New laptops with Vista

[bigbird]

Back to our topic here.
If anyone is having any trouble with what we are posting here, please let us know, so that we can elaborate.

Let's not forget that some of these little tricks are also good on a desktop. I used a few of them on an old pc my grandson uses and it did wonders. I got rid of some old programs I could never delete and used the defrager and that baby is running darn near good as new.

Good thread although most of it is too much for this ole fart. LOL

 

[Rocky]

Let's not forget that some of these little tricks are also good on a desktop. I used a few of them on an old pc my grandson uses and it did wonders. I got rid of some old programs I could never delete and used the defrager and that baby is running darn near good as new.

Good thread although most of it is too much for this ole fart. LOL

You are correct.
All my initial experience came from having desktop puters, and when we started putting them out for public use, I found out just how messed up a puter can become.
When we started offering free wifi, which demands a quick configuration, I started getting the opportunity to touch all the laptops for a few minutes.
I couldn't believe how slow and "sticky" most of them were.
Now that I've cleaned up hundreds of them, and become quite good at it, Microsoft went and invented a new OS to mess my head up.
So my next project was to vanquish all the crap they put into the new OS and get those puppies up and running like they should,
I'm glad that some posters are offering other solutions, with different operating systems, but for those who don't want to have to relearn everything, I can all but guarantee that following the procedures mentioned in this thread, will make you a happy camper.

 

[Squat]

I started getting the opportunity to touch all the laptops for a few minutes.
I couldn't believe how slow and "sticky" most of them were.

I agree so much with the above statement, you could be my brother !!!

Now that I've cleaned up hundreds of them, and become quite good at it, Microsoft went and invented a new OS to mess my head up.

I can also relate to this one...

I'm glad that some posters are offering other solutions, with different operating systems,

It's all good fun... The galaxy of Free Libre Open Source Software is a bit like the Woodstock Festival of the IT world today... It would have been a shame to miss Jimi Hendrix... Same applies to GNU/Linux

 

[DunHill]

And in all the time you use to make windows a bit more stable, faster and clean out the mess, you can easily install 2 Linux machines from scratch.

But who am i, i don't use windows, nor Mac (but it is a nice system), Linux on the wireless systems and on all the other machines an even more unkown "alternative" OS.
Virusses, backdoors etc don't exist, defag is also unknown, installers click-next-ok-continue-yes-no-maybe-crash are also almost unknown, just copy in the right place and go.
Maybe i am already too old, specially when i think back to the times that i played Frogger on my new 1K zx80 ..

A.

 

[Squat]

and on all the other machines an even more unkown "alternative" OS.
Virusses, backdoors etc don't exist, defag is also unknown, installers click-next-ok-continue-yes-no-maybe-crash are also almost unknown, just copy in the right place and go.

-What is it ? (I am curious....)
-PCBSD ? ( PC-BSD - Home )
-DesktopBSD ? ( DesktopBSD: Home )

Or the real thing :
-OpenBSD ( OpenBSD )
-FreeBSD ( The FreeBSD Project )

 

[IslandDreaming]

Half dozen of one, six of the other

I'll bet a lot of you cursed the "Horseless carriage" and said it would never replace Old Ben also

On YOUR side of the issue, I have a Dell C 400 with P 111 running at 866 and 768 of RAM, it is a little slow on the Net but otherwise fine

I was interested din downloading and installing "Puppy" to see if this speeds things up, (NOT my connection, I am getting from 3-4 MB down and up, varies all over the place)"But I am traveling and if you know this machine it has no internal optical drive or floppy, does have a USB 1 port

Is there a way to download Puppy and Firefox for a direct install without first burning a disc?

Thanks, and don't worry, Gates isn't really the Anti Christ

Think of where we might be today if he hadn't developed DOS and windows, Anyone have any white out?

 

[Squat]

Is there a way to download Puppy and Firefox for a direct install without first burning a disc?

There's a way to install Ubuntu Linux directly from Windows, without burning a CD, it's all here : Wubi - The Easiest Way to Linux

Thanks, and don't worry, Gates isn't really the Anti Christ

-Really ? I always thought so...

Think of where we might be today if he hadn't developed DOS and windows, Anyone have any white out?

Well, before DOS, there was Unix, which is still the rock solid base of the BSD, Linux and Mac system... And before Windows, there was the Palo Alto Research Project, funded by Xerox, that served both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as a model to plagiarize...

 

[Rocky]

Windows users.

Here's my perspective.
Although this thread started out to be about curing the inherent problems with Vista, several members have come up with alternate OS' that would be preferable/faster/easier/etc.
This is an unexplored world for me and is going to remain unexplored unless I ever get forced into it.
I have no desire to have to re-learn everything all over again.
It's simply too big a project for me, and I have better things to be doing with my time.
From what I understand from those who use these alternate OS, they are faster than Windows.
So you could get more performance from your puter, without upgrading hardware.
That's all fine and dandy, but if you're like me and you don't want to start all over again, then getting the best performance out of your existing puter, with your existing hardware, with your existing OS, is the way to go.
Anyone who is using Vista and followed all the procedures in this thread, has got to be whistling Dixie by now, because if the puter isn't twice as fast as before, something has gone seriously wrong.

