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Off Topic - killing laptops - any advice?
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oldspunky
For the past 5 or 6 years the laptops I use for program development have been dying (about 1 a year). I have tried Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, and Panasonic Toughbooks. So this time I tried a Mac Powerbook (with VMware Fusion and Windows 7. Now the Mac is getting clunky too.
I am probably overloading them, but when I have several copies of Simpl Windows, Vtpro-e, Autocad, xpanel, Toolbox, and probably a Clearone or Biamp configuration file (and perhaps Photoshop) all open at the same time the laptops get pretty hot. Unfortunately I usually need all those things when working on a program or bringing up a system. I do a lot of my programming on the road so using a desktop is probably not an option. I have been using Radioshack fans and they seem to help, but my Mac is still getting hot enough to fry eggs or my hands. Any ideas? Or should I just accept this and budget a new laptop (and software) every year or so.? Thanks, Paul |
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I just wish Crestron could make a version of ToolBox that doesn¡¯t blue screen Win7 64Bit.
Happened twice yesterday while I was on site... Very annoying! Tray == From: oldspunky Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 10:42 AM To: Crestron@... Subject: [Crestron] Off Topic - killing laptops - any advice? For the past 5 or 6 years the laptops I use for program development have been dying (about 1 a year). I have tried Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, and Panasonic Toughbooks. So this time I tried a Mac Powerbook (with VMware Fusion and Windows 7. Now the Mac is getting clunky too. I am probably overloading them, but when I have several copies of Simpl Windows, Vtpro-e, Autocad, xpanel, Toolbox, and probably a Clearone or Biamp configuration file (and perhaps Photoshop) all open at the same time the laptops get pretty hot. Unfortunately I usually need all those things when working on a program or bringing up a system. I do a lot of my programming on the road so using a desktop is probably not an option. I have been using Radioshack fans and they seem to help, but my Mac is still getting hot enough to fry eggs or my hands. Any ideas? Or should I just accept this and budget a new laptop (and software) every year or so.? Thanks, Paul [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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Jesus @ Audio& Net Artist
Those are heavy programs, no wonder why you fried the others lol! If I was
you I get another laptop and work with booths, I do that, my set up is 1 netbook for toolbox, ir learner, browsing ext.. the other one for vtpro and simpl, sometimes I run the simpl on the netbook when assigning joins on vtpro, also I carry 2 dinner tables wish is really handy am convenient, since 1 backpack and on hand tables! On Apr 20, 2012 10:42 AM, "oldspunky" <paul@...> wrote: ** [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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Steve Kaudle
When you say 'dying', do you mean the hardware itself physically fails? Have you tried wiping the HD and reinstalling Windows (from scratch)?
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The 'mobile workstation' HP business class laptops have a 3 year warranty (parts, labor, & on-site NBD service) on everything save the battery (1 year). My NW8440 is >5 years old, has been used 8-10 hours a day, 5+ days/week non-stop during that time, and is still running fine. On 4/20/2012 10:42 AM, oldspunky wrote:
For the past 5 or 6 years the laptops I use for program development have been dying (about 1 a year). I have tried Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, and Panasonic Toughbooks. So this time I tried a Mac Powerbook (with VMware Fusion and Windows 7. Now the Mac is getting clunky too. |
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All open at the same time? Maybe rethinking your workflow and task management is in order.
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--- In Crestron@..., "oldspunky" <paul@...> wrote:
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FYI, I never have any issues running Toolbox on Win7/64 (knock on wood)...
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--- On Friday, April 20, 2012 at 10:45 AM, Tray Schaeffer wrote: |
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Heath Volmer
None of what you describe sounds any different than what I may do on a given day. VTPro, 3-4 Simpl, S+, Command Fusion, a text editor or two - in a VMWare Fusion VM. Mac side might have open Photoshop, maybe XCode, Firefox, Mail, Various other things. I've never, and I mean never, had any major issues over three Macs or on previous PC notebooks.
