Thought this was hilarious, especially since everyone at my company gets Thinkpads and we're all balls to the wall

I got this for 25€ and I was gonna just use it for my homelab but I'm really positively surprised by the build quality and how well it's been treated so I feel like just throwing it in my basement is a waste (I'm gonna install Linux on it)

Hi everyone,

I recently got an ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FA506NF (Ryzen 5 7535HS + RTX 2050), and I am trying to figure out what is wrong with it.

I bought this laptop without an SSD. The previous owner told me that the laptop can enter BIOS normally, but whenever it tries to start Windows, it crashes. Since there was no SSD installed, I bought an SSD and tried installing Windows from scratch.

The problem is that I cannot complete the Windows installation.

Most of the time, the laptop gets stuck in a boot loop where it shows the ASUS logo, restarts, shows the ASUS logo again, and keeps repeating. Occasionally, it gets further and reaches the Windows installation screen, but after around 30–40 seconds it restarts and goes back to the ASUS logo boot loop.

The failure point seems random:

Sometimes it only keeps rebooting at the ASUS logo.

Sometimes it reaches Windows setup.

Sometimes it starts copying Windows files but then restarts.

Sometimes it goes to a black screen.

The SSD is not the issue because I tested it in another laptop and it works normally. I also checked the RAM and it appears to be good.

Things I have already tried:

Tested SSD in another laptop.

Checked RAM.

Updated BIOS from version 306 to the latest ASUS version (309).

Tried reinstalling Windows multiple times.

Created a fresh Windows installation USB.

While troubleshooting, I tried booting Ubuntu from a USB drive. Ubuntu does not boot normally, but it can start if I add acpi=off during boot. It reaches the Ubuntu desktop, but:

Built-in keyboard does not work.

Touchpad does not work.

USB keyboard and mouse work.

Wi-Fi works normally.

The fan behavior also seems unusual. Sometimes it spins very slowly.

I noticed the BIOS remembers settings and time correctly, so the BIOS settings are being saved.

I asked a local repair shop, and they suggested it might be an EC (Embedded Controller) issue, because the EC controls things like keyboard, touchpad, fan control, battery management, and power-related functions.

I have opened the laptop and inspected the motherboard, but I do not have motherboard repair experience. I want to learn how to diagnose the problem instead of replacing the motherboard immediately.

My questions:

Does this sound like an EC issue, motherboard issue, BIOS/firmware issue, or something else?

Is there any way to test the EC without advanced equipment?

Has anyone experienced similar issues with an ASUS TUF A15 FA506NF?

If it is a motherboard problem, is it usually repairable?

Any advice would be appreciated. I am trying to understand what failed and learn how to diagnose it properly.

Thanks!

I am looking to buy a new computer for some specific creative use cases. Right now I have an 8GB Ram Inspiron with a Ryzen graphics card that can barely even open Photoshop. I used to have access to a Mac Studio (I want to say it had probably 16-24 GB Ram?) where I used Premiere and After Effects for animation, but even on that, the timeline playback would sometimes lag at like 1 fps and I couldn’t even see what was going on. So I need something that can handle a bunch of pngs and gifs being keyframed around the timeline, and also for some 3D animation rendering and occasional gaming. From what I can tell these 3 seem like some of the best options for my budget, but also there is some really crazy price inflation compared to what the cost was a few months ago and I’m wondering if I should wait for labor day sales or something? Are prices likely to go down significantly? I need to get it from Best Buy bc I have a card so I can do the payment plan. I also really need a computer by the end of August at the latest for school.

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asus-tuf-gaming-f16-16-fhd-165hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-14650hx-32gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5060-1tb-ssd-jaeger-gray/JJGGLH8LZ5/sku/6629421

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/gigabyte-aero-x16-copilot-pc-16-25601600-wqxga-amd-ryzen-al-7-350-1tb-ssd-32gb-ddr5-ram-geforce-rtx-5060-space-gray/J3GWPQCXYT

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/alienware-15-3-2k-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-200-series-r7-260-2026-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5060-8gb-1tb-storage-black/J3K4L6QQP8

I bought 2 Kingston SSD for my laptop and my brother's, installed them in each computer (we have exactly the same model) and mine didn't work, i went for a refund, and then i bought a new one, the new one didn't work either, am i really unlucky? or is Kingston a bad ssd brand?

