Information overload

[Workingman]

Re the laptop. Total ballcocks, just upgrade some of the hardware (RAM, SSD) and install the latest Win 11.

Re the TV. Either get a bigger dish and / or connect to another satellite with English channels. If you don't have a remote and directionable dish you might need to do it manually, or get a remote.

[JanB]

Wm, I can't get an ssd for this laptop, so I've been told.

No point getting a dish, it just won't work anymore. There is not another satellite that works this way.

[Suff]

Not another dish Jan, a much bigger dish. This is why it stopped working. They are adjusting the signal and making it weaker outside of the UK.

In order to get enough signal you need a bigger dish to capture more of it and make it strong enough to use. My signal strength dropped 25% and I'm considering a bigger dish.

As for the SSD, and RAM for the Laptop, I'm inclined to agree with WM. Unless you have something about 16 or 17 years old the interfaces for disk and memory will support what you need. Mrs S is running a 14 year old laptop which I had when mine died and before I bought my mega laptop. It has a SSD and is upgraded to more ram than it came with (4x the ram).

I'm drowning in old laptop memory right now so if we find you need what I have I'll send it to you. I've run out of drawer space to store it and started throwing out the really old stuff.

If you can give us the model number we'll tell you. It is usually on the bottom a photo would do it.

Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements so it might not take that but Windows 10 is perfectly capable. No reason why it should not work perfectly all but one of my machines runs on W10.

Also if you can run a command for us. Press the Windows key and the R key together and put ms-settings:about in the run box then press enter and capture it for us, we will know a lot more. Although that's a bit harder.

[JanB]

a much bigger dish.

It won't work WM, there is nothing pointing this way. No-one, and I mean not one bpod in Portugal, this far south is able to get anything at all. Nothing, nada, zilch.

Suff, I'll try that tomorrow, no point me trying to send you a catch something or other, I have a phone that sends and receives phone calls and texts

[Suff]

I just had a look. I guess if you had a dish the size of a house you might get something.

You are, then, stuck with Internet and VPN and a streaming device (FireTV being one).

Starlink you buy the dish and the router. Then you pay a monthly charge. Or you can continue to use your local internet if it is good enough.

VPN you need to be careful, if your locals who are advising you say it works I won't say no. My solution I'll give personally but not publicly. Public forums are scanned.

Fire TV or Fire TV stick are easily available from Amazon. The stick is fine for your requirements.

The only thing to remember with the FireTV, or any streaming stick, is that you are logging into accounts which are UK based. So you need to set them up UK based, which means whichever phone or laptop, etc, is registering for them needs to be on the VPN and any time you need phone or browser to log in, it should be on the VPN.

Quickest way to lose your streaming is to be detected as in Portugal.

It is easy once all set up, but you need to be fairly diligent when using it. This stuff is not like switching a hoover on.

[JanB]

Thanks Suff, we already knew there would be problems.

We don't have a great wifi signal, winters are worst.

I'll be chatting to another super whizzy bloke tomorrow, he's sorted another friend out, who is more than happy. We'll see.

[JanB]

On another note, laptop is a lenovo, model No: 80T7

I did the rs thingy, but I a strong wrist and lots of paper to tell you what it all said.

Sorry, so completely un techy of Encalho.

[Workingman]

Jan, the Lenovo is a Win 10 machine, it's upgradeable to Win 11 or stay at 1O. It can have an SSD and more memory. You do not need a new lappy.

[Suff]

Seems to be a think pad 110.

Here is a video on how to upgrade it. If it is the same basic spec as this one before upgrade it will be virtually unusable.

upgrade video

I can certainly send you a ram dimm like this and a hard drive would be relatively cheap and it would gain a whole new lease of life.

However you would need someone who knows what to do plus the USB Dock to clone the new drive with.

[JanB]

Thanks Suff, I'll have a word with Steve this afternoon.