How do you mean overloading? Are they slow? Do they BSOD or kernel panic? The Macbooks get hot, but I've learned that it doesn't matter (it is uncomfortable in your lap, and I usually throw a couple magazines between me and the Macbook if I'm using it that way.) How much RAM do you have? How is it allocated? Are you using 64-bit windows? (I don't like it in Fusion.) How are you processor cores allocated in Fusion (half is recommended.) Can you shut off 3D acceleration in Fusion? (I don't know about AutoCAD.) I usually start from scratch about once every 12-18 months, swapping out hard drives and starting clean. I rarely experience any sort of catastrophic failure. Housecleaning is usually motivated by erratic or slowdown behavior, and might be overkill. It's usually easier to start clean than to hunt down and fix all the problems that appear. If only Windows is acting up, I'll make a new one and transfer things. That's the beauty of the VM. In 30 minutes I can have a "new PC". Are you using beta anything? Heath Volmer Digital Domain Systems (303) 517-9714 On Apr 20, 2012, at 8:42 AM, oldspunky wrote: For the past 5 or 6 years the laptops I use for program development have been dying (about 1 a year). I have tried Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, and Panasonic Toughbooks. So this time I tried a Mac Powerbook (with VMware Fusion and Windows 7. Now the Mac is getting clunky too. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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I agree with this, a second machine can be really useful. I prefer having two identical machines and try to keep the applications installed on each identical (as well as running Dropbox nightly for program files, documentation/etc) to keep the Windows environments in-line as well.
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Running VT-Pro or Debugger or Excel/PDFs/etc (job notes) full-screen next to SIMPL made a huge difference in my workflow, and minimizes the performance hit you'd see running them on the same PC with a spare monitor. --- In Crestron@..., "Jesus @ Audio& Net Artist" <audioandnetartist@...> wrote:
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Jesus @ Audio& Net Artist
Forgot to mention about that spare monitor, if am gonna be couple of days
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in a row and its safe to leave it I let all my set up on site. Also DROPBOX is were I run simpl files between computer and is just awesome! Installs always laught when I bring the whole set up 2 laptop,1 monitor, dinner tables, IR LEARNER and something to drink!!! On Apr 20, 2012 12:42 PM, "weddellkw" <weddellkw@...> wrote:
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ditto
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--- In Crestron@..., "Tony Golden" <mrgolden@...> wrote:
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I've been a Dell Latitude user forever. Current unit is an E6520 running W7-64bit. I know alot of you don't like them, but I've had pretty great luck with them. I always buy the (3) year On-Site w/ pro support - but I've seldom used it.
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I will routinely have multiple instances of SMW open along with VTPro, TBox, Outlook, FireFox (w/ 5-10 tabs running) with an audio stream from a talk station and sometimes WORD and VISIO...phew... I recently retired an 8.5 year old D800/XP machine that never had the OS reinstalled. It had been BEGGING me to kill it and put it out of it's misery for probably (3) years. It was a total dog in recent years (understandable??) but it still worked, even with multiple apps running simultaneously....!!! Chris K................;) --- In Crestron@..., Steve Kaudle <crestron@...> wrote:
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Tony Howard
I'm running a 4 yo Mac book pro with boot camp 64 bit. Never misses a beat. All original hardware except for the two solid state drives, one for mac one for win! THE SSD CHANGED MY LIFE! I now run 2 or 3 simpl's regualy + vtpro + toolbox and i don't even think twice about pilling iTunes on top of all that. Also as most have mentioned wipe your computer regularly.
I have not seen a toolbox blue screen, but do get the occasional debugger crash on large programs slow networks. TH |
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Tony
I'm running a 4 yo Mac book pro with boot camp 64 bit. Never misses a beat. All original hardware except for the two solid state drives, one for mac one for win! THE SSD CHANGED MY LIFE! I now run 2 or 3 simpl's regualy + vtpro + toolbox and i don't even think twice about pilling iTunes on top of all that. Also as most have mentioned wipe your computer regularly.
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I have not seen a toolbox blue screen, but do get the occasional debugger crash on large programs slow networks. TH --- In Crestron@..., "weddellkw" <weddellkw@...> wrote:
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+1 for SSD use. Put one in my old Dell D830 and it made an amazing difference. Doubled the battery life and apps opened wicked fast.