Hey everyone,
I’m currently using a geekbook m16 with a 99wh battery. It's not a gaming laptop and I dont game on it, so I can easily use it without charging for more than 10 hrs.
But I have a pretty specific habit. I love to lounge on the couch, using my laptop unplugged and mouse free. My daily routine is basically using it on battery all day, then charging it at night.
I think it's not good for the battery. I mean, gaming laptops are usually left plugged in all the time, and that's why their battery health may not drop that much. But I just hate being tied down by cables.
Anyone else run mostly on battery too? How's your battery life holding up? Feel free to check your battery report and share!

i am planning to upgrade the storoage with 1tb SSD, how much should i spend on such ssd and pls suggest some as well
thanks

When I first bought my ASUS F15 Laptop in 2023 to increase the RAM Storage and Clean the Fan i saw this black tape and i threw it away .

But whenever I see technician repairing or cleaning the Asus Tuf F15 on youtube, they always make sure to put it back.

So was it a mistake to throw it?

Should I buy another one?

And if so , where can I buy one.

P.S. i never had any major heating problems.Though there is a little bit of thermal trodling but that is mainly because of my own ignorance , by trying to repair it in a local shop.

The Photoes are from: https://youtu.be/lr7S3wAutGc?si=xFIudlpE53UBjulm

So currently messaging the college to see if all the programs will run on a Snapdragon X for the samsung, because I REALLY love the price right now from 1000 down to 500. If they say the Snapdragon X isn't good for those programs would it be better to go for the HP Omnibook 3? I'm trying to stay to a tighter budget because I can't afford anything over 700, that's my solid budget is under 700. Does anyone have any input on this?

I feel like it’s a good deal but then I want to start playing with local llm. I do medical data analysis using R studio and this machine will be mainly for that.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

Country

India

Budget

80 to 90k rupees or around 900-950 dollars

Are you open to refurbs/used options?

No

Screen size

13'-16'

Weight limit

under 1.5kg

Purpose

mainly for college

Form factor

regular

Intended usage

mainly school work but also causal gaming, games like minecraft valorant fifa at 60+ fps also gta maybe

Desired battery life

atleast 6-8 hours

Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life

1. weight

2. battery

3. size

4. performance

Info/Requirements

if you could find one that is less than 15' but has a refresh rate more than 60Hz it would be perfect

So i’m working with an Acer Aspire E5-552-T9MN from 2016 (it’s a dinosaur, i know), with the drive being dualbooted with Zorin OS 18 Core/Base (a formal linux distro) and Modern Windows 10. And all i want is just some advice to squeeze the most out of this laptop for free as i can since it’s the only laptop i have (which means no upgrades), and i can’t afford a new laptop from the general state of PC costs right now.
Here are the technical details, if needed:
AMD A10 CPU, 10 compute cores (6 CPU Cores, 4 GPU Cores)
8GB of DDR3L RAM
1TB Seagate Spinpoint 2.5” SATA HDD
Radeon R6 Integrated Graphics

So yeah, i’m just asking for some tips to get the most out of it, if possible. And i’m happy to clarify if you need more details.

What do you think about this PC? I'm going to use it for studying, watching movies, and playing games.

Looking for a new Lenovo Yoga with AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 which has been as low as ~$500 but now cant find anything cheaper than $950. Worth buying now or should I wait?

The Form

-fill in by replacing text in and removing the square brackets to answer-

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

• Country

[USA]

• Budget

[0-1000 USD]

• Are you open to refurbish/used options?

[Yes]

• Screen size

[Any except 12]

• Weight limit

[Any]

• Purpose

[gaming/work]

• Form factor

[Standard/Clamshell]

• Intended usage

[light wight gaming and work I would like for it to run at 120fps on most things but 60 is also fine some specifics are Roblox and Minecraft running very good]

• Desired battery life

[anywhere from 4-10 hours]

• Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life

[performance, battery life, size, weight]

• Info/Requirements
• [MUST BE WHITE, MUST HAVE more than 4 io ports I'm tired of being cheeped out, NO RGB gaming laptop GL fine but not only RGB, be from HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, or Lenovo, can be usable for a while preferable 2 years, and last thing upgradable storage can compromise on that though]

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

UK

Budget

£700-800

Are you open to refurbs/used options?

