Problems with an old laptop I pulled off the shelf

RaymondWindoz10 · 01 Jun 2019

My Dell laptop went on the fritz Thursday.
It would not charge from the power cable.

The power cable works just fine, the green light is on.....all good.

I thought it might be the AC power jack so I removed the back of the laptop and checked to see if it was tight or if anything looked unusual. ..........all good there.

So, I carried it to a local repair guy with a good reputation on Yelp and he told me the motherboard had a short circuit, and because I only paid $300-$350 (on Sale ) for it new, it would not be cost effective to have it replaced.

So.......I will shop around for a new one this week.

I removed the HD, fan and 8GB RAM in case I can use them in the future.

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I pulled my old HP laptop ( bought 3 years ago ) off the shelf. It has not been used since Xmas 2017. It took me 6,8 hours to download updates and change a few settings.

I ran CCleaner, Avast, Defender and Malwarebytes.

I downloaded 5,6 HP updates (drivers) but I still have 20 or so left to go.

In spite of the ones I downloaded, they did not show up on a download list from HP and the numbers did not reduce themselves from the number I had to download.

When I go to yahoo to see my mail, I cannot SEND emails and I can't delete any of them.
If I write a draft to save for later, it won't save.

I have started and restarted several times to refresh.

If I use my smartphone to go to yahoo, everything is fine.
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Why aren't my updates loading and disappearing off the list ?
What is the problem with yahoo ? I don't have any problems with GMAIL.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks

RaymondWindoz10 · 01 Jun 2019

One more problem.......when I am watching a youtube video or listening to the radio online......I can normally hit the speaker icon at the top, in the tab, to kill the volume.

It doesn't work now.

What is my malfunction?

hsehestedt · 01 Jun 2019

If it's been quite some time since you ran this system, maybe the HP Support Assistannt that checks for updates needs to be updated. Try manually downloading the latest version, install it, and then run it again to see if it can download all the updates.

It sounds like you are at least getting a list of updates that you need, so you may be able to download them manually from the HP Web Site.

Note: I'm finding that by far the majority of updates for HP laptops running Windows 10 get installed automatically by Windows update lately. You might try Windows Update first, reboot, then start the search for drivers over again using HP Support Assistant.

As for Yahoo e-mail, I'm afraid I can't be of too much help there. Maybe try a different browser?

RaymondWindoz10 · 01 Jun 2019

hsehestedt said:

If it's been quite some time since you ran this system, maybe the HP Support Assistannt that checks for updates needs to be updated. Try manually downloading the latest version, install it, and then run it again to see if it can download all the updates.

I'll try the HP Support Assistant suggestion.
I have mail going to gmail and yahoo, but I use yahoo because I have used it for years........

I'll try the HP suggestion and see what happens

Thanks

thomaseg1 · 01 Jun 2019

There is a newer version as Hsehestedt says, I had to download it for my hp elitebook.
I had about 2 drivers that weren't up to date. Most Windows to care of.

mrgeek · 01 Jun 2019

RaymondWindoz10 said:

I pulled my old HP laptop ( bought 3 years ago ) off the shelf. It has not been used since Xmas 2017. It took me 6,8 hours to download updates and change a few settings.
I downloaded 5,6 HP updates (drivers) but I still have 20 or so left to go.In spite of the ones I downloaded, they did not show up on a download list from HP and the numbers did not reduce themselves from the number I had to download.

First off, do this before wasting any more time on this older laptop- what version of Windows are you on at this point ? Win+R, type winver/OK and post Version # and Build #. This will determine where Windows Update should point you. After we deal with this issue -
I have 4 HP machines. Their Support page for your laptop is, no doubt, not up to date. As suggested, download the HP Support Assistant, run it and have it check for Updates. This is the most reliable way to get up to date on device drivers and pre-installed software. Then run Windows Update to see if it finds any others. But not until we settle on which version of Win10 you should have.
Your email and youtube sound issues are browser issues, not OS related and may be resolved by resetting or reinstalling. What browserr are you using ? Have you tested if the issues exist on a different one, like Edge ?
Finally, if this laptop, not used for 3 yrs, has little data and few programs, I would just clean install the latest Win10 and reinstall the programs, like browsers and all your issues will be fixed w/o wasting diagnostic time. Good Luck, whichever way you go.

