How to test a used laptop

[@roythunderplump]

Thank you for the guide, helped with checking ebay sellers claims of good battery life.

[@EduardoHenimmans]

This video proves one thing... The best refurbished laptops to buy are Lenovo ThinkPads. Built like tanks!

[@TruthLoversKoSALAM-fg8dh]

I sold my beloved spectre x360 that i had for almost a decade - long story short due to budget constraints I ended up with a x1 carbon g6 i7-16-256 although the ram isn't upgradeable its more than enough for now! This is my first time using a thinkpad - the keyboard, glass trackpad, trackpoint etc. build quality is absolutely amazing - i don't particularly like the rubberized display bezel on it as it can become sticky if cleaned with isopropyl alcohol!

[@colorzcs2619]

Great vid, just bought an almost 10 year old razer blade off ebay and its currently going through the memtest ringer but everything looks great!

[@greylady4560]

This is wonderfully timely. I just bought a refurbished T480 to use build my first Linux system. Unfortunately, this process came to a screeching halt when it came to booting from a USB for the RAM check. I have gone down the rabbit hole of information to try and figure out how to do this. I can get into the boot screen but when I choose booting from a USB, the choice flips back to PCI LAN. So I went back into the BIOS changed boot order and disabled Secure Boot. Success! Thank you.

[@nycrsny3406]

Great clear and insightful video! Thanks for the tips.

[@gonzalogutierrez1742]

Wow, amazing video. I really appreciated all the info you shared. I am in the process of looking for a second hand laptop for traveling. I am brand new to thinkpads. Thanks

[@juandavidortizt]

Thanks for the video. Very straightforward, easy to understand follow.

[@marianobarella3191]

Excellent video! Im just about to buy a used laptop, and this video showed up on my youtube homepage

[@noelvase4867]

ur the goat bro this is so clean

[@syaondri]

Thanks! Ill be checking mine now hopefully it'll be great XD

[@minhphi_2003]

Your video very helpful! Thank you.

[@blitdev]

RU Шикарное видео, на Reddit не так много инфы и нет чёткой инструкции, так что однозначно лайк. EN Awesome video, there is not much info on Reddit and no clear instructions, so definitely like.

[@elverdad6805]

Thank you!

[@МартинТемелакиев]

thanks for the video, man

[@yeoldestuff]

Thanks for watching!

[@sagarhp.infosec]

Thanks for the video 👍

[@CharleyMarion]

Excellent! So far the most comprehensive, practical and easy to understand video about the subject! Congrats! I'm buying a used laptop and this will definitely be my first guide! have a question I hope you'll have time to answer.... I have now a 10 year old laptop and just purchased a 5 year old laptop.... just trying to keep up.... no gaming or anything like that... I'm working with Windows 8 and I like the way my laptop is setup now with all my programs and such..... I'm buying a laptop which has Window 11 now.... Could I install and use my Windows 8 ssd hard drive I have now and install it in my new used Laptop to keep everything the way I have now? It would save me so much time!!! and effort!! Thanks!!

[@yeoldestuff]

It may work, but unfortunately Windows 8 does not natively support Intel CPUs and chipsets past Gen 6.

[@CharleyMarion]

the computer I purchased has an Intel Core i7-8850H CPU @ 2.6Ghz so it's pretty old but it's newer than mine lol seems that Windows 8.1 should handle it don't you think? @@yeoldestuff

[@albertmills9365]

Hello, thank you for the clear video! I have a used lenovo T490. When I follow your instructions and enter into the bios, it states that *password at boot device list is enabled. According to your video this should be disabled. What are the implications of this - will I be able to do a clean install of windows/reformat still? Should I return the laptop? Thanks. (additionally the bios says that the absolute persistence module is enabled )

[@yeoldestuff]

Is Absolute Persistence enabled or activated? If it's activated, then you won't be able to do anything. If it's enabled but not activated, you should be able to disable it by choosing "Permanently disabled" in the UEFI setup... if this option is not protected by the supervisor password. If the boot device order is locked in the BIOS, you probably won't be able to boot from any installation media to reinstall the OS. Personally, I would simply return the laptop, it's probably more hassle than it's worth.

[@albertmills9365]

@@yeoldestuff thanks

[@daboy3278]

Thankyou!

[@elshazlio]

Thanks

[@sireopossom7860]

Thank you, I learned a thing or two.

