OT computers

True. I did decide to repeat myself here. Seemed like a good idea at the time!

I noticed in one of your posts that you installed Windows 7 on a Dell computer. I thought of doing that, and it is still a possibility, but my two computers are Dell Dimension 3000 and are probably too old and too limited in resources to be a good choice for installing Windows 7.

Reply to
TomR
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I just deliverd5 brand new Acer Veriton 4630G computers to a customer

- come with win7 downgrade option on win8 pro 64 preinstalled. Can move to win8 at no extra cost when required. Not cheap at $630 C with

4gb Ram, i5, and 500gb hdd
Reply to
clare

The max for the Dim 3000 is 2Gb (which wouldn't be cheap for DDR) and would fairly run Win7 32-bit. I have some salvaged from a 3000 if you want it!

Reply to
Bob_Villa

Hi, You can run compatibility test to see the result. I replaced mother board and salvaged what I could, added SATA drives, BD drive, then I could load W7 or W8 and Linux Ubuntu in multi boot set up. It has 3 optical drives, about 15 TB disk storage(some are old SCSI 750GB drives I picked up at recycle depot for 10.00 a piece) Still older Intel LGA775 Quad cpu with 8 GB of memory. Even has FDD, LOL!

But mostly I use newer ASUS ROG laptop with 17" display. When I travel I still carry an old Thinkpad TP61P which has upgraded dual band WiFi card. It is all matter of spending least amount of $$....

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Thanks. The 2 Dell Dimension 3000 computers that we have already have 2 GB of memory installed. But, I think they may have other limitations that would make putting Win7 on them not a good idea, especially if I can get refurbished Win7 PC's with more RAM and a high processor speed for not too much money.

For example, I just did a Google search for "refurbished Windows 7 computers" and saw some through Best Buy (one of their resellers) for around $230 with lots of memory, higher processor speed, 64-bit, with a monitor, etc.

Reply to
TomR

Thanks Tony. I'll do the compatibility test and see what happens.

But, I wouldn't be up to the task of changing mother boards, adding parts, etc., so that wouldn't be an option for me.

Reply to
TomR

That test is a joke.

An old ('07) desktop of mine that is now sitting in a closet (the motherboard died) exceeded the minimum requirements for Win7 but it ran a lot faster with XP on it.

I had to make a lot of tweaks in order to get Win7 running somewhat smoothly.

Reply to
Ron

The '04 Dell I have (a freebie) runs Win7 extremely well. I was the 1st production PC with ePCI, DDR2, SATA, and a P4/3.2Ghz. I never ran the compatibility test. (and yes, I am repeating myself...a little)

Reply to
Bob_Villa

| > > All of that kind of thing could be broadly regarded as crapware. | > >It's not necessarily all bad software, but it's all stuff you don't | > >need and definitely shouldn't pay for. | > > | | What do you use? Just for my info. I won't criticize, just learn. | What do I use for....cleaning? I don't. I don't use any cleaners, AV, or "malware hunters". As I was explaining above, I view Registry cleaners and general system cleaners as more or less scam software. There are things that can improve speed, which I listed in an earlier post, but "cleaning" the Registry isn't one of them.

In terms of security, I'm careful of what I do online and rarely enable script. I also don't install anything from Adobe (Reader or Flash) and don't have Java installed. So I guess you could say I use caution.

On XP I use the last free version of Onlne Armor as a firewall. On Win7 I think I'm using Private Firewall. I'm very concerned with both privacy and security. I don't allow anything to go out that I'm not instigating, which includes updaters. I don't allow any software to self-update. That seems like a reckless and unstable approach to me, and it's allowed software companies to have their products in a constant state of semi-beta.

I don't think that no one should use AV. I think I already explained my view on that kind of thing. For people who are not going to deal with security issues, AV is probably the next best thing, even though it drags on the system.

In terms of cleaning, I empty all TEMP folders occasionally; I reinstall a clean disk image once every year or two. (I keep an image with all the basic software installed and configuration done.) I don't install much that I don't really need and avoid bloatware of any kind. I also avoid any additive programs, like browser toolbars added by free software, useless crap that's set to run by printer installers, ISPs, etc. I have two programs set to run at startup: the firewall and a mouse program. Most people have a dozen or more startup programs running. I also keep the running services down to a bare minimum.

Reply to
Mayayana

You are not a "typical" user. And not as safe as you think. For Microsoft downloads, I always have the computer set to download and notify - so I can determine what is updated and when - but I ALWAYS apply the critical updates. I always advisw my customers to do the same. To not install the security patches supplied by microsoft is foolhardy.

To not use an antivirus of some sort is also foolhardy. Industrial strength security is not required - and as far as firewalls, If you are using a NAT router the average user does not need a firewall - and software firewalls can severely affect performance (as well as functionality if not setup just right). Re-imaging a computer every year is a pain in the derrierre, and most "customers" will not have a clean image available - which neccessitates cleaning the system. Using the "disk cleanup" utility in windows cleans up everything you mention - but does NOT restore system speed on a computer that is used heavilly and has programs added, deleted, upgraded or otherwise addressed. Microsoft's defrag program is also pretty sketchy, but at least they provide it again (was not there on NT)

There are two tools I use quite extensively. One only on my own machines because I won't licence it on customer's machines - and one I have a technician copy of - a product from Registry-Cleaner.net.

