Author Topic: I'm just gonna leave this here for Shwiggie.... (Read 25968 times)

B E C K · « **on:** Dec 30, 2014, 01:49:20 PM »

...whenever he comes by in case he can shed some light on this. I have no idea what's going on with the memory in this computer. I kept getting low memory warnings when I go about my business. Computer's only a week old.

B E C K · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 02:38:55 PM »

Every time I try to access BIOS, I get this "thing". It just doesn't look right.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 09:16:34 PM »

Looks like the thing is reserving half your memory for something...possibly built-in video acceleration. That'll be buried in the BIOS settings, so rather than go through that hassle I'd recommend trying this first: go to the Start Screen (or menu, if you have Classic Shell or some other Start Button replacement installed), type "msconfig" in the search box, and hit enter. In the MS Config window, click on the Boot tab, and then "Advanced Options" button. Make sure the Maximum Memory box is unchecked. If it isn't, uncheck it, reboot, and chell your memory again. Hopefully that'll fix it. Other than that, I would recommend seeing what BIOS settings you can play with...probably under that "Advanced" selection.

It's also possible there's no paging file, or one that continually changes size. If the machine is actually using all your memory it may be clogging up or constantly resizing the page file. You can chell that by going to Advanced System Settings (see the second attached picture, left side, last option), then under Performance choose Settings, then under the Advanced tab choose Change. This screen will tell you. On your main drive make the custom size something like 2048 for both initial and maximum. It can be up to two-thirds of your total RAM, but it shouldn't need more than 2GB. That will speed things up a bit on drive access. It's a good general purpose change everyone should make for starters.

Also, being that it's a new PC, have you run PC Decrapifier yet? If not, try it, and get rid of the junk that's pre-installed.

B E C K · « **Reply #3 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 09:41:00 PM »

Hey, thanks for replying.

Firstly, Max Memory. That does appear to already be unchecked.

B E C K · « **Reply #4 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 09:50:03 PM »

Second, for the BIOS settings, I'm not certain what I would chell or uncheck. One suggestion had to do with remapping memory or something but I don't see any option remotely like that in this Utility Manager thingy.

In Advanced I have:

Beep Sound ON
Sleep and Charge DISABLED
Sys ON CDP Charge Mode ENABLED

Change Boot Order
System Config

And under System Config I have:

Built-in LAN ENABLED
Web Camera ENABLED
--Boot Mode UEFI Boot-- <<-- it's greyed out
Power On Display AUTO-SELECTED
Function Keys

B E C K · « **Reply #5 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 09:54:49 PM »

And as extra credit, here's Power Management:

Wake-up on LAN DISABLED
Wake on Keyboard DISABLED
Critical Battery Wake-up ENABLED
Panel Open Power On DISABLED
Power on by AC DISABLED

Dynamic CPU Frequency Mode DYNAMIC SWITCH (other option is ALWAYS LOW)
Sata Interface Setting PERFORMANCE (other option is BATTERY LIFE)
Internal USB 3.0 Controller ENABLED

B E C K · « **Reply #6 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 10:01:00 PM »

Thirdly, I know I've seen a paging file somewhere so I know it's making one but I didn't consider it changing size. So I'll look into that and the associated settings tomorrow. And I'll also look into running that Decrapifier. Thanks again. I really hope this is a software thing.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #7 on:** Dec 30, 2014, 11:40:15 PM »

I noticed that you had several instances of Chrome running on the machine. Have you noticed it happening while running Chrome in particular? If so, try another browser and see if you have those problems...it might be worth uninstalling it completely and reinstalling it to see if it helps. And make sure it's the most up-to-date version.

Try checking on that swap/paging file to see if that helps. Short of that, I'd say call Toshiba. It's possible that a marginal stick of memory was installed in the motherboard.

B E C K · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 01, 2015, 05:42:01 PM »

My health is still not ideal, so I'm going to put this off a tad. I'll probably call Toshiba next week about it. When I actually have a voice to speak to them with.

