Computer question

nigelmercier said:
I get the impression that the OP isn't very "tech", so I'd be concerned about wiping the boot partition without a backup on an optical disk. This is also why I think Linux would be a mistake: I consider myself a total geek: I've been messing around with computers longer than Bill Gates, and my friends consider me a PC guru, but even I struggle to make sense of GNU/Linux.

May the grep be with you.
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You are correct that the OP (me) is not very "tech". If it can't be fixed with a spanner or soldering iron I don't understand how it works. On computers I am certainly a "silver surfer" and can operate the things OK but that's as far as it goes. In fact that's as far as I want it to go!

Thanks to everyone for the input. I should make it clear that at home my Vaio running from Virgin's router is very quick and I have got used to this. The little notebook is less fast under the same circumstances but I reflect that taking the Vaio on board and operating from the normally available public WiFi it is also very slow in comparison so I guess I am just spoilt by having a very good broadband speed at home and the notebook will keep up when away as well as anything else.

I don't have any firewall conflicts but have now eliminated all programmes that automatically boot up on start (like skype) and now find it a bit better. I also had it running in "power saving" mode. In "balanced" mode it also speeds up a bit. Taking your advice I will now leave well alone and see how I go as I only use it mainly for e-mail and looking up such things as weather forecasts and posting on here anyway!

Thanks again for all the useful input.

Mike
 
boatmike said:
I should make it clear that at home my Vaio running from Virgin's router is very quick and I have got used to this. The little notebook is less fast under the same circumstances ...
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It is quite possible that a wired connection to a Virgin router would be significantly faster than a wireless one. Some of us can only dream ...
 
For a start, remove all the bloatware, standard installed programs and games etc.

Remove AVG antivirus, norton or McAfee is they came with a free trial or you willingly downloaded and installed one of them. After removal, install Microsoft Security Essentials - it runs far better on netbooks.

Install Ccleaner (free) and run it to remove all your temporary files that are taking up room. You can also go ahead and run the registry cleaner.

Now, install Smart Defrag (free ) watch the installation carefully, don't install the advert sponsored programs that it asks you too, click on decline and then skip in the install.

Smart defrag will make a huge difference to your speed of running. For the first time running it, select defrag and fully optimise, maybe do it twice depending on if you still see any red coloured squares which indicates fragmentation.

Finally, install Google Chrome. This is a faster, more secure browser.

Also check that you have all the required and optional windows updates installed.
 
Linux is a generic name - Ubuntu is one of the the "packages". You can download them for free and install as a separate "Virtual" machine.
I use SuSe, but Ubuntu certainly is more user-oriented package.

Here are the top 6.
What you get in all distros is a complete OS and the package of office applications.

Fedora 17
Mint 13 (the latest Ubuntu package)
Mageia (ex-Madriva)
Ubuntu
Bodhi
Tails 0.10.2

Android is a Linux package and Mac IoS is also from the same Unix stable.

IMHO the only decent Microsoft-based programmes are Photoshop and Excel - the Linux alternatives are as good or better.

Of course an iPAD has a decent operating system and good components but the price you pay is steep. Even then you have something that can only perform about half the tasks that a PC can carry out. Still we know we all know that enthusiasts are easily parted from their money...
 
charles_reed said:
Of course an iPAD has a decent operating system and good components but the price you pay is steep. Even then you have something that can only perform about half the tasks that a PC can carry out.
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Actually I'd guess that a PC can carry out more than twice as many potential tasks as an iPad - many times more.

Seems a rather odd way to measure the effectiveness of a device though.

Pete
 
st599 said:
nigelmercier said:
All the propeller-heads will tell you that Ubantu (or any other flavour of Linux) is better than Windows, but for the average Joe, it simply isn't. For a start, none of your Windows programs will run.
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Yes they will. Use WINE
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I run SeaClear under Wine on my (Xandros Linux) eeePC 701. Most Java programs also work well, without Wine, eg JTides.
 
boatmike said:
I recently bought an Asus Eee notebook. Generally I am pleased with the size and 11 hour battery life which was why I bought it but it is so slow!! On my Virgin media wireless at home it runs at less than half the speed of my Vaio laptop. Is this because it's running Windows 7 starter? Could I get it running faster by loading some other operating system? It's driving me nuts!
Click to expand...
Mike
to speed a computer up, put more ram in. I would hazard a guess there is only 1gb ram. Google ad ram to Asus etc, you will see how easy it is and ram is as cheap as chips at the mo
Stu
 
I have one of those Asus netbooks on the boat and, while it is not a high performance machine, it's not particularly slow either. I would be suspicious that you have got something installed that is slugging it.
 