It alone solves MOST slow computer complaints that I run across. I use the iobit product on my own machines - both the host and virtuals. Their defrag tool is far superior to windows Defrag. Their registry cleaner is about on a par with the R-C product but mabee a bit faster. You need to know what you are doing with their product or you can get yourself into trouble in a hurry.

Either one restores my system to full performance when it slows down - and I have NEVER had to restore or re-install the OS on any of my computers since before the days of Windows 98 SE. I can count on one hand how many customer's machines have required a re-install to address performance issues, and between only 2 customers I have over

80 systems I maintain on a regular basis. Just under half have been converted to Win7 from XP.

Both customers have Guardware firewall devices with AV and spam protection built in, and one also uses App-River mail filtering.

Reply to
clare

Here is something you should know about iobit:

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Reply to
Bob_Villa

Interesting. I have Iobit installed and I was just getting ready to uninstall it. I was first going to check to see what it is since I didn't remember before now.

Reply to
TomR

This is a 4 1/2 year old post. What has happened in the intervening

4.5 years??? I've only been using their product for the last 16 months or so.
Reply to
clare

Just an FYI...I was considering them, but not now! Trust them with my security and they steal intellectual material...no thanks!

Reply to
Bob_Villa

I work adjacent to the Helpdesk in a corporation of 1500+ people, all with at least one computer. I am also a developer, so see some of the performan ce differences. My personal preference would be a laptop with Windows 7. Relatively straig htforward OS with lots of support. Google is your friend for any OS questi ons. For the hardware, I am on my second Lenovo (previously IBM). For build qua lity and components, they currently exceed anything close to their price ra nge. I bought my first personal one when my work laptop (Lenovo) went over the bars in my backback during a cycling crash. My backpack was torn up, the laptop fired up without issues. My current superpowered work Dell woul d not have survived. I am typing this on a Lenovo T420, bought used, for $400, with OS. Not a c omplaint anywhere. Cheers

Reply to
gwandsh

+1 on the Lenovo ThinkPad
Reply to
clare

I've used some of there products before, but what is written on their homage now is hilarious.

"New Year Special Edition - Boost Your PC 300% Faster"

300% faster? Yeah, OK.
Reply to
Ron

| There are two tools I use quite extensively. One only on my own | machines because I won't licence it on customer's machines - and one I | have a technician copy of - a product from Registry-Cleaner.net.

Didn't we already go over this? I explained how you can logically assess the value of Registry cleaners for yourself. You avoided understanding what I said. As for AV, MS updates, etc, I was asked what I do myself. I explained what I do and why. It's worked well for me for many years. But it's not an approach for everyone.

I don't find it a pain to re-install disk images. I always make disk images for any machine *after* it's all set up, with the main software installed and personal configuration set up. That allows it to be put back to fresh in less than an hour, with no loss of anything if one just makes regular backups of important things like work docs and email. Again, that's not an approach for everyone. But for anyone who's willing to learn how to do it, I would think it's crazy not to make disk images. They take very little effort and can save *a lot* of work if something unexpectedly goes wrong. (It doesn't have to be malware. Lots of things could bring down the system unexpectedly, including one of those MS security updates you think are so "critical". :)

Reply to
Mayayana

| I have over | 80 systems I maintain on a regular basis. Just under half have been | converted to Win7 from XP. |

If you're going to manage peoples' computers then you really should understand what your tools are doing. You said earlier that you had no idea what settings are being removed by your Registry cleaner. You don't care? You don't understand the Registry? Why do you assume that the people selling the software know what they're doing if you don't even know what the software does? I explained how to research it for yourself, but you're not interested. Yet you're running these tools for 80-odd people? How would you feel if you paid an auto shop to keep your car in top shape and they were adding "Super Duper Power Charger" to the gas tank -- for a small fee -- but couldn't tell you exactly why?

I find this kind of thing typical among support people. It's understandable, in a way, because it's expensive to spend time on machines and most people don't want to pay very much. So tech support people hit their machines with a handful of alleged cleaners, AV and malware hunters. It's the same kind of thing that the people at Staples or Best Buy will do for about $70. They can make good money at it because the clerks don't have to understand how anything works. They just have to be trained how to run the programs.

Tech support people I know run all that stuff, then sign people up for Carbonite or something similar, charging them $200 for a yearly visit. If their PC dies, the tech wizards can stop by, do a restore, and sync their files from Carbonite. That takes them almost no time and the customers find it very convenient. It's not really a bad approach for people who don't want to deal with their own computer, but it means that those people are paying $200/year+ for tech support, their files are mirrored on a commercial website, which could have legal/privacy/security ramifications at some point, and their system is weighed down by all the security software. Anyone who wants to take the time to manage their own computer can do better than that.

Reply to
Mayayana

That is way I feel about taxes. I run Turbo Tax or anoter, sometimes two tax programs. I don't understand them, just hope for the best. Even if you call the IRS help desk you may get several answers. Saw on the news where a good percentage of the calls never made it through. Sometimes I feel like just sending in a blank form signed and letting them worry about what to do. I sure don't have time to read the tax laws. Forgot how many books it is, but probably could not even read it in a month or two.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

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