Computer woes

I use an old Toshiba 17 inch laptop.

mine looks kinda like this except for a binder clip holding the screen on the left

  It runs Windows 10 and works fairly well.  It's not a speed demon, I wouldn't want to use it for editing large documents or editing video but it's all right for browsing and light document editing.  Also it runs the PIC programming software and the circuit board design software I use just fine.

And I'm used to it, especially the keyboard and the touchpad.  Maybe it's the mythical muscle memory but when I move to a different computer (I have a Thinkpad as a backup) it just isn't the same.  I waste a lot of time correcting typing mistakes and the cursor doesn't quite move the same way.  Also I like the bigger 17 inch screen compared to the 15.5 inch or smaller laptops.

But I may have to change for a couple of reasons:  First, the future death of Windows 10 support.  This Toshiba doesn't have the right internals to pass the Windows 11 test so no upgrade (probably fair since it started as a Windows 8.1 machine).

Second, this Toshiba is just wearing out.  The hinge between the screen and the main part is broken on the left side so I don't dare ever close it anymore.  Hinges are the weak point of a cheap laptop computer, especially if the computer gets dropped.  I had some issues with the keyboard but that turned out to be just dust under the keycaps.  This was dealt with using a shop vac being careful not to vac the keycaps off.   The female connector for the power supply is also intermittent.

But now  the computer has begun stopping erratically.  I don't seem to lose data but just out of the blue it will stop.  Then I have to turn off the power, remove the battery, and let it cool off and then it seems to restart OK.   I've looked this up online and overheating was blamed.  Inside this PC there is an AMD A6 processor which has a copper heat pipe going over to a heat sink/fan assembly.  I took off the bottom cover and while there was some dust inside nothing looked blocked - again the shop vac was used on the dust.  And the Toshiba seems to work.  But for how long ?

I've asked my usual source (where I got the used Thinkpad) about a Windows 11 capable machine but he doesn't have any.  I've also looked on ebay for used Toshiba 17 inch laptops like this one but they are surprisingly expensive and often don't include Windows.  And Toshiba doesn't seem to make PCs anymore.

We'll see what happens.  As I've said before, I hate entropy :)  

https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-only-thing-i-hate-is-entropy.html

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm