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Since your primary use case is just online classes, a simple 4GB RAM upgrade along with an 256GB SSD should be more than sufficient for your daily needs. The cost of this upgrade should less than 5K.

Thanks a lot. Will look into this option.

You could try installing Windows 10 and then debloating.
Read the instructions carefully and proceed with caution :
https://christitus.com/
If you debloat without reading and understanding what you are removing, you may end up removing some essential features.
Good luck!

Ummm. I've had a Sony VAIO E-series(VPECEA45FG for the specific model) that is very similar to your laptop except it had a 256GB HDD and a 512 ATI GPU.

It never had troubles running Windows 10 nor was it slow, for general use cases. It was quite snappy and responsive for a machine that old. It had a 1st gen Core I3 CPU and originally came with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed.

Turn on the laptop and let it idle for an hour or so, do not let it sleep or hibernate. It being plugged in is okay.

Open task manager, click on advanced/more button and see what is actually using up your CPU/RAM/Storage. In most cases system freezes/lockups happen because of some process or app using more storage bandwith or RAM than needed.

My suggestion before you spend cash on upgrades would be to backup then format the HDD and re-install Windows from scratch.

And the regular advice I give people -

• An additional anti-virus app is a nice addon, but not necessarily needed. Windows Defender is pretty good at what it does.
• Ensure your HDD is not filled to the brim.
• Disable unneded startup apps and completely uninstall ones you don't need.

Online classes don't require much RAM and 4GB is ok for now. If you need to future proof the machine though, add another 4GB of RAM and swap the HDD for a SSD like others said.

Just placed an Amazon Order for this Lenovo Thinkpad E14 Ryzen 5 4500 Model, to replace my 5 Yr. old HP i3 Laptop. After mediocre experiences with my previous 2 HP Laptops in regards to performance and build quality, wanted to try another manufacturer. Was thinking about Dell / Asus with Intel Mid-range Processor. Then came across these posts, which led me to this Lenovo Model. Honestly, I have no prior experience with Lenovo or Thinkpad's. Ordered this Laptop just on the basis of trust of T-Bhp Community. Hopefully this stays reliable with no niggles and serves me well in the long run.

Thanks mvadg for this info. I went through the link but I think since I am not that tech savvy I need to take help while uninstalling Win 8.1, taking backup and reinstalling Win 10. I dont think I will be able to do this immediately but will have to look into this at a later point in time. But thanks a lot for your time and for giving this info.

In my 16 years experience of using laptops, Lenovo/ThinkPad had the least reliability. It was a X220 touch screen version purchased in 2012. I had to change the screen once, keyboard twice, adapter twice and finally the corner of display broke when i accidentally pressed on screen. This is during a 3 year usage. I moved to Dell xps 13 4k with touch in 2015 , only had to change its battery. It travelled with me all over the word. I am still using it.

Thanks a lot MatteBlack for the suggestions. I will look into the task Manager to find out the tasks which are taking more RAM usage.

Regarding the backup of Win 8.1 and reinstalling I need to take help, hence will consider it at a later point of time.

Regarding the list:
1. I had a McAfee antivirus for two years and I have not renewed it this year and am using the Windows Defender. But I think I did not see any difference in speed when the antivirus was installed versus now when it is not.
2. Regarding the storage I have two drives: C Drive - 100 GB free out of 163 GB , E Drive - 177 GB free out of 292 GB.
3. I will look into the startup programs and will uninstall those which are not required.

Once again thanks a lot for your suggestions.

Well, that does not inspire a lot of confidence. I did do a bit of reading and research and Reviews for ThinkPad Series seem to be decent and good. Not so much for IdeaPad or other series. That being said, I Hope for the Best.

Yes, I bought my top of the line Thinkpad expecting the same. It was purchased from lenovo USA. Hope you have better luck with yours.

Anecdotes aside, Thinkpads are some of the most reliable laptops one can get. This is based on sample sizes extending into the thousands for company/IT orders as well as comparing across the market.

That said, you can end up with a lemon regardless of make/manufacturer. So long as you thoroughly test your purchase during the return window, I can't see you going wrong with the choice.

Absolutely, have been using Thinkpads since 2006 (R, T series) both in office and home.

Never faced any issues.

They are one of the most sturdiest, reliable and refined machines.

I suspect you have the Microsoft antivirus as well as the McAfee antivirus running. Microsoft Defender is good enough, and free. You should remove McAfee av. Even if you have not renewed it, it is likely running in the background (not doing you any good with ancient malware signatures) and slowing your system.
McAfee can be quite persistent and difficult to uninstall, use their tool (MCPR - McAfee consumer products remover tool). Download it from their site:
http://download.mcafee.com/products/...tches/MCPR.exe

Thanks everyone for your inputs. I raised a ticket with the IT folks last weekend and battery was replaced today. It was a 10 min job replacing the battery.

Hello everyone,

I was not sure whether this question belonged in the monitor or laptop threads, but I decided to ask it here:

I have this laptop: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This external monitor:
https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And this USB-C hub:
https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The laptop specs clearly mention that the USB-C port supports DisplayPort 1.4, and there is a DisplayPort logo next to the port.

However, I am unable to use the above mentioned Honeywell Hub to connect my monitor to the laptop. The monitor simply shows 'No signal detected' when I plug it in. No external monitor shows up in Device Manager when connected through the hub.

The same HDMI cable works fine when I plug it into the laptop's HDMI port, so that cable is not the problem.

I have tested several other ports on the hub (both USB-A, the card readers and the LAN port, and they all work, suggesting that the supplied USB-C cable is OK.

I have spent about 6 hours searching on the net for possible fixes, with absolutely no luck. My OS (Windows 10) and BIOS are fully up to date.

Could someone suggest ways to trouble shoot whether the problem is with my laptop, the hub or software related? I can return the hub to Amazon if necessary, but I would like to keep it if possible, since it is a nicely built piece and has all the ports I need.

This is what Device Manager shows with the hub NOT plugged in:




This is what is shown WITH the hub plugged in, with the additional USB devices highlighted:


Thanks in advance for any help or advice.