As for Chrome, I tend to use it with multiple tabs running. That's the only thing I can think of because I don't usually have actually multiple instances running. How odd. I wonder what that HostApp thingy is.

Fiero · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 14, 2015, 03:27:17 PM »

Chrome runs an instance for each tab.

Maybe some extensions get their own instance as well. Wouldn't surprise me.

B E C K · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 16, 2015, 04:05:12 PM »

Didn't know that. Eep.

Here's an update on what's going on:

Anyway, I ended up having to send the computer in. I got an email with a link to fill in immediately after my phone call on the Monday before last and got a box Thursday. I packed it up and dropped it off for pickup an hour later and I just got it back today. I don't know what they did exactly, but I'm thinking they just replaced the RAM and called it a day. So I checked the Memory under Task Manager and it read using out of 7.1 something-something which is great. And then I realized the screen would not dim for me no matter what I fucking did.

Any computer I use, I have to dim the screen. I researched the problem a bit and just got all the usual "fixes" that I already tried anyway. The only thing suggested that I hadn't already done was try and roll back the driver. Following the steps on the page I got that solution from, it mentions other drivers listing but I don't get a list. So I'm not going to waste anymore time and decide to call support again. They really have no solution and want me to send it back in and now we repeat. I was supposed to get an email w/ my confirmation and a link and I still haven't gotten anything. I'll give it a couple of hours and call back. Real fricken annoyed with Toshiba right now.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 17, 2015, 02:46:40 PM »

I had the same problem with HP with my old laptop from 2005. After sending it in three times, they finally replaced the whole motherboard...and none of the control keys over the keyboard worked thereafter. There may be a software brightness control that you can use.

http://forums.toshiba.com/t5/Video-Display/L750D-ST6NX1-Screen-Brightness-Will-Not-Change/td-p/275345

B E C K · « **Reply #12 on:** Feb 03, 2015, 12:19:13 PM »

I sent it back to them so they're working on it right now. Somewhere in Indiana or something. Seems to be taking them longer than the last repair too, which is interesting. At least the Fedex dude was amused with everything. Having to deliver an empty box here twice and all.

B E C K · « **Reply #13 on:** Feb 16, 2015, 12:07:55 AM »

I got it back a couple of days ago. Apparently, they needed to order parts and it took an extra ten days or something. I fired it up a few minutes ago and the display works and the 8GB of RAM seem to be read by the system so it appears to be fixed. It wouldn't let me connect my Outlook account though. I don't know how much that matters yet. Does it need to be associated? Because I kinda didn't want to make one in the first place.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #14 on:** Feb 16, 2015, 08:46:30 PM »

I hate the whole thing about setting up an account. I just want the computer to compute. My laptop has a different account than my desktop purely because I was in a hurry and forgot the info...heck, I still don't know it, nor do I care. I thought I had to use my old Hotmail or create a new one, and on the laptop I realized I could use my regular email, so I don't remember what I used for the desktop anymore. Maybe my Gmail? I use that for my Android and Chrome stuff. It's like what do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino...elephino, right?

B E C K · « **Reply #15 on:** Feb 17, 2015, 10:23:04 AM »

Hey, hold up, we can use any email? *checks* Oh, I didn't even notice. I'll be damned. I just made a new Outlook one. Well, I'm glad I didn't notice in any case. I likely would've used the same password as my email account's and due to my new comp having to be handled for repairs twice, that means I would've had to change the password twice. Because they wanted my password everytime I sent it in. "But we'll keep it safe, blah blah blah." HAHAHAha... NO.

I mean, I get the concept. I even admire it. I know there's people that want all their shit connected and it makes their lives so much easier. Your computer's connected to your email, backs itself up to a cloud, customizes your apps and whatever. But all that shit makes me uneasy.