To finish.............
It's possible that the alternative OS' mentioned in this thread, make your puter as fast as a Ferrari, but your cleaned up Windows version, should be as fast as a Dodge Viper, and for most people, that's enough.

 

[bigbird]

It was a nice thread and I am sure everyone must have learned a thing or two. I will always remember this thread as a reference.

I tried a few of the suggestions and they worked great.

Thanks for all the info!

 

[Rocky]

It was a nice thread and I am sure everyone must have learned a thing or two. I will always remember this thread as a reference.

I tried a few of the suggestions and they worked great.

Thanks for all the info!

Glad to hear that, Bigbird.
Cleaning up puters has become my hobby.
I love doing it and get a kick out of vanquishing problems that others have not, and I get a tremendous sense of satisfaction, when I turn a slow poke piece of junk, into a blistering fast machine.
All this to say, that I'm glad you responded, and should you ever have any special situations, like a virus you can't get rid of, etc, I not only would be glad to help, I enjoy it.

 

[SantiagoDR]

Now, since most of us are living in DR, we might know some folks who are stuck with an older PC, something that still runs Windows 98/ME/2000...

Here are 2 Linux distros designed to run fast on old hardware. Both are live-cd's, meaning that you don't need to install anything, just boot your PC from any of those 2 CD's:

-Puppy Linux, find it here: Puppy Linux

-Damn Small Linux, find it here: DSL information

It is always nice to have those 2 in your cd collection...

My old laptop is a Windows 95, is there any use trying the aforementioned on it Squat? The wife would be eternally grateful to get her own laptop. :bunny:lol.

 

[Rocky]

My old laptop is a Windows 95, is there any use trying the aforementioned on it Squat? The wife would be eternally grateful to get her own laptop. :bunny:lol.

Before Squat can answer that question properly, he'll need to know the type/speed processor and how much ram.

 

[Hlywud]

The key to following either Rocky's or Squats instructions on any computer does depend on processor speed ,amount of ram and hard drive performance.
RAM is important because if you don't get enough, your system won't run optimally. The minimum amount of RAM for today's systems should be 512MB even for budget systems. 1GB of RAM provides better performance.
Hard drives boil down to capacity and speed. Most hard drives available now will provide you with more than enough storage. Look for 80 GB drive as the minimum. If you feel you need more space or the extra space doesn't cost more, get the upgrade. As for performance, 7200 rpm drives are the best choice currently. If you really want performance, look for drives with 8MB or 16MB of cache.
Prcessor speed is detemined by MHz, the higher the faster. MHz stands for mega-Hertz, which means million cycles per second. So, a computer that has a 500MHz clock is doing something 500 million times per second. A 1GHz computer does something 1 Billion times per second. so when comparing clock speeds also make sure you are comparing the type or processor. Compare oranges with oranges (Pentium 4 to Pentium4) not oranges to melons (Pentium 4 to AMD) as each type of processor uses different command sequences.

 

[Squat]

My old laptop is a Windows 95, is there any use trying the aforementioned on it Squat? The wife would be eternally grateful to get her own laptop. :bunny:lol.

The 2 candidates I have in mind for "very old" PC's are Damn Small Linux:
DSL information
and Absolute Linux:
Absolute Home

The good thing about DSL is that it is a live-cd, so you don't really need to install anything, you can simply run it from the cd... Of course, some Win95-era PC's didn't have proper CD-rom, so it makes matter much more complicated... Absolute is great, but the install process is a bit more "geeky"...

Before Squat can answer that question properly, he'll need to know the type/speed processor and how much ram.

Indeed, Rocky... You are completely right. I just gave a couple of first thoughts above...

The minimum amount of RAM for today's systems should be 512MB

True for WinXP, untrue for various Linux distros... See my above example... What I mean is that it is common to run a completely correct PC with 128 megs of ram... I have an older IBM PC 300GL, PentiumII of 496Mhz, and only 128 megs of ram... It runs Debian (with Fluxbox) just fine... I would however set the bottom limit to 128 megs of ram, and agree with you in general : Go to the store and buy an extra 512 megs, it will make your life much much nicer...

