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DaveAuld wrote: For her existing Asus, if there are issues, update the bios
I second this recommendation -- in the last year I've had several PC problems that were solved by updating the BIOS.
Pre-installed PCs (laptop and desktop) come with a scary amount of garbage installed, doesn't matter who the vendor is. Re-installing Windows from scratch cures many evils.
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From my recent experience with my wife's 6 y/o all-in-one:
It came with Win7 home, and had upgraded to Win10. It's always been dog slow and I've hated working with it. Several months ago it started failing to boot/restart with a bsod hardware issue.  After fighting with it for a few days, I decided it was time for either a new machine, or a clean install of Win10. Of course, she wanted the easiest (more expensive) option of a new all-in-one. I decided to first try a new SSD, another stick of RAM, and clean windows install. If it didn't work, I could use those parts later on anyway.
It was an amazing success! Even with just an i3, it is blazingly fast.  It was also half the price of a new machine. If I'm lucky, it should last another 6 years.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Second this, SSD+RAM+Fresh Win10 install is like the fountain of youth for laptops.
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You have nothing to loose, so try putting Linux on it. Also, max out the ram and put a ssd in it. You can do all the normal stuff (web, mail, etc), and it won't bog you down with corrupted updates.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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yeah, not sure I'm going to get her to Linux. There are a couple of applications she uses for her business that are Windows only, although the idea is a good one.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Thanks for the feedback. I think we're due for a full wipe. I refuse to use Windows 10 Home because of it's stupid restrictions and that's what is on it. Add in the bloatware, etc. It actually is relatively well configured with a nice screen, good i% processor and decent memory. But as the updates rolled out of Redmond, it just got worse and worse. So, I bought her an SSD and attempted multiple times to clone the existing drive. The SSD just won't boot. No matter how much support I got from the s/w company providing the clone code (and I tried multiple), there is something Asus has done to the boot process.
I've not updated the BIOS, etc, I'll take another crack at it maybe over the Thanksgiving break.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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My wife has an Asus laptop that got very slow after the latest Windows 10 updates. I decided to clone the HDD to SSD but I had not much time to spend on it, so I tried a free utility (Easeus Todo Backup Free), plugged the SSD to a USB port with a SATA adapter and let it go with the default settings. I saw that the HDD had special Asus partitions so I was expecting trouble, but to my surprise, after swapping the internal HDD with the SSD it booted perfectly. Not sure that an emergency recovery could still work with the cloned partitions, but Windows 10 is working perfectly and much faster.
You should give it a try (unless this utility is one of those that you already tried!)
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Easus and I went round and round. Something about "no, it doesn't work" they could never understand. It has something to do with new device boot conventions. I got tired of the fight. I mean, I would spend 5 hours cloning the disk only to not have the SSD boot.
I got exasperated, and she wanted the laptop back.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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I've been using a Gigabye Brix (i7, 2.8GHz, 16GB RAM, 500 GB fast-write Samsung SSD) for 3-4 years now. Best decision I ever made. The thing screams.
Today, you could get the latest version of the Brix with a 1TB+ SSD, better video (if you need it) and 32GB for about what I paid. Forget Shuttle - they're one of the early ones but I'm so glad I went with a Brix. Large VS solutions open in a blink of an eye. And compiles are fast. I mean really fast! And my box is old.
/ravi
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Be aware that the ones you linked are barebones systems - you will need to add memory and a hard drive (probably SSD) and source your own OS.
We use a few of these and while there can be specific issues these should be fine for most things.
The codinghorror.com blog entry from 17 Feb 2019 talks about using these type machines for colocating, so I guess they can be made fairly reliable
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Good point, I had picked up on a couple of them.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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TL;DR - Make sure you get one with an SSD!
I've played around with a Byte 3 and another product, don't remember the name and not home to look it up. The Byte 3 came with 32GB storage (I guess one of those microSDHC things) and can be expanded with an actual SSD. The other device has a spinny disk.
The difference is night and day -- the processor and RAM are both the same, but the Byte 3 feels like usable computer -- it boots fast and is acceptably responsive to opening applications. Of course, with 32GB of storage, I didn't put much on it, it's real purpose is to be a USB controller for a bunch of devices (turnstyle gate controller, 2 fingerprint readers, and a barcode scanner) and it all works great.
The Byte 3 that Amazon sells comes with Windows 10 Pro and is around $250 IIRC. I attached one of those small 640x480 screens to it as well, again, it's not intended as a "work" machine, but definitely useful when not remoting into it, which is my normal operating mode for the Byte3.
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Thanks Marc, I absolutely concur with the SSD. I have no idea why they even ship spinners by default - probably a price point thing. I have a laptop that is probably 10 years old now - Dell XPS1530. After 3-4 years, I added an SSD, and zoom! Got another couple of years out of it. Dang thing is still running fine (gave it to a family member).
Waiting for a machine to boot that has a spinner? I need therapy...
