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Thread: Win 10 on a new laptop

  1. #46
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    Does keeping the power charger plugged into my laptop all the time reduce the life of the charger?

    Would connecting an ethernet cable to the laptop to have it configured as a wired connection instead of a wi-fi connection increase the speed? Would it be a more secure connection with an ethernet cable connected?

    I have a 5-channel speaker system that I used on my old pc. Does anyone know how I can use this 5-channel speaker system on my laptop?

    I used to leave my pc on 24/7 and just would use monitorES to put my monitor in sleep mode. I don't want to shut donw my system throughout the day if I am going to go back to it at different times throught the day. I am a bit confused as to whether to have my laptop set as hibernate mode or sleep mode. Which option would use less electricity and would not be as hard on the hardware if I would use it at different times throughout the day?

  2. #47
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    Maybe you should have created a new thread if you have such different questions. It's going to be harder for you to come back and reference the answers. You are taking notes, aren't you?

    I highly doubt leaving the charger plugged in all the time will reduce its lifetime. I don't think it's something to be concerned about.

    Would connecting an ethernet cable to the laptop to have it configured as a wired connection instead of a wi-fi connection increase the speed?
    What "speed" are you talking about? If you mean Internet speeds, that is determined by your ISP/data plan. Most of the time, the WiFi speeds far exceed what the ISP provides.
    You didn't say what make/model of router you have.
    Wired is generally safer than WiFi, because you'd have to physically connect to the network. As long as you use good encryption (WPA2), then you're probably fine.

    Does anyone know how I can use this 5-channel speaker system on my laptop?
    This goes back to the audio configuration software. It should have options for different speaker setups. Didn't you return the laptop?

    In a nutshell, sleep still provides power to keep data in RAM; hibernate writes the RAM data to disk. Hibernate uses less power, but it will cause extra wear on an SSD.
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ernate-your-pc

  3. #48
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    Does keeping the power charger plugged into my laptop all the time reduce the life of the charger?
    To the charger no, now the battery, that is a different story. Ready to do a Battery calibration? By the way, your are not actually calibrating the battery, but the program that reads the battery. By watching what I do, the laptop I got in Sept 2008 is still on the original battery and made a fine Linux machine.

    When I got my router, I paid more, but the darn thing , my phone can access it in the basement, and that is from the 2nd floor, with the fist floor being a reinforced fire rated concrete slab, and with metal sprinkler fire system through out the building.

  4. #49
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    Midknyte, I posted in here since my questions pertained to my laptop . That is a good point, but I have been keep track of what I had asked. I didn't return the laptop yet. I am waiting for the arrival of the new laptop. I received the first laptop 3 days from the date that I placed my order. I had placed the second order on 2/15/2017 and wasn't showing that it was shipped a few days later. I contacted Dell and the rep said that it is going through testing since this laptop was a made-to order product. The only difference in specs between the 2 orders is that my second order is that I upgraded to win 10 pro. She said she would submit to expidite the order, but stated that she can not guarantee that it will be shipped out sooner. The next day it was shipped and now states that it should arrive on Tuesday (2/21/17).


    When I was on the phone with the Dell rep last week trying to troubleshoot my audio issue, he said that it is not a good idea to leave charger in laptop all the time because the charger won't last as long. He told me that it is best to plug charger into laptop when charge gets down to less than 20%. Many times those tech reps give incorrect info. Midknyte, I have more value in what you tell me and the help I receive from others that most tech reps.

    Midknyte, I was referring to internet speed when surfing the web. What did you mean "...WiFi speeds far exceed what the ISP provides." Does that mean if I have my laptop set as wi-fi, that the speeds could be faster than what my ISP provides when suring the web? I have the Asus RT-N56U router. Does this router have good encryption (WPA2)? Is there a way in my settings that I can check for this? Please forgive me if I may ask a stupid question but isn't my connection always connected in wired configuration if my computer is on all the time?


    I asked the Dell rep last week if I could connect a 5-channel speaker system to my laptop and he said yes. He told me that I needed a 3.5mm plug. My 5-channel has three 3.5mm plugs.


    Midknyte, thanks for telling me that. I don't think I will set it to hibernate mode if it may shorten the life of an SSD. What would be the best option for me if I want to access my laptop throughout the day?


    Train, can you explain a bit more when you said "..by watching what you do?" What brand router do you have?

  5. #50
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    Midknyte, I was referring to internet speed when surfing the web. What did you mean "...WiFi speeds far exceed what the ISP provides."
    What is you data plan speed now?
    For example, 802.11n is capable of 150Mbps or more. TWC standard is between 30-50Mbps. So the limiting factor is your ISP, not the wireless standard.

    Asus RT-N56U router. Does this router have good encryption (WPA2)?
    That's an 802.11n router. Yes, it supports WPA2.
    https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTN56U/

    Please forgive me if I may ask a stupid question but isn't my connection always connected in wired configuration if my computer is on all the time?
    Yes. Usually the wired connection would have a higher priority than wireless.

    My 5-channel has three 3.5mm plugs.
    Sigh. That would have been good to know from the beginning. I don't know of a way other than getting an external audio card/usb adapter.