 

[apostropheman]

here's an interesting way to increase performance:
Windows Vista: Features Explained: Windows ReadyBoost

Windows ReadyBoost improves system memory and boosts performance.
Adding system memory (typically referred to as RAM) is often the best way to improve a PC's performance, since more memory means more applications are ready to run without accessing the hard drive. However, upgrading memory can be difficult and costly, and some machines have limited memory expansion capabilities, making it impossible to add RAM.
Windows Vista introduces Windows ReadyBoost, a new concept in adding memory to a system. You can use non-volatile flash memory, such as that on a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to improve performance without having to add additional memory "under the hood."
The flash memory device serves as an additional memory cache?that is, memory that the computer can access much more quickly than it can access data on the hard drive. Windows ReadyBoost relies on the intelligent memory management of Windows SuperFetch and can significantly improve system responsiveness.
It's easy to use Windows ReadyBoost. When a removable memory device such as a USB flash drive or a secure digital (SD) memory card is first inserted into a port, Windows Vista checks to see if its performance is fast enough to work with Windows ReadyBoost. If so, you are asked if you want to use this device to speed up system performance. You can choose to allocate part of a USB drive's memory to speed up performance and use the remainder to store files.


Some product features are only available in certain editions of Windows Vista and may require advanced or additional hardware.

i just tried it using both a USB flash "thumb" drive and an SD card. both were accepted, although only 1 at a time. too early for me to say if there is a noticeable improvement but it can't hurt

 

[Rocky]

here's an interesting way to increase performance:
Windows Vista: Features Explained: Windows ReadyBoost

i just tried it using both a USB flash "thumb" drive and an SD card. both were accepted, although only 1 at a time. too early for me to say if there is a noticeable improvement but it can't hurt

If I understand correctly, the idea sounds great, but it says in those instructions that the best setting is 215 mb.
If that is so, and it represents an increase of 215 mb of ram, then it's not too impressive, assuming you have at least 1 gig of ram, if not 2.
I am interested in hearing the results you get, but I fear that it's a lame duck.
Just defragging your hard drive would probably give you more additional speed, than adding 215 mb to a 1 or 2 gig system.
That's assuming that I understood this correctly.

 

[SantiagoDR]

Before Squat can answer that question properly, he'll need to know the type/speed processor and how much ram.

Thanks Rocky and Squat, I just threw the question out to see first if there was any possibility. I will have to go dig it up and see what info I can find. It dates back to some time in 1997.

 

[apostropheman]

it's not really increasing your RAM exactly as i understand it and the recommendation for max effect is to use flash up to double the ram you have in your system (to a max of 4 gigs flash). i wouldn't go out and purchase extra flash media but if you have some laying around...why not?

try these links for a clearer explanation:
Windows Vista Team Blog : Windows ReadyBoost
ReadyBoost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Archer's Blog : ReadyBoost - Using Your USB Key to Speed Up Windows Vista
i also found these interesting:
Robert Hensing's Blog : Vista resume sluggishness?? (still investigating . . . )
AnandTech: Windows Vista Performance Guide
SanDisk Cruzer 2Gb Micro and Windows Vista ReadyBoost

there is a lot more if interested:
ready boost - Google Search
readyboost - Google Search
readyboost benchmark - Google Search

the bottom line for me is that i have some extra flash memory available, it won't damage anything and any little increase in speed is a bonus plus it's almost as simple as plug in the SD card and forget about it (i would recommend SD media instead of a thumb drive just because it is far less likely to be accidentally damaged)

If I understand correctly, the idea sounds great, but it says in those instructions that the best setting is 215 mb.
If that is so, and it represents an increase of 215 mb of ram, then it's not too impressive, assuming you have at least 1 gig of ram, if not 2.
I am interested in hearing the results you get, but I fear that it's a lame duck.
Just defragging your hard drive would probably give you more additional speed, than adding 215 mb to a 1 or 2 gig system.
That's assuming that I understood this correctly.

 

[Rocky]

it's not really increasing your RAM exactly as i understand it and the recommendation for max effect is to use flash up to double the ram you have in your system (to a max of 4 gigs flash). i wouldn't go out and purchase extra flash media but if you have some laying around...why not?

try these links for a clearer explanation:
Windows Vista Team Blog : Windows ReadyBoost
ReadyBoost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Archer's Blog : ReadyBoost - Using Your USB Key to Speed Up Windows Vista
i also found these interesting:
Robert Hensing's Blog : Vista resume sluggishness?? (still investigating . . . )
AnandTech: Windows Vista Performance Guide
SanDisk Cruzer 2Gb Micro and Windows Vista ReadyBoost

there is a lot more if interested:

the bottom line for me is that i have some extra flash memory available, it won't damage anything and any little increase in speed is a bonus plus it's almost as simple as plug in the SD card and forget about it (i would recommend SD media instead of a thumb drive just because it is far less likely to be accidentally damaged)

Sounds promising.
Please let us know how much it helped.

 

[Rocky]

Sounds promising.
Please let us know how much it helped.

Let me save you the trouble.
Check out the 2nd to last link you posted and look at the tests they did.
In short, certain programs would benefit if you only had 512 mb of ram.
It's not a substantial difference, and it seems to make no difference at all with 1 gig or more puters, and between you and I, anyone who buys a puter with Vista with only 512 mb of ram, doesn't need more ram, he needs a new cerebrum.
The lowest amount of ram that I have seen on any of the new Vista laptops, has been 1 gig.