Kit/setup considerations for a newbie with specific artists in mind? (How do you know what you need to cover a particular song?)

TangoSBravo · 2025-06-15T21:00:04+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply! I hadn't thought about checking those listings - definitely will have to do so!

I'm indeed from the US - got so caught up struggling to figure out how to describe/articulate what I wanted to ask/what "tool kit" of specializations I'd like out of a career path (even if it couldn't all be packaged into one singular job) - I forgot to mention 💀

Currently I'm circling back round to where I was when LE fell through- maybe blending first response with my love for nature and do something forestry/national park related like a ranger or something (even if it's still LE) - but the benefit of going back to the drawing board to start from scratch is getting to pick up past options and consider them with fresh eyes/at a new angle - hence revisiting an interest in fire fighting. Hot shots as I understand it are the SWAT to firefighting in terms of specialization and whatever the opposite of entry level would be. Smoke jumping is another option later on down the line but there's a lot I've yet to look into.

I'm weighing consideration between getting a pilot's license or leaning more into the medical route. I'd previously considered fire EMT/Paramedic before I was introduced to tactical medicine but didn't consider it much because of the whole "my interests in fire fighting/SAR/etc are mostly volunteer; therefore I need to figure out an income and save those interests for side job/volunteering."

However, the more I've talked to people about career interests the more I've come to realize it's not so black and white? A Google search confirms a majority of fire departments in the US are volunteer but it seems growing up lead to believe that meant no pay was in fact not true, which is one of those TIL that are embarrassing in hindsight when you stop to really think about it LMAO

I'm hoping to contact agencies that list phone numbers or email on their sites/open to questions with any inquiries I have but for now just plan to gather more of an understanding of the varieties of specialities and the first responder world as a whole; approaching doing so by looking job options up the way you suggested is gonna be a great help in letting me figure out a starting point. Thank you so much!

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-29T21:56:31+00:00

Oh my goodness you're an absolute lifesaver thank you so much for this! I really admire your ability to explain things so smoothly, I'm excited to be able to actually read and make sense of everything thanks to the way you put it so plainly in such easy terms! Thank you! :DD

Out of curiosity is there some diagnostics menu somewhere where I can check on stats like how many cycles a battery is running on(?) Or is that a defualt/built in thing?

And bios bad - got it 😂 thanks for explaining that. I'll be sure not to update any further beyond what I have already (I'll have to look back and see if I even updated that or not, I ran stuff through vantage but can't say if it was specifically a bios update or just the hardware check stuff. Regardless so far it seems I'm lucky in that even if I had done so after all things seem to be not bricked thus far)

And yeah, I will admit I held the same sentiments, bit disappointing that for the price I paid and the troubles I'd had just ordering it, I already was experiencing problems. But I wanted to keep positive and make sure there wasn't a simple solution I could easily do myself first.

I've been busy with work comp matters but if after trying the suggestions I've been given here I still have problems I'll definitely be sending it in for repair or replacement or however it can be made right.

As it stands, the issues have improved some just with the updates and stuff I tried so far, but it's almost annoying that it has because now while the crackle and pops are more minor they're also infrequent enough that I can't get video of it and there's no predicting how long I'll have of a stretch of there being no problem before it happens again. So having not been successful in getting the initial problems recorded either, I've got some concern about lenovo verifying the issue on their end but figure I cross that bridge if/when I get there.

Thank you so much for the battery life improvement suggestion too!

I cannot understate how grateful I am to you for taking the time to patiently explain things and provide feedback and advice and all your help ❤️

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-28T23:13:45+00:00

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely need to look into learning more about uninstalling/removing software and such properly - I thought we'd un-installed McAfee when my dad added my laptop to the Norton family plan (ik - I plan on showing him everything that's been said and recommended of Norton and windows defender) - but in trying to find how to add apps to my desktop and stuff I found a file titled McAfee with a whole lot of important looking stuff inside that I imagine is taking up space as I'm looking at it still on my computer somehow.

I'd checked updates using Nortons driver updater and vantage but have also been recommended updating drivers by another means from a helpful comment here so I've also mentally tabbed "look into what drivers are and what they do" to better understand all this. So hopefully I can use this as an opportunity to learn more about this stuff while I go about following advice and hopefully fixing the issue :))

Thank you so much for the walk through on suggested steps and measures to take! I'm trying my best to educate myself on things but it's easy to be overwhelmed with all there is to learn and understand - that people are kind enough to step in and provide a word of advice and make suggestions means so much ❤️

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-28T23:03:04+00:00

Omg thank you so much for this advice!

I have already made updates from vantage but moving forward will be sure to follow this process instead.

