So my laptop has been giving me grief for months with latency and dropouts on my USB interface, and 2 other different interfaces I've tested in order to find the problem. I'm down to one USB port that isn't crapping the bed, but I don't know how long that is going to last.Any recommendations for a replacement in case this overrated POS meets it's demise? I am ok with another laptop, but prefer a dedicated graphics card, don't need much else other than 500 gig or more fast HD and 16 gb of ram would be cool.

weezy wrote:So my laptop has been giving me grief for months with latency and dropouts on my USB interface, and 2 other different interfaces I've tested in order to find the problem. I'm down to one USB port that isn't crapping the bed, but I don't know how long that is going to last.Any recommendations for a replacement in case this overrated POS meets it's demise? I am ok with another laptop, but prefer a dedicated graphics card, don't need much else other than 500 gig or more fast HD and 16 gb of ram would be cool. Lenovo Thinkpads are good. My T-Series from 2007 is still going strong. Recommended.My wife just got a new Macbook Pro. If you like Macs, I would avoid the 2017 models. The keyboards are very flat and feel weird compared to previous Apple keyboards. Not sold on the new "touchbar". It feels like a gimmick. Refurbished earlier models are probably a better buy (2015). The switch to all USB-C is another concern.SSDs are the way to go, though I am not convinced that faster M2 drives make a difference. iMac with Thunderbolt-connected SSD (350MB/s write, 500MB/s read) and PCIe Macbook Pro SSD (1500MB/s write, 3000MB/s read) feel no different to me and boot in exactly the same amount of time. SATA SSDs are fine and are much less expensive.

weezy wrote:So my laptop has been giving me grief for months with latency and dropouts on my USB interface, and 2 other different interfaces I've tested in order to find the problem. I'm down to one USB port that isn't crapping the bed, but I don't know how long that is going to last.In my experience these symptoms are a preamble to the motherboard dying. So best to back up everything NOW.weezy wrote:Any recommendations for a replacementMy usual ones: Asus, Dell, Lenovo.weezy wrote:[...] prefer a dedicated graphics cardWhy? Not being flippant, just curious.weezy wrote:[...] than 500 gig or more fast HDReally, go solid-state - it's a world of difference.

Getting a 4-5ish year old MacBook Pro given to me (I'm computer-less). Before doing so they want to wipe the computer and re-load the OS from scratch. Basically a factory reboot.We know the admin password, but when trying to perform this function the prompt shakes it's head at us. The same admin password works for other things.My bandmate floated the idea that he thought when he did something similar it had to be plugged in with an ethernet cable instead of wifi before he could get it to work. He can't remember for sure and I don't have a cable readily available. Sound plausible?Ideas?

Maybe you do need to be plugged in, but that nuh-uh sign indicates that you don't have permission. Presumably it's saying you don't have permission to delete the root directory of the OS while the OS is running. It probably won't like that. What you want to do is boot the Mac up in utility mode or whatever it's called. Hold command-R while it's booting I think? And tell it to wipe your startup drive and reinstall from there.

Tommy wrote:Getting a 4-5ish year old MacBook Pro given to me (I'm computer-less). Before doing so they want to wipe the computer and re-load the OS from scratch. Basically a factory reboot.We know the admin password, but when trying to perform this function the prompt shakes it's head at us. The same admin password works for other things.My bandmate floated the idea that he thought when he did something similar it had to be plugged in with an ethernet cable instead of wifi before he could get it to work. He can't remember for sure and I don't have a cable readily available. Sound plausible?Ideas?It sounds like maybe you don't have the administrator password. OSX allows for multiple user accounts. The password you are using may be used to OK actions within the account, but may not grant full root privileges. If you aren't booting into Recovery Mode, you aren't doing it correctly. On startup hold down the option key or as described earlier, command + R. You don't need ethernet to reinstall the OS (new Macs don't even have an ethernet port), but you do need wifi. The machine will need to download parts of the OS from Apple's servers. Recovery partitions on Macs only hold so much.https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

Anthony Flack wrote:What you want to do is boot the Mac up in utility mode or whatever it's called. Hold command-R while it's booting I think? And tell it to wipe your startup drive and reinstall from there.Facundo wrote:Last time i had to re-install Mac OS i did the whole process connected to the wifi and it was like three years ago so I think it was before Yosemite.You can start with Command+R (installs the same macOS version than the installed in your mac) or Alt+Command+R to updated to the latest version.Thanks! I bet this works.

blackmarket wrote:If you aren't booting into Recovery Mode, you aren't doing it correctly. On startup hold down the option key or as described earlier, command + RWe weren't. I think we were attempting something via System Preferences and it wouldn't let us. This is the root (pun!) of our problem. Thanks!

Transmission, the ol' reliable torrent program, has two options for resuming a torrent download, "Resume" and "Resume Selected Right Away".If anyone has an explanation for this, I've been curious for ages. I think it'd be cool if "Right Away" was appended to every computer command label.

Facundo wrote:mrcancelled wrote:Transmission, the ol' reliable torrent program, has two options for resuming a torrent download, "Resume" and "Resume Selected Right Away".If anyone has an explanation for this, I've been curious for ages. I think it'd be cool if "Right Away" was appended to every computer command label.^ https://answers.yahoo.com/question/inde ... 932AAwFPqd Hmm... a sort of cutting in line I guess, as far where you are in the queue for seeders. Interesting. Thanks.