -0800

A little over a year ago, I posted this question about upgrading my home computer to be able to run Revit. I successfully monkeyed with my box to be able to run Revit 2012, but now my firm has upgraded me to Revit 2013, for which my video card no longer works properly. The major complication now is that I got the only video card I could find that worked with Revit and fit my motherboard, so this time it won't be as simple as just switching out the card. What's my best course of action to remedy the current situation? Technical stuff, specs and further questions after the jump. Basically, what's happening is that every once in a while, more frequently for certain actions with the program, my screen will go blank, then come back, and I get an error message saying that my video card has stopped working and recovered. Revit then fails and shuts itself down. To fully correct the system, I have to restart the computer; if I just start up Revit again, the video card fails again almost instantly. The video card is listed in the link below (you have to change the filter to show all cards tested) as having stability issues, and boy, howdy. All other aspects of the computer seem to be functioning fine with the program - my processor isn't quite up to spec but I'm not running really slow or anything. As in the previous question, I'm not doing anything super-fancy like detailed renderings or building fly-throughs; I'm just modeling buildings in black and white and producing line-drawing construction documents.

A lot of the technical info for my computer can be gleaned from the previous question, but here's the basics:
HP P6510F computer specs
In the last go-round, I upgraded the video card to an ATI FireGL7600, took out one of the 2GB memory sticks and added 3 4GB sticks (giving me a total of 14GB currently), and upgraded the power supply to a 650W unit. I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

Revit 2013 system requirements

List of video cards tested for Revit 2013

So, the main issue here is that my motherboard supports a PCI Express x16 video card connection, and the video card I got at the time was the only type I could find at NewEgg with that configuration that was recommended for Revit, and they apparently don't even stock cards with that configuration any more. That means that I'm going to have to go with something that's a PCI Express 2.0 x16 or something similar, which I assume my motherboard will not support. Is that assessment correct? That means that in addition to getting a new video card, I'm going to have to upgrade the motherboard if I plan on keeping the same computer, which brings us to the more detailed questions:
1. Is it even worth trying to upgrade my current computer, or should I just buy/build/have built a new box to spec?
2. If upgrading the computer is worth it, is this something I could potentially do myself (note that the previous upgrade I made is the only experience I have with messing around inside the shell of the computer) or should I have a pro handle it? I would like to basically keep all the other things in the computer the same and just switch out the motherboard and video card (possibly the memory if my current memory doesn't work with the new motherboard), so that would also mean I'd have to remove and re-install the processor, and maybe some other things.
3. Will upgrading the motherboard lead to any other complications or jack up my program licensing?

Help My Marriage Survive an iPad/iPhone Transfer

DWRoelands — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 08:16:58 -0800

My new computer arrives next week. I am giving my current computer to my wife. We both have IOS devices. Help me survive this without disaster. I am getting a new computer (called "BLUE"). I am giving my current computer ("BLACK") to my wife.

I have an iPhone4S that is currently linked to BLACK. My wife's iPad2 is currently linked to a netbook ("EEPC"), which is being discarded.

What is the proper sequence of steps that will allow me to:
1. Link my iPhone 4S to "BLUE"
2. Link my wife's iPad to "BLACK"
3. Not lose data on either IOS device in the process.

Thank you. :)

How do I upgrade the SSD I boot from?

nickhb — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:52:12 -0800

What's the best way to upgrade my hard drive on my desktop? I have a 40GB SSD that I boot from, and I want to upgrade that to an 80GB SSD. What's the best way to move all of my information from the old drive to the new one, and then have the computer boot from the new drive? If I just copy everything from the old drive to the new one, and plug the new one into the motherboard, will everything still work?

I need a phone to hold me over until my upgrade on Verizon

msbrauer — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:07:13 -0800

I need a Verizon phone to carry me over until the new iphone release. What's a decent cheap phone to get without doing the contract renewal or using up my upgrade? My 2-year-old smart phone's screen has died. It's an LG Ally. I want to wait to get a new phone (using my upgrade credit and contract renewal) until the new iphone comes out next month. How can I get a phone (smart phone or other phone) to work on Verizon to hold me over for the month. What can I do? Is it possible to buy a used phone or a cheap phone and get it activated on my existing contract until the new iphone comes out?

