New Renewed Dell PC

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sat Jun 17, 2023 9:15 pm

I bought a renewed Dell 7040 SFF with Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6500 CPU @ 3.20GHz.
I'm getting rid of my big Dell 960 tower and will have these 2 SFF Dells.
It seems to run quite well.
It has Windows 10 Pro and 16 GB RAM.
256 GB SSD.

When I try to sign in to amazon, which I buy from a lot, it tells me to enter my OTP but it won't accept the 6 digit OTP generated by my authenticator app.

Do you think I should uninstall and reinstall the authenticator app?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There was a problem
The One Time Password (OTP) you entered is not valid. Please try again.
Two-Step Verification
For added security, please enter the One Time Password (OTP) generated by your Authenticator App

Enter OTP:
Don't require OTP on this browser"

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:24 am

Another question about this PC:

It has little WiFi antennas on the back that screw in. If I unplug the yellow ethernet cable, it will become WiFi?
(My router is a TP Link wired or WiFi).
Thanks.

Post by **Philip** » Sun Jun 18, 2023 9:22 am

Lurch wrote:Another question about this PC:

It has little WiFi antennas on the back that screw in. If I unplug the yellow ethernet cable, it will become WiFi?
(My router is a TP Link wired or WiFi).
Thanks.

It has both a Wi-Fi adapter, and a wired ethernet network adapter, both probably built into the motherboard. You can use one or the other.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sun Jun 18, 2023 9:44 am

Philip wrote:It has both a Wi-Fi adapter, and a wired ethernet network adapter, both probably built into the motherboard. You can use one or the other.

Hi Philip, Is one as good as the other?

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sun Jun 18, 2023 10:51 am

I always pick wired over wireless whenever possible.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sun Jun 18, 2023 1:27 pm

easto wrote:i always pick wired over wireless whenever possible.

ok

Post by **Philip** » Mon Jun 19, 2023 10:30 am

Same here, wired should be better.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Mon Jun 19, 2023 1:34 pm

Amazon never emailed me like they promised, to see about why I can't log in using Authenticator app, so I went back to my Dell 7010 for now.
My right leg is hurting big time.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Mon Jun 19, 2023 1:55 pm

Lurch wrote:Amazon never emailed me like they promised, to see about why I can't log in using Authenticator app, so I went back to my Dell 7010 for now.
My right leg is hurting big time.

I'm pretty sure you don't need to use a authenticator app. You can just setup 2FA and they'll text or email you the code.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Jun 20, 2023 3:55 pm

Wires vs wireless ...depends what you're doing, depends on the wifi equipment...the access point(s)...how well it's set up, what other interference there may or may not be in the area you use your computer.
For casual web surfing, email, watching online videos, etc...wireless will usually be just fine. Better wireless systems are even very good for video conferencing, VoIP, etc.
If you have a cheaper wireless AP at one end of the house and your computer is at the other, the signal may be a bit on the weak side and things may run slower.
For hard core gamers doing first person shooters, wireless can add a tiny tiny bit of latency that interferes...so wired is preferred there.

So..wired vs wireless...that all depends....sure, wired is always more solid and faster. But...vast majority of people are doing things on the computer where...the wee very tiny bit of decrease is speed isn't noticeable..isn't measurable...really is nothing.

Although I have almost 30 accounts in my Microsoft authenticator app, for my Amazon it's just text to my phone. Usually with most accounts...if your can't get your TOTP to work, there's an alternate method such as...SMS to phone, or email to your backup email account.

Post by **Philip** » Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:15 am

Wi-Fi has come a long way, newer AX (WiFi 6) and WiFi 6E especially are amazing if setup properly on channels with low interference. I've set mesh routers in bigger houses and small businesses that work very well for most practical purposes, both with wired and wireless backhaul between them. I still try to keep printers, servers, and any bandwidth-hungry client devices wired.