Considering a Dedicated Windows Laptop for Ham Radio...

I havbe an Asus laptop with Win 8.1 on it I cannpt log into nor use. I forgot my password and it wont let me reset or refresh the computer, until I supply my password. Says its locked. I did get all of my data off, so I guess I'll just wipe it and put linux on it.

 

Any word on laptops that are easy to maintain? In other words, one that's easy to blow the crud out of, without ridiculous disassembly...

 

The easiest ones to clean that I have seen are Toshiba. Only 2 screws to remove.

HP and Dell not so easy.

 

I recommend Dell refurbished. They have the same warranty as the front catalog. Usually you can only find the "refurbished" computer by doing a search on the Dell web site. Just so you know. I have a HP All In One that I hate (usually no emotional about inanimate objects). It is as slow as ... I cheaped a little too much with it. But, it is a 19" touch screen. I only use the touch screen for the SDR waterfall & other SDR functions that are more fun to "touch" versus mouse or dig thru menus.

A few years ago I bought a power blower to blow the crud out of my computers. Compressed air cans are good, but go empty. They really are not all that expensive, but I like the convenience of the blower ... probably bought at Newegg or possibly Amazon.

Last, don't run you laptop on your lap. This is the best way to collect lint/dirt

 

You can normally use a Linux tool on a boot disk to recover the password.

 

Which tool ? I have used linux, but I'm not all that familiar with it.

 

This is how you reset the password.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tr-dojo/reset-windows-passwords-with-the-help-of-linux/

Finding out what it is requires more tools, But can normally be done too.

 

I'll try that. Thanks.

 

Not to hijack the thread, But I use a thumb drive to boot the tools needed to recover passwords and backup a system.

As long as you can set boot order on the PC you are good to go.

If the BIOS has a password set it is harder to set boot order.

One thing related to buying a new computer, Watch out for the computers that lock the CPU or BIOS from installing a different OS than it comes loaded with.

Intel is now making chips that make it harder to use them with a different OS than OEM.

Have Fun. Disable Windows auto updates. Don't let MS make you update, Or sneak behind your back.

 

I can put in a same size hdwith linux mint 18.2 on it and the laptop works fine.

Had to fiddle with the Win8.1 hdd... I managed to fix the password, but Unbuntu informed me there are 7 bad sectors on that hard drive, and auto-fix is running in an infinite loop when I ry to load Windows. I did load a back up copy of all parts of the registry. Tried again, no change.

So, I guess its linux mint on that machine.