The most common reason for laptops under performing to be running slowly in the computer hardware realm is simply a lack of having a sufficient amount of memory, especially in these days of resource intensive operating systems. Memory is RAM (Random Access Memory) and it is not hard drive space which is a common misconception among many computer users.

Hard drive space is permanent storage while memory is temporary storage, aka volatile storage. Data permanently stored on the hard drive is for example your pictures, your Word documents, your spreadsheet files, and things of this nature. The data stored in memory is the computer programs themselves for example, and they only need to be there when they are actually running. Once you turn off or reboot your laptop everything in memory is removed hence the term temporary storage.

Windows 7 and Vista laptops by design are in a much more resource intensive operating system environment than previous Microsoft operating systems such as the preferred Windows XP. The additional features, especially the graphic enhancements commonly referred to as eye candy require your computer system to meet additional system requirements meaning the hardware within your laptop such as memory and the processor.

One of the main points to be sure you cover is to have at least 1GB of RAM (system memory) installed in your laptop if you plan on running Windows Vista or later on it. This operating system will run on 512MB of memory as is stated in Microsoft’s recommended requirements which is different than the minimum requirements to actually install.

However laptops with Vista and only 1GB of RAM which is double the recommended requirements is going to handle not much more than very basic computing duties such as email, web surfing, basic office apps, etc. After this you will notice a very prominent reduction in overall responsiveness of your laptop computer, especially with any multitasking going on.

When you compare this to Widows XP which has a recommended requirement of 128MB of memory and a minimum requirement of 64MB, you should use the rule of thumb that in order to do the very basic computing duties you should have at least 512MB of memory.

Most refurbished laptops under 200 dollars for example have a decent amount of memory in them already as it is becoming rarer these days that there is an insufficient amount of memory in a laptop. As a matter of fact memory has become so inexpensive that people occasionally buy more than they actually need for what they do with their laptop computer.

Just because you can get an operating system installed and running on the minimum system requirements or the recommended system requirements does not mean that your laptop will be much fun using. The purpose of these requirements is to let the user know what the basic starting point is and certainly does not address overall performance.

We have seen many laptops under performing running Vista on only 512MB of RAM and the user suffers through such a slow and non-responsive computing experience. This does not have to be this way we will always inform them. A simple RAM upgrade will improve the speed and responsiveness of the newest cheap models as well as the laptops under 300 dollars making life much less frustrating.

For example running Windows XP on a laptop with only 128MB of memory which is the recommended system requirements will be a painfully slow computing experience and to run it on the minimum system requirements will basically be unbearably slow.

Tags: laptop performance, Laptop Tech, laptop tech tips, laptops under 200, operating system, refurbished laptops, vista laptop, windows 7 laptop

Occasionally there are instances where a customer is having intermittent issues with their laptop and they admittedly are at a loss as to why. This is a very good time to have a laptop technician look into the matter because in all honesty, the intermittent issues can be the toughest to diagnose and resolve.

Some people have issues such as this which are related to the hard drive. One key component for anyone is to keep the important stuff backed up by all means. Quite often the aforementioned intermittent laptop issues are going to be related to the hard drive. This is true of refurbished laptops under 200 just as it holds true for a brand new model. In our experience most hard drives provide many years of life, but as with any product produced there are always those which seem destined to be bad straight from the factory. Most of these luckily enough are going to fail very rapidly, and thus under warranty in most instances.

Some customers will have questions about RAID systems and this is fine in some cases. We have had business owners specifically request custom builds which use RAID, but for laptops the best bet is a constant and reliable data backup strategy. Even if the intermittent issues set in, as long as the information is retrievable then the computer hardware is an easily solved dilemma.

Tags: laptop hard drive, Laptop Tech, laptop tech news, laptop tech tips, laptops under 200, refurbished laptop, refurbished laptops

Laptop operating temperatures can vary widely depending on the make and model of the laptop. Many variables come into play, but generally 60 to 80 degrees Celsius during idle and even heavy usage is going to be considered too high. It is a good idea to benchmark and monitor your laptop operating temperature.

Always operate your new, used or refurbished laptop computer in an environment which allows a decent amount of air flow. In other words, it may not be such a good idea to operate your laptop in a closed area or extremely small room for prolonged periods of time. This will ultimately not be a sufficient amount of airflow.

Over the years many customers have asked us if the laptop fans should run constantly, or they may have been concerned about the laptop operating temperature because they thought the fan was not running enough. The laptop fan should not run constantly, it should only come on at varying intervals and this is its way of attempting to maintain a constant operating temperature range.

Another form of excessive heat which can affect the laptop even when it is not running has to do with where the laptop is stored, and for how long it is stored there. For example, you should not store your laptop in the trunk of your car for prolonged periods of time. We have seen the results of this during hot summer days where a customer had been out of town for a couple of weeks. The laptop had actually suffered damaged (melted) plastics as a result of this. This same situation can apply if the laptop has been left out in direct sunlight as well.

The main culprit is usually the fact that the air vents on the laptop are blocked or have become clogged. Having the laptop sit next to a wall or having objects sit in front of the air vents can definitely cause issues with laptop operating temperatures. Taking notice of these points can help prolong the life of the refurbished laptops under 200 even further due to the fact that proper care plays a large part in this.

