Can You Use Any Charger With Any Device?

Every device — smartphone, tablet, eReader, laptop — seems to come with its own charger. But do you really need all these chargers? Can you re-use the same charger for multiple devices?

The Micro-USB connectors and chargers shipped with most modern smartphones and tablets are now supposed to be standardized. This is a topic that’s more confusing than it should be, given this standardization.

Types of Chargers

While chargers are becoming more standardized over time, there are still a variety of different charger types in wide use:

Laptop Chargers: Unfortunately, there’s still no standard type of charger for laptops. You’ll want to get a charger designed specifically for your laptop. Connectors aren’t standardized, so you probably won’t be able to accidentally plug the wrong charger into your laptop.

Apple Lightning Connector: Apple has now standardized on the Lightning connector, introduced in 2012, for their devices. iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, iPad Nanos — all the new iDevices use the Lightning connector and can be connected to any Lightning charger certified or developed by Apple. Older devices use Apple’s 30-pin dock connector. Apple makes a connector that allows you to connect new devices with a Lightning connector to older charges with a 30-pin dock connector, if you really want to do this.

Micro USB Chargers: Most smartphones — including Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry phones — and Android tablets use standard Micro USB connectors. These replace the proprietary chargers that old cell phones used to use. To comply with the European Union’s directives on a common type of charger for smartphones, Apple offers a Lightning-to-Micro-USB adapter.

Laptop chargers aren’t compatible, while Lightning connectors can be shared between Apple devices. (Note that iPad chargers will have a higher amperage than iPhone chargers, see below for more about that.)

Can Any Micro USB Charger Charge Any Micro USB Device?

The real question here is whether any Micro USB charger can charge any Micro USB device. In theory, all Micro USB chargers and devices are supposed to work together. Chargers can be mixed, matched, and recycled, so they don’t need to be tossed out when you get a new device.

If you have a device with a Micro USB port and a Micro USB charger, you should be able to plug the device into the charger and charge away. You can also use a standard Micro USB cable to connect any device with a Micro USB port to any laptop and the laptop will charge it over USB. Just as the laptop will charge over USB, so will your charger.

There are other concerns when moving between different countries, of course. If you’re travelling intentionally, you’ll need to know the differences between voltages and connectors used around the world.

Safety Concerns

The HP Chromebook 11 uses an ARM chip, just as smartphones do. This makes it the first laptop to use a standard Micro USB connector for charging — typical laptops require more power and can’t be charged this way. This laptop was recently pulled from sale after reports that its charger was overheating and causing damage. An HP spokesperson advised that “customers who have purchased an HP Chromebook 11 should not use the original charger provided with the product. In the interim they may continue using their HP Chromebook 11 with any other Underwriters Laboratories-listed micro-USB charger—for example one provided with a tablet or smartphone.”

Underwriters Laboratories is an independent safety testing and certification organization. If you look at your Micro USB chargers, you’ll likely see a “UL Listed” logo on them. This indicates that they were tested for safety, so they won’t overheat and catch fires or electrocute you.

In some cases, even approved chargers can have problems, just as faulty batteries can catch on fire. You shouldn’t use any sort of charger that has been recalled, as the HP Chromebook 11′s charger has.

Chargers that haven’t been certified are another concern. Just as you shouldn’t use unofficial batteries ordered direct from factories in China because they have a greater risk of exploding or catching fire, you shouldn’t use uncertified chargers that haven’t been tested for safety. Don’t buy super-cheap unofficial chargers — use high-quality name-brand ones.

Voltage and Amperage

All USB connections provide 5 volts of power. This means that you shouldn’t have to worry about voltage when connecting a charger to a device over Micro USB.

Amperage is another matter. To provide more power to a device faster, chargers increase the current, which is measured in amps. More amps provide more power, so the charger that comes with an Android tablet will likely be capable of providing more amps than the charger that comes with an Android smartphone. For example, the tablet’s charger may provide 2 amps while the smartphone’s may provide 1 amp.

In practice, a charger’s amperage is a maximum. For example, if you connected a smartphone’s charger to a tablet, the tablet would likely charge very slowly as the charger wouldn’t provide as many amps as the charger that came with the tablet.

