Laptop loonies

[MintDude2013]

Hi Forum:

I'm sorry I'm bugging you (again) with some laptop issues.

My laptop (Compaq Presario CQ57) won't recognize the wireless mouse (Titanum TM116B) I recently purchased. And this, although I'd put a fresh battery in and that little "USB thingie" was plugged in before I booted the laptop. Do I need to install some software before it will recognize the mouse?

Also, because my laptop is still rather slow (although I'd installed LM 19.2 Xfce), I thought it might help to turn off all none-essential programs while doing some Internet search and/or write some emails. However, opening the Task Manager and looking for some resource-hogging evil-doers , oops I mean programs, I didn't really find any except for the... Task Manager .

Last but not least, if it were possible, would adding more RAM help?!

Many thanks.

MintDude

[absque fenestris]

RAM - Installed 2 GB ...
MEMORY
Max Supported 8 GB - Technology: DDR3 SDRAM SO-DIMM 204-pin - Slots 2

https://www.cnet.com/products/compaq-pr ... dd-series/



Hi MintDude2013

The terminal input: inxi -Fxz would be far more helpful than that one should guess at your device.

More RAM never hurts, replacing the old HD with an SSD also makes a difference...

[MintDude2013]

Hi 'absque fenestris':

Many thanks for your reply.

Here's the "inxi -Fxz" result.

Code: Select all

john@Compaq-Laptop:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:
  Host: Compaq-Laptop Kernel: 4.15.0-91-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  compiler: gcc v: 7.4.0 Desktop: Xfce 4.12.3 Distro: Linux Mint 19.2 Tina 
  base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Hewlett-Packard product: Presario CQ57 Notebook PC 
  v: 058F100000204910002620100 serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Hewlett-Packard model: 3577 v: 24.12 serial: <filter> 
  BIOS: Hewlett-Packard v: F.02 date: 03/14/2011 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 24.6 Wh condition: 31.5/31.5 Wh (100%) model: HP 
  status: Charging 
CPU:
  Topology: Dual Core model: AMD C-50 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Bobcat 
  L2 cache: 512 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4a ssse3 svm bogomips: 3991 
  Speed: 998 MHz min/max: 800/1000 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 998 2: 800 
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Wrestler [Radeon HD 6250] vendor: Hewlett-Packard 
  driver: radeon v: kernel bus ID: 00:01.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: ati,radeon 
  unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: AMD PALM (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.15.0-91-generic LLVM 9.0.0) 
  v: 3.3 Mesa 19.2.8 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: AMD SBx00 Azalia vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 00:14.2 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-91-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 3000 
  bus ID: 06:00.0 
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter> 
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter 
  vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: rtl8192ce v: kernel port: 2000 
  bus ID: 07:00.0 
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 298.09 GiB used: 27.49 GiB (9.2%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD3200BEVT-60A23T0 
  size: 298.09 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 292.41 GiB used: 27.49 GiB (9.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 44.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: radeon temp: 44 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A 
Info:
  Processes: 150 Uptime: 3m Memory: 1.56 GiB used: 448.2 MiB (28.1%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20 
  inxi: 3.0.32 
john@Compaq-Laptop:~$ inxi -Fxz

Would you perhaps also have a suggestion regarding the wireless mouse (Titanum TM116B) that my Compaq Presario CQ57 laptop won't recognize? Is there some software that needs to be installed?

Many thanks again.

MintDude

[llr51]

I think that model only goes to 8 GB of DDR3 ram - that is only about $32 today - 2 - 4gb modules.

It is likely that the USB port you plugged into may be non-powered - a lot of Compaq laptops have fuses for every port and I have seen a lot of blown fuses. It is not worth the cost to try to replace the fuse - there is a good change of killing the motherboard on one that old.

[guythp]

related only in the sense it was a usb device, I had issues with my laptops wifi when I first installed mint so i purchased a usb wifi dongle that worked when I plugged it on once the mint had booted, but wasn't recognised if I plugged it in before powering on. Have you tried plugging it in once mint has booted up?

[absque fenestris]

The USB ports are somewhat peculiar. On my Acer netbook, 1 USB port out of 3 has given up its service.

I use the cheapest and smallest wireless mice from Microsoft. They are amazingly reliable and also work with a rechargeable 1.2 volt AA battery.
A somewhat more expensive Hama mouse with 2 x AAA batteries is picky and unreliable in comparison.
A driver installation for wireless mice was never necessary in OSX, Windows or any Linux.