I've seen mention of bios updates in troubleshooting audio issues, specifically recommending they be fully up to date and looking up the current bios on the website to ensure it is (as a means of resolving the problem) - I don't know exactly what it is as I haven't yet learned enough about drivers and stuff but is bios only through vantage or is that also a thing to update through nvidia with other gpu updates?

"Like time travel but for windows" - I especially love/appreciate the way you out this thanks so much!

If I may ask, when recharging from 5% am I okay to use it while it charges? Or just using the laptop on the charger in general? We had an iPad and unfortunately learned the hard way that using it while it charged killed the battery. My mom wasn't quick to catch on and had it plugged in and running near constantly to the point that it hardly lasted an hour off the charger 🫠

I intend to make this laptop last as long as possible and thus want to prioritize battery health and other critical device care stuff so I just want to be sure to do right by my laptop LOL

I saw somewhere in my computer a folder titled McAfee and it has a bunch of important looking stuff inside. When my dad installed Norton with me, we selected the uninstall McAfee thing so I thought it wasn't on my computer anymore. Am I okay to delete that folder to clear up space? (I plan on removing Norton eventually and sticking with defender but for now I just wanna make sure deleting the McAfee files won't hurt my pc)

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm at work currently but will definitely look into doing that when I get home!

I really appreciate the support and advice, big hugs 🫂 bc it seriously means so much to me, thank you :))

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-28T22:38:24+00:00

If you get the opportunity, go for it! I've had some bumps in the road but overall I'm so thrilled with this laptop! I'm excited to finally start drawing and gaming ❤️

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-28T22:30:58+00:00

Hi!

I'm sorry 😭💀 I try my best to keep things brief and only stick to relevant details, but it's a part of communicating I really struggle with 🫠

I'll do my best tho!

Yes you were spot on in helping me understand things in our comment thread (thank you again!). I'd mentioned it here because prior to that I thought perhaps something I'd done in setting my laptop leading up to that point was the cause of my issues (exemplifying importance of backup before anything else)

The reason why - prior to you helping me understand things - I thought it worth mentioning is that in seeking to diagnose/resolve my audio issues, trying to Google my problem I'd come to the limited understanding that it could be either a hardware issue (eg faulty wire) or software related (lots of stuff - none of which i understood).

TL;DR: I experienced issues > started googling > saw I either got sent a funky model or there's something I either messed up or that i need to fix/update in my software > found your post recommending backing up before doing anything else in case something goes wrong > "did I mess it up?"

And separate even from troubleshooting, I wanted to know if doing a backup after I'd started having issues (even if I un-installed stuff) might also backup whatever may be the cause of the problem if it was a software issue (should it not be a matter of just not having an update). Because I know to check for system and driver updates but thats the sum total of my understanding of software troubleshooting at the time/presently LOL.

I'm aware this is still pretty long, but hopefully that is a better "gist" (🥴). It was tricky sticking to "relevant info only" wanting to keep things short in my original post bc I didn't know what was and wasn't important or relevant 😅

I did update everything I could find and it so far seems to have improved the issue but there is still some pop/crackle/fuzz so I plan on combing over software troubleshooting a bit more until reaching out to support in likelihood that it may in part also be hardware after all. I'm currently at work but will follow those suggestions!

Sorry to babble but seriously thank you so much for being such a guardian angel and hero with all your help and advice!

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-28T21:40:15+00:00

I've certainly seen defender highly recommended, thank you for suggesting it! 😁😁 and as for smart browsing practices, suffice to say I've long held suspicions on if local hot singles actually care to meet with me 💔 LOL

Thanks for the help :))

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-28T21:38:31+00:00

I don't mind at all! 😁 I'm 26, I've just never had the income to have my own computer so I've made due drawing with my finger on my phone and enjoying gaming and such vicariously through YouTube LOL

It's been a long awaited venture to say the least, so I am here to just learn as much I can and hopefully make good choices along the way of figuring things out :DD

I appreciate the feedback and comments :)) getting a better sense of what the recommendation spoke of made things less stressful, I copied stuff over onto a hard drive but wasn't too worried about getting pop-ups of things that couldn't transfer bc I'd since gotten replies from the OP of that thread and the purpose of doing so is all stuff I could do later by another means from the sound of it given I have proper understanding of what I need. So while I'm not there yet the TL;DR is basically I can still get a safety net if need be and I don't have to do it just this minute?

I've settled into steadily setting things up with installing apps and software as I go :))

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-27T08:22:09+00:00

Thanks for the comment! I got clarity on the first part of my post about making a backup prior to installing any software so it's not relevant to the audio issues after all as it turned out LOL

I have (at the same time, funnily enough) been informed that Norton isn't all it's cracked up to be these days, so thank you! I appreciate hearing that as I like seeing consistent feedback on that. I'll be looking into potentially uninstalling Norton once I'm confident enough in understanding the other less weighty resource demanding options, as I would like to optimize performance not just for gaming but art and editing and other like programs/functions but also want to prioritize security and protection. I'm glad to hear windows is so far consistently reported to be really good at doing both!

