Inconvenient Annoyances

That's not so bad, then.  I didn't get to take high school driver's ed.  I could make up for that missed life experience. 


I have an IA.  My 4 year old Dell p26e with a 250GB SSD to replace the stock HD, running Windows 10 just developed a major fault.  It seems to be a problem with the power supply.  Maybe.

Initially, the laptop was just dead and unresponsive (after a random and abrupt shutdown leading to this state).

Now it is repeatedly attempting to boot at random intervals, but not succeeding.  I can't stop it, except by removing the battery and unplugging the AC adapter so any residual power is depleted and it's forced to give up.

If I hold F8 during the boot attempt, it shows me the boot options menu (F2 for setup, F12 for boot options), but the laptop shuts off before it has time to respond to either of those inputs.

I did get to a warning screen on a couple of cycles, which no longer appears (of course it responded to THAT keystroke!    ).  I've attached a photo of the warning screen.  As you might have deduced, I pressed F3 on one of the cycles, and I haven't seen that screen again.  I miss it... at least then my computer was communicating with me. 

That's the weirdest picture I've seen in a while.  At first I thought it was your husband with a moustache. 

You should be able to find a new power supply on Amazon or Ebay.  That might be what I'd try first.  Followed by a new battery maybe. 

Not sure what getting into the boot menu is going to do for you if you haven't got any power, other than trying to boot into safe mode. 

Is it obvious that my contract is over and now I am sitting at home posting shite rather than trying to get a new contract?

I forgot to mention we have another Dell power supply with the same output, so I've tried that.  Exactly the same behavior.

Unfortunately, the other Dell has a different size/shape battery, so I can't try to charge my battery on the other laptop, and I can't try the other battery on this laptop.  Would be helpful if I could do either of those things.

I'm leaning toward a fault in the DC socket card.  But it could be as serious as motherboard failure.  That would be disappointing.  My husband will take a look tonight and do some testing once he has caught up with my poking.

I forgot to mention we have another Dell power supply with the same output, so I've tried that.  Exactly the same behavior.

Unfortunately, the other Dell has a different size/shape battery, so I can't try to charge my battery on the other laptop, and I can't try the other battery on this laptop.  Would be helpful if I could do either of those things.

I'm leaning toward a fault in the DC socket card.  But it could be as serious as motherboard failure.  That would be disappointing.  My husband will take a look tonight and do some testing once he has caught up with my poking.

Computer trouble sucks.. good luck getting it sorted. 

Computer trouble sucks.. good luck getting it sorted. 

Thanks larrabee... I have convinced myself that it is a hardware issue.  And I want to believe it's an easy/inexpensive bit to replace.  But I'll have my husband take a look and ponder it before I order any parts.  He might have a better understanding, since I'm more 'user' than 'builder'.

  My husband will take a look tonight and do some testing once he has caught up with my poking.

Please give me some bleach!  Cat pix, anything

Please give me some bleach!  Cat pix, anything

You have too much time on your hands, Jim! 

Please give me some bleach!  Cat pix, anything

Hah!  Oh, my. 

My husband now agrees that it is either the DC jack (unlikely), the motherboard (most likely), or an obscure Windows 10 thing that makes the computer think there's a problem with one of those two things.  We lean toward motherboard.  Unfortunately, the laptop is so old it's proving difficult to find a compatible replacement, and the whole thing has to come apart to install a new motherboard, anyway.  So, I'm not sure what we'll do, but I feel like "buy a new laptop" will ultimately be the answer.  We'll investigate further at the weekend.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to access my Google Sheets budget on my phone, and now I don't know how kids today live with only their mobiles.  This is tedious bullsheeeeeeeeet.  Of course this had to happen as we transition from September to October one month to the next, when the most spreadsheet updates need to occur.   

My husband now agrees that it is either the DC jack (unlikely), the motherboard (most likely), or an obscure Windows 10 thing that makes the computer think there's a problem with one of those two things.  We lean toward motherboard.  Unfortunately, the laptop is so old it's proving difficult to find a compatible replacement, and the whole thing has to come apart to install a new motherboard, anyway.  So, I'm not sure what we'll do, but I feel like "buy a new laptop" will ultimately be the answer.  We'll investigate further at the weekend.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to access my Google Sheets budget on my phone, and now I don't know how kids today live with only their mobiles.  This is tedious bullsheeeeeeeeet.  Of course this had to happen as we transition from September to October one month to the next, when the most spreadsheet updates need to occur.   