If you connected the tablet’s charger to the smartphone, nothing would explode or catch fire. The smartphone likely won’t draw the maximum number of amps the charger can provide, but that should be fine. The smartphone may even charge a bit faster.

All of the above should be true. It should be possible to charge any device with a standard Micro USB connector using a standard Micro USB charger. In practice, some devices may not charge with some chargers. While there’s a standard for this sort of thing, it appears some devices may not be following the standard.

How To Check My Computer’s RAM Configuration Without Opening the Case?

If you need a more detailed look at your RAM configuration than the basic information a Windows report provides, you can find out all you need to know without cracking open the case. Read on to see how you can check your configuration and installed RAM module stats.

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.

The Question

SuperUser reader Vince wants an easy way to check the exact configuration of his computer’s RAM. He writes:

I would like to check my RAM configuration.

I know it is easy to check the total RAM installed on a computer (eg 32 GB), but is there an easy way to check in Windows if the RAM is e.g. 2×16 GB, 4×8 GB, 8×4 GB or 16×2 GB?

This information is particularly handy if you’re shopping for a RAM upgrade as you need to know which slots are filled and in which configuration.

The Answer

Two SuperUser contributors came to Vince’s aid, offering two unique ways of accessing the information he wants. Bob shows us how to use a built-in Windows tool to get a detailed readout:

If you don’t mind using the command line, WMI can do this and is native with Windows XP and newer.

Simply run wmic MEMORYCHIP get BankLabel,DeviceLocator,Capacity,Tag

>wmic MEMORYCHIP get BankLabel,DeviceLocator,Capacity,Tag

BankLabel  Capacity    DeviceLocator            Tag

BANK 0     2147483648  Bottom - Slot 1 (top)    Physical Memory 0

BANK 1     4294967296  Bottom - Slot 2 (under)  Physical Memory 1

(DeviceLocator will likely give you DIMM numbers on a desktop machine – the top/under slots are because I’m on a laptop. Both BankLabel and DeviceLocator formats may vary by machine.)

There is a lot more data available, but it doesn’t display well in the limited columns of a command prompt. You can export it all to a text file for easier viewing (don’t forget to turn off word wrap):

>wmic MEMORYCHIP get >data.txt

>start data.txt

And you can use those extra columns to customise the first command to give you, e.g., the manufacturer name, product number and serial number.

For those of you that prefer a GUI, Hennes offers a solution:

Yes, there a way to do this since CPU-Z can display that information. If if one program can do that then so can others.

Between the two approaches, you definitely have enough information to make an informed purchase.

Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? 

How to Fix Mouse Lag in PC Games on Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 allows Windows to work better on high-DPI displays. As part of this, the way Windows deals with mice has changed. Games that don’t read raw mouse data may end up with laggy, freezing, or stuttering mouse movement.

This problem seems to primarily affect users with high-DPI or high-polling rate mice — in other words, gaming mice. Microsoft has only released a partial fix, but there’s a way to fix this problem in any affected game.

Install Microsoft’s Patch

Microsoft provides a patch that introduces a new compatibility option to fix this problem. As part of the patch, the compatibility option is applied to a variety of popular games, including games from the Call of Duty series, Counter Strike series, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Hitman Absolution, Half-Life 2, Metro 2033, Portal, and Tomb Raider.

This patch is known as KB2908279. As of November 14, 2013, this patch has not been rolled out via Windows Update. To get the fix, you’ll have to download the patch from Microsoft’s website and install it manually.

Depending on the version of Windows 8.1 you’re using, you’ll need to download either the the 64-bit version of this patch or the 32-bit version.

If you’re not sure which version of Windows you’re using, press the Windows key to access the Start screen, type System, and click the System shortcut. Scroll down and look at the System type line.

Fix Other Games via the Registry

The patch above does two things. One, it creates a new type of compatibility flag in Windows. Two, it applies that compatibility flag to some of the most popular games affected by this problem.

If you have a less-popular game with this problem, you’ll need to apply the compatibility option to the game on your own. Microsoft advises game developers to do this themselves so their users won’t have to, but many games may never be updated with this fix.

