G73JH Card Reader: How Stupid

Hi,

Tonight I decided to see if the card reader worked by using the SD card from my video camera. The problem was that it wouldn't go inside the slot. It partially went in, but I could slide it side-to-side.

I thought, this isn't right.

Grabbed the owners manual, but like many aspects of it it just pointed an arrow saying, "Flash Memory Slot" and briefly explained it's importance and how lucky I was to have one.

Looked up Alcor on the web, did a search here, and no information -- yet how does one use the card reader?

As it turned out, there's a dummy SD card in the slot to protect the port! < slaps forehead >

Pulled that out and my SD card slipped right in there with ease. How stupid.

Yes, the card and I have something in common. LOL

Anyway, Windows found the hardware, but instead installed the Microsoft USB generic driver, but it still works. With the Alcor USB driver installed during the clean install I'm not even sure it's worth the bother telling Windows that it technically installed the wrong driver.

As I have mentioned before, the G73JH is my first laptop, but it is by no means my first computer. You'd have to go back decades for that. I mention this to only show that things like this can happen to anyone.

I thought I would share this little story for the next person who comes along and does a search in this here forum. Might save the next person from having a imprint on their forehead.

 

Classic. Exactly same thing happened to me!

 

/facepalm 10char

 

Hehe, I like the card slot protector.

 

That was pretty funny. Can I please steal your avatar? I also have a G73JH and would like to use that avatar for steam/notebook review purposes. I'm going to already use it...because I'm impatient. Thanks. +1 rep

 

I lost my dummy SD card

Now every time I try plugging in my HDMI cable without looking, I usually try stuffing it into the empty SD card slot...

 

I tried stuffing it into the USB port a few times. Each time, WHAT AM I DOING. And quickly check to see if the port is ok.

 

I already put a usb into the network jack doing the same thing.

 

Element once disappeared during a Left 4 Dead 2 because he'd plugged something (headphones?) into a USB port, which causes his computer to short and shut off. No harm done, at least.

 

so do I... the HDMI and the USB port is so close....

I decide to permanently use the cooler on that usb port to avoid another crash with my HDMI slot...

 

lol that beats me... i plug my HDMI cable into my LAN port...

 

The size of a USB connector and the LAN port is perfect, plus they are conveniently next to each other. Hey, why isn't my mouse working, oh yeah, that's why.

 

Back in the days when I was considered a noob and DDR ram was the norm in laptops, I blindly purchased a brand new stick of DDR2 ram and forced it to fit in my laptop that only took DDR modules. By using a pocket knife I was able to carve and widen the gap within the pins and make it fit into my laptop. Naturally, my laptop wouldn't turn on and I demanded a refund from the seller for selling me faulty ram

 

Know what is dumber?

Today at work, we have college students volunteer here. I noticed all 3 had the new 15" Apple MacBook Pro.

I casually mentioned that to one of them. This is how it went.

Wow, noticed all of you have an Apple MacBook Pro.

Yeah, we bought them at the school's computer store.

Ahh, I thought maybe Apple was infiltrating schools. Doesn't your school get sponsored by Dell or Lenovo or something?

No not really. Mostly just Apple. I used to have a Sony Vaio and this thing is so much faster.

Oh really? Which Vaio? (I don't remember the exact model). (I google it).
- Hmm this should be just as fast as your MacBook. How much was the Sony? (It had a Core 2 Duo and an Nvidia 210 believe.)

I got the Sony for $700. But this MacBook was on sale for a great deal. I got this for $1,600, but they gave me an iTouch for free, $300 value.

(In my head, umm don't think iTouch is $300, sorry pal).

Oh nice, by chance why did you replace your Vaio?

Oh I got a virus on it and it wasn't running very fast near the end.

How did you get the virus? I've never had one in since I used Windows 95.

Well you know downloading stuff. You don't download stuff?

I probably download more stuff in a week than you do in a year. Well in the future maybe don't download viruses?

Yeah well my antivius ran out and just went with this. It was easier and I think in cheaper for me.

Now I walk away. A college student just told me, after his trial Anti-Virus ran out, it was cheaper to spend twice as much as he did for the Sony than to purchase antivirus for like $65 for 3 years. Apparently it was the Sony Vaio's fault that it got a virus also...

 

This is exactly why I don't argue with Mac users. They tell me they got a Mac, and I utter under my breath overpriced eye-candy. Sometimes they hear me though, and I'm nearly forced to listen to them spout half-truths about their Mac and why it's better than PC for 5 minutes

 

I will gadly take his VAIO for an iTouch.... 8GB of coz

 

did they refund you

 

I do this all the time.

I used to hate arguing with mac users. Then I put osx on one of my laptops and used keynote to do a class presentation. At the end, most of the questions were "BUT.. YOU'RE NOT USING A MAC... HOW DID YOU DO THAT?", and over the next few weeks, I explained to everyone who asked that my computer cost $500 less than a comparable macbook pro. People would still say "But you should have got a mac", and when I asked "But... why?" they would always respond "because it's just better, alright?"

That was last year. This year, I took my EEE with OSX to class and explained that my Macbook-Mini cost 1/4 of what they paid for their Macbook, and could do everything they could do, as well. (I mean, does anyone know a non-professional mac user that taxes their hardware?)

 

oh trust me.. i feel the same.. i feel like punching each idiot in my maths class who says he's going to get an Awesome macbook but gee thanks , My cheaper Asus G73 will thrash ur Macbook to the ground... Brb... apple has really brainwashed ppl...

 

Yes, there are many Mac users who will defend Apple no matter what they do. However, there are good reasons to enjoy both worlds.

