ACTIVE COOLING - MY WAY :)

If u have an old laptop (or a new but crap) which likes to overheat and the graphic chip stops working, than my friend, u are having the same problem what I have.
But don't worry, here is the solution.
Let's say you can turn on the laptop but there is nothing at all on the screen. Full blackness.
Well, if u are lucky, than u can remove the GPU from the motherboard. You find it on an extra board which is inserted into a slot. Just like the memory. (see photo how it looks) But is not visible until u remove the heat-sink from the top of it. When u did that, remove the old thermal compound from the chip and from the heat-sink too. Now take your "video-card" and put it in the oven for 15 minutes on 200 °C. No joke. When done, let it cool down. Is hot dammit! ... Now put it back. Before u replace the heat-sink, don't forget to apply new thermal paste on the chip (I use Arctic MX-4). Now reassemble your laptop and with the help of God, it will work again.
After all this u need to find a way to cool your machine, because the small in-built fan will not do the job and after 3-6 month your GPU will die again. (Than u have to bake it again)

Here is what I do. Maybe you can see on the photo that I opened (drastic cut, barbarian style) the bottom of the laptop so I can access the GPU without taking apart the whole machine. Of course I had to open up large enough so I can easily remove the heatsink with the copper pipes, which are in the way. I am using a small battery-fan to cool the "critical" engine and it really works well. Sometimes I have to do a little dusting, but not a problem. To fit the fan under the laptop, I built a wooden frame which is serving as a mini computer desk. Very handy, made from scratch. This is how I do active cooling :)

HOW TO ENABLE BUILT-IN WEBCAM ON A LAPTOP?

My Device Manager did not show Imaging Devices, so it was impossible to check what is the problem with my webcam. 

Here is a good tip which I found on  HP's website.
(my laptop is not an HP but the method worked perfectly)
Turn off the computer, unplug power cable, remove the battery, press and hold the power button for 10 seconds. After this, connect everything again and turn on the laptop. Ta-daaa! Webcam works.

But actually it was only a temporary solution. The real problem was that if too many usb-devices were connected to the laptop, it could not reserve enough power to the webcam. So now before I turn on the computer, I unplug my usb-speakers and the external hard drives. That will ensure that the webcam will work.

Another chance to fix this "power-related" issue is the following method: Extremely simple - plug the usb-speaker or the external hard drive to a different usb connection on the laptop. I got 4, but usually every laptop has at least 3 of them.

LONG TIME, EH?

What is going on with me?
Not much.
I stay home and study IT.

I could say I'm changing my career, but it's only half true. I would not call career being a waiter. That was a job only for fast money. After finishing the university I never imagined that I will ever serve food and drink to people. Now I am too old for that, also never really liked the work system in a restaurant. The low payment, the annoyingly stressful rush hours, the asshole managers (with a few exceptions). So I quit!

When I got married and finished with shiplife, we moved to London and hoped to make some money. It was pretty much logical and manageable. Still, life gave us a few surprises which crashed our plans. Once up, next down. I guess most of you know how it is.

I started looking for a job in September, when one day I got a phone-call from a recruitment company. It was one I signed up maybe a year ago. They offered me an appointment for an IT course. I thought let's give it a chance. Long story short, I applied because comparing to other IT courses it cost only 1000 pounds. Which I can afford.

I must say I am really enjoying my new studies, although I know that to find a job without previous work experiences will be very hard. But right now I feel good, because I do something I enjoy and I am interested in. I got a 40 hour online video material and a 900 page book to learn until the end of November. Since I was always into technology, computers and such stuff, learning goes fast and easy. I get day by day shitload of new information into my braincells, but is goooood :) The 40 hours video sounds fun and short but trust me, it is not. Well it IS fun, but it's also serious and to go through 30 min, sometimes takes me more than an hour. However the book might sound long and hard, but it is very logic, easy to understand and interesting. Finally something what I should have done looong-long time ago. Maybe right after high school, dammit!

So that is going on right now.

Take it easy, everyone!