RaymondWindoz10 · 02 Jun 2019

mrgeek said:

First off, do this before wasting any more time on this older laptop- what version of Windows are you on at this point ? Win+R, type winver/OK and post Version # and Build #. This will determine where Windows Update should point you. After we deal with this issue -
I have 4 HP machines. Their Support page for your laptop is, no doubt, not up to date. As suggested, download the HP Support Assistant, run it and have it check for Updates. This is the most reliable way to get up to date on device drivers and pre-installed software. Then run Windows Update to see if it finds any others. But not until we settle on which version of Win10 you should have.

The Win + R did not work for me, so I used.......... Settings - System - About
Anyhow, I have Windows Version 1803 - Build Number 17134.199

I clicked through every link on HP Support Assist. It has taken about 2 hours so far.

I downloaded all of their updates and system checks.

But, when I download the drivers, they still fail to delete themselves from the list.
If I recall, I thought that there was a function that would allow us to just hit a link that says download drivers and it downloads all of them at one time and installs them. I dunno, perhaps it was my Dell.

But it is annoying to download each one individually and not see the results on the download list. It makes me wonder if they have been installed even if I see them in the Download Folder.

I have re-run everything I did before........Defender, Ccleaner, Malwarebytes, Avast........

I was using Firefox and Duck Duck Go on my Dell.
This HP has Google and Duck Duck Go.

Would my circumstances improve if I used Firefox or Opera ?

BTW, my email still malfunctions..........I still can't delete email and I can't see beyond Friday's emails.
Thursday and beyond don't show up, but they do on my iPhone.

mrgeek · 02 Jun 2019

" I have Windows Version 1803 - Build Number 17134.199"

This is now two Win10 versions behind and even if you stay on 1803, it's more than a dozen updates behind ( https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...update-history ) and due for end support in Nov. If it were mine and you don't have a lot of data and programs on it (you shouldn't if you haven't used it in a while) then I would just reformat and Clean Install (search for tutorial) or use the Update Assistant and elect to 'Keep nothing' Update to Latest Version of Windows 10 using Update Assistant both of which which may take less than 2 hrs to update to 1903.

"I clicked through every link on HP Support Assist. It has taken about 2 hours so far."

If you still want to muddle thru current version, you shouldn't have to download anything manually. Your HP Support Assistant program should open like this -

Problems with an old laptop I pulled off the shelf-screenshot_1.jpg

and when you click 'Check for Updates and messages', will retrieve ALL updates and auto install them for you. Download HPSA here - HP Support Assistant | HP(R) Official Site

"This HP has Google and Duck Duck Go. Would my circumstances improve if I used Firefox or Opera ?"

Those are Search engines, NOT browsers. Install Firefox or use built in Edge in 1803 (look in Start men, lower L corner) and test signing in on yahoo or gmail with your address and password. I'm betting it will work just like your iPhone which probably uses Safari.
Finally, you are way behind on updates. I would just start fresh rather than consume time diagnosing but that's me.

spunk · 02 Jun 2019

Press the Windows key +X and choose Device Manager. In the Device Manager, do you have any Yellow flags? If so, these devices need drivers. If there are No yellow flags, you do NOT need to install any drivers, unless your devices are not working correctly. If you need drivers,
You can use HP Support, or just go to the HP Support/Download drivers site and type in your full model # from the sticker on the bottom of the laptop. Select your version of Windows 10 (ie) 32 Bit or 64 bit. and download any drivers you need.
When you download a driver, it comes in as a Zipped file. It Unzips to a place on the C:\ drive. Usually C:\SWTools or somesuch. Take note of where it goes. If a driver fails, you can browse to that location, open the folder and find Setup.exe to manually start the driver install.
To make sure your OS is in good shape, go to Settings/Update & Security and run All Windows Updates.
Also, press the Windows key+X and choose Powershell (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin) here type SFC /scannow.
this will replace any missing system files.
Finally, you can manually upgrade your system to the latest Windows 10 version 1903 by going here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

ram1220 · 02 Jun 2019

First off you say you using Avast and Defender. I don't know how you are running both. Usually Defender is deactivated if you install another antivirus. If you somehow are running both as you say then that could be part of your issue. Yahoo just updated their email program. If you have not allowed them to install the mail update that could be why you are having issues with Yahoo mail. I know I was bombarded with the "You must upgrade now" popup every time I logged into Yahoo mail recently.