lazybloke
Ginger biscuits and cheddar
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
PC fettling and repairs thread
- Thread starter DCBassman
- Start date
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A bluetooth keyboard is another alternative if the laptop is compatible or with a dongle.
OP
OP
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Today, my IFixit suction cups arrived, so it was Upgrade The iMac Day...
The front glass on these old iMacs is held on by a metal strip around the glass and a myriad of small, powerfull magnets on the chassis. In theory, you could just lever it off, but I felt safer using the cups, and it was not an issue to get off. Removing the huge 27" diagonal LCD underneath - slightly more awkward, because a) it's astonishingly heavy, and b) there are several delicate cables to unhitch.
Once that was out, the first upgrade was to the cleanliness, and boy did it need it. Then, remove the 7200rpm 1TB hard drive. Using the bracket from that, I screwed the SSD into place and reconnected the drive cables. Then, having also performed a mod to stop the fans going crazy, put it all back together, bar the glass. Clean install of MacOS High Sierra, all good. Switch off and clean the LCD, and the glass inside and out, and slip it back into place. Done!
Then wipe and install Linux Mint 21.2.
A much snappier machine than before. There is a bit more to try, a Core 2 Duo E8600 and some more RAM, but that's it. But as a general-purpose desktop, it's a cracker.
The front glass on these old iMacs is held on by a metal strip around the glass and a myriad of small, powerfull magnets on the chassis. In theory, you could just lever it off, but I felt safer using the cups, and it was not an issue to get off. Removing the huge 27" diagonal LCD underneath - slightly more awkward, because a) it's astonishingly heavy, and b) there are several delicate cables to unhitch.
Once that was out, the first upgrade was to the cleanliness, and boy did it need it. Then, remove the 7200rpm 1TB hard drive. Using the bracket from that, I screwed the SSD into place and reconnected the drive cables. Then, having also performed a mod to stop the fans going crazy, put it all back together, bar the glass. Clean install of MacOS High Sierra, all good. Switch off and clean the LCD, and the glass inside and out, and slip it back into place. Done!
Then wipe and install Linux Mint 21.2.
A much snappier machine than before. There is a bit more to try, a Core 2 Duo E8600 and some more RAM, but that's it. But as a general-purpose desktop, it's a cracker.
Hello folks,
I know this is the " PC Fettling " thread but wanted to ask if anyone had any experience with an Amazon Fire Tablet.
The situation is that a good friend is quite poorly, is currently in Hospital and likely to be so for a while. He has a Kindle Fire tablet that he wants to use to connect to BBC iPlayer so he can watch the football, he also has the equivalent " ITVX " as the ITV player has been rebranded to. I visited him yesterday and he told me that both the BBC and ITV player apps load ok and open the page, but on clicking on a video he gets the message " You are outside the UK " so it won't stream. He is connected to NHS WiFI which is now free, and has an excellent download speed. I logged in to the NHS WiFi on my phone, opened the iPlayer app and it was happy for me to watch content which I think rules out the WiFi Network itself being the problem.
I did various things like checking location services etc, language settings etc but it still wouldn't work. I'll be visiting him again later today and I'll take my old iPad and set the iPlayer app with his credentials and see if there are any issues. If it works then I can assume it is the Fire Tablet configuration that has gone awry. If it comes down to it I can wipe it and start afresh, but that would mean reloading all his apps, and he's not sure about what passwords he has set!.
There is a TV Monitor mounted by the bed, he's loth to pay the £8 per day ( I'd happily pay that for him, but he's fiercly independent and stubborn )
I'd be grateful for any advice or " pointing in the right direction "
I know this is the " PC Fettling " thread but wanted to ask if anyone had any experience with an Amazon Fire Tablet.
The situation is that a good friend is quite poorly, is currently in Hospital and likely to be so for a while. He has a Kindle Fire tablet that he wants to use to connect to BBC iPlayer so he can watch the football, he also has the equivalent " ITVX " as the ITV player has been rebranded to. I visited him yesterday and he told me that both the BBC and ITV player apps load ok and open the page, but on clicking on a video he gets the message " You are outside the UK " so it won't stream. He is connected to NHS WiFI which is now free, and has an excellent download speed. I logged in to the NHS WiFi on my phone, opened the iPlayer app and it was happy for me to watch content which I think rules out the WiFi Network itself being the problem.