I am not interested in other recommendations for phones to use with my upgrade/renewal. I just need a phone to hold me over until the new iphone comes out, and I realize it might be longer than a month before I can actually get the iphone.

Why isn't my MacBook waking up?

carmel — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:58:31 -0800

Upgraded MacBook Pro RAM, now having trouble getting it to boot up. It will not turn back on after being in sleep mode overnight, otherwise it has no issues turning back on after sleep mode. I upgraded to 8GB of RAM a few weeks ago. It runs fine on the new RAM, it'll go to sleep and wake up without any issues, unless it's in sleep mode overnight. When I go to bed, I just close the MacBook and it'll go into sleep mode. This is where I'm having trouble: in the mornings it refuses to turn on. It'll just have a black screen and the little light indicating sleep mode doesn't work. I'll then have to turn it off manually by pressing the power button for a while, I'll turn it on, and it'll beep three times (indicating that there's something wrong with my RAM). I open it up (what a pain! At this point I just don't screw the cover back on), take the top RAM module out (the bottom one is fine, as it turns out), put it back in, turn the MacBook back on, works like a charm. It'll also be in sleep mode while I'm at work (which is around 10 hours, longer than how long it's in sleep mode overnight) and when I come back home it never has trouble waking up from sleep mode. It only happens overnight. What's the deal?

The other thing is, I can't get the top RAM module to "click". The bottom RAM module definitely clicks when I put it in, but the top one doesn't. Could this be a part of the problem?

This is a mid 2009 MacBook Pro with an expired warranty, still running Snow Leopard.

Best way to upgrade to a Solid State Drive?

Rhaomi — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:18:22 -0800

What's the best way to go about installing a solid state drive in a new laptop? (And is this even a good idea?) After six years of solid service from my workhorse Dell Latitude, the combination of wonky ports, depleted battery, slowing performance, and an intermittent Disk Click of Doom has convinced me it's time to finally upgrade. Luckily, I found a great deal on a snazzy new IdeaPad Y580. According to this exhaustive review, it's got everything I'm looking for: decent screen, powerful CPU and GPU, similar form factor, and priced hundreds less than comparable machines elsewhere.

The only real flaw is storage. I've heard phenomenal things about SSDs -- lightning speed, low heat/noise emissions, shockproof, etc. -- and definitely wanted to make one the centerpiece of any new laptop purchase. But the Y580 only ships with a standard mechanical drive, which the review identifies as a significant performance bottleneck in an otherwise speedy package.

One potential solution is to go for the premium model, which includes a 32GB "caching" SSD as a supplement to a whopping 1TB mechanical drive. But I get the impression that such a set-up isn't nearly as responsive as an all-SSD environment -- faster boot-up, maybe, but not a "Best. Upgrade. Ever." system-wide turbo boost. I'd also like to avoid, in light of aforementioned Disk Click of Doom, returning to the relative frailty of physical drives for storing all my files. (And frankly, I don't fully understand how one manages a hybrid set-up. Installing the OS in one drive and media files in another? Where do programs go? It sounds awkward.)

Given these misgivings, what I'd really like to do is just buy a lower-tier Y580 with a small HDD, use the savings to acquire a full SSD separately (256GB sounds good), and swap it in when the new laptop arrives. But this has complications of its own. So here are my core questions:

- What's the most reliable ~256GB drive available today? Not necessarily the fastest -- the difference between SSD models is peanuts compared to the step up from HDDs -- but the one most likely to last at least a few years, given reports of perilously high failure rates in earlier years. Intel is the most respected name and offers a five-year warranty, but they're relatively pricey at well over $1 per GB, so I'd be interested in hearing about other brands with respectable track records (as well as those with high failure rates to steer clear of)

- What's the best way to install a new SSD in a new laptop? Should I clone the stock hard disk to the SSD with a migration tool, or would it be better to just install Windows 7 on it fresh? What about transferring files from my old laptop? What's the process for swapping out the drives themselves? Also, are there any tweaks I should do to the SSD that would normally be done by Lenovo pre-shipment in order to optimize it and prolong its lifespan?

- Is there any reason I shouldn't prefer a large SSD over the hybrid HDD+caching SSD? Apart from sheer cost, obvs. I'm really trying to "future proof" this purchase and get the biggest possible performance leap that will last a good number of years, but if a hybrid drive offers ~90% of the speed of an SSD or avoids some major pitfall, then I might be willing to settle. I'd really like to shockproof my data and reduce noise/heat/power consumption, though, so it would have to be a pretty big pitfall.