I use a Mac for work. I use Windows-based systems for games only (I have VMware installed for the occasional times I need access to the company laptop (P2V'd HP to a VM) and it's Windows only programs).

I tried using a uMBP as my only system but they just don't cut it for gaming even with bootcamp (it's ok but you can't max graphics settings and the fans run full speed the entire gaming session). Sold my iMac and my uMBP and got a cheap ($600 used) uMB for work only. Connected to an external monitor at home and work and the 13.3" screen isn't so bad.

For work, the lack of virus/spyware threats and ease of use make OS X the choice for many of our engineers. Also, features like spotlight, spaces, ilife, etc make OS X a powerful OS that is hard to beat.

The only problem is the very high cost of their laptop hardware. The all in one iMac is competitively priced but Apple laptops are very expensive from a pure hardware standpoint. I now only buy refurbished or used Apple systems.

There are benefits to OS X and Windows (especially 7). I enjoy them both.

Cheers,

 

Most entertaining G73 thread I've read to date

I can see a lot of g/f saying "just where are trying to stick that" , then "I don't think so, you better google the right place on a Mac"

 

Reminds me of those days where they'd put the 56k modems and the ethernets right next to each other. I could never tell where the phone line goes for KY AOL internets XD

 

YOu could just install OSX on your non-apple PC ... but if you've got $$$ to buy both ...

 

This isn't towards who actually have a valid reason for using a Mac OS X.

Mac OS X is a myth. That's the reason why I think many Mac users are stupid.

Anyways the Myth. For years Mac users kept telling MS users I use a Mac because it's more secure/stable than Windows. Both of those have been false since XP Service Pack 2. Mac OS X was released as one of the worst OS among Linux, Windows and Mac OS. The number of security flaws and vulnerabilities were in hundreds close to thousand. It was ridiculous.

Some of the most well known vulnerabilities that were inherent in a Unix system that are now fixed in any Unix system, except Mac OS. I'm sorry can't remember what it was called, but it can cripple any Unix system.

Apple didn't fix that for YEARS!

Some of them are really easy like in a zip file, Mac OS would add metadata which means you can trick Mac OS to automatically open no matter which source, email, download etc... And that flaw existed from 2002 until 2006.

Even up til 2008, the number of security flaws in Mac OS outnumbered those in Windows because Apple simply doesn't care to fix them. Why should they. Even when they had over 500 known security flaws, Apple OS X users weren't having any serious issues. Why spend time trying to attack vulnerabilities of an OS only used by 5% of PC users at the time?

They released Mac OS X initially without DVD playback. Instead of sending out a patch to fix it, they delayed for a year and released 10.1. Apple, truly raping your wallet.

It wasn't until Max Os X 10.5 they released an OS that allowed older Apple products to use the new OS. Wow, isn't that a novelty, being able to use Apple OS on an Apple Product, but if you didn't want to spend thousands every few years, you were screwed. Essentially took Apple 5 years to stop being dicks about it.

BTW Apple OS X wasn't backwards compatible with previous Mac OS. How lame is that? This was something Apple did on purpose to force the few loyal customers to upgrade their systems or buy new systems. Incredible, it's like blackmailing your own customers.

Go figure.

 

- Spotlight is a nice gimmick. But really if your computer is cluttered you can't access your programs and files quickly, then you have problems in using your computer. But yeah I suppose it's a great app to hold hands with those idiots who are incapable of installing an anti-virus.
- iLife. That is not part of the OS. It costs $79.
- Spaces. Every PC using an ATi has had this feature of a virtual desktops and being able to switch among them with quick keys for over a decade. All Nvidia drivers are bundled with nView.

Viruses, Spyware, gimme a break. Every Windows Vista or Windows 7 comes with a hefty firewall and Windows Defender. I know plenty of people who run their server and personal computer with just those two, no other third party software and have no issues or problems. There is no reason why you can't just use those to be trouble free entire time of using Windows, unless you are a moron.

Blame the user not the OS.

 

I pretty much use MS Office for Mac and other programs available for Windows. I just personally prefer OS X for work.

iLife is free with every new Mac.

Tis indeed true that many users create most of their own problems. As the support person for my entire extended family and friends I've cleaned up many messed up Windows systems and almost always because the user was careless or reckless. The issue is that there are far fewer bits of trouble capable of attacking OS X. Sure there are the UNIX vulnerabilities but really, how many of those does the average user run into. Of course there are bad downloads that affect Macs too. Being careful is important for everyone.

I'm not saying Macs are better for every function. I use both and find each has its own benefits. For day to day work I prefer a Mac. I play on Windows.

For many people this discussion is like religion. There are fanatics on both sides. I don't care what religion anyone else follows so long as they don't try to force me to convert. Show me what they like once and perhaps I'll listen but don't try to berate me for not believing. Same with OS X vs Windows. I was the first person to use my Mac at the office. I didn't try to convert anyone, people asked. I showed them what I liked and they either cared or didn't. Now we have many Mac users and they bought them with their own money.

Everyone has a choice and no one should condemn those who choose another path.

Cheers,

 

I think for many PC users point is, it's not the Apple product itself that is annoying, it's the users. The given reason for spending more than twice the cost of a Dell/HP/Toshiba/Compaq/Sony what have you is we laugh at. Because almost all the time, the given reason can be just attributed to their idiocy.

Like the college student who bought a MacBook because his Vaio wasn't running fast anymore because he downloaded so much malware...

 

OK, I agree with that. Many a time I've had to deal with zealots when questioning the wisdom of Apple's hardware choices.

Cheers,

 

Apple does hold a monopoly on some of the best audio and video editing software. And thanks to that strangle hold apple has their drivers and hardware utilization is impeccable. How else do you explain the insane bootup time win inferior hardware.