So right now my new comp's using a local account. But I recall Merla had a local account when she first got her comp and was later forced to associate with an email. I don't remember the reason or if she could've just done some sort of cheat or workaround at the time. Reading into it a bit, it seems it's possible to get the use I want out of my comp with just a local account. Which is what I'm happiest with. I mean, it's up to me to back up my own shit. And if I want a cloud, then I'll find the one I want and back up whatever I would actually want them to have. Maybe with pictures of my cats and some music?

B E C K · « **Reply #16 on:** Mar 02, 2015, 10:49:07 AM »

Ha ha, so I basically use the new comp as a tv now. The mouse pad is so fucking awful. Unlike my old Toshi, it doesn't have nice buttons to click. Instead, the mouse functions are all on one smooth pad. I really have to press hard to get it to register my clicks, which is uber shitty. Yeah, I can just add a mouse through the USB port, I know, but it still diminishes the device imo because I wanted to just be able to grab it and use it w/o plugging other crap into it. But at least it's been working. And it does have nice picture and sound. I had bought my mom a Toshiba a couple of x-mases back that I use a lot now and while I like the overall functionality of that one better, there's no denying the sound quality on it is balls.

Now, is this the right dude: http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/download ??

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #17 on:** Mar 02, 2015, 12:08:55 PM »

That's the one.

B E C K · « **Reply #18 on:** Mar 11, 2015, 11:29:39 PM »

The saga of the laptop continues. Can you fucking believe it? I closed the lid so I could move it to another room and now several keys don't work. AT ALL. I have no Rs or Ys. This bullshit seals it: this computer is a piece of junk.

If anyone has laptop recommendations this may be a good time. The tech support dude had me do the damn reset thing again in hopes that might fix it and nada. I'm so sick of this damn thing and tired of having to ship it out for repairs. I'm going to speak with Toshiba's customer relations dept tomorrow to see if I can finagle a refund due to all of these problems. Even if they deny me and I'm stuck with this damn paperweight, I'll need to buy a new one eventually that I can actually use as a laptop and not as an app-riddled mini-television.

B E C K · « **Reply #19 on:** Mar 12, 2015, 09:56:56 AM »

So support had me reset the damn thing and it was no dice. I knew it wouldn't work. I gave support a call and they wanted me to sent it in for repairs again. Long story short, my ticket or case or whatever has been escalated and I should be getting a call from some order desk department next week to discuss getting a replacement. Which I don't want. Because I've wasted enough fucking time on this. But I know this type of thing can be a process so step by step.

B E C K · « **Reply #20 on:** Mar 12, 2015, 10:02:43 AM »

Oh, and worst offense of all: Yesterday, I had done all of this work on my story and it was erased because of this damn issue. Argh. This attachment appropriate reflects my rage.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #21 on:** Mar 13, 2015, 07:34:48 AM »

I won't be buying a Toshiba anytime soon.

I would recommend Lenovo as I love mine, but they just had a spyware scandal with their laptops.

Faye Valentine · « **Reply #22 on:** Mar 13, 2015, 07:51:57 AM »

Y'all saw the new gold mac air? mamma needs it. i have a silver one so i need the new one so it can match my phone :3

Fiero · « **Reply #23 on:** Mar 13, 2015, 08:25:16 AM »

What all do you do with your laptop, Beck?
Because Chromebooks are super nice if you mainly just use shit on the Internet.

B E C K · « **Reply #24 on:** Mar 13, 2015, 12:23:07 PM »

Quote from: Rodent of Unusual Size on Mar 13, 2015, 07:34:48 AM

I won't be buying a Toshiba anytime soon.

I would recommend Lenovo as I love mine, but they just had a spyware scandal with their laptops.

Aw, and I was looking into Lenovo. Didn't hear about the spyware thingy. I like my old Toshiba, but yeah, stay away from the Satellite L50D-B. (That's my crapbox.)

B E C K · « **Reply #25 on:** Mar 13, 2015, 12:32:17 PM »

Quote from: Fiero on Mar 13, 2015, 08:25:16 AM

What all do you do with your laptop, Beck?
Because Chromebooks are super nice if you mainly just use shit on the Internet.