New MacBook Pro laptops and RAM.

Science! — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 06:19:55 -0800

Do the new mid 2012, non-Retina Display, MacBook Pro laptops have user replaceable/upgradable RAM and Hard Drives? I can't find a source stating for sure one way or the other.

Thinking of selling my 15" Macbook Pro

blueberry — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:57:12 -0800

I’m thinking of selling my 15" Macbook Pro ("Early-2011"), but I’m wondering what’s the best (safest) way to do so—and if it would even be worth what I might get for it. Hi,

With the official announcement of the upcoming Retina-display Macbooks, I was thinking I might try selling my early-2011 15" Macbook Pro. (the Retina screen sounds great, and I would like the increased speed of an SSD drive—and a somewhat lighter machine wouldn't hurt)

(I know that while Macs historically hold their value well, with the rather big change to Retina displays, this may not hold as well for me.)

I'm not sure how much I could reasonably ask for, but just as importantly I would want a safe/reliable way to sell it. (I would be worried about some scammer buying it on eBay and then saying it didn't work, had arrived without RAM, or all scratched up or something, thus leaving me without both my working laptop or any payment).

Here are my MBP’s specs:

15" display with 1680-by-1050 high-resolution glossy display (this was a higher resolution than normal MBPs, and cost a couple hundred at the time of order)
2GHz quad-core Intel i7 processor
8 GB 133 MHz DDR3 memory (upgraded from 4GB)
500 GB hard drive
Covered by AppleCare insurance through mid-March 2014

(the laptop has been sitting on a laptop stand on my desk for most of it's life, so has no scratches that I can see—oh, and the screen has no dead pixels)
It shipped with Snow Leopard (I think it was the last MBP to do so), and I still have everything it shipped with (box, discs, cords)

What do you guys think? Worth it* to sell?

If so, best suggestions for safe way to do so?

Thanks for your suggestions!

*I would be turning around and ordering the low-end Retina Macbook Pro, which I can get at the educational price of $1999.

Moving away from DSLR Camera - Looking for a smaller/lighter alternative.

Highest_Of_Fives — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:31:25 -0800

Hello Mefi! My mother currently owns a Canon Rebel XSI with the default 18-55 lens. It has served her extremely well while shooting typical mom material. I typically leave the camera in P mode with a few good "auto" options and she goes to town with it. The reason she opted for a DSLR several years ago because it was superior to P&S near the price range in all of her test shots. She enjoyed its low light performance and quick focus while shooting moving objects. Most of all - she loved the tactile feel of the camera and its ability to zoom in quickly with a twist of the lens.

Recently she has underwent several surgeries and is unable to carry or even hold the DSLR for an extended period of time. She lost some of her mobility and strength in the process.

I researched "modern" P&S that have larger sensors and great auto-modes. We ended up purchasing a Canon S95, then switched to a Canon S100 to record HD video.

The Canon S100 performed great! We really loved the quality of the photos compared to her Canon. We also enjoyed the HD video recording feature.

However - we had a major road block:

The S100 was too small for her to handle comfortably. She didn't have the "soft touch" needed to handle the camera. The camera was very light and it would sometimes slip out of her hands during an abrupt motion.

We will return the S100 for a camera that's a bit larger and ergonomic, yet smaller and lighter than her Rebel XTI. We have a budget of $500.

Must have features:

10mp
HD 1080p Video Recording with auto focus
5x equivalent zoom (or atleast 15-55mm lens)
Great Image Stabilization (for when she shoots without flash) or shakes.
Excellent Auto performance, capable of adapting to low light situations and fast moving objects.
Body style with emphasis on comfort/grip that is slightly larger than the Canon S100 yet lighter than her Canon XSI.
Swing out LCD preferred to help her get angles in situations where she cant physically squat.

No need for macro mode, or hot-slots for addons.

Ive looked at at 4/3 cameras with retractable lenses, Smaller DSLRs, and P&S. We currently have our eyes on Fuji's X10, Panasonic FX5, Olumpus PEN series, Sonys NEX3, Canon G12 (dated?), etc. As you can imagine we're pretty damn confused.

So considering our current requirements, budget, and experience level - what camera would you recommend?