Fellow computer experts.

[Evans Electric]

Logging off guys .speak tomorrow.

Deke

 

[tom1]

Go to run type msconfigThen select start up

There you will find all the programs that load up when the computer is switched on, these run behind the windows shell.

Untick all the ones you dont use.

The only ones i leave ticked are my antivirus and any microsoft ones

You will be amazed how much quicker it loads

used to have start up optimizer, dose the same job, is msconfig on xp?

 

[Chr!s]

used to have start up optimizer, dose the same job, is msconfig on xp

Yes tom, its an old dos program, i believe its on most if not all windows operating systems

 

[philbas]

headbang

please, just do the defrag first

 

[tom1]

Mine takes between 30 secs and 2 minsDefrag your disc(s)

step one is a defrag, then take it from there

I support P's for a living, untill I can expand into electrical work Do the defrag, the we can take it from there.

headbang please, just do the defrag first

whats the first thing should be done then, do you think defragging may help? :C

 

[philbas]

It may do

 

[steptoe]

Bith of mine take < 2 mins, but my parents takes > 10 mins.The thing that is slowing theirs down is their antivirus and some spybot software which insists on a full disk scan every time it's turned on... I'd also do a defrag (manual one)

Also if you want to really give your PC a boost try a version of Linux... Steps loves it!

bit I am now a computer whizzkid,

I borrowed Dekes book, thats probably why he is having problems,!

my boot up is about 10-15secs, and its an oldish pc my sister in law gave me, about 6yr old I think,

Ubuntu 10 something,

who needs windows or gates when you live in a world without walls. :|

 

[Lurch]

Ubuntu 10 something, :|

10.10. Just upgraded all of mine, time to look at apt-cache again, it was most definitely an all nighter I wasn't expecting!

 

[Apache]

Deke - have you thought of de-fragmenting the hard drive.........

:innocent

 

[steptoe]

10.10. Just upgraded all of mine, time to look at apt-cache again, it was most definitely an all nighter I wasn't expecting!

is 10.10 good then?

I was going to stay on the LTR for a while this time, seems to be really good on both my PCs and the laptop, all at least 6yr old, though am looking at getting Aggie a new lappie for xmas, just cant see any ATM without windoze as standard.

 

[Lurch]

is 10.10 good then?I was going to stay on the LTR for a while this time, seems to be really good on both my PCs and the laptop, all at least 6yr old, though am looking at getting Aggie a new lappie for xmas, just cant see any ATM without windoze as standard.

The problem is that manufacturers are heavily subsidised by various vendors, hence why you get crap internet security packages etc... It is not worth them not selling a machine with Windows on as it will be more expensive. Dell did do a spell of selling machines with Ubuntu but made the spec lower and the price higher than the Windows counterparts so basically rigged the trial, but that's no surprise. Basically your best option is to buy a Windows laptop and just stick Ubuntu on it. You can, if you feel up to the hassle, argue that you have never used the Windows installation and get a refund from MS. Not entirely sure how but I have read about it somewhere.

As for 10.10 being any good, I've hardly used it yet, my collection of Ubuntu machines are primarily for Myth TV and the occasional usage by others. This upgrade hasn;t majorly borked anything so that's always a bonus.

 

[Doc Hudson]

Windows Vista.

Vista is noturiously slow, even on a PC that has been de-fragmented. This was one of the 'improvements' Microsoft put into the boot up and shut down processes of Window 7, 'faster' than Vista.

Doc H.

 

[steptoe]

The problem is that manufacturers are heavily subsidised by various vendors, hence why you get crap internet security packages etc... It is not worth them not selling a machine with Windows on as it will be more expensive. Dell did do a spell of selling machines with Ubuntu but made the spec lower and the price higher than the Windows counterparts so basically rigged the trial, but that's no surprise. Basically your best option is to buy a Windows laptop and just stick Ubuntu on it. You can, if you feel up to the hassle, argue that you have never used the Windows installation and get a refund from MS. Not entirely sure how but I have read about it somewhere.As for 10.10 being any good, I've hardly used it yet, my collection of Ubuntu machines are primarily for Myth TV and the occasional usage by others. This upgrade hasn;t majorly borked anything so that's always a bonus.

I have considered selling the licence, but Im not sure as to how legal that is, but surely it is mine to sell.

may try to see if some cyber geek has a yr old one he wants to sell for the latest singing dancing model,

dont bother me how much carp he has on it cos I'll be wiping it and reformatting anyway.

what OS do you mainly use then Lurch.?

 

[Lurch]

Day to day stuff I'm currently tied to Windows as a lot of stuff I use is Windows only, like design programs, programming software, system clients etc... for all sorts of stuff and then there's all the diagnostics stuff on the laptop, not got a hope in hell of having that working reliably on Ubuntu for various reasons. I have got Ubuntu dual booting on the main PC but byt he time I've booted back and forth 10 times a night it's not worth the hassle. Once I upgrade this PC then I'll probably look into virtualising one or the other to save half the hassle.

Everything else is Ubuntu though although it doesn;t get used as a PC as it's all just used for Myth. I'll have spurts of playing around\tweaking\upgrading but as it's mostly sitting there recording stuff and being watched by whoever then it just stays as is for Months.

 

[spinlondon]

To be honest, I would consider doing a disc clean up first before doing the defrag.

I would also recommend going to the Windows ONE protection centre web site, and running a full scan.

This scan will check for spyware and viruses, check for registary errors, clean and defrag your hard drive.

Can take some time.

 

[calltronics]

See what the computer is doing

1. Ctr ALt DEl and select task manager

2. Click on the processes tab

3. Then click twice on the header named "CPU" (once sorts them ascending, the second sorts them decending)

You will have a list of the processes that are running in order of CPU time.

Let me know the names of any that are hogging the system.

Normally this is caused by you having 2 or more virus checkers which end up working against each other.

 

[M107]

Ok boys & girls I'm by no stretch of the imagination a computer whizz...I can turn it on use the programs get on the net & that

 

[Lurch]

Now explain this Ubuntu to me.Is it easy to install, do I have to clear windows off the pc first or does it use windows.

Windows would be removed entirely and Ubuntu would be installed in its place, you can keep them both running side by side but unless there is something you really need Windows for then there is no need to do so. Most of the day to day stuff I use on Windows is what comes with Ubuntu anyway, e.g. OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin, Gimp and a few more.

If you only use the PC for surfing the web, checking emails and wotnot then for a novice it's a piece of cake to swap and get adjusted. If you download the ISO you can run Ubuntu from the CD so you can have a go without having to commit and remove Windows.

 

[Robojin]

I have considered selling the licence, but Im not sure as to how legal that is, but surely it is mine to sell.

In the M$ user agreement they retain ownership of the OS, you are licensed to use it on the PC you purchased it with, you have no ownership of the OS therefore no right to sell it

In the US allegedly some users who chose to use Ubantu from day one, have managed to get some sort of refund, but apparently nowhere near the amount that the vendors paid M$ in the first place

 

[Robojin]

Over time Windows slows down due to updates, software as many of the replies have stated, in most cases the only effective solution is to back up your data and reinstall Windows

Something I had to do many times with XP

Ubantu: Windows is like Marmite, so Ubantu may be for you, however you have a learning curve, if you are happy with the installed apps then the switch over may be easy, however loading new apps can be simple but as a novice it may be frustrating because after all it's very different to Windows in some cases needing you to work in a command line structure (reminiscent of DOS, but based on Linux/Unix commands)

PS IMHO for all of those Ubantu fan boys here!!