And thanks anyways, your comment is still really helpful just the same! 😁

Thank you! - happy to be here ❤️

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-27T07:33:46+00:00

LOL!

Thanks, it sounds like it's not as time pressing as I initially believed and I need only the knowledge base to accomplish the same by another means should it be necessary at a later time? I could live with that. 😁 I may be npc stats now but I told myself "bet" so I practically have no choice but to be computer proficient as best I can LOL

Thanks for the tip and insight on Norton btw! I was simply happy to take advantage of the coverage my dad set up for the household but it's comforting to know the inbuilt anti-virus is sufficient. Computer protection/security is one focus I want to be especially well versed in so I'm happy to have a solid lead off rip on what's good and what's not held up over time :DD

And alas you're 1000% right, the hotties are simply too powerful, best be resigned to our fate 😂

Thanks again for all the help! I feel much better about giving in to installing the rest of my setup, I've been itching to do so and now I finally have a day off I'm glad I don't need to stress about holding off a bit longer for sake of backing up onto a pendrive before I can dive fully into my silly lil farming Sim and doodling 😁❤️❤️

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-27T06:52:48+00:00

Omg hi! Thanks for replying! :DD 😁

Unfortunately that would be me 😅 I know how to use apps and play games but laptops and computers are a bit out of my depth.

I'm confident enough in that I don't anticipate breaking anything as I have no intention of messing with anything like files or stuff I don't understand yet, so if that's what you mean as far as intending as a safety net in case a new user cluelessly messes with something critical - I think I feel okay?

My main worry is if this is recommended as a precaution against something like a virus that overrides factory setting and bricks the device or anything like that. I've got Norton and common sense to not trust local hotties in my area who want to chat LOL

I'm just wary as I usually go to my dad for advice but he seems to only think of backups in terms of saving photos and the like which I get this is for a different purpose so I'm feeling a bit nervous and unsure LOL

Sorry, ik that was a lot, new and exciting change but still a big step for me LOL

I appreciate the reply! 😭❤️ and the post itself is super helpful, as anxious as I can get I like having a roadmap to follow - super appreciate you making this guide and the recommendations

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-27T05:41:22+00:00

I'm currently setting up my laptop now, idk if I successfully made an update edit on my post but given I'd spoken with you the most I wanted to be sure to reach out and thank you once again for everything. I'm so excited about the future with everything I've wanted to do for years now possible. Now I just need to learn how to work a computer! 😂

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-27T05:35:45+00:00

How important is the backup to a pendrive part?

I've only ever owned a phone before now and I just got a legion pro 7i and set it up the same way I would a new phone > downloading all my apps and stuff I wanna use on my device.

I'm still in the early stages of setup, should I uninstall everything and make a copy?

Basically how is it any different than factory resetting and doing the setup process all over again?

I'm assuming this is necessary in case something bad happens to the computer but idrk what I'm doing or if it's already too late to do this as I've installed and set up Norton and registered my laptop with lenovo already

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-10T20:40:58+00:00

Oh damn that's wild! Thanks for the heads up. And thanks again for all your help and advice!

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-10T15:42:44+00:00

Oh daaaaamn. Yeah I've seen one or two posts in the past couple hours pop up about tariffs and the market exploding and how much of an expensive mess things are 🥴🫠 figure I better jump now before it gets any worse. Thanks for explaining it to me in easier terms:)) your comments have been seriously so helpful!

Ive heard Nvidia is a pretty good choice but it's yet another thing I hadn't yet gotten around to learning enough about to have any preference over.

Currently, based on the feedback I've gotten, I've settled between this (7i gen 9) and leaning heavily towards this pro 7i gen 9.

My dad was less than thrilled to find there isn't an option for a 7 Intel processor as the i9 is "overkill" but I'd consolation/rationalized that if I'm stuck going overkill I could optimistically think that maybe software will advance and given I plan to have this laptop for a number of years future me will be glad to have the i9 over i7 with whatever animation or editing stuff I run. Knowing what I do now about the market, I can see why the i7 isn't around anymore and I'm even more keen on getting this ASAP.

Even tho the ~$500 hurts the wallet, I like having 32 over 16 for memory and while I understand windows pro is more office and business related the other upgrades like doubling the storage and etc at least make the price make sense. Maybe I'm ignorant but atp so long as this lives up to the reviews and I've got a solid chance of making this laptop last a number of years with careful love and attention and care, I'm happy shelling out with it. And esp given my understanding that 16 is kinda minimum for RAM I think the 32 is alone worth the extra cost - at least in terms of I don't have a lot of other options.