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Same concept as my My Mac Mini[^] that I use for compiling iOS apps from Visual Studio on my Windows laptop.
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I've had a Intel NUC with an i5 CPU, W10 pro, 16G Ram, 2T D drive, and a Plextor PX 128S3G C/Boot drive, since late march 2018. Other then thermal problems(throttle events - it is fanless), I've had few problems that aren't self-induced. I wish it had had a larger boot drive, but this is what I had the money to buy with.
If you do go with a 'bare-bones' Intel NUC from Newegg, make sure you get the motherboard with an Iris plus 655 graphics chip. The I+ 640 is a weenie POS, and with the i5 tends to choke & over heat when I run some of my security scans, such as Adlice 'RogueKiller', or when I rip a dvd.
So I always run CPUID HWmonitor and task manager/resource monitor, CPUID HW is so much more versatile free tool then any thing else I know of.The OTHER thermal mitigation I've done is jerry-rig/duct tape the upholstery tool from my vacuum cleaner and run my vac as a make-shift fan - a very large & noisy fan.
So if I ever can save enough to get a NUC with an i7, 32g ram, 2T M2 ssd's, I'm looking for a 4in square - 2in high perforated or extruded...thing that a fan, or much smaller vac, can be attached to.
Or Intel can put better thermal paste/larger heat sink on the CPU???
Ya think?
My poor little NUC looks like a mutant rino tipped on it's side.
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[having just got up from an afternoon nap] fully agree
Message Signature
(Click to edit ->)
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 Our cat has mastered all positions 
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Or self-knowlegde as I like to call it.
How come people looking for a dev are selecting on arrogance? I'm good at what I do, and won't play humble. My proposed rewards might be, but if you hire me, I'm selected to do what I do. If you think you can find someone better, then please do.
This is a serious complaint; do you want your surgeon to say it is a "challenge" to get your appendix out? Programming isn't a challenge, it's mostly a boring thing that takes a lot of time; procreate your nonsense about sexy and innovation. You ain't up to date with your security, you don't get to talk about innovation.
Don't come to me whining about me not having worked for a year, unless you need to be put in your place. It's not like Windows has been redesigned, or that all previous languages stopped working. I will call you out as the fraud you are
I'm back, and for sale. Any offer is evaluated.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Sorry I can't help with the job, but if a bit of moral support is worth it... I agree with you.
Even if something got up and I / we are not a master in it yet... it doesn't mean it can't be learnt pretty fast. But our skills set... that's not something you find everywhere.
I got rejected once, because I didn't know something they were expecting. My answer "give me 3 months with someone who can it or 6 months alone, and I will can it at least at 'normal' if not 'advanced' level" was not good enough for them. I got something else and 18 months later, they were still searching for someone.
Right now... I am damned happy they didn't get me. I wouldn't be where I now am, and I like where I am.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Nelek wrote: I got rejected once, because I didn't know something they were expecting.
People often expect the wrong thing.
Nelek wrote: I got something else and 18 months later, they were still searching for someone.
No, they ain't searching someone; they advertising for free. Not every vacancy is meant to be filled; half of them are out there just to create an image.
No company looks for five years for the same vacancy. That's PR, nothing more. Not every ad that asks for workers is actually serious about hiring. Some of them just want to look succesful. Ask to see code when in doubt.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Eddy Vluggen wrote: No, they ain't searching someone; they advertising for free. Not every vacancy is meant to be filled; half of them are out there just to create an image.
Yes, they were searching.
But they didn't find anyone as long as the 2nd on charge had something to say. He was the one rejecting me because I didn't know X. During the interview he told "I want to find someone who I can trust, as the guy XXYYZZ who I can blindly trust, if he says 'that won't work', that won't get out of the test lab".
My question: "How long has he been doing this?"
Boss' answer: over 15 years
Me:   (And I have only asked for 6 months...) Stood up and said: Thanks for your time, have a nice afternoon.
The department eventually got a new boss, and they then filled the vacancy some weeks later (22 months after my interview).
Eddy Vluggen wrote: That's PR, nothing more. Not every ad that asks for workers is actually serious about hiring. Some of them just want to look succesful.
I know... I have seen that and other tactics i.e.
Offers that ask for impossibles, just to frigthen people that might get intimidated
Offers that ask for very vague things so that you are supposed to do everything, from coding to cleaning bathrooms
Offers already assigned before getting public (one that I found interesting and wanted to apply to was published on friday, was there for a full week and got deleted on following monday because HHRR were forced to make the offers public in at least 3 weeks, please note the "in" and the missing "for").
...
But, as I said, I am really happy they didn't hire me that time... I like what I now do way more than what I was expected to do there.
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Nelek wrote: During the interview he told "I want to find someone who I can trust
The company that hires me can trust me. If this comes up during an interview, I will complain to the shareholders.
Primus - The Devil Went Down To Georgia - YouTube[^]
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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