After 3 months of absence, I dusted off my Compaq Armada 7790DMT and
turned it on. I noticed some odd things:

* The clock was set to midnight, 1/4/1980
* The battery wasn’t charging

I set the clock to the correct time and date and thought nothing
further of it, until the next time I powered the machine up: the clock
had lost its time setting *again*. At that point, I also noticed that
the battery wasn’t working: when I pulled the power cord, the machine
died instantly.

Checking the Control Panel, it turns out that the machine does not even
recognize that the battery is there; in the Power Meter tab of the
Power Options, it says battery #1 is Not Present.

When I remove and re-insert the battery, the battery is recognized
briefly (the battery indicator switches to "Charging"), but after a
fraction of a second, it disappears again. This behavior remains the
same no matter how often I try it.

Since the machine is more than 7 years old, and the battery is
presumably as old as the machine (I bought it used so I can’t be sure
about that), it wouldn’t surprise me if the battery is starting to
fail, but I would expect the symptom to be that it won’t hold a charge
any more, not for the laptop to claim it isn’t even there at all. Also,
I’m confused why the clock loses its setting when I pull the power cord
— I thought the clock had its own battery.

I’m not sure what to do next — I wouldn’t mind spending 150 euros for
a new battery, but not if the problem is actually something with the
laptop itself, which would probably cost more to repair than it would
cost me to replace the machine. I’d love to hear from anyone who has
experienced similar symptoms.

Thanks!

 - Thomas

I see in the power-saving options in xp, that there are two options for
time till standby and turning off the hardrive. I thought the hardrive
is turned off during standby mode? Why are there two separate options?
I currently have standby after 30 mins of non-unse and the hardrive
powered off after 2hours.

Thanks    

NN

Hi,

Sorry for what might be a simple question, but could someone tell me how i
find and check the type of memory in my Time 7321. Also could I put 2 X
512mb in this laptop, or is there a limit?

Many thanks,
Len

Hi,
does anybody know how to install additional memory in V2010.
I tried to open the keyboard – but I somehow has not succeed.
HELP!

Kris

Trying to install a new HD in this computer. When I attempted to use the XP
set up disk it did not recognize the new drive.

Apparently I need to install drivers on the new HD. This computer comes with
a software and drivers disc but I don’t know how to get it loaded.

The comp has only a CD drive. During setup when it prompted me to hit F6 to
install drivers I then installed the other disk but that doesn’t work.

Bottom line I need help in figuring out how to go about installing a driver
on the new one. By the way the new drive is a Western Digital. Their site
wasn’t very helpful. It just noted that I need to install the drivers but
not how to get that done.

Jim

I’m interested in buying the following laptop and would appreciate any input
from your goodselves before making a decision.
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/notebooks_Q3_W…

Hello everyone,
   I have a question to ask about  desktop replacement laptops with
much focus on video applications , DVD burning and ripping , mobile
entertainment  ,  as business applications. I am  confused what is the
difference between the performance between the XP pro and Media Center
and which is better for multipurpose use.
. My brother  interested in getting one and he asked my opinion about
it as I had been using notebooks for a longer time than him where he is
more of a desktop person.
But he wants something state of the art but would not want to be tied
to his computer desk; therefore he prefers mobile.
He has heard about the latest Intel Gizmo the  Pentium M 780 chip and
would prefer his new toy would have it.
I have found some pretty devices but would want a second opinion about
it from more knowledgeable people here.

Toshiba Qosmio G20′s  1G Ram and 200 gig HD
A Sony A59GP VAIO  100 gig HD
HP Compaq nx8220′
(BTW does HP have the M780 also in their machines)
ACER Travelmate 8106WLMi 100gig hard drive
BTW price is not an  issue what he want is the best performance,
robustness and expandability , technical support
Another thing is what is the advantage of the dual hard drive in Qosmio
?
I am a bit reluctant to recommend him the  ACER due to bad experience
with their earlier models but would want to hear a second opinion on
that matter also.
Thanks!
Roy

I have an ibm model 1171-9AU laptop. Which is the series number for this
model number.

Readers might recall that I posted directions on how to disassemble the
AV3715 laptop after mine died. Well, I got it back from being RMAd, and
I can say with absolute confidence that I was a fool to buy an Averatec
machine. But at least I can warn others to stay away from these evil
charlatans, these amateur qualification-out-of-a-cereal-box engineers,
these unmitigated bandits. I’d say stronger things, but unfortunately
in my experience the entire retail computer industry isn’t
significantly better.

The full story, and the disassembly photos/directions are at:

http://www.larwe.com/technical/av3715-open.html

A brief highlight:

I received the machine back after about two weeks of downtime. They had
replaced the motherboard – which is fine. Unfortunately they also
tightened one of the screws too far and damaged the bottom case
plastic, and worse than that, they also created a "hot spot" on the
LCD. By this I mean a deformity in the reflector, which appears as a
bright fuzzy patch if the affected area is filled with a uniform color.
I opened the LCD part of the laptop to look, and this hot spot is
right where the LCD data cable is taped to the back of the LCD. So the
hot spot was probably caused by their ham-fisted tech putting the
machine upside-down onto something on his desk, thereby putting
pressure on the LCD panel.

Note, by the way, that Averatec is one of those "companies that does
not exist" – the address they gave me to send the RMA’d laptop is
actually the address for Twinhead. So the laptop is OEMed for them and
the mighty corporate infrastructure of Averatec probably consists
entirely of two guys, a receptionist and a lhasa apso working out of
their basement.

To summarize this experience:

* Incredibly low-quality product from a shell company.
* Utter disinterest and lack of proactive help from the retailer.
* Incompetent technical support.
* Careless technicians who should be fired and sent back to flipping
burgers.
* Slow service, to boot.

Enjoy!

Hi,

On my HP laptop i seem to be having a problem with the monitor/lcd

these are the symptoms.`..

If I leave my laptop idle, and the monitor powers down (energy saver),
when i return and move my mouse, the screen will not power back up and
stay blank. It seems i have to restart my computer for it to work
again.

Now the problem is getting worse. Sometimes when I go to turn my laptop
on the LCD stays blank, you can hear windows start, but the screen just
stays black. If i try to restart, it may take up to 3-5 power downs and
ups to get it to turn back on again… what is my problem!

Nothing shows on the screen, no text or anything. Its black as if it
were off. Nothing happens if i close and open the laptop.

Im not sure what i should do, they you so much for any help!