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jaylach
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 Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:35 pm |
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The Asus laptop is 10 years old and the battery has failed. Seems that it is time to retire the thing as I have two other laptops.  This laptop has served me VERY well without issues but such things only last so long... The other two laptops are a Microsoft Surface 3 and a MacBook Air. Since the Surface is used in my bedroom for reading that leaves the MacBook Air to replace the Asus unless I bought a new laptop. The MacBook Air runs the latest MasOS along with Windows 10. The initial issue that came to mind was the fact that I have a corner type desk for the Asus laptop and the Asus laptop connects to a 27 inch external monitor via HDMI. So what is the issue? The MacBook Air does not have an HDMI port; just USB and Thunderbolt. So what is the possible solution? Actually it is Thunderbolt. I don't know why Apple insists on using other names for things but it turns out that Thunderbolt is basically just a mini display port. The solution (hopefully since I already ordered) is the cable in the following link. It is a mini display port/Thunderbolt to HDMI cable. https://www.newegg.com/p/1DG-0523-00GJ6?Item=9SIAYWHEWR9440Anyone see why this should not work?
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JoanA
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:04 am |
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Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:25 pm
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Location: Pembrokeshire, South Wales, UK
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Not something I can answer but is there any reason you can't just run the Asus on mains power, it is the way I run my Windows 10 HP laptop since the battery died?
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sboots
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:12 pm |
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jaylach wrote: I don't know why Apple insists on using other names for things but it turns out that Thunderbolt is basically just a mini display port.
Anyone see why this should not work? Just to clarify, Thunderbolt actually has more functionality than mini display port, though they both use the same connector. http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-thunderbolt-and-mini-displayport/I do believe that the adapter cable you are getting will work. _________________ stephen boots Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020 "Life's always an adventure with computers!"
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jaylach
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 2:10 pm |
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@ Joan: I have been using the Asus with the power cord but it is still time to retire. I just don't need to be running three laptops. @ Steve: Thanks for the info. <edit>Mainly @ Joan: I MAY have misled a little... I'm not getting rid of the Asus as it still runs Windows 10 just fine. I'm just going to pack it up and save it as a spare. I will say that the MacBook Air looks tiny on my corner desk. The Asus is 15.6 inch and the MacBook Air is only 14 inch. Looks small on the cooling pad I use on the desk that is made for 15.6 to 17 inch laptops. The smaller 14 inch size is still fine as it will be connected to a 27 inch external monitor while on the desk as is the Asus. The real problem with the Asus is that I can't unplug and use on the table in front of my couch. With the MacBook Air I will be able to move it around. The main point is that the Asus is no longer mobile and I don't need to have three laptops in use. The only downside to using the MacBook Air is that it only has two USB ports that will be used by the wireless mouse dongle and cooling pad. Still that is not really an issue as the cooling pad has a built in 4-port USB hub so I will have plenty of USB ports. If/when using the MacBook Air as a mobile device the cooling pad will not be using a USB port so I'll still have an open port when mobile. Also, as strong as the Asus was when new, it was made ~11 years ago. It is a lot older than the 2017 MacBook Air. They both use I5 CPU's but the MacBook Air, being newer, is using a much later generation of the I5 which boils down to the fact that it is a stronger CPU. Add to that the fact that the Asus uses a 5200RPM spin drive and the MacBook Air uses an M.2 SSD which increases performance. Considering the CPU and drive differences the MacBook Air is just a stronger system due to being newer. I just wish that the MacBook Air had an optical drive but, actually, I doubt that I'll miss optical as I haven't seen an installer that could not be put to a flash drive in years but can pick up an external if it proves to be needed. Bottom line is that I have one too many laptops so might as well retire the weakest. 
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JoanA
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:08 pm |
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Thanks for the explanation Jay, I thought you meant you were going to get rid of it.
As you said if you don't have a need to run 3 laptops the best thing to do would be to put the weakest out of action. I gave my Asus to my granddaughter, it only had a 320 GB hard drive which wasn't big enough for me but would be fine for her. I can't remember when I got that one but it came with Windows 8, the only problem I had with it was that it ran hot so I had to have it on a cooling pad.
It was a nice surprise when I got my HP, which was so cool with no heat from it at all, the 1 I have now is the same and very cool. My first HP runs 10 and I have that so that I can check my bank, of course eventually I'll do that on this 11 laptop but at present I'm happy with the set up I have.
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jaylach
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:48 pm |
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JoanA wrote: Thanks for the explanation Jay, I thought you meant you were going to get rid of it.
As you said if you don't have a need to run 3 laptops the best thing to do would be to put the weakest out of action. I gave my Asus to my granddaughter, it only had a 320 GB hard drive which wasn't big enough for me but would be fine for her. I can't remember when I got that one but it came with Windows 8, the only problem I had with it was that it ran hot so I had to have it on a cooling pad.
It was a nice surprise when I got my HP, which was so cool with no heat from it at all, the 1 I have now is the same and very cool. My first HP runs 10 and I have that so that I can check my bank, of course eventually I'll do that on this 11 laptop but at present I'm happy with the set up I have. My Asus has a 1TB spin drive. Initially it came with a 640GB spin drive but, at the time, I wanted to dual boot so put in a larger drive. The SSD in the MacBook Air is only 480GB partitioned as 120GB each for Windows and MacOS. That leaves me a 240GB shared data drive. Currently my main and second desktops only use 178GB for data (not drive size but used space used). Take away the 55.5GB used on my desktop systems for virtual machines which I will not put on the MacBook Air and that brings my data down to 122.5GB on the MacBook Air currently leaving me ~117GB free space. I don't see where there should be any issue. 