You can apply Microsoft’s fix to any affected game from the registry editor. Note that you must have the patch above installed for this to work.

To get started, press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter.

Browse to the following registry key, or folder:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers

The Layers key may not exist. If it doesn’t, right-click the AppCompatFlags key, point to New, select Key, type Layers, and press Enter to create it.

You’ll now need to create a new registry entry for your game. Right-click the Layers key, point to New, click String Value, type the full path of the game’s executable file, and press Enter. For example, if the game was located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Game\Engine.exe, you’d just type the following value:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Game\Engine.exe

Next, right-click the value you just created and select Modify. Type the following text into the box and press Enter:

NoDTToDITMouseBatch

You can now repeat this process to add every affected game you have.

Next, we’ll need an elevated Command Prompt window. To do this, press the Windows key to access the Start screen, type Command Prompt, right-click the Command Prompt shortcut that appears, and select Run as administrator.

In the elevated Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter to apply your compatibility settings:

Rundll32 apphelp.dll,ShimFlushCache

Warnings

Microsoft warns that this option will cause increased power usage, so you shouldn’t apply this option to unaffected games or other programs. In particular, they stress that this shouldn’t be applied to background processes that remain running, or your battery life will be noticeably affected.

There is another option Microsoft recommends — if the game In question has a “raw input” or DirectInput option, you can select it and the problem should be fixed.

How to factory reset and wipe your Android device

Sooner or later with your Android os cell phone or perhaps tablet’s life, you’re possibly want to to execute some sort of factory recast around the device. Regardless of whether you’re giving the unit to a good friend, dealing the idea throughout to have a much better device, or perhaps giving the idea down for just a extended warranty fix, it’s practical in order to realize how to totally erase all your personal data off the device (and optionally, this SD card). On this guidebook, we’re going to talk about the way for doing that finish erase and that means you not have in order to be worried about causing private information on a computer device whenever you will no longer are.

The first step in this particular method will be in reverse crucial computer data in the event that there’s anything crucial on there that you simply don’t desire to shed. Regardless of whether that’s the Angry Gulls data or perhaps your loved ones images, you wish to make certain you’ve bought some sort of backup than it someplace. We’ve covered in reverse the applications along with data together with your images, and so feel free of charge to see these manuals to be certain you’re not really shedding anything. Of course, if an individual don’t copy the contact lenses for your Google bank account, all of us need an individual covered with that will stop, way too.

It’s value talking about that will together with lots of the approaches throughout these manuals, crucial computer data will be supported for your Sd card. In the event you’re thinking about wiping this Sd card along with migrating the data to a completely new or perhaps alternative device, you must back up the data for your LAPTOP OR COMPUTER so it doesn’t get lost whenever you’re wiping almost everything.

Almost everything totally supported? Excellent. Your next stage are going to be to discover exactly where the factory recast is at the cell phone or perhaps tablet’s settings. On investment Android os, it's going to be outlined at the Accounts class with your settings food list, which you'll want to see under. (The screenshot shows Cyanogenmod, although in the event that you’re working any similar ROM, this Back-up & Totally reset choice need to certainly in the similar place).

Over a skinned type of Android os similar to TouchWiz, maybe you have to accomplish more seeking. Samsung’s Universe Ersus several provides his or her totally reset option underneath the balances case inside controls, under the many balances which are agreed upon inside in your device, but the Take note only two and Universe Ersus 3 ought to listing this in a very spot far more just like share Android os. Various other suppliers may proceed this about slightly also, yet in most cases, it’s gonna be close to where your own balances are usually listed.

The following screen will probably be rather simple. You’ll would like to faucet the last option that states “Factory files totally reset. ”.

Picking that will alternative will highlight the records signed straight into your system, and also a verification switch regarding removing the unit or perhaps supplement. Pick that will alternative and your system will machine and also wash by itself.

There isn't a going back through that point, if you decide to haven’t insured almost everything way up, you ought to move accomplish that prior to going any further.

