sleepy laptop

[Gyn_Paul]

Can anyone tell my why my laptop - permanently connected to its mains unit, and with screen/hard drive/processor all set to 'never' in the power-saving/go to sleep options - closes itself down if untouched for an hour or so? It's running Vista as supplied by the manufacturer.

It's not something it's always done (but then again it it does auto download and install windows updates), just since the last few weeks.

Is there some other setting buried in a menu I've not come across?

Also is it possible to use a  ADSL/router as a plain switcher?

p

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Perhaps it's overheating and shuts down to protect itself. Mine does that all the time. I can't use it without a cooling fan.

[AnOther]

Yep, sounds like overheating to me.

If by 'plain switcher' you mean for connecting two or more machines together via ethernet then yes, there is no reason why that should not work.

[Gyn_Paul]

Well the front is propped up an inch or so (ext monitor and keydb in front) so it should be ventilated.... I'll check the air intake for fluff tomorrow.

Meanwhile on the router front.... you mean I can just disregard the adsl socket and run other network cables into/out of any of the 4 ports and it'll work?  Sounds too good to be true !

p

[AnOther]

There is a free temperature monitor here: http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp

DON'T use Core Temp 10. RC3, it installs all sorts of crapware, click on More Downloads then choose the Standalone version.

Re the router yes, no reason why not. that side of it doesn't care whether it is connected to the outside world or not.

If you want your machines to talk to each other you'll have to set up sharing, it doesn't just happen by magic !

How you do that depends to some extent on what version or versions of Windows you are using.

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="AnOther"]There is a free temperature monitor here: http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp

DON'T use Core Temp 10. RC3, it installs all sorts of crapware, click on More Downloads then choose the Standalone version.

Re the router yes, no reason why not. that side of it doesn't care whether it is connected to the outside world or not.

If you want your machines to talk to each other you'll have to set up sharing, it doesn't just happen by magic !

How you do that depends to some extent on what version or versions of Windows you are using.

[/quote]

I have a collection of stuff - mostly Netgear - and a wired network all over the house. It starts in the loft with a Free ADSL box feeding a NetgearWGR614v6  4-port router off which comes a PC running XP, and another running Win7, and a NSA. Then there's a Netgear Prosafe 5-port which feeds the cables to the rest of the house.  One goes to the kitchen to another Wireless router (feeding a useless Roberts internet radio and the aforementioned hot laptop running Vista).

The spare switcher I was enquiring about is for the living room which has a Panasonic TV, Blu-ray player and an Onyka A/V receiver, all of which have wired or wireless net capabilities. None of which works properly. The Onkya, for example, is happy to go on line and update it's software, and will sometimes find the NSA or the DNLA library on the Win7 machine, but won't make its own NET connection to internet radio (for example). It just reports 'server busy'. All of the above boxes (except the Prosafe) have  wireless capability, but none of them manages to get beyond the confines of their individual rooms through the 50cm stone walls (100cms in some cases) Hence the need for yet ANOTHER box.

In a perfect world I'd have one wireless router up in the loft, with a ERP slightly lower than Droitwich but I've yet to read a review of any model which says "fantastic wireless performance: the signal blasts thru 4 foot of concrete with no worries", which is basically what I'm looking for ! 

p

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="AnOther"]There is a free temperature monitor here: http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp

DON'T use Core Temp 10. RC3, it installs all sorts of crapware, click on More Downloads then choose the Standalone version.

Re the router yes, no reason why not. that side of it doesn't care whether it is connected to the outside world or not.

If you want your machines to talk to each other you'll have to set up sharing, it doesn't just happen by magic !

How you do that depends to some extent on what version or versions of Windows you are using.

[/quote]

I have a collection of stuff - mostly Netgear - and a wired network all over the house. It starts in the loft with a Free ADSL box feeding a NetgearWGR614v6  4-port router off which comes a PC running XP, and another running Win7, and a NSA. Then there's a Netgear Prosafe 5-port which feeds the cables to the rest of the house.  One goes to the kitchen to another Wireless router (feeding a useless Roberts internet radio and the aforementioned hot laptop running Vista).

The spare switcher I was enquiring about is for the living room which has a Panasonic TV, Blu-ray player and an Onyka A/V receiver, all of which have wired or wireless net capabilities. None of which works properly. The Onkya, for example, is happy to go on line and update it's software, and will sometimes find the NSA or the DNLA library on the Win7 machine, but won't make its own NET connection to internet radio (for example). It just reports 'server busy'. All of the above boxes (except the Prosafe) have  wireless capability, but none of them manages to get beyond the confines of their individual rooms through the 50cm stone walls (100cms in some cases) Hence the need for yet ANOTHER box.

In a perfect world I'd have one wireless router up in the loft, with a ERP slightly lower than Droitwich but I've yet to read a review of any model which says "fantastic wireless performance: the signal blasts thru 4 foot of concrete with no worries", which is basically what I'm looking for ! 

p

[NormanH]

I can't help on the laptop, but what I don't understand is that the Freebox V5 and V6 have two boxes which communicate using a plc via the mains, so you should be able to get through your wall problem with that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="NormanH"]I can't help on the laptop, but what I don't understand is that the Freebox V5 and V6 have two boxes which communicate using a plc via the mains, so you should be able to get through your wall problem with that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox

[/quote]

Freebox V4c   1 x  ADSL in, 1 x Ethernet RJ45 out, 1 x USB out, 1 slot for a PCMCIA wireless card.

Oh, and I borrowed a friend's pair of ethernet plugs and the signal - even on a single phase system - won't get through to a socket on a different tableau (something to do with the ECLBs, possibly ??), and since I have 3 of them in this house , that's pretty much a no-no.

p

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="NormanH"]I can't help on the laptop, but what I don't understand is that the Freebox V5 and V6 have two boxes which communicate using a plc via the mains, so you should be able to get through your wall problem with that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebox

[/quote]

Freebox V4c   1 x  ADSL in, 1 x Ethernet RJ45 out, 1 x USB out, 1 slot for a PCMCIA wireless card.

Oh, and I borrowed a friend's pair of ethernet plugs and the signal - even on a single phase system - won't get through to a socket on a different tableau (something to do with the ECLBs, possibly ??), and since I have 3 of them in this house , that's pretty much a no-no.

p