    What would be the best option for me if I want to access my laptop throughout the day?
    That's your call. SSDs boot super fast, so it would take under a minute to boot, even if you shut it down completely.

  6. #51
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    he said that it is not a good idea to leave charger in laptop all the time because the charger won't last as long. He told me that it is best to plug charger into laptop when charge gets down to less than 20%.
    Over the years there have been a goodly number of folks because of the 24/7 plug in, have had to replace there batteries. 20% would be ok, 10% my E45W Toshiba warns me to plug in. If it shuts down, I just plug in the power, then tap the power button, this Dell Power button like you were starting from a cold boot. Just DO NOT PANIC.

  7. #52
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    Midknyte, I believe my ISP download speed is 40 Mbps. I guess I won't connect the ethernet cable if I won't have any increase in speed.

    So, my connection is secure since my router has good WPA2. I guess I will keep it configured as wi-fi.


    "Yes. Usually the wired connection would have a higher priority than wireless." So, having me connect my ethernet cable making it wired would be an improvement in any way?


    Is this what I would need to connecdt my three 3.5mm audio plugs to laptop?

    https://www.amazon.com/Optimal-Shop-...3GTZDKTF0SN1RR


    So shutting it down and booting back up would not be hard on laptop if I access it several times even in a hour sometimes? I am accessing it many times throughtout a day.

  8. #53
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    There are 4 categories under power options (choose what the power buttons do, choose what closing the lid does, create a power plan, and change when the computer sleeps). What settings would be best to set in each section?


    Train, wouldn't I loose unsaved work if I walk away and it shuts down and I have to plug charger in and boot back up?

  9. #54
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    So, having me connect my ethernet cable making it wired would be an improvement in any way?
    You probably wouldn't notice the difference. Wireless is more subject to interference, but that depends on your environment.


    Is this what I would need to connecdt my three 3.5mm audio plugs to laptop?
    That's looks like the right adapter, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. It's your call.

    So shutting it down and booting back up would not be hard on laptop if I access it several times even in a hour sometimes?
    If that's the case, then you don't even need it to go to sleep that quickly. Again, YOU need to determine your needs. Maybe set it to sleep after an hour.

    I gotta run, so maybe Train or another member can answer the power policy questions.

  10. #55
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    Train, wouldn't I loose unsaved work if I walk away and it shuts down and I have to plug charger in and boot back up?
    I sure do.

    Power plans
    Close lid, E45W Hibernates I believe. As it works at what ever the factory setting is, I left it alone.
    The rest I make a point of shutting them down.

    I have them all set to high power even on the battery, remember that is my choice. But still the E45W last 4 to 6 hours on the battery. .

    What your setting will be and mine will differ, maybe greatly.

    I select never for the hdd and screen to shutdown. Again that is just me way of doing things.

    Experiment and find what suits you.

  11. #56
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    Update regarding the headphone audio issue: The sound plays fine coming from my laptop but, can't get sound from headphones when I plug them into my laptop. I could not get sound from headphones/earbuds after plugging them into my first Dell xps 13 laptop. I told Dell that I will be returning it after I purchase and receive another new dell xps 13 laptop. I received the second dell xps 13 9360 laptop and the exact same issue is occurring with this second laptop also. What I tried so far on the second laptop is that I uninstalled and reinstalled the audio drivers. That didn't work. Then, I plugged my earbuds in and kept them in, then, uninstalled/reinstalled drivers then rebooted with earbuds still plugged in and that didn't work either. Then, I checked all audio listings in startup. The listings in startup that I have are (HP audio background process, Realtek audio manager, and Waves Maxxaudio service application). Out of those 3, I only have the Realtek audio manager enabled. I can't believe that I can't get sound from my earbuds. I tried the headphones that I was using on my pc, as well as 2 brand new earbuds, so it is not a problem with the headphones/earbuds. The listings that I see in device manager and control panel associated with audio are the same on both dell laptops. I'm frustrated and upset at the same time.

  12. #57
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    Did you disable the Waves Maxxaudio service? If so, re-enabled it. It's the service used to detect audio hardware.
    And yes, I did notice that the other Dell support threads suggest to disable it. Go figure.

    http://en.community.dell.com/support...517/t/20001721

  13. #58
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    Hi Midknyte. I re-enabled Waves Maxxaudio again and it still doesn't recognize my earbuds when I plug them in.

  14. #59
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    So did you disable Waves Maxxaudio or was it disabled when you got it?

    Another thing you can try is installing drivers directly from Realtek, as suggested in this thread:
    http://en.community.dell.com/support...517/t/20003252

    http://www.realtek.com/downloads/dow...&GetDown=false
    64bits Vista, Windows7, Windows8, Windows8.1, Windows10 Driver only (Executable file) R2.81 2017/1/13 217554k

    Did you try looking at the Dell forums also? It's very difficult for us to troubleshoot when we don't have the same hardware.
    http://en.community.dell.com/support.../laptop/f/3517

  15. #60
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
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    Midknyte, my audio works now. I found out what the problem was. I didn't have the headphone plug pushed in all the way in the audio port. I didn't realize how hard you have to push it in. I really appreciate all your help am am sorry that I made you go through all that in trying to fix my issue.

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