Got a DELL Precision M4800 notebook for $5

John from PA wrote in post #19055644
OP has stated Win 7 “...is running admirably” so he doesn’t need to know anyone.

I went to Win 10 due to a couple of devices(which I don't see myself needing) having no driver
support for Win7, such as a shock sensor and something else that everyone's been doing
just fine without since the first notebooks/laptops.

Both 32-bit and 64-bit Win10 versions burned to DVD and tucked away.

I did take Dave up on his power-supply offer, so that's all good.

The best changes I've made are a 256Gb mSATA drive for OS and PS and some other programs;
as well as a 1Tb 2-1/2-inch SSD for downloads, other program installations, photo files, etc.
It's certainly much speedier now!

Dear John:

Are you the gatekeeper for this forum? Do you pass judgement on the validity of replies? I am an IT professional like, it appears, you are. I have been "doing" computers for 40 years.
I have been doing photography for over 50 years.

I was contributing an important issue. If the OP is running Windows 7, he ought to move to Windows 10. Windows 7, as you surely know, has been unsupported by MS for some time and is a serious security problem.

Maybe the OP is not aware of this. Yes, he can get 10 in various ways. He can activate it with his Windows 7 license key. Or, he may even have a digital license already and not need to know the key. I have done this numerous times, for my own computers and for others.

He can install Windows 10 and use it, unactivated, with no time limit. He can see how his programs work with 10. His Precision M4800 is definitely 10-capable. Dell has drivers for it at <support.dell.com>. The only drawback with no activation is ability to Personalize, but using his software is no issue, at least to test. He can even get another hard drive and put 10 on it, without doing away with 7 for the time being.

Do you have any argument with what I am saying?

I recently left another photography forum after growing tired of trolls who want to get snarky and argue with my advice on photography and computer subjects, because their "opinions" and "feelings" tell them they know better. I hope that will not be the case on this forum, and from you.

Take care.

canonnorm wrote in post #19057656
Dear John:

Are you the gatekeeper for this forum? Do you pass judgement on the validity of replies? I am an IT professional like, it appears, you are. I have been "doing" computers for 40 years.

No, I’m not the gatekeeper but the OP has already stated his reason for keeping this machine as Win 7. In addition he has stated in reply #7, with respect to Win 10:

SkedAddled wrote in post #18991363
Already downloaded and burned x32 and x64 versions to DVD.

So it seems to me that the OP has made an informed decision.

Having been around here a long time now, I've come to know John's character
as a person, as he's a prolific contributor with a long history who has established
himself as a respected and knowledgeable and helpful participant.

You can rest assured that John was not trying to antagonize you.
Remember, 'tone of voice' is not a part of simple text unless phrased and punctuated accordingly.

Having said that, it can be pointed out that your 2nd post is a fairly snarky rebuttal
to a well-established personality here, which does not do much to elevate your standing
with the general population.

Respectfulness, cooperation, helpfulness and humility are the values most respected
and appreciated among these fine people.

Well, "snarky" can go both ways. John could have allowed YOU to respond to my post if you wanted to.

When an OP adds information in bits and pieces over a number of posts, things can get missed. I'm new to participating in THIS forum but not new to forums. I was just trying to be helpful to you based on what I saw in your first post. Please excuse me.

canonnorm wrote in post #19057759
Well, "snarky" can go both ways. John could have allowed YOU to respond to my post if you wanted to.

Which is precisely what I did, but it was AFTER your first post to this entire forum,
and AFTER John's reply to your own FIRST posting.

I'm back to work in supplying to 'critical' or necessary products to other industries
deemed 'critical' or necessary during Coronageddon, so I don't have all the hours of the day
and night to monitor my threads.

You may have also noticed that you responded to a largely dormant thread,
if you had read through, and gleaned an understanding of how fast some of the threads
of this forum can come to conclusion.

canonnorm wrote in post #19057759
When an OP adds information in bits and pieces over a number of posts, things can get missed. I'm new to participating in THIS forum but not new to forums. I was just trying to be helpful to you based on what I saw in your first post. Please excuse me.

I do not imply that you were wrong, but I will imply that it was your own shortsightedness
of not reading through all of the discussion. There's been much more information added
since the original post, before you replied.

To be clear:
Win7 wasn't cutting it for me, so I went to Win10, as mentioned.
All devices present and accounted for, thanks to support by DELL for Win10, as mentioned.
I obtained a higher-output power brick, so no boot-time messages.
I've yet to find a suitable fan-speed control, just like uncounted other DELL users,
but I haven't mentioned that before now. Suggestions?