I have a few wired optical USB mice in stock, not least to check USB connections. If they don't work either (no light, no feedback from the screen), this is clearly due to a broken USB output.

Processes: 150 Uptime: 3m Memory: 1.56 GiB used: 448.2 MiB (28.1%)
Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 Shell: bash v: 4.4.20
inxi: 3.0.32

There are practically only 1.5 GB of 2 GB RAM available (0.5 GB should go to the graphics card). Even if Xfce is very economical, it is far too little for a current 64-bit system with the appropriate applications. 4 GB should now be standard, more does no harm.
And as I said - an SSD, it can actually be the cheapest, makes a big difference compared to a spinning HD.

[missmoondog]

a ssd will help that computer out more than anything although more ram is never a bad thing either. have a 64 bit laptop here with only 2gb memory that i recently installed a ssd into and it made a world of difference. it's running 19.3 xfce also.

the main issue with that laptop is the processor. that AMD C-50 is a piece of crap! my kids old laptop has that processor and it's rather slow even after installing a ssd and upgrading the memory from 3gb's to the max of 8gb's. i say rather slow but it is faster than it was, for sure.

[MintDude2013]

Hi guys:

Thanks so much for your replies and my apologies for not replying and saying thanks sooner .

As for the wireless mouse and the dongle, I tried both, neither of which worked. First I plugged the dongle in after Linux had booted and when that didn't work I tried plugging it in before booting. But that's OK, it's not much of a hassle to use a mouse with a cable . As for the wireless mouse, it was only about $5 on eBay. Apart from that, my laptop always recognizes the various WIFIs available at the location I'm in.

Now, as for adding more RAM and maybe an SSD, I took a photo of the back of the laptop:

Does anybody of you know which cover to open/unscrew to get access to the motherboard or is it rather the entire back needs to be opened?! I'm afraid that if I open the wrong cover I might have a problem putting everything back the right way. Also, what's that "push thingie" (upper right corner) for? As for putting in a faster CPU, it sounds like that's not possible with the mainboard of that Compaq?!

Many thanks again!

MintDude

[dorsetUK]

Hi MintDude

I think this could be your manual http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03137362

HTH Jon.

[lsemmens]

That "push thingie" is most likely the battery compartment release.

[Moem]

The L-shaped hatch in the middle has some interesting symbols... they probably tell you what can be found underneath.

[absque fenestris]

Thanks to continental China, screwdrivers and bit sets of all kinds are now very, very cheap to buy.
If you document the disassembly with digital photos and prepare the whole operation a bit cleverly*** - very little can go wrong.

*** An empty table with a white molleton (molton ..?) cloth on top, some flat bowls or other containers to put the screws sorted by size, a magnetized screwdriver to fish screws out of the motherboard, and a very good flashlight to find lost micro screws on the floor...


To clean electronic items during installation, and surfaces in general (aluminium and plastic): never use alcohol, clean petrol (lighter petrol) is very good. But please do not smoke.

Dust can be removed with a vacuum cleaner and a brush, but block fans with a toothpick.

And of course the device must never be connected to the mains and batteries / lithium batteries must be removed ...

[MintDude2013]

Hi guys:

Once again many thanks for all your great feedback !

I did download the manual. Unfortunately, with regards to especially the "Computer major components" it's all very low res and hard to make out. So, I decided to take 2 pictures, which also aren't that great because I had to use the flash. Especially the 2Gb RAM and what I think might be the CPU, the square-shaped object to the left of the RAM, are hard to make out in more detail. I'm sorry:

Am I right in assuming that to the left of what might be the CPU is the motherboard (partially hidden under the back cover)? BTW, the manual only lists Intel CPUs, no AMDs... Anyways, if that square-shaped object to the left of the RAM is actually the CPU then it might be fairly easy to exchange it for a faster one?!

BTW, the two panels (the L-shaped and the rectangular one, which are each attached to the back of the laptop by a small screw and little brackets) are fairly easy to remove. First, the battery has to be removed by pressing the "push thingie" and then the screw of the L-shaped panel has to be unscrewed. By carefully lifting the panel up and wiggling it a bit it comes off quite easily. The same goes for the rectangular one. I'll leave it for another day to remove the entire back, which is held in place by quite a few very small screws.

Many thanks again!

MintDude

[absque fenestris]

Especially the 2Gb RAM and what I think might be the CPU, the square-shaped object to the left of the RAM, are hard to make out in more detail

No, that's the WiFi-module (page 44 in the manual). For the memory look at page 45. For the harddisk look at page 46 ff.