[@alexzarazo6093]

me looking this video on the refurbished t480 i just got: :)

[@tegathemenace]

How much?

[@ilyasdgv7924]

3:10 that's just false, not every usb-c port supports power delivery (aka charging)

[@JavascriptForEverything]

awesome

[@funwithai5816]

How to know it has critical thunderbolt charging issue before buying?

[@gebrebeya9523]

Tx...and how can i get screen checking colors?

[@maxxjunior3594]

Google 😅

[@leoberg2390]

Can you quickly tell me how to access bios like you did here. Thanks

[@yeoldestuff]

Press Enter when the logo appears on the screen and then F1

[@qkcam45]

thank you for this great video!! I just bought a used X1 gen 7, I will follow your video. It came with windows 11 installed and office 2021..I am going to wipe the drive or replace the drive. I was reading that the BIOS can have trackers installed ..is that true? is there a way to test for this? Or once I wipe the hard drive after I follow your instructions for testing BIOS it will be safe? thanks again ! so much good information!

[@yeoldestuff]

Hi, thanks for your comment. Check CompuTrace in the BIOS, if it's not activated then everything is fine.

[@qkcam45]

Thanks for your reply . I looked for computrace in the BIOs & the X1 carbon has different menus options no computrace was listed

[@DrMerkwuerdigliebe89]

​@@yeoldestuffcomputrace is enabled but not activated. That's safe then? There is unfortunately a bios password but inside nothing major is locked. Boot order isn't locked. Should I keep this? It was pretty cheap for the good condition.

[@yeoldestuff]

@@DrMerkwuerdigliebe89 if CompuTrace is not activated then it should be safe, although personally I would not keep a laptop with a password-protected BIOS

[@traxxertheking5168]

​@@yeoldestuff is there any sort of way to remove it ? I know in desktop computer you can just change the little piece that controls bios or something is it the same thing with laptops?

[@RaharimbolaLovasoaRoza-lb1dg]

I like

[@mhaakash1]

How much did it cost?

[@dossierEON]

What does it mean when the battery shows up as not installed in batteryreport?

[@yeoldestuff]

This means that it's either dead or absent.

[@dossierEON]

@@yeoldestuff thank you for your reply, but the battery is present, and it is recognized by both the bios diagnostics and Dell Power Manager as in excellent health. The problem is 1. It has a discharge profile that lasts only 1 and a half hour , with an abrupt transition at about 60% to 7% ( I captured it on video, the last one I have in my chan) 2. The manufacturing date shown in the bios diagnostics (august 2023) does not match the date code in the PPID (starts with 4, meaning the year ends in 4).

[@yeoldestuff]

@@dossierEON the fact that it abruptly drops from 60% to 7% means that at least one cell inside the battery is not holding the charge. Is it possible that the battery was rebuilt with generic cells and then the microcontroller was flashed in order to make it appear that everything is OK?

[@dossierEON]

@@yeoldestuff yes, I believe this is a plausible explanation. I am going to contact Dell to see if they are interested in this.

[@Kashifnasir89]

Is there a quicker way to check ram

[@yeoldestuff]

Any proper RAM test would have to walk the whole RAM, so it would be quite long.

[@marks209]

whats the melody at 0:23?

[@yeoldestuff]

I bought it from a royalty free music library years ago, unfortunately I don't remember the name of the tune

[@escapetherace1943]

You messed up step 1, which is to disinfect it. Seriously you don't KNOW what they were doing and then touching those keys with. Step 1 is always clean the keyboard 🤣

[@yeoldestuff]

I totally agree, I actually cleaned the whole laptop with IPA before touching it. While working in a large company, I witnessed people doing all sorts of gross things.

[@SexManNordin]

@@yeoldestuff I also suggest that, at the end of the tests, the drives should always be wiped. You never know what people might have put on them; there could be malware or other harmful content. It’s better to completely wipe the drives and reinstall a fresh copy of your preferred operating system.

[@yeoldestuff]

@@SexManNordin yes, that is also a very good point. In my case, I don't use Windows, so every computer gets a fresh install of Debian or OpenSUSE

[@abi2551]

.

[@lissettearroyo3124]

111o

[@jrizzl]

Powercfg /batteryreport

[@jimmyking92]

Good video.

[@clownprince-ps3jp]

Powercfg /batteryreport