I write, listen to music, look at pictures, watch tv and sometimes play a game or two but nothing that takes a huge amount of room.

I'm looking for good speakers and picture. I don't want to have to buy different speakers and have to plug them in. I listen right off my comp. Crapbox had some really nice Skullcandy speakers. My old Toshiba has Harman/Kardon speakers which are also quite nice.

I'm looking for a screen at least 15" or bigger. I need mouse buttons. I didn't know that was a need, but it apparently is because smooth pads you tap are now in vogue and I've realized hate them. I want space to store stuff. I have an external drive but I still want some space. Maybe 750GB to a TB. In that neighborhood. I want the computer to have user upgradeable battery and RAM. Crapbox had its shit sealed off. I guess that's also in vogue now. I want more than 4 GB of RAM. So if it's at 4, I better be able to buy more RAM and upgrade it. If I can't upgrade it myself, then it needs to have at least 8 GB of RAM. Price needs to be reasonable. (So no Macs, ha ha.)

B E C K · « **Reply #26 on:** Mar 13, 2015, 12:39:02 PM »

Okay, yeah, and today I spoke with a duder named John. He began to go through the replacement process. And I'm all, "dude, no, none of this shite, please. I don't want another crapbox, I want my money back." And he's all, "But we'll send you a brand new one fresh out of the box." And I'm all, "this one was a brand new one fresh out of the box and needed the motherboard assembly replaced twice. Look, John, my man. I love Toshiba products. I bought this comp from you guys and gave you a chance to fix it because I was being a loyal Toshiba customer. Do not abuse my goodwill any further. This thing's junk. Refund me." And he's all, "Well, it'll have to be pro-rated because you had our piece of crap since December." And I said, "And about two of the three months I've had it, it was in Toshiba's possession, non-functional, or in transit. So you better prorate that shit with that in mind." And he's all, "We'll prorate it a month. Sorry, no taxes or shipping charges refunded." And I'm all, "Whatev. Deal." So he forwarded my original order confirmation to the finance desk and will update me further on what they say about it.

Rodent of Unusual Size · « **Reply #27 on:** Mar 16, 2015, 10:02:27 AM »

Re: Lenovo, the laptops that had the spyware were very limited in distribution, and after it came to light they removed the offending machines from stores, so you shouldn't have any problems if you get one. Mine's quite nice, but they're pricier than a lot of brands as they tend to be Mac-like in the quality department.

Fiero · « **Reply #28 on:** Mar 19, 2015, 02:50:35 PM »

Quote from: B E C K on Mar 13, 2015, 12:32:17 PM

Quote from: Fiero on Mar 13, 2015, 08:25:16 AM
What all do you do with your laptop, Beck?
Because Chromebooks are super nice if you mainly just use shit on the Internet.

I write, listen to music, look at pictures, watch tv and sometimes play a game or two but nothing that takes a huge amount of room.

I'm looking for good speakers and picture. I don't want to have to buy different speakers and have to plug them in. I listen right off my comp. Crapbox had some really nice Skullcandy speakers. My old Toshiba has Harman/Kardon speakers which are also quite nice.

I'm looking for a screen at least 15" or bigger. I need mouse buttons.

Hmm, I haven't seen a chromebook with buttons on the trackpad. The ones I've used are incredibly responsive but who knows how it will be for you. Gaming is an issue. Not sure how good the speakers on most of them are, I'm usually using my Chromecast when I play something on mine but the SO really enjoys using hers, she's watching videos and listening to music all the time.

Lenova ain't bad, that's true.

The D · « **Reply #29 on:** Mar 23, 2015, 12:48:38 AM »

Chromebooks don't have windows, though. They have ChromeOS, which is a glorified Android OS for a notebook, and only runs google apps. No windows app will run on a chromebook without serious hacking. I've seen a lot of people buy one and hack it and put linux on it.