I did various things like checking location services etc, language settings etc but it still wouldn't work. I'll be visiting him again later today and I'll take my old iPad and set the iPlayer app with his credentials and see if there are any issues. If it works then I can assume it is the Fire Tablet configuration that has gone awry. If it comes down to it I can wipe it and start afresh, but that would mean reloading all his apps, and he's not sure about what passwords he has set!.
There is a TV Monitor mounted by the bed, he's loth to pay the £8 per day ( I'd happily pay that for him, but he's fiercly independent and stubborn )
I'd be grateful for any advice or " pointing in the right direction "
I've gone down the Google rabbit hole. It's not easy as my friend is on medication and can be a bit vague. The Maps app puts him correctly in Bournemouth Hospital, I've been through almost everything I could think of ( though I'm not familiar with the world of Amazon Fire tablets, they have their own way of doing things ) One thing I'll try when I visit later today is the streaming quality settings, I read that if you choose a lower resolution then the data is sometimes rerouted. Seems strange but It's another thing to try. Thanks for the suggestion.👍
I did take a look at that, couldn't see one installed.When I looked at the BBC help pages it did mention the VPN issue. I logged in to iPlayer on my phone and it worked ok, so I don't thing it's a matter of the Hospital WiFi Network routing stuff abroad.
Seevio
Guru
- Location
- South Glos
Easy enough to check this. Connect to hospital wifi and go to a site that has localised versions. Dell.com works for this. It will display the language/currency according to where it thinks you are.
lazybloke
Ginger biscuits and cheddar
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
For more detailed location info, visit https://www.iplocation.net/myip on your respective devices to see if they match.
If one is outside the UK, it likely as VPN software or some proxy configuration.
Does he subscribe to GoogleOne? That has a VPN, but that's about the limit of what I know about the service.
Cletus Van Damme
Previously known as Cheesney Hawks
- Location
- Out in the sticks...
Not a pc, but put a new screen in my daughters Iphone 11 today. Have changed various screens in laptops and phones. Its really good that there are videos on youtube. These Iphones aren't designed to be worked on. The screws were tiny (obviously) and some were tri-headed instead of phillips like in android phones, and made out of cheese. Had to drill one out as it had rounded, luckily there was another 4 to hold the display ribbon cable cover plate in-place. Maybe should spend some more money on better precision tools, but the fasteners looked like crap in this.
Still gives me a buzz doing this as I'm sure the manufacturer just wants you to upgrade when your teenage daughter destroys the screen..
Its really good that people spend the time to make videos for these devices. It was a reconditioned original screen off ebay that somebody had replaced the outer glass screen I imagine. Cost £59.99, can get pattern ones much cheaper. Its as good as new, haven't seen the message yet that its not an original Apple screen (as they are coded to the phone
), like it said it would. Got to love that company, really like to look after their customers, and make things easy for repairs...
Still gives me a buzz doing this as I'm sure the manufacturer just wants you to upgrade when your teenage daughter destroys the screen..
Its really good that people spend the time to make videos for these devices. It was a reconditioned original screen off ebay that somebody had replaced the outer glass screen I imagine. Cost £59.99, can get pattern ones much cheaper. Its as good as new, haven't seen the message yet that its not an original Apple screen (as they are coded to the phone
), like it said it would. Got to love that company, really like to look after their customers, and make things easy for repairs...
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classic33
Leg End Member
Anything to do with you setting the keyboard to German, and it trying to sort itself out?
OP
OP
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
I use an iFixit toolkit, which has all the correct bits, makes it so much easier. Apple should be put out of business for the way they've turned planned obsolescence into an art form. Despite the Right to Repair movement, they are trying everything to profit from customers. The coding of parts requiring dealer intervention is another. Ask any Mercedes owner, same system.Not a pc, but put a new screen in my daughters Iphone 11 today. Have changed various screens in laptops and phones. Its really good that there are videos on youtube. These Iphones aren't designed to be worked on. The screws were tiny (obviously) and some were tri-headed instead of phillips like in android phones, and made out of cheese. Had to drill one out as it had rounded, luckily there was another 4 to hold the display ribbon cable cover plate in-place. Maybe should spend some more money on better precision tools, but the fasteners looked like crap in this.
Still gives me a buzz doing this as I'm sure the manufacturer just wants you to upgrade when your teenage daughter destroys the screen..
Its really good that people spend the time to make videos for these devices. It was a reconditioned original screen off ebay that somebody had replaced the outer glass screen I imagine. Cost £59.99, can get pattern ones much cheaper. Its as good as new, haven't seen the message yet that its not an original Apple screen (as they are coded to the phone
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
You mean it's having a bit of a crisis?