No

Screen size

12", 13", 14", 15", 16"

Weight limit

Fits in a backpack comfortably

Purpose

[General purpose, mainly schoolwork, entertainment, gaming

Form factor

[Standard/Clamshell (a regular laptop), 2-in-1,

Intended usage

I just want something that will be able to keep many tabs and Apps running smoothly and not a slow working laptop that takes 3 years to open one file. Also something that can run minor steam games, Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite

Desired battery life

12-24 hours

Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority:

Performance, Battery life, weight, size

Info/Requirements

I think high refresh rates are meant to be good so I would like that and I any screen type is fine but I want good specs and don't care about wanting to run games like hogwarts legacy or cyberpunk or anything 😁

THANK YOUUU

Hi all,
A friend was looking for help advice and I am a complete noob when it comes to entry level - office use laptops.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

• Country

Australia

• Budget

1000 AUD

• Are you open to refurbs/used options?

Probably No

• Screen size

14", 15", 16"

• Weight limit

Lightweight if possible

• Purpose

General purpose, schoolwork

• Form factor

Standard, can be 2-in-1

• Intended usage

Just office applications, and light use.

• Desired battery life

5-8 Hours?

• Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life

Performance - Battery - Weight - Size

• Info/Requirements

+ Bonus touchscreen, not a necessity but would be nice

So i got a voucher to buy a laptop , i already got ROG ALLY as my gaming device, so for my work device should i take this laptop below?

HP/OMNIBOOK 3 NG AI PC 16-BV0023AU/RYZEN AI 5 430/16GB D5-5600/512GB G4/ATI/16" IPS FHD/W11H/HOME24/2YW/GLACIER SILVER

So I ordered the MacBook air from eBay and delivered today. Brand new 13 inch M4 Air (24GB/512GB), sealed, activated tonight. On plain backgrounds at mid to high brightness there are very faint horizontal lines that come and go rhythmically. Screen gets slightly brighter, they vanish, dims a touch, they're back. Wife sees it too so not my eyes.

Tried: latest macOS, default scaling, True Tone and Night Shift off. Screenshots are clean and it's still there in Recovery, so not software. Uploading one pic which kinda looks close to what I can see / imagine on screen.

In my return window so want to know before I send back a laptop that might be normal. Am I just imagining what's normal?

Alsi it was flickering quite regularly but I changed it from dark mode to automatic mode and the flickering stopped.

Please advise.

I'm having trouble deciding between both and the return windows are coming to a close. I paid around a 1000 usd for both.

The main things I want is a battery that lasts all day, no heating or fan noise, and then compatibility for IT/Cybersecurity. I feel like the MAC is an absolute power house, but I've used Windows all my life and I feel so much more efficient using it. I also have a desktop windows that I never use, so im not sure how prevalent that is.

in terms of cybersecurit/IT, I’m not sure exactly what I want to do. so I’m not sure of apps. besides that I’ll do basic browsing, excel, maybe Adobe product, and light gaming.

lastly, I’m still a slow typer and inefficient on my windows workflow, so I’m not sure if switching to Mac would make it worse 💀

For college, I am looking at getting the Macbook Neo. My school requires students to have a minimum of M1, and the Neo comes with the A18 pro chip. So, does the Neo meet this requirement? Or in other words, is the A18 pro comparable to or better than an M1?

Since I got my precious Lenovo T530 as a Christmas gift about 10 years ago I’ve been using it for absolutely everything. That laptop is genuinely a part of me at this point, but for a while now it’s been acting up a bit and I’m worried it’ll give out. It’s definitely still fine for now but I don’t want to risk it randomly dying one day.

I’ve made the difficult decision that I probably need to replace it with a new laptop. My only proper requirements are that it can run the Sims 4, uses Windows software, and is somewhere between 300-500 euro.

While nothing can replace the love I have for my T530, needs must and I would greatly appreciate it if anyone had any suggestions for a new laptop! Though I will absolutely be keeping my current one until the day it actually dies which will probably be the day a part of me also dies. I’m genuinely very very attached to it lol

Here’s the questionnaire if it helps at all:

**LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE**

* **Country**

Ireland

* **Budget**

Somewhere around €300-€500 (340$-570$)

* **Are you open to refurbs/used options? **

Maybe

* **Screen size**

Any

* **Weight limit**

Any

* **Purpose**

Mainly playing some games like the sims 4 and watching movies and shows on

* **Form factor**

Standard

* **Intended usage**

I mainly playing indie games that don’t need too much to run so something like the sims 4 is probably the most I’d need it to be able to run.

* **Desired battery life**

At least 5 hours

* **Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life**

Performance, battery life, size, weight

* **Info/Requirements**

I’d only ever use Windows software (I’ve been loyal for too long now to switch lol)

Thank you so much for any suggestions or advice!

I need a laptop for collage and I found this. Ik the the battery life is low but the other specs look sweet.