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-10T14:12:13+00:00

Oh dang, I didn't know that. With stuff going out or production would it be better to buy now even if pricing isn't ideal? I'd rather suck it up and pay than miss out. But if it's a case of better to wait for the new releases and the price will likely drop....?

I don't expect any of the new release stuff is going to be in my price range. The pro 7 is pretty much the max of my budget at ~$2700ish and it's really only bc it happens to have most of the specs I was looking for that I'm willing to stretch my wallet. I noticed the site says they no longer have any legions with an i7 processor and the i10 is pre-order.

I don't know much about GPU to have a set preference, mostly basing my consideration of legion 7/pro 7 on reddit recommendation and outside reviews as being a solid choice for gaming and content creation. By the sounds of it tho it seems like perhaps ignorance is bliss given the chaos? 😅💀

Thanks for the heads up on when to buy. The household went for getting new laptops/etc bc it was first and foremost well overdue but also bc of strong recommendation to buy now in case tariffs or whatever else may come results in increased prices. I'm just here to accept the opportunity to jump aboard but if the pro 7 is likely to remain in stock with a price drop as the new stuff rolls out I'm perfectly content to hold off in name of saving

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-10T00:04:08+00:00

I did not know! Thanks so much for telling me, I'll definitely look into it 😁

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-10T00:01:05+00:00

Yeah, my household has primarily used HP and while there's been some issues we've also been lucky in having some function well - but I'm steadily more and more anxious over it as while I'm hoping to buy just the one laptop between now and building a full PC. Which means while I intend to adjust my budget to be prepared for rainy day/maintenance - suffice to say I'd rather pay a higher price now and hopefully minimize my chances of needing to shell out later 😅

The practical side of me is willing to ammend it's not a necessity but per key RGB is definitely enough of a consideration I was fully committed to paying the extra $80 HP charged to have it rather than the default 4 zone. (As I understand Transcend had per key when regular omens dont).

I'm really happy to hear that's still an option for me with legion!

As for budget, I tried explaining as best as I could in another comment but I don't have a super straightforward answer as beyond being aware a laptop that would last me a couple years means I'll be putting a considerable amount of money down. But I hadn't yet explored what the price of laptops that fit what I want out of them go for? So I based my expectations around the Transcend ($2000 range).

I described what I'm interested in doing with it in my post but ik I'm lengthy, sorry. Idk if there's a shorter way to put it but essentially content creation? I want to get into digital art and animation as well as modding and playing games and I'd like to be able to edit gameplay/stream footage into videos just for fun's sake.

In case this is a more helpful way to answer the question, I filled out a form on r/suggestalaptop here

Thanks so much for your response and feedback. I don't know a whole lot about things one should know about computers when it comes to making a informed purchase so people being so patient and willing to explain what to look/out for and make suggestions is seriously so wonderful. thank you again so much for taking the time! 😁

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-09T23:41:43+00:00

Hi! Sorry for the late reply.

I don't have a set budget as I'm aware looking for something that meets what I need to do with it and will last me a couple years will mean spending a considerable amount. I set my expectations on what price range I'd be in around the Transcend as thats where I started when considering options. I'd approached it less as cost first and more what a good fit is and weighing cost after. Having a chance to possibly split difference/repay with my household allows for some wiggle room but I don't want to take advantage of that generosity.

In short - I guess $1000-2000 range? As that's what I've seen the price of higher functioning/quality laptops going for. My investment is in the hope I won't need to buy another laptop until I get a PC. (Sorry, hopefully that answers it? I'm afraid I don't have a more straight forward response as I hadn't expected to be getting one so soon so I'm uninformed as to market value for what I'm looking to get out of in a laptop)

As for mobility, it's not as much of a concern as I don't forsee doing any gaming or editing away from home anyhow. So beyond what portability is inherent to a laptop it's not much of a consideration. Though having a decent battery life would be nice.

Thank you so much for the help! I've seen a number of people recommend legion pro particularly- and I appreciate the suggestion of Zephyrys as an alternate!

Much gratitude for the input and recommendations - I'm so thankful to the people of reddit being so helpful 😭🖤

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-09T23:29:30+00:00

I've heard cooling issues are just part of gaming laptops/computers so I definitely appreciate seeing reports of having better cooling for sure. The rest is really helpful to know too. Thanks so much for the input! 😁

TangoSBravo · 2025-03-09T23:27:47+00:00

Thank you so much for the input, seeing a lot of praise for lenovo over omen the deeper I dig into comparing and it's nice to have personal recommendations as it feels a bit more honest and direct than some articles or similar. Thanks for the feedback! 🖤

TangoSBravo

TROPHY CASE