Replies

I am going to keep my fingers crossed for the user that the all-in-one holds up for at least 5 – 7 years. I saw many glowing reviews on the HP site, but they were mostly from people who had recently purchased their all-in-one computer. That’s why I made the inquiry on this forum. My friend asked me and probably other people about a replacement PC. She went from asking for advice and looking for a replacement tower to ordering the all-in-one computer on the same day. Someone probably steered her toward an all-in-one.

Her old PC had been in service since 2009, and when I took a look at the outside of the case, the intake vents were clogged with dust. I am going to be opening the case to pull her old hard drive out in the next day or two. I am betting it is going to be pretty dusty in there. Maybe the all-in-one will stay cleaner since it will be at desktop level vs the tower which was on a shelf 12″ off the floor.

In the end, the all-in-one is probably a good way for her to go. She is in her 80’s: mobility and flexibility are not there anymore. Just plugging in cables to the tower under the desk was getting to be a challenge, and she did not have room on her desk to place the tower for ease of access.

scoobydoo wrote:

In our house, where we are not power users and don’t make modifications, we like that the AIO eliminates most  cabling and can be easily moved if you need to.

The user who is in need of a new PC is not a power user and would like the cable-free set-up. She is also impatient, and bought the first all-in-one PC she found. No analysis paralysis for her. She only does web surfing and light graphics work. If her vintage 2009;Windows 7 had not died, she would still be using it, so I am sure a 2021 computer, even if it is an all-in-one, will be sufficient. I was concerned about longevity with all the components housed in a small space, but that does not seem to be a huge liability.

alejr wrote:

Black keyboard cover for HP 17-cp0124od

alejr – The laptop user bought the keyboard cover and is thrilled with how much it improved keyboard visibility. I asked if it affected keystroke sensitivity. He said no, but also said he is a slow hunt-and-peck typist.

Putting the silicone keyboard cover over the keyboard did not affect the laptop’s operating temperature, either. We tested this using a PC stress test program and a temperature monitoring program.

Thanks again for the idea.

PaulK’s experience matches mine. The CD I was given had the x-ray images and a program for viewing them. The images were in a proprietary image format. The only way to view them was with the included program. When I viewed the x-rays on-screen in the viewer program, I took a screenshot and saved that as a jpg file.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

Makers such as HP seem to load up their machines with trial software and HP specific utilities. In the case of the person who will be using this computer, not having extraneous software or utilities is more suited to their computer skill level – the pre-installed “extras”  lead to confusion or frustration. Saving space on the drive is not my motivation for asking this question.

Maybe someone who has purchased an HP computer recently and is familiar with what is pre-installed can offer some guidance.

mn– wrote:

I’d guess the Teams Free on desktop is only for those who have their own domain, or something?

I don’t think so. Try a different email address –  one that you haven’t used before (at least with Microsoft), and see if you are then able to use Teams. That is how I got it working.

One workaround that worked for me with the Teams desktop client was to log into Teams using a different email address. Basically set up a different account.

The original email address still does not work with Teams, so this is not exactly a solution to the problem. But using a different email address at least lets you use the software. If anyone else knows the cause and the fix for the “Someone has already set up Teams for your organization.” message, please share that information.

Here is an explanation I found on a Microsoft message board.  I have not tried contacting Microsoft as outlined in the answer provided by Christopher Hoard in that thread.

I

anonymous wrote:

Microsoft 365 or Teams free? Can you Manage Org?

Teams Free. I also have Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016 installed on the PC, if that makes a difference.

I never get to the Manage Org screen. When I enter sign into Teams, this is the screen that appears.

That sounds different than the issue I had. You probably have researched this to death already, but here is a link that might help.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4345210/windows-10-troubleshoot-problems-signing-in

Karla – what problem are you trying to solve? Is it the same issue that I had in my original post where the computer was only booting to Safe Mode, and was asking for a password? If not, can you describe the problem?

 

I found out Safe Mode uses your password, not your PIN, and I did not remember my password. The solution below, using Windows 10 installation media, got my PC out of Safe Mode. Credit to Time Lady, who posted the fix in this thread at answers.microsoft.com

It is not spelled out, but  when the Windows 10 install media first loads, you will see a screen that lists Language, Time, and Keyboard. Click “Next” to get to the screen that has the “Repair your computer” link in the lower left corner.

Try booting your machine with Windows 10 installation media
At the Install screen, click on “Repair” on the lower left.
Then Troubleshoot.
Advanced.
Select Command Prompt and type in the following:
bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot
If that gives an error, use:
bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

Thanks. I came across those, too. I did not realize the pin I use to log in to Windows is not the same as a password. I did log into my Windows account, and see the PC listed as one of my devices. However the Windows account password does not get me into the Windows PC. I will have to look at some of the other options.

In general a CPU from second generation I5 will be more than sufficient for your purpose.
I have a lot of those PC’s running with my clients and they all function well.

From fourth gen CPU onwards,  average CPU temps will be much lower. I would prefer this as a minimum.

hvgsel51 – Thanks for the above advice about selecting processors. I will keep that in mind the next time I am computer shopping.

MrJimPhelps – yes, in this case, we did end up with a new Acer desktop computer instead 0f the used HP.  I thought Acer was a lesser brand compared to Dell or HP. The Microcenter associate said that it was no longer the case, that Acer’s quality had improved once Acer purchased Gateway.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was helping a non-technical family member select a PC to be used by them and their 90 year old mother It had to be a Windows PC for the sake of the 90 year old who is a Windows user and is not looking to migrate to a Chromebook.

The i5 was no longer in stock I found this PC as an alternative.

HP EliteDesk 800 G1
Intel Core i7 4770 3.4GHz Processor
16GB DDR3-1600 RAM
512GB SSD
Intel HD Graphics 4600
Windows 10 Pro
10/100/1000 LAN
$369.99

We ended up with this computer

Acer Aspire TC-865
Intel Core i5 9400 2.9GHz Processor
8GB DDR4-2666 RAM
512GB SSD
Intel UHD Graphics 630
Windows 10 Home
DVD-RW Drive
10/100/1000 LAN + WiFi 5 WLAN
$499.99

I was going to need to add a $20 wifi card to the HP desktop to make it meet our requirements. The salesperson suggested a new computer with new components and faster memory would be a better performer, and would nave  a 1-year warranty vs 90 day warranty for the HP. I thought Acer was lesser brand computer. The salesperson said that was no longer the case. I live several states away from the family member who is buying the computer, so maybe new is a better option for reliability and support.

I have typically had very good luck with used computers. I have three that are 7 to 10 years old, they work well and are reliable.  In this case, for a user who is not comfortable troubleshooting a computer, maybe new is better.

Thanks again