Fgs laptops just broken....

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

Dh is using work computer to work from home, and ds year 8 is using home computer and ds 1 year 11 was using the lap top which has now totally given up 😭. After Christmas, birthdays and losing pay due to isolating, changing jobs I can't magically afford a new lap top. Anyone else struggling with no having enough resources?

are the school offering laptops at all? our school are giving them out to the dc that don't have access to one, might be worth getting in touch to ask.

Yes, a bit. Sorry about your laptop situation, very frustrating.

I posted a thread a few days ago about how to resurrect an old windows pc and turn it into a Chromebook with some free software.
It's fairly easy to do - is your computer a Windows laptop or can you get hold of an old redundant one with windows XP or Windows 7 on it?

Lots of people stopped using these when Microsoft ceased support for those versions, but they can be turned into a type of Chromebook sometimes.

Would that be a possibility?

In what way has it given up? Does it not switch on or something else?

@Barracker I was going to suggest the information that you had previously posted about. It was so handy

Freecycle? Freegle? Ask on Facebook local groups.

Have they got xbox or playstation? My Son has been doing schoolwork on those, you can access web browser for Google classrooms etc.

Ah I'm not sure I've just come home from work with ds moaning that it's not switching on and is just a black screen. Says he thinks it the hard drive. As dh and I both work we probably won't even be entitled to borrow a lap top now doubt. We've moved house just before elock down and have a bigger mortgage and things go wrong with the house so I can't afford £300 just like that. Plus my job is at risk I could cry 😭😭

My cousin in Gloucester posted something about donating old laptops to a local charity to help with school access? Maybe there is something like that near you?

Try it linked into the pc monitor in case it is the screen rather than hard-drive.

I'd still enquire with the school, if they have a laptop spare I'm sure they will be happy to help so that your son can participate in the home learning.
alternitvely, if you can't find anything on facebook marketplace/ebay/freecycle, would something like this work? You rent the laptop for £3.23 per week, so around £13 approx. per month. I know it isn't the best solution, but it might help, even for a month until you're able to source a cheap one elsewhere?
www.hughesrental.co.uk/computing/laptops/laptops/

My laptop is £50 secondhand and working perfectly. Can you get reconditioned second hands?

You could try contacting the school to see if they have one they could let you borrow or if you have a community FB page you could ask if anyone could fix it, loan one or has an old one they could donate. I know people on ours have been very generous with their time and help folk out where they can. Worth a try.

Thank you I will have a look. It just seems like one stress after another and then I feel like I'm failing them after changing my job to work less hours so I can support the kids and dh as he's stressed working from home with the kids interrupting him.

After searching and finding none in stock the school have come good and let me borrow one of theres. How amazing are they 🥰