Hey, folks… my little netbook’s been heating up and locking up, so the Kin & Distant Relations for this month is going to be going up tomorrow when I can commandeer another computer to finish it.
I hate to be missing deadlines and pushing them back after making it most of the way through the month hitting all of them… but it’s been a month of interesting challenges and I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m still going to close out the month having accomplished everything I set out to do, and all the main story chapters delivered on time.
I’m mulling whether to try to pick up an external cooling solution, or just save my money for my next netbook… a cooling surface might fix the most obvious problem, or it might end up be a waste of money if the locking up and other problems aren’t related to the heating. I’m going to be hurting for lack of a portable computer right now while I’m with Jack but I’ll be back in Omaha inside of a few weeks and won’t be going anywhere for more than an overnight stay for another half a year after that, so on the balance I think saving my money is the smarter decision.
Anyway, at the end of the month I think I have a winning formula when it comes to the main Tales of MU update schedule. I may be experimenting with the Other Tales/Kin & Distant Relations schedule in November to try to space things out a little more intelligently, but it’ll be the same amount of updates for you all… and maybe a little bit more. Because I’ve been writing flash fiction all month, and I’m going to start posting it on Fantasy In Miniature on November 3rd.
So: MU chapters will keep coming on the 1st of the month and the all the 4s. Other stuff will be four times a month, but I might be playing with the when and the how.
AE, I’d be willing to bet you could get enough donations to get something functional that would solve this issue. A tablet with a keyboard, or a new netbook, would be pretty inexpensive and probably within your readerships’ ability to fund.
I know I’ve appreciated the schedule a lot. I can’t be the only one. 🙂
Hi, long time reader, first time poster.
Had a similar problem which can be ‘fixed’ for under thirty dollars.
Take a shoebox, punch a bunch of holes in the side and bottom. Place it on your desk upside down.
Position a fan such that it will blow into the holes on one side.
Bam! instant cooling system. This kept my old laptop going for an extra year or so after the fan was completely stopped (motor burnt out).
That ought to get you between computers at least 🙂
You’d be surprised how much pointing a fan at the netbook can do.
Assuming you’ve not already tried this, but…
Invest in a can of compressed air, and clean the vents and fans. Heat is _the_ laptop killer. Properly cleaning them from time to time is essential. The fact that they’re portable means they get gunked up relatively quickly compared to a standard desktop, and they’ve got nothing like the airflow of a standard PC case.
Search up your exact netbook on Youtube, see if there’s a cleaning guide.
The cooling system is a good investment whether you get a new netbook or keep the current one as you can of course use it on the new unit as well.
If you can afford the long distance call feel free to call me (website attached) and I can walk you through some free troubleshooting for your system.
Sable
Guh.. or not attached:
homecomputerhelpers.com
When I was looking for information before buying a cooling stand for my laptop, all the sites basically said if you’re using a laptop for extended periods of time – whether for work or gaming – you need to have a cooler.
My HP laptop was getting burning hot on the bottom, and freezing up a lot. Now with the same extended used (on a tabletop – I had it sitting on a trivet so there was some ventilation, but the fan is much better) it is actually cool to the touch, and the freezing seems to have mostly stopped.
It may be too late for your computer but you might want to look into it even if you get a new one.
The one I got was the Cooler Master:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Ergostand-Notebook-R9-NBS-4UAK/dp/B003GCQ1YI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1317846410&sr=8-5
Just to let you know, my subscription donation will be coming through a couple days late because I changed debit cards.
I had to replace my laptop and I got one of those little laptops – this one was $800 AUD, but you can get them for around $400 AUD… at least, that was the case a few months ago. They might be cheaper these days, and of course it might be different in the US. But yeah, these are cheaper than most laptops because of their size, which to me is a bonus since they’re lighter and use less power, meaning they don’t need to be plugged in for as long.
Keep up the good work (I’m not up to date but I assume it’s good :D).
i really recommend getting a non net book option next time around, NCIX.com is a really affordable company, watch their specials, yuo can probably get acer or asus for 2-300 bucks that will last you a couple years of moderate use.
netbooks tend to be really, really compressed in terms of components and often have very poor air flow. so compressed air is probably a good idea to extend the life of your current unit.