Just a thought but not all Wi-Fi connections are the same speed either. You say your Viao is fast at home but not when out and about but your Eee is always slow, regardless of the Wi-Fi connection. Part of the issue may be that your router and Viao are connecting using MiMo, dual-channel and other fancy Wi-Fi technologies whilst the Eee has a bog-standard Class B connection or something. Again the Vaio may have a more sensitive and powerful Wi-Fi transmitter/receiver which can make a big difference to the connection speed.

Ubuntu will be faster than Windows 7 and it's not difficult to install - experienced Windows people usually struggle more because of their preconceptions. If you follow the instructions it's fine. On the other hand you do need to be sure you will be able to run all your programs without faffing around with the WINE software - it works fine but slows things down again and is a little techy in nature.

The other option is Windows 8, which is faster than Windows and pretty much fully compatible. Only been out a few days though so you'd be an early adapter (the IT world's name for someone who does the user testing and bug finding for them).

The whole thing depends on what aspect you're finding slow. Is it the connection to the Internet (web pages slow to load, etc.)? Is it the processor (programs running slowly once they're open)? Is it the disk (programs slow to load, etc.)? Is it the graphics (screen display slow to redraw when scrolling, video's won;t play smoothly, etc.)?
 
boatmike said:
I recently bought an Asus Eee notebook. Generally I am pleased with the size and 11 hour battery life which was why I bought it but it is so slow!! On my Virgin media wireless at home it runs at less than half the speed of my Vaio laptop. Is this because it's running Windows 7 starter? Could I get it running faster by loading some other operating system? It's driving me nuts!
Click to expand...

You need more than 4GB of RAM and at least a 4 core intel 2.0gz+...
 
lookoutThere_54 said:
You need more than 4GB of RAM and at least a 4 core intel 2.0gz+...
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No this is not correct, you need appropriate spec for the budget and required functionality. For a start Windows 7 starter is 32 bit, so more than 4GB of RAM would achieve nothing.

If the aim is purely web browsing then 1GB and dual core is more than adequate.
 
lustyd said:
No this is not correct, you need appropriate spec for the budget and required functionality. For a start Windows 7 starter is 32 bit, so more than 4GB of RAM would achieve nothing.

If the aim is purely web browsing then 1GB and dual core is more than adequate.
Click to expand...
Not correct.
Stu
 
skipper_stu said:
Not correct.
Stu
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What a delightful well informed post. Care to elaborate? Which part is not correct? Windows 7 Starter is definitely only available in 32bit, so I'm certain that part is not wrong. Because of this, more than 4GB memory would be useless due to the architectural limits of 32 bit, so I'm certain that part is not wrong (although using PAE this can be overcome at the cost of a decrease in performance).
Me and millions of others have happily browsed the internet with single and dual core processors and under 1GB memory for years, so I know that's also not wrong.
This only leave the statement that people should buy an appropriate spec for their budget and requirements - It baffles me that you would question this. I've never seen you suggesting we should all sail superyachts, so why should we all own the computer equivalent?
 
lustyd said:
No this is not correct, you need appropriate spec for the budget and required functionality. For a start Windows 7 starter is 32 bit, so more than 4GB of RAM would achieve nothing.

If the aim is purely web browsing then 1GB and dual core is more than adequate.
Click to expand...

Correct. I can't find anything at fault with the above, apart from the limit of 32-bit Windows (without kernel modifications) being closer to 3GB.
 
nigelmercier said:
Correct. I can't find anything at fault with the above, apart from the limit of 32-bit Windows (without kernel modifications) being closer to 3GB.
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The limit is 4GB - unfortunately that includes graphics memory and other add in cards address space, and so usually ends up being just over 3GB on a modern system. This has lead to a lot of people quoting the limit as 3GB because the extra 1GB is wasted money so you're quite right to point it out.
 
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