Dust and other debris can build up over time and actually clog the laptops air vents and even its fan. Try to keep these cleaned out by spraying compressed air into the vents occasionally in order to attempt to keep them clear of debris build up and ultimately avoid the ill-effects of high laptop operating temperatures.

Tags: laptop operating temperature, laptop tech news, laptop temperatures, laptops under 200, refurbished laptop, refurbished laptops

We originally reviewed and tested a blue Samsung NC10-14GB netbook computer with Windows XP Home Edition installed as the operating system. This model can now quite often be found for sale in the refurbished laptops under 300 selections. Netbook computers are also known as mini laptops. This model has a nice sized 160 GB hard drive, a 10.2" LCD running at a 1024x600 resolution, and is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU. The speed and responsiveness of this mini laptop is on par with the other netbook computers we have reviewed such as the Acer Aspire One and the Asus EEE PC.

If you are looking at buying one of the Samsung netbooks, or a mini laptop made by any other manufacturer, we highly recommend getting the 6 cell battery version if you plan on being away from AC power for more than a couple of hours.

SAMSUNG NC10-14GB Atom additional specs:

• Three USB 2.0 ports
• VGA out port
• Headphone out port
• WLAN built-in 802.11b/g WLAN card
• Bluetooth
• 3-in-1 card reader
• Only 2.8 lbs
• 1GB DDR2 667MHz (Maximum)
• 1.3 Mega Pixel webcam

Tags: laptops under 300, mini laptop, netbook computers, refurbished laptops, samsung refurbished laptops

When you want to share a file or a folder with other users on a Windows XP refurbished laptop what you need to do is move the item or items into the Shared Documents folder which is setup for sharing by default. This is a nice and easy method of sharing but it is not really very customizable for instances where you would want to share files over the network with a bit more control.

You could create a folder on your XP laptop (or use an existing one) and right click the folder and choose Sharing and Security from the menu which will pop up. Next place a check mark in the box which says "Share this Folder on the Network" and then you can use the folder's name or create a customized name for the actual share. This may be a good idea if you intend to use some form of naming convention which you like or if you wanted to keep the share names at a certain length.

Below the "Share Name" dialog box is another check box which you can put a check mark in if you want to allow other users on the network to have the ability to change your files. Keep in mind that if other users change the files then you may not be aware of them being changed. In some instances this is OK for example if people are working on a group project and by design everyone simply uses the updated files as part of an ongoing structured plan.

In a business domain setting these configurations on your XP refurbished laptop as well as access to other settings such as Task Manager (which has to do with laptop performance) will most likely be controlled by specific user permissions and the level of detail will be much more granular by design.

Keep in mind also that Windows XP Home Edition is not a network client operating system and the level of control will be much less than with Windows XP Professional Edition. The XP Home Edition is for basic home computing scenarios and does just fine for most users who have no need or intentions of setting up more advanced networks with their laptop. Windows XP Professional is commonly found on refurbished laptops under 200 these days and has long since been the most widely used as well as appreciated client operating system ever, based on the feedback we still receive from clients long after Vista has been out.

Tags: laptop networking, laptop performance, laptops under 200, refurbished laptop, refurbished laptops, xp laptop

Receiving an error regarding the copying of a file after it is has downloaded in Internet Explorer. This would read in effect: “Error copying file or folder – There is not enough free disk space” and will typically indicate an issue with available space on the target drive and not an issue with hard drive diagnostics needing to be performed.

This is not a very common issue today but it used to occur more frequently on much older used laptops which were running a FAT32 setup. This would generally be most likely to apply to laptops running a Windows operating system previous to Windows 2000 Professional on the consumer side. This would be even more unlikely on a Domain client in given business scenarios today.

In this scenario Internet Explorer first downloads the file to a temporary subdirectory and then will copy the file to the intended location. This obviously means that twice the file size is required in available hard drive space and when the temp directory and the destination location are on the same partition then this can be an issue if there is minimal available space on the partition.

Taking a look at just how much free space is available on the drive through the properties of My Computer will give you an indication of whether this is the obvious reason for the laptop error. If this is the case you may want to begin a thorough clean up process on the drive but always consider what data is important before you delete anything. You should always make backups of your data.

On much older used or refurbished laptops there may be the possibility that they are using the FAT32 file system which will have a file size limit of 4GB and would likely cause this exact error message. A 4GB file is a huge file even by today’s standards. This almost fills an entire standard DVD disc so keep in mind that this is still a very large file.

Typically the older computer operating system would be for example Windows ME, 98 or 95 as these were not designed to use NTFS. If you’re old laptop uses Windows NT, 2000, XP or above then you are more than likely running on the NTFS file system and not FAT32 so there is not a set 4GB file size limitation. In other words Win2k, XP and Vista laptops are most likely gong to be running on NTFS and this applies to Windows 7 as well.

If this is the case you could try using Firefox to download the file as it is designed to basically adjust to foregoing any temporary directory and DL straight to the destination if hard drive space is an issue.

If you had to DL a 4GB file with an old laptop computer using the FAT32 file system then you could attempt to change the IE Temporary Internet files location to a drive formatted with NTFS. You could also grab the file using FTP in DOS making sure that there was enough room on the destination drive.

Tags: hard drive diagnostics, laptop performance, Laptop Tech, old laptops, refurbished laptops, used laptops