Slow Notebook PC - Help Brendan

Antivirus was... Sophos, but due to circumstances, more than likely financial, we are now on Symantec... these are the same across the board and are automatically updated each morning when connecting to the network. They have also installed AdAware and Spybot on top (just laptops), to which I have to manually update.

We has security programs such as Cisco Systems VPN (for when dialing into the network from outside), a Cisco security agent, the standard XP office firewall stuff... probably more that I don't know about. They can remotely gain access to the machine through some Dameware software, for troubleshooting purposes etc, but no other way of getting in.

Then of course we have standard programs like Office97, Lotus Notes, Citrix (used for financial/accounting stuff, quality test results/databases etc), AutoCad type programs - some AutoCad Lite but for me I'm getting MS Visio '03, MS Project, SCADA/Historian, and job specific programs... and the list goes on and on /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Unfortunately I can't dump things... its linked back to their server and know the exact status of each machine. If you get a virus, they know before I do!

Its funny really, there isn't too much MS stuff on them... must make IT's job a bit harder with so many programs on the network.... and in this country theres just over 2,000 at the minute and 14,000 worldwide, so quite a network/infrastructure to look after /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif (and we have direct connections to our Sweden and Belgium plants and can view everything over the Intranet and log all operating parameters on our servers down here in Cornwall)
 
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Unfortunately I can't dump things... its linked back to their server and know the exact status of each machine. If you get a virus, they know before I do!

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That's what I meant by locking down machines. Done to higher or lower level depending on the company, but they have to control what is going on with company computers or they'd have a right mess.

In some companies, if you make a single manual change, onboard/ or even system software will restore it to company standards, or simply stop you making changes. Necessary evil when you are managing thousands of computers.
 
I have more rights to change things being in the 'administrators' group of users, so I could physically dump things should I wish, and they wouldn't come back... but I doubt I would be their favorite employee! If I wasn't in the administrators group, I wouldn't be allowed to change anything - not even the wallpaper!
 
Go to town, and put on lots of good software that does the same thing they are running now, and challenge them as to why you have to take it off.

I wouldn't wish this on my best sys admin, but it really would be fun once in a while
 
Just one problem... I'd have to pay! Unless they had the laptop to fix something, I doubt they would ever know, unless it caused a problem on the network or a virus /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And that leads us nicely back in a full circle to the original problem, well sort of....

More programs on there, less disk space, and an even slower laptop /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Take off the ones using most resources, replace with others. You'd never get away with it tho, as you have no idea what brick wall head butting those guys are going through anyway.

In retrospect, some of the 'conversations' I used to have with HQ of a very very large IT company were quite amusing. We had moved to putting most of our techie stuff and updates on FTP and internet. Problem was many clients in Financial Services and other where security was taken seriously would not allow techies to access internet!
 
Well, just between you and me, don't go making this public knowledge /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif, I have put a couple of sailing programs on there already (tides, charting, etc) and they don't know about that... yet! I just haven't really had the guts to take it on board... I think that might be asking just a little too much /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif would be nice though, electronic charting, and built-in wi-fi would be nice when visiting marinas

We only get internet access once asked for and authorised from our manager, but thats not for security, thats to stop people abusing the facility to which it should be business related... oooppss, thats another one on the mis-use ticking off list!
 
Ah!, in which case, most many years old laptops which are cheap as chips will do you the business well, and will have serial ports too, which make interfacing to boaty type gadgets much easier. Buy a really cheap old laptop, if you need specs there are many here who can help. You can buy them so cheaply now, and what you need to run them cheaply too, there's no need to risk business laptop onboard. I used to buy nearly new 6 month old laptops for under £100.

You can buy laptops which will do serviceable work as sailing mapping charting machine for less than that probably.
 
Mine has got the serial ports, the new ones they are now issuing have gone altogether. Mine doesn't have any PS/2 all USB (not USB 2.0 though), but still has the COM1 and LPT1 which not all seem to have.... used to be Compaq, but now HP Compaq, heard rumours of possible going to Dell - again financial reasoning.

They used to let staff buy very cheap older computers when upgrading (no software on them), but yet again someone abused it and sold them on for profit etc etc and it has all been squashed. They now go to local schools and organisations etc.
 
I'd welcome a scheme where old company laptops and computers are rehoused with kids who need them for homework and keeping up with families that can afford them. There are one or two, but nothing nationally that I know of, and it's a real issue for some kids.
 
That's the problem with most schemes, they go to schools, who mainly can't use them. Sent to the kids who need them at home it would make one heck of a difference. Something I'm passionate about, and would like to do something about,
 
Hi, I'm back. Read all the posts and agree about more memory - unless you have other problems, extra memory will give you speed. However, I took your post at face value, which amounts to a machine which was ok, is now not just slower, but dying on its feet. Did you try task manager to see what was going on when it is doing something very slowly which it used to do quickly.

I asked about your anti-virus, poss doing a sweep at the same time as your other work. Now, I have Trend on my laptop, and it slows things down a bit, but clearly runs at a lower priority than foreground (ie user interactive) tasks, hence not drastic killer. However, my laptop has AVG on it, and I have to stop AVG sweeping when I am working (1GB) as it kills the machine effectively. I run a sweep on odd occasions just in case, tho nothing has ever been found other than spyware, as the firewall and email anti-virus pick them up.

There were a number of speed enhancements in XP SP2, so should not run slower than pre XP2. We ran our full suite of benchmark progs to check it out, and it either does not on some bms or does speed up a little other bms.

We don't use Macs, so no opinions on whether you should switch machines /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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