Xoutpost.com - View Single Post - DON'T TRY AT HOME, attempt to use Arm64-based laptop for X5 diagnosis

workingonit · #18 01-17-2023, 12:30 PM

After four days without experimenting, I succumbed to the dark side influences of the "can't leave well-enough alone" virus I have, and tried something else...getting 5G internet via WiFi to my driveway/parking area and our sheds out back. Previously, the 2.4G was sorta weak out there, so I dug out my 5+ year-old TP-Link A/C1200 (RE380D) Desktop Dual Band Wi-Fi Range Extender, that I last used while we were living in our travel trailer (while our house was being demolished and replaced with a new one). I needed it to get WiFi from the garage, where I had moved the AT&T phone lines & router from the house.

I figured that 5G would extend the WiFi from the house better than the 2.4G we had been using, so I could get my desktop PC to host the program I already had loaded (OBDWiz for PC), using the Chrome Remote Desktop already installed on both the laptop and desktop. The X5 and other vehicles are too far away from the desktop PC for a good bluetooth link-up, which had proven unreliable.

But, after I had gotten the TP-Link extender mounted in my office window (between panes) and the 5G working, I started switching to the 5G net (main router, extender, phone, tablet, both my computers), and didn't give a thought to my wife's electronics, as she was out of town.

She returned yesterday, and her phone, laptop, printer, scanner, and three Roku units were still linked to the 2.4G net, and she (and later I) couldn't configure them to accept the 5G signal, and were useless; her password wouldn't work, except on the phone. So, I went back to the 2.4G net (by unplugging the extender, which was hanging onto the 5G, and resetting the WPA2 button). I guess I'll have to try again, next time she's gone.

Another tech mistake: I downloaded several Wifi analysing apps onto the laptop (from Microsoft Store), and somewhere amongst them was some bug/virus/?? that switched the laptop's "preferred network" from my home Wifi to one named "Computer Doctors". I googled it and found that the nearest "Computer Doctor" listed was 40 miles away, so where in hell did it pop-up from? It wasn't found or listed on my desktop when I scanned for networks available. I couldn't connect my laptop to either 5G or 2.4G until I "forgot" the "Computer Doctor" from available networks, and restarted/updated the laptop several times. All this before my wife returned from out of town. Damn, everything I try opens more cans of worms.

So, back to square one: remote desktop programs removed, back on 2.4G, bogus WiFi programs uninstalled, starting to bring the new laptop back to original set-up, and trying to talk the wife into using it instead of her cheap Lenovo (upgradeable, though currently very slow). For what she currently uses it for, the ARM64-based laptop would be faster/better. Then, maybe I could upgrade the Lenovo, and install the suggested programs onto it (it has an Intel cpu).

Thanks to all, I'm sure I'll finally get something done right, despite my best (worst) efforts, eventually.

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