My laptop might be dead

[SweetChar]

Well...tomorrow will be a week that my laptop bombed out on me. I was working on a layout and the last thing I did was save it to finish later. Came back a couple/few hours later and the laptop was dark. Nothing has come to life since.


I have it being looked at but I'm not very hopeful. It's rather old and has been getting slower and s l o w e r over the past few years. We'll see, though.

So...talk to me. If it is truly dead...

I don't know if there's money enough to buy a new computer for me. If not, I'm wondering about buying PSE and installing it on the "family" desktop. I'd rather not have to use PS through a subscription. Don't want money going out to them every single month. I had bought PS CS5 years ago and that's what was on my laptop. Sigh. If I did buy PSE for the desktop, I couldn't be hogging all the file/storage space on it and would need to use an EHD (multiple?)to keep pictures, scrap supplies and layouts on. Does this sound reasonable? I just wouldn't have access to the computer as much as I usually do. Meaning, not as much as I did on my l laptop.

If...big if...we can buy a new computer for me...what do I get???
I tend to feel technically challenged. I'm used to sitting in my recliner while I do my scrapbooking but it seems like most laptops I've glanced at in stores the past few years are tiny. Tiny screens. I know, I know, some of you have massive desktop screens and some of you use 2 or 3 of them. lol Do they still make laptops with a bigger screen? Gotta go googling... I'm not opposed to having my own desktop if it would be less expensive. Not even sure which costs more... laptops (without tiny screens) or desktops?

Then there's the questions of how much RAM and processors and I don't know what all.

A little discouraging when I don't even know yet if a new computer is a possibility.

Hoping to be back to scrapping sooner than later.

[AmieN1]

Originally Posted by SweetChar

Well...tomorrow will be a week that my laptop bombed out on me. I was working on a layout and the last thing I did was save it to finish later. Came back a couple/few hours later and the laptop was dark. Nothing has come to life since.


I have it being looked at but I'm not very hopeful. It's rather old and has been getting slower and s l o w e r over the past few years. We'll see, though.

So...talk to me. If it is truly dead...

I don't know if there's money enough to buy a new computer for me. If not, I'm wondering about buying PSE and installing it on the "family" desktop. I'd rather not have to use PS through a subscription. Don't want money going out to them every single month. I had bought PS CS5 years ago and that's what was on my laptop. Sigh. If I did buy PSE for the desktop, I couldn't be hogging all the file/storage space on it and would need to use an EHD (multiple?)to keep pictures, scrap supplies and layouts on. Does this sound reasonable? I just wouldn't have access to the computer as much as I usually do. Meaning, not as much as I did on my l laptop.

If...big if...we can buy a new computer for me...what do I get???
I tend to feel technically challenged. I'm used to sitting in my recliner while I do my scrapbooking but it seems like most laptops I've glanced at in stores the past few years are tiny. Tiny screens. I know, I know, some of you have massive desktop screens and some of you use 2 or 3 of them. lol Do they still make laptops with a bigger screen? Gotta go googling... I'm not opposed to having my own desktop if it would be less expensive. Not even sure which costs more... laptops (without tiny screens) or desktops?

Then there's the questions of how much RAM and processors and I don't know what all.

A little discouraging when I don't even know yet if a new computer is a possibility.

Hoping to be back to scrapping sooner than later.

I'm not much help, as I'm a desktop girl with 3 monitors and pay the $10 a month for PS Creative Cloud BUT In general when shopping around for a new pc- I ended up looking at gaming pc's as they have better graphics cards and usually more RAM. I think if you get the highest amount of RAM you can with a gaming laptop in your budget, you should be good. I think you can get pretty big screens too still. Sorry you're dealing with this & good luck!

[tjscraps]

Booooooo! That really sucks, I hope you get a solution soon!

[LynnZant]

I'm sorry your computer died. I know the feeling. My sister just got a Dell laptop and hooked up her old monitor to it. She can't sit in a recliner, but she can see her stuff. I'm a desktop gal as they last way longer (usually). Batteries wear out no matter what. I would get a solid state drive on whatever new one you get, though. Those should last longer too. Also, I've used PSE for years and love it.

[Memaw2Wm]

Boo on your laptop dying.

I have a Dell gaming computer. My advice is always to buy the fastest processor and the most RAM that you can afford.

[HeatherH]

I just bought a new Asus gaming laptop a few months ago and so far, I love it! It's super fast, no lag with Photoshop ever like my older desktop. The screen is 16inches (diagonal) so it's a decent size, not tiny like some. I mostly use it at work where I scrap most of my pages (shhh... don't tell my boss!) and save to my EHD. Then I open the pages on my bigger screen desktop when I get home just to be sure there aren't any mistakes. I do like looking at my pages on the bigger screen. I also pay the $10 a month for PS. It's worth it to me to have the latest version with all the tools plus I can download/install easily to any computer.

[HeideC]

UGH! I am so sorry for this to have happened to you.
I have always had a laptop for my scrapbooking. I currently use a MacBook Pro with PSE 2020. I love it!

[JillW]

I'm so sorry to hear that Char! I recently purchased a Dell XPS 17 9710 Laptop and have been super pleased with it. I don't scrap with it when I'm home, but wanted something portable to take when we travel.
A few months after making that purchase, my desktop quit working - so - purchased a Dell Precision 3460 Small Form Factor desktop that is quick as lightening!
If you end up having to purchase one and want to, look me up and I can provide the specifications for my systems.
Good luck!!!

[nietis]

Boo to the dead laptop, Char. I really hope you will manage to purchase a laptop or a desktop soon. Hugs hugs!
I used to use an iMac for scrapbooking, but due to covid, Lan ended up buying me a Macbook Air, when we were stuck separated, for Michael's online study. So this is what I am using now.

[SweetChar]

Thanks, ladies. I haven’t received word about my laptop yet. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

[jema]

Char,
I have a Lenovo laptop with PSE that is now 11 1/2 years old. I would recommend two things, the best processor you can afford and a solid-state hard drive. My Lenovo is an i7 processor and it runs as good today as the day I brought it home. My only recommendation with PSE is not to let the organizer get too full. I had about 35,000 items in the organizer and it ran a little slow. I reduced it down to around 20,000 and it picked up speed again.
Good luck with your laptop and hopefully it just needs a new battery.