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JoanA
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Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:59 pm |
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That first HP of mine ran both drives, a 128GB SSD and a 1TB HD, I only had the basics go on the SSD and used the HD as the Data drive plus most of the programs that could be put on it.
The one I have now just has a 512GB SSD but I use external HDs for storage and image backups.
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jaylach
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:06 pm |
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The Thunderbolt to HDMI cable arrived today and seems like it will work for connecting my external monitor to my MacBook Air but there is a glitch. I tried the Boot Camp side with Windows 10 first and it is fine until logged in but then the external display goes on and off. The built in display stays fine. I THINK it is just a matter of properly setting up the dual display as mirrored but had to run out and didn't test. I also have not yet checked for possible video driver updates. I haven't yet tried the MacOS side. It is also possible that my cooling pad may be the issue as the fans and 4-port hub on the pad are powered through a USB port on the system. It MAY just be drawing too much power. If that is the case it's no big deal as I just won't connect the cooling pad. I almost didn't connect the cooling pad anyway as the MacBook runs cold anyway. When done I think it will work fine. I DID have to laugh at myself though. When I was hooking up the MacBook Air to the cables on my desk it dawned on me that the thing does not have an Ethernet connection port and I'm bummed about how I'm going to get the thing on-line. DUH!!! Get on-line the same way it was, wireless.  
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jaylach
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:53 pm |
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Just as a followup things seem fine with the external display after disconnecting the cooling pad in Windows 10 but still getting a little flicker now and then when I boot to MacOS.
Now I need to look at the wireless USB mouse and keyboard I have attached. The mouse and keyboard are a cheap set make by a company called 'Cherry'. Both mouse and keyboard work once either Windows or MacOS are booted but do not work on the startup screen where I select which OS to boot. At that point I have to use the system's touch pad. I did not have this issue when I had a Logitech mouse attached to the MacBook Air. So happens that I have a Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard stashed as a backup. I suspect that, once I remove the Cherry and replace with the Logitech, this issue will go away.
Another issue I've seen is that the MacBook Air is lacking power settings. Specifically I refer to control what happens when the laptop lid is closed. Whether in Windows or MacOS the power setting do not include the laptop cover. This is not a big deal as I just looked through my 'junk drawer (actually I have three junk drawers)' and found a piece of plastic that is about 3/4 inches thick that I'm just using to keep the lid from totally closing. Seems to work fine. With the Asus I just set the lid's power setting to do nothing when the lid was closed.
Bottom line is that all seems workable and things are working.
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sboots
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:21 pm |
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Interesting that the power settings have no options for the lid status since the behavior, I assume, is Sleep on close lid...
Have you considered a USB hub with external power?
_________________ stephen boots Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020 "Life's always an adventure with computers!"
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jaylach
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:42 pm |
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sboots wrote: Interesting that the power settings have no options for the lid status since the behavior, I assume, is Sleep on close lid...
Have you considered a USB hub with external power? Yes, I have considered a powered USB hub but don't really know if I need. As is I have an empty USB port on the system and, so far, have not had a need for another. Actually I'm not sure if closing the lid causes sleep as I have all sleep options disabled; I just have never liked sleep mode. If I fully close the lid the external display shuts down but it does not seem like sleep. I lift the lid and hit a key it comes back up without any need for a log in or anything. As I 'play' more I MAY find other options but, at this point, I consider the experiment a success. That all said I wish I could find a power setting to have closing the lid do nothing. One MUST understand that this is a 'play system' and I don't mean games. Even as it is now (not perfect) I consider everything working.
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sboots
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 9:48 pm |
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I would expect that the lid close is some form of sleep, especially if the external monitor also goes off.
_________________ stephen boots Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020 "Life's always an adventure with computers!"
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jaylach
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:52 pm |
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sboots wrote: I would expect that the lid close is some form of sleep, especially if the external monitor also goes off. There ARE options as to sleep as to the thing's lid. It is just missing the normally available option to have the lid close doing nothing.
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JoanA
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:22 pm |
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You sound as if you're having loads of fun, at least it's keeping you out of mischief. 
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jaylach
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:27 pm |
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@ Joan: LOL! I haven't spent enough time on it to have loads of fun. @ Steve: I don't know that it is a sleep thing with the lid as there is no delay when the lid is opened. It immediately is at the 'Lock Screen' but does not need the password to get back to the desktop. Next time I start it up I'll be looking for Lock Screen settings. I'd prefer to be able to totally close the lid when using the external display but it isn't a big deal. <edit>After a bit of searching it appears that closing the lid DOES invoke a sleep mode but only for the display. Apple does not allow for a setting to stop this but, apparently, it can be done. Actually it is simple but there ARE requirements. - An external mouse and keyboard must be attached either through USB or Bluetooth. (done but think that I need to switch from the 'Cherry' set I have attached and dig out a Logitech set I have stashed.)
- Power cord must be attached (done)
- An external display must be attached. (done)
Close the lid and then use the external keyboard to wake. This is called 'Clam-shell Mode' and is SUPPOSED to keep the external display active while still killing the built in display. If this actually works I think that I like it as still killing the built in display will help with cooling. I have not yet tested this. Nor do I know if this will work when booted to Windows instead of MacOS but suspect that it will as it seems like it is a hardware thing, not the OS. <edit #2>
It works with both Windows and MacOS. 
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sboots
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:26 pm |
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jaylach wrote: It works with both Windows and MacOS.[/b] Cool!  _________________ stephen boots Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020 "Life's always an adventure with computers!"
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