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Posted by BillW50 on January 27, 2008, 11:18 am
Please log in for more thread options mike typed on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:18:09 GMT:
> BillW50 wrote:
>> In
>> Stefan Mueller typed on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:30:15 -0800 (PST):
>>> I have 4 IBM ThinkPads (T21). The power button is under the lid so
>>> that I have to open the lid to turn on the laptop. But my problem is
>>> that I can't open the lid because I've stacked these laptops in a
>>> box. Tonight I tried to bring somehow the power button outside of
>>> the laptop. Unfortunately the power button is part of the keyboard
>>> which I can't open.
>>>
>>> Does anyone have an idea how I can work it to power up the laptops
>>> without opening the lids? I'm thinking about a solution to add to
>>> wires which I can connect to do the same as pressing the power
>>> button. Any help is very appreciated
>>> Stefan
>>
>> I had the same idea. I have two Toshiba 2595XDVD ('99 era) and two
>> Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) laptops. Hook them all to a KVM switch and
>> have 4 computers to access. Mount them on a home made rack. Although
>> what I quickly discovered was running closed laptops gets really
>> hot. So that killed the whole idea.
>>
>> So I would test the heat issue before you go any further. It seems
>> to me that laptops are not designed to run with the lid closed. As
>> the heat build up is tremendous. Anyway good luck on your project.
>> :-)
> One possibility is to physically remove the lid/display and blow air
> across the space.
> Networks are getting fast enough that you can use VNC and eliminate
> the KVM switch.
>
> Depending on why you need multiple computers and whether you need
> specific hardware support, emulation can be used.
> Since I discovered VirtualPC, I took out all the redundant hardware.
> The only time I need separate hardware is when I need hardware support
> for something not emulated in VirtualPC. I can run linux and Win2K
> emulated simultaneously on an XP system. There's a lot to be said
> for the ability to cut text out of one OS instance and paste it into
> another.
That is a good thought Mike. But I believe in buying cheap and to buy
more often. Plus I believe in purchasing the same make and model for
backup purposes. Thus I can swap out the hard drives and I am back in
business in less than 60 seconds. Plus the spare allows me to have more
processing power as well.
I have tried VNC software like Remote Desktop Control
(http://www.remote-desktop-control.com/) and it is okay for web pages
and email and the like, but not for video streaming and stuff. Otherwise
I like it a lot. Plus there are just some stuff you can't do well under
these conditions.
Things like VirtualPC and Remote Desktop Control hits the PC processor
pretty hard. And with me buying cheap like Celeron M processors... the
PC can easily bog down. Thus KVM switch seems like the solution to me in
my case, don't you think? Most of the time the CPU use is nil anyway for
what I do. Thus occasionally I need a bit more power and thus fire up
another laptop. :)
--
Bill
email: change kom to com
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