Laptop reccys wanted - good battery life/able to run SPSS *further update 8/11/11*

gleek1

My 5 year old lenovo t60 is about to give up the ghost and I want to replace it before it totally fails. Can anyone recommend me a good value for money replacement. I would like to spend as little as possible, but I don't mind spending a bit more if it would make the computer much better.

Here are my requirements

A decent battery life as I will be using it out and about
Able to run SPSS with large datasets quickly (whilst also running office/internet etc)
Not too bothered about screen size - would like it around 14 in or less - portability is key
I hate trackpads, I love the ibm/lenove button 'nib' thing so that would be a plus - but not a dealbreaker

Budget - ideally around £750 though would go up to £1000 or so if it would last as long as this one has (given that it has been carried in a backpack pretty much daily for 3 years and has survived numerous transatlantic flights)

Many thanks
Alison

closed

Whats wrong with it?

gleek1

Not entirely sure - I took it to a local independent place and they said that it was just nearing the end of its life. some of the major things that are starting to happen are detailed below:

It keeps running disk check (up in the top left hand corner)
It takes about 15 mins to boot up and connect to the internet
The battery is dead - not enough juice for it to boot up whilst unplugged - they guy in the shop said he wouldn't even recommend sourcing a new battery for it as it was so knackered.
I periodically get issues where there is a blue screen and it wont start on safemode. (I used to take it in to the tech guys at work for them to have a look at and it started for him OK them - typical)
When booting up, the icons on my desktop flash in time with the harddrive 'pulse'
The harddrive is CONSTANTLY churning

I am not very tech savvy when it comes to how computers work and actually fixing them. My OH is a better though so I am going to pass on suggestions to him.

Using McAfee and all is OK virus wise,
OH has minimised the software that runs automatically on start up
There also seems to be way too many processes going on at once when the computer is just idle.

I have been told by several tech guys that all the problems are just general old age symptoms and to expect disaster sometime soon....

Any ideas?

HappyMJ

I'm on my T60 now....What is wrong with yours? So far I've had to replace the fan, upgrade the memory, replace the battery. It's going quite well considering. It has a Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2Ghz and that is quite satisfactory for running Windows 7.

Edit: sorry bit late...

Sounds like you need a new hard drive, a new fan, more memory and a new battery just like mine has had. It won't cost much and certainly nowhere near the cost of a new one.

closed

switch from mcafee to avast free, install cleanmem, and post a hijackthis log and physical memory and commit charge from task manager, performance.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2436849

GunJack

T-series are usually pretty bomb-proof....sounds like:-

1.hdd is on the way out - cheap as chips to replace
2.mcrapafee isn't helping on startup times, you'll probably find it's scanning on start-up
3.battery be around £30-odd quid
4. before writing it off completely, follow closed's excellent sticky at the top of the techie board for general speedups.
and
5. Post commit charge, number of running processes at idle from Task Manager as a starting point

GunJack

...note to self.....must type faster

gleek1

HappyMJ wrote: »

I'm on my T60 now....What is wrong with yours? So far I've had to replace the fan, upgrade the memory, replace the battery. It's going quite well considering. It has a Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2Ghz and that is quite satisfactory for running Windows 7.

Edit: sorry bit late...

Sounds like you need a new hard drive, a new fan, more memory and a new battery just like mine has had. It won't cost much and certainly nowhere near the cost of a new one.

I am still running xp .......
I do think it is a fantastic computer - would love to preserve the life of it if I can. Where did you get your components? What would be your recommendations for upgrade specification? I don't really want to mess around with it too much and make the problem worse, because I really need a working laptop, but easy fixes are much appreciated!

gleek1

Thanks closed and gunjack

I will (direct OH) to follow your instructions and over the weekend (as that will be the next chance he has to sit down with this ) we will post the info you suggest.

I do really like my computer, it has been badly mistreated, carted about in a crammed backpack etc. If I could just get a reliable fix for it to give it a few more years then I would buy a cheap netbook for carrying round with me.

I guess one question I would like to ask (though you prob can't answer). In your experiences, if we follow the instructions, you sort out the problems you can and I spend on major upgrading, how many years life can i get out of it...?

I will post up the commit charge and idle processes tonight - even I can do that!! :-)

HappyMJ

gleek1 wrote: »

I am still running xp .......
I do think it is a fantastic computer - would love to preserve the life of it if I can. Where did you get your components? What would be your recommendations for upgrade specification? I don't really want to mess around with it too much and make the problem worse, because I really need a working laptop, but easy fixes are much appreciated!

Just from Ebay nowhere special. Bought a fan and some arctic silver and spent an hour disassembling it replacing it and reassembling it. Tools needed: screwdrivers, some alcohol wipes. Cost about £15. Hard drives are very cheap 80GB 7200RPM drives sell for £1 on ebay. The battery is the most expensive @ £30 but they only ever last 2 years anyway so it's quite normal to replace them. Memory is cheap as well there are a few that sold for a penny but more likely £5 per GB. I have a 1GB module and a 2GB module to make a total of 3GB.

A netbook has a slower processor than your T60 I wouldn't consider it.

GunJack

If you're running XP, you can (including AV and firewall) end up with under 20 processes running at idle, depending on what you personally need. Might be an idea to post the spec of the machine (right-click My Computer and select Properties).

How much longer will it last ??? Piece of string question It really depends on what else is wrong over and above the HDD...you may find with cleaning out the fan, a new hdd, a battery and a clean install and it'll do several more years, or months, or...well, you get the picture