That drive is too small for my new notebook so I¡¯ll get another SSD and upgrade. With ToolBox, it¡¯s always the same message on Blue Screen, ¡®multiple irp requests¡¯. It usually happens with SimplDebugger. Tray From: Tony Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 5:09 PM To: Crestron@... Subject: [Crestron] Re: Off Topic - killing laptops - any advice? I'm running a 4 yo Mac book pro with boot camp 64 bit. Never misses a beat. All original hardware except for the two solid state drives, one for mac one for win! THE SSD CHANGED MY LIFE! I now run 2 or 3 simpl's regualy + vtpro + toolbox and i don't even think twice about pilling iTunes on top of all that. Also as most have mentioned wipe your computer regularly. I have not seen a toolbox blue screen, but do get the occasional debugger crash on large programs slow networks. TH --- In mailto:Crestron%40yahoogroups.com, "weddellkw" <weddellkw@...> wrote:
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Mark
i use an ASUS G73S
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very good cooling mark --- In Crestron@..., "oldspunky" <paul@...> wrote:
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We use a Windows 2008 server for development located in our office. It's an
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HP dl360 server with 10gb of memory and dual processor 2.33 ghz Xeon quad core. Very fast and always available when onsite or from home or the office. Even if my laptop is misbehaving remote desktop usually works great. I picked up the server off of eBay for about 800$ and it supports a couple of programmers and some office staff. The biggest downfall is we can only have one copy of vt pro running at a time but with just two programmers it really hasn't been that big of a deal. Best part is we can use cheap little disposable laptops and still have the power of quad core and 10gb of memory available to us. Nick On Apr 22, 2012, at 8:18 AM, Mark <markrkaye@...> wrote:
i use an ASUS G73S very good cooling mark --- In Crestron@..., "oldspunky" <paul@...> wrote: been dying (about 1 a year). I have tried Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, and Panasonic Toughbooks. So this time I tried a Mac Powerbook (with VMware Fusion and Windows 7. Now the Mac is getting clunky too. Windows, Vtpro-e, Autocad, xpanel, Toolbox, and probably a Clearone or Biamp configuration file (and perhaps Photoshop) all open at the same time the laptops get pretty hot. Unfortunately I usually need all those things when working on a program or bringing up a system. not an option. still getting hot enough to fry eggs or my hands. Any ideas? Or should I just accept this and budget a new laptop (and software) every year or so.?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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a warm laptop is a sign it is doing what it is supposed to do...get rid of the heat.
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Laptops tend to not run the fans very well on batteries, so I avoid intensive stuff unless I'm plugged into the wall. I am concerned about laptops that have cooling fan openings on the bottom. Humans tend to hold laptops in their laps. But, that blocks the airflow. Apple thermally couples the video and Pentium chips to the aluminum case to help get rid of heat. Applecare? Are you having issues with video or the whole system? --- In Crestron@..., "oldspunky" <paul@...> wrote:
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Trey Chamrad - Hometunes
our staffs laptop come apart once a year and we clean them when they start
to act up and it always is related to dirt and grime on the heat sinks, and those being blocked I say that, but there is only one of my guys and myself that can take it apart, not break it, clean it, and then remember how it goes back together, and it turn on.not for everybody is my point but thanks to YouTube, guys like to show off their laptop breakdown skills, so you should be able to find video on how to take your particular model a part we are in Texas and its dry, hot, and windy all the time all the time, and our laptops suck all that stuff in when trying to stay cool on hot days where even the AC can't even keep up my 2 cents since we took a Toshiba a part this week that was turning off out of now where, took it a part, cleaned it, like new. From: Crestron@... [mailto:Crestron@...] On Behalf Of boogers2u Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 11:39 AM To: Crestron@... Subject: [Crestron] Re: Off Topic - killing laptops - any advice? a warm laptop is a sign it is doing what it is supposed to do...get rid of the heat. Laptops tend to not run the fans very well on batteries, so I avoid intensive stuff unless I'm plugged into the wall. I am concerned about laptops that have cooling fan openings on the bottom. Humans tend to hold laptops in their laps. But, that blocks the airflow. Apple thermally couples the video and Pentium chips to the aluminum case to help get rid of heat. Applecare? Are you having issues with video or the whole system? --- In Crestron@... <mailto:Crestron%40yahoogroups.com> , "oldspunky" <paul@...> wrote: been dying (about 1 a year). I have tried Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, and Panasonic Toughbooks. So this time I tried a Mac Powerbook (with VMware Fusion and Windows 7. Now the Mac is getting clunky too. |
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use smcFanControl on the mac and crank the fans up to get rid of the heat.
run "Repair Disk Permissions" using Disk Utility on the mac, you would be surprised at the weird problems that will fix. On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 10:42 AM, oldspunky <paul@...>wrote: ** [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
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+1 for Asus. I'm running a custom built maxed out Asus G74 and these things are GREAT! They're made for hardcore gaming, so they have DUAL heatsinks & Fans for cooling, and the whole back end is the heat outlet. Basically the CPU gets one heatsink and fan, and the GPU gets it's own set as well.
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Thing doesn't even break a sweat when running multiple Simpl, VTPro's, Photoshops, Outlook, OneNote, dozens of webpages in Firefox, etc. all at the same time. I too have lost at least 2 previous laptops due to heat issues, no matter how much I clean them, and do upkeep. I guess running a laptop like you'd run a server is a good way to kill it in short order. That's why I went with the Asus this time around... (plus the think is about as fast as of machine as I could find and still afford.) I've gone through a Toshiba, HP, and a SysteMax. --- In Crestron@..., "Mark" <markrkaye@...> wrote:
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