Idiot Proof Laptop for MIL?

Shaka_Zulu

Does anyone have some ideas for cheap (sub £200) laptop/notebook for my MIL (think she would be more impressed the closer I got it to £100). She doesn't want a tablet.

Criteria:-

EMail
Photos
Web browsing

I think that will cover it, it needs to run ok for those minor tasks and easy to clean out all of the crap she seems to get on it (goodness knows how). Her current desktop lasts 5 minutes before BSOD and runs so slowly, I have tried cleaning it the past but I'm afraid I'm bored of sorting it.

I think I'm tending to smallish screen size.

Chromebook? HP Stream? Cheap celeron?

ptrichardson

Cheap Windows Laptop. Anything will do.

Top Tip - install a clean OS though - all the bloat causes significant slowness.
Install only what is needed. It'll be easier to support and will run so much faster.

Or you could format and re-install (vanilla media) the current machine, of course.

You'd be taking a full backup first anyway, so why not give it a go - even if it is hardware failure, at least you'd have the full backup ready to move to the new laptop.

Shaka_Zulu

ptrichardson wrote: »

Or you could format and re-install (vanilla media) the current machine, of course.

You'd be taking a full backup first anyway, so why not give it a go - even if it is hardware failure, at least you'd have the full backup ready to move to the new laptop.

That is starting to get beyond my ken....lol

All she wants is her photos. I've packed her off to buy a memory stick. Told her to try Amazon but doubt she will she has the account I set, maybe I'll just buy it via her account otherwise she will come back with a crap 4Gb memory stick for £30 or similar

(What hacks me off is they show no interest and expect you to jump to show them what you have already showed them a hundred times)

bsod

re-installing windows will sort it.

Kernel_Sanders

Shaka_Zulu wrote: »

I've packed her off to buy a memory stick. Told her to try Amazon

She risks buying a Chinese fake that shows x GB available when you put it in your PC, but it's only a fraction of that (and maybe class 4 instead of 10). Some knowledgeable person will be along to state what sites to stick to; I think Mymemory is one of them. What does she need it for anyway? If she uses a smartphone then maybe a miniSD card in a dongle would be more versatile.

bsod wrote: »

re-installing windows will sort it.

I suspect the OP's technical skills are even worse than mine

ptrichardson

Shaka_Zulu wrote: »

That is starting to get beyond my ken....lol

All she wants is her photos. I've packed her off to buy a memory stick. Told her to try Amazon but doubt she will she has the account I set, maybe I'll just buy it via her account otherwise she will come back with a crap 4Gb memory stick for £30 or similar

(What hacks me off is they show no interest and expect you to jump to show them what you have already showed them a hundred times)

Open a Flickr account for her. Put a shortcut to the website on her desktop.
Upload the lot

Then you've created "forever" backups

NiftyDigits

Argos Outlet

Kernel_Sanders

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Argos Outlet

I've looked at a couple of those and it doesn't mention any charger (e.g.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-EeeBook-X205TA-11-6-Inch-2GB-32GB-Laptop-Blue-/161687866506?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3 )
Does that mean you have to source your own?

wealdroam

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

I've looked at a couple of those and it doesn't mention any charger (e.g.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-EeeBook-X205TA-11-6-Inch-2GB-32GB-Laptop-Blue-/161687866506?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3
Does that mean you have to source your own?

Why not ask the seller that question?
Click on Ask a question on that ebay listing.

GunJack

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

I've looked at a couple of those and it doesn't mention any charger (e.g.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-EeeBook-X205TA-11-6-Inch-2GB-32GB-Laptop-Blue-/161687866506?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3
Does that mean you have to source your own?

they are all supplied with chargers....

Fightsback

For the MIL ?

How about one of these......