Replacement Parts or New Laptop?

[Reynard]

I have a ten and a half year old Sony Vaio laptop that has served me admirably. This evening, the charger / ac adapter went *BLAMMM*. I am now using a generic ac adapter from Maplin that I had knocking around, but it isn't great as the connector plug to the laptop is a "sort of fit" as opposed to a "perfect fit" - it's a wee bit loose. It'll do for now, however.

I can get a replacement "perfect fit" ac adapter online, ranging from a £6.99 el cheapo to a £40-ish genuine Sony part and just about everything else in between.

However, I've been making noises about getting a replacement laptop for a little while as my Vaio is showing its age; lack of memory, old software / OS, kaput battery etc.

Question is, should I get the parts I need to keep going, or should I take the plunge now and get a new laptop?

Bearing in mind that if I get a new laptop, I will more than likely need to upgrade software (Office, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro) and probably replace my peripherals as well (printer, scanner, card readers) as they're even older than the laptop and doubt the drivers will work on a newer OS.

Any thoughts?

 

[classic33]

Check for drivers for your scanner, printer, card readers first. If available consider a new laptop.

In the meantime, what's stopping you upgrading what's in the current one?

 

[slowmotion]

Spend £6.99 on a no-name charger from Amazon or eBay. It'll buy you time to think about which replacement laptop you actually need, rather than being bounced into a hasty decision.

 

[Reynard]

In the meantime, what's stopping you upgrading what's in the current one?

I think that by the time I upgrade and replace everything that really needs doing, I'm not certain I'd have much change out of the price of a new laptop. And I'd still have a machine that was like Trigger's broom...

 

[Reynard]

Spend £6.99 on a no-name charger from Amazon or eBay. It'll buy you time to think about which replacement laptop you actually need, rather than being bounced into a hasty decision.

I've been thinking about this for a while - and there aren't overly many available with the spec I want (and a keyboard I can live with) at the price I can afford.

 

[classic33]

Problem is you may have to replace everything that plugs into it as well. This pushes replacement costs up.

I agree with slowmotion, get a cheap replacement lead. And take your time before deciding.

 

[Crackle]

What OS is on it?

 

[Reynard]

What OS is on it?

Vista...

 

[swee'pea99]

I have an old lappy - not as old as yours, but not that far off, and by pure chance I've just opened it up and cleaned out the fan for the first time (with the help of a YouTube vid or two) and it's made a big difference: not only much quieter, with the fan coming on hardly at all rather than all the time, but also it seems quite a lot quicker. Might be worth a try? (As well as the cheapo charger, as per other suggestions.)

 

[Crackle]

Well you are definitely reaching a tipping point. I would say, keep this going to use with any peripherals that you won't be able to get new drivers for, scanners could well be one. Check if any of your current software will work on Windows 10, surprisingly a lot will and other stuff may be replaceable with different software or qualify for an upgrade rather than a complete retail package. You may as well do the research for all this because even if you don't replace it now, one day you'll have to because something breaks or you need functionality you just can't get with the current setup.

 

[Reynard]

Well you are definitely reaching a tipping point. I would say, keep this going to use with any peripherals that you won't be able to get new drivers for, scanners could well be one. Check if any of your current software will work on Windows 10, surprisingly a lot will and other stuff may be replaceable with different software or qualify for an upgrade rather than a complete retail package. You may as well do the research for all this because even if you don't replace it now, one day you'll have to because something breaks or you need functionality you just can't get with the current setup.

I've been thinking along the lines of keeping this one to use with the peripherals. I simply don't print or scan as much as I used to (the scanner was used mainly to scan film and prints back in the day) but I can't do completely without. Certainly then I wouldn't need to replace the printer until I can no longer get consumables for it.

Will take your advice and see if my software will transfer over to Win 10 or qualify for an upgrade.

 

[slowmotion]

When you finally decide to get a new machine, don't go to PCWorld and buy Microsoft Office for eye-watering sums of money. Get on eBay and pick up a bona fide licence key and a link to a download site. It'll cost about a tenner or less.

 

[albion]

What went bang, the cable or the power adapter rectangle?

Surely with a snip snip near the ends you can swap cable ends, first ensuring the replacement end is A1, not shorted or frayed.

 

[Reynard]

What went bang, the cable or the power adapter rectangle?

Surely with a snip snip near the ends you can swap cable ends, first ensuring the replacement end is A1, not shorted or frayed.

The power adapter. But now I'm wondering whether there isn't a short in the cable bit between the adapter and laptop. The mains part of the cable is fine, because it's a standard fitting that plugs into the back of my radio.

 

[Milkfloat]

I think after 10 years you have had value out of it.