Not the battery?  Seems like that would be prime candidate

Sorry about the computer issues JF.  Hope they get sorted - CHEAPLY!

My IA:

Went to a work thing on Sunday night.  Beauty event thing.  I'm a 39 year old mother of two.  While COMPLETELY SOBER, I managed to get a whole gang of the young folk at my job to convince me to get another piercing in my ear.  I have double piercings in each lobe.  I got the top cartilage done.  I actually think I'm loving it.

Anyways, it was 100% fine and I was only reminded that it was there when I tried to put that ear on my pillow.  Until this morning.  Now it's a dull ache.  Maybe even a level up from a dull ache.  I've been putting the cleaning solution on  it twice a day and rotating it here and there.  But it is definitely an inconvenient annoyance!!

Not the battery?  Seems like that would be prime candidate

The computer behaves exactly the same whether the battery is installed or not.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I think it has a bit more trying power when the battery is installed.  But the battery has been depleted and can't be charged because of the underlying problem with the dc plug or motherboard or OS, so I can't test my theory.  I wish there was a wayto charge this battery...

Sorry about the computer issues JF.  Hope they get sorted - CHEAPLY!

My IA:

Went to a work thing on Sunday night.  Beauty event thing.  I'm a 39 year old mother of two.  While COMPLETELY SOBER, I managed to get a whole gang of the young folk at my job to convince me to get another piercing in my ear.  I have double piercings in each lobe.  I got the top cartilage done.  I actually think I'm loving it.

Anyways, it was 100% fine and I was only reminded that it was there when I tried to put that ear on my pillow.  Until this morning.  Now it's a dull ache.  Maybe even a level up from a dull ache.  I've been putting the cleaning solution on  it twice a day and rotating it here and there.  But it is definitely an inconvenient annoyance!!

Ouch!  There are not enough young folk anywhere that can convince me I want a cartilege piercing.  I don't care how cool they look, it sounds paaaaainful.

Does ibuprofen take the edge off?  Keep an eye on it for signs of infection.  I would be inclined to pick up some hydrogen peroxide, if that's a thing over here.

  I am curious as well what they want to do with it, since they are aren't the DVLA.  I can't imagine they will get the DVLA to print evidence of this ticket onto a new license and then send it to me, so I can't see why a copy, or even just the number is not good enough.  I can only guess it's more British pretend security where they confuse inconvenience with security. 

"Your driving licence will have a code on it for 4 years."
https://www.gov.uk/speeding-penalties

https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/Handing-over-your-driving-licence-for-endorsement

https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/endorsement-codes-and-penalty-points


"Getting points for speeding means you’ll get charged a higher premium for your insurance, so yes, it will increase your insurance"
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/blog/speeding-fines-tickets-how-much-to-pay

Went to a work thing on Sunday night.  Beauty event thing.  I'm a 39 year old mother of two.  While COMPLETELY SOBER, I managed to get a whole gang of the young folk at my job to convince me to get another piercing in my ear.  I have double piercings in each lobe.  I got the top cartilage done.  I actually think I'm loving it.

I've actually been thinking about doing this (56 year old mother of a greyhound)! -- since I shaved my head, my ears now show (durrr) and they look a bit... plain. 

Hey Sirius,

Great to see you back!  This could turn into a problem, as I'm currently between contracts and could easily fall into the rabbit hole of arguing with you all day.

I excitedly clicked on your link about handing over your license for endorsement.  Sadly, it didn't answer any of my questions, just listed some reasons that the clowns who asked for my license may forward it on to the DVLA.  None applied to me.  I'm still none the wiser about why those people need to actually have my physical license in their hands, and why this is worth considerable hassle of filling out a paper form and mailing something to them by registered letter.

I don't recall asking if it would increase my premium, but thanks anyway. 

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