There was no need for me to post more about it, as I was simply boasting of a great buy,
which you also missed by not reading the thread, which was my only reason
for having posted it in the first place.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19057769
I've yet to find a suitable fan-speed control, just like uncounted other DELL users,
but I haven't mentioned that before now. Suggestions?

As far as fan speed control, have you tried what is discussed at https://www.howtogeek.​com …for-cool-quiet-operation/? I’ve used the SpeedFan utility (scroll down at the link), once, tricky to get setup.

Yep, tried everything I can for fan speed. No workie.
SpeedFan is the the best I've tried, and is updated frequently,
but it still can't penetrate DELL's code.
It's a momentary change, and must be reinstated almost constantly.

DELL seems a gigantically tough nut to crack for fan speed control,
and has been for many years. Why this is, I have no ideas.
The general public and development community has been
hacking away at this for years, but there's yet to be some sort of
realized solution which is proven to be implementable.

SpeedFan works admirably on my desktop systems, and has done so for years.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19057798
Yep, tried everything I can for fan speed. No workie.
SpeedFan is the the best I've tried, and is updated frequently,
but it still can't penetrate DELL's code.
It's a momentary change, and must be reinstated almost constantly.

Could be nothing more than an informative piece of info, but have you seen http://forum.notebookr​eview.com …ops-under-windows.805317/. Specifically the first part of the discussion where a Dell Fan Utility is mentioned (and a source is provided).

“Yes”, the discussion is for laptops but perhaps worth a try????

John from PA wrote in post #19058041
Could be nothing more than an informative piece of info, but have you seen http://forum.notebookr​eview.com …ops-under-windows.805317/. Specifically the first part of the discussion where a Dell Fan Utility is mentioned (and a source is provided).

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

However, after reading into the details, it seems it requires Windows to be forced into a 'test mode.'
A few commenters expressed possible concern over whether that would make the system vulnerable
or unstable.
At any rate, there's some jumping through hoops required to get it working at every power-on,
making it too much of a rather inconvenient and inefficient solution to spark enough interest in me for it.

SkedAddled wrote in post #19058239
Interesting. Thanks for posting.

However, after reading into the details, it seems it requires Windows to be forced into a 'test mode.'
A few commenters expressed possible concern over whether that would make the system vulnerable
or unstable.
At any rate, there's some jumping through hoops required to get it working at every power-on,
making it too much of a rather inconvenient and inefficient solution to spark enough interest in me for it.

I’m surprised you consider the start at power-on to be hoops. I thought it was pretty much adding it to the Startup folder.

How about this as a possible alternative... https://openhardwaremo​nitor.org/

Seems to be well supported and handles most chipsets.

John from PA wrote in post #19058299
I’m surprised you consider the start at power-on to be hoops. I thought it was pretty much adding it to the Startup folder.

It's more than a simple startup option; it requires Administrator privileges after startup or login,
which is more than adding it as a startup option. I've had to jump through a few hoops with a couple of
benign programs such as a tray date/clock and a bandwidth monitor by baking them into VBS scripts
to begin at login. These programs startup just fine under Win7 and even under Win10, but somehow
will only launch at startup/login under Win10 when being invoked by a VBS script.
I dunno why or how, but it does work.

John from PA wrote in post #19058299
How about this as a possible alternative... https://openhardwaremo​nitor.org/

Seems to be well supported and handles most chipsets.

Thanks. I'll look into it; it initially seems fairly promising.
I haven't yet found information about Dell laptops, which is the crux of the issue,
but I will poke around to find out what I can find out.

John from PA wrote in post #19058299
How about this as a possible alternative... https://openhardwaremo​nitor.org/

Seems to be well supported and handles most chipsets.

It looked SO promising, John!
It seemed a great option for my desktop system:
Standalone executable: no installation, no additional drivers, etc...

By comparison, here's a screenshot of ALL given options from the Dell:

SkedAddled wrote in post #19058343
It's more than a simple startup option; it requires Administrator privileges after startup or login,
which is more than adding it as a startup option.

So, just to clarify the "hoops" you refer to, and my suggestion of the Startup folder...

The link I provided earlier, https://www.howtogeek.​com …for-cool-quiet-operation/, did you scroll way, way down near the bottom to the section titled "Step Four: Set SpeedFan to Start Automatically" and try what is outlined there?