After the item operates by having a machine and also wash, the unit will trunk back just as the item got out from the container. Simply no blog, not any info, not any records on it. If you have been simply just needing to reset these devices in order to freshen the item way up and start from the clean record, you'll be able to stop at this. All the data files kept on your phone’s inside memory space and also Sdcard (like these backups an individual built, virtually any photographs or perhaps tracks, and many others. ) will still be right now there. If you wish to wash so much, also, continue reading.

You will find a pair of strategies to control this particular next thing; you'll be able to often wash your system through your mobile phone, or perhaps hook up your system to your PC and also wash many techniques from right now there. If you wish to get it done almost all through your system, you’re have to some form of document boss, (most devices come preloaded along with a single, although there are many obtainable in the Participate in Store) and if you’re performing it through your PC, you’ll simply just have to have your HARDWARE cable.

We’re likely to make use of Astro Data file Boss to deal with this particular in the mobile phone. Astro is often a quite powerful, effective document boss that will cope with a ton of various operations, in addition it’s totally free. After getting hired set up and also running, you ought to see often a few SD cards on the main screen. SDcard0 is commonly the device’s inside storage, while SDcard1 may be the precise Sdcard, should you have a single inside your system.

Select whichever memory you want to wipe first, and you’ll be able to see everything stored on the device. You essentially want to delete everything here, but there’s a catch; making sure you don’t miss any hidden files. Tap the menu button on your phone to pull up Astro’s View Settings, and make sure to check the “Show Hidden Files” option. This will show all the folders on that storage device that are normally hidden from view.

Once those are showing up (you’ll know because hidden folders have a period at the start of their name, like .Android) tap the multi-select button at the top of Astro, which will then cause an action bar to appear at the bottom of your interface. Tap the more option on the right side, followed by “Select All,” and then Delete. It should take Astro a minute or two to completely delete all of those folders and files from your internal memory. Follow the same steps for SDcard1 if you have or want to wipe the SD card in addition to your phone’s internal memory.

Today, if you choose to try this at a laptop or computer, you’ve bought far more possibilities. You possibly can both be connected your current cellular phone with a laptop or computer for you to remove anything, or placed your current Sd card in to a card viewer on your hard drive. If you’re wiping the interior storage, it’s normally advisable be connected the product right to the actual laptop or computer, because it can handle erasing both Sd card and central storage. (We’re gonna become utilizing Home windows 7 for this instance. If you’re jogging OPERATING SYSTEM Times, almost any Linux distro, or Chrome OPERATING SYSTEM, your current knowledge is often a tiny unique here)

As soon as hooked up, your current product may arrive such as a completely removable expensive drive. Having an AT&T Universe Ersus 5, the product comes on under My personal Computer system as being a Easily transportable Gadget SGH-I337. Naturally that will product amount can change depending on your current product, but which could present you with a concept regarding what exactly you’re in search of. You could be caused to install further drivers. If you do, set up them which means your laptop or computer can read the data with your cellular phone.

Opening the item upwards such as a UNIVERSAL SERIES BUS drive demonstrates an enclosed Storage devices folder, and also a Sdcard folder for those who have 1. From the following, you’re planning to might like to do generally a similar thing most of us does with Astro sooner; throw open each folder, decide on the many folders and data inside it, and delete them. For making Home windows teach you invisible data and folders, open the commencement selection, kind “hidden files” and select the actual Management Panel solution “Show invisible data and folders. ” That could throw open any eye-port with watch options for folders. Throughout the sixth merchandise in in which checklist would have been a r / c key that could adjust whether or not your personal computer demonstrates or maybe skins these invisible data. You’re planning to need to find the solution in which enables these make an appearance, subsequently just click FINE at the end.

Previous move the following; open whatever folder you want to get rid of (Internal Storage devices or maybe SD Card) to see each of the folders and data. Right now you’re planning to need to decide on each of the folders the following, which can be easily by pressing Ctrl + A. Right now suitable just click them and select Erase, or maybe strike the actual Erase crucial on your keyboard set. Poof, just about all eliminated.

Rinse out and also duplicate intended for equally your current Sdcard and also inner memory space since needed, and also you’ll soon have a product that’s working just like the item does out-of-the-box. You are able to advertise, deal, as well as bank loan the product without having concerning about your own information dripping in order to whomever ultimately ends up using your cellular phone next.