I got a Gateway MT3705 for my birthday. So far I am really pleased with it. It has similar specs to my desktop (which is now over three years old) but was half its price. I have named the laptop Trillian. I am dual-booting Vista and Ubuntu on it. My only complaint so far is that audio isn't working at all under Linux. I found a thread full of people with the same problem - hopefully I will figure out how to get it working soon.
When I returned to my room with my new laptop in hand, I noticed my desktop was making a rattling noise. I narrowed the sound down to being produced by the video card fan. I tried to remove the video card, but the screw holding it in place was stuck. Trying to unscrew it with the tiny screwdriver I had gave me two really bad blisters. I went out, purchased a screwdriver with a better grip, and successfully removed the video card. After spraying the fan with some compressed air I returned it to the desktop. Unfortunately the computer then refused to boot. After running almost continuously for the last three years, my computer breaks down on the same day that I get the new laptop.
After randomly fiddling with the video card I actually got the computer booting again. However the fan has completely stopped, so I don't expect it to last for very long.
1 comment:
I didn't look through the whole ubuntuforums thread, but it seems like there is a lack of mentioning the chipset for the soundcard. Do you know what chipset you have? Sometimes it helps to look around for instructions on the chip that actually is the soundcard (I think someone mentioned Sigma), rather than for the laptop (Gateway model xxxx). Also, if you don't have proper cooling on your videocard, you will definitely fry it in no time. Stay away from Vista (3D effects) with no cooling. You can get coolers for somewhat cheap (NCIX has VGA Coolers for as low as $7). Many coolers will support multiple cards, but be sure to get a compatible cooler. I think I've replaced fans about 4 times for various components, just to prevent from having to go out and buy new components (especially when the technology is old, which I'm assuming is the case for you with AGP)
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