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============== Beware of Junkware
New computers are getting slower. Oh yeah, the processor is faster, they have more RAM, the drives are faster. All that is true. But they come with so much junk loaded on them that they are much slower than older computers running slower hardware but without all the excess baggage.
There are computer columnists who regularly format the hard drive of all new computers and install just what they want. For most of us, that's probably overkill but we can still get rid of a lot of baggage. It's a problem we all need to start to work on because even if you start with a clean computer, it won't stay that way without effort. Every time you install a new program, it will probably install little applets that it wants you to run at all times -- even when you aren't using their program. They are started at bootup and don't go away until you shut down.
Dell, Acer, HP, Compaq, Sony and nearly everyone else installs their own home page as the default Internet Explorer page. Some add their own search to your toolbar, or add a toolbar of their own and they all run their own "help" programs in the background as well as lots of promotional material. It uses up huge amounts of RAM and processor cycles and slows down bootup and shut-down considerably.
Two years ago VCC had tons of computers come in for repair because they were getting slower and slower. The cause was mostly spyware. Now we get almost no spyware cases but customers are still bringing their slowing problems in -- only now the cause is software bloat. Some examples may help to clarify what I'm talking about. When you install the Acrobat Reader so you can read .pdf files it installs a small applet that makes loading of .pdf files. Wonderful. But what if you only read one .pdf file a month? The rest of the time, the applet is sitting there, running in the background waiting for you to find one. You are much better off turning off the applet and speeding your computer up for the 29 days you don't need .pdf support and waiting a bit longer the one time you do need it.
Printers, with Hewlett-Packard the worst offender, also install tons of stuff you probably don't need. If you buy a printer that will interface with a camera, you'll have dozens of applets running at all times, just waiting for your next batch of vacation photos. Scanners, fancy keyboards and mice, as well as dozens of other hardware items frequently have their software running at all times no matter how frequently you need them. Lots of software programs have a "check for updates" applet running at all times so you won't miss an update to their precious program. If the program is a mission-critical application for your business, you probably want to leave it running, but most of the time, it is easier to just check for yourself if there are updates.
There are some tools that will help with the bloat, but you need to be careful. Turn off something Windows really needs and you will be reinstalling your operating system. The standard tool for advanced beginners is MSCONFIG (Start, Run, type in MSCONFIG, hit Enter). This works in all Windows since 98 other than Windows 2000. Click on Services, check Hide All Microsoft Services and delete what you don't need. Be careful not to turn off your anti-virus program or anything you actually need.
For intermediate users (no beginners, please) you can try a tool Microsoft created called Autoruns. It's available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/Autoruns.mspx
Autoruns lets you view startup options for Logon, Explorer, Internet Explorer, Scheduled Tasks, Services, Drivers, Winsock Providers, Print Monitors, LSA Providers, Network Providers, Winlogon, KnownDLL's, Boot Execute, Image Hijacks and more. Be careful. This program will let you turn off things Windows needs to boot. Uncheck the wrong entry and you'll be reinstalling (and crying) soon. But this tool is the most complete method of getting rid of startup things you don't need that I've seen. It will wipe out spyware, viruses and other malware if you know what you are doing. In the wrong hands, it will also wipe out Windows.
If you are a CIPCUG member and would like to have your startup items checked, be sure to sign up for this Saturday's Tune-Up at http://cipcug.org/clinic.cfm, bring your computer in and Rick or Mike will get rid of startup items you don't need in return for a $5 donation to CIPCUG.
============== D-Day for Vista Betas
June 1 is the cutoff for Windows Vista beta installs. After that date, betas will cease running. You need to install a retail version of Vista or upgrade to Windows XP.
============== ACER Laptop Battery Recall
Some of the batteries installed on ACER laptop models have been recalled. If you have one of the following models of ACER laptop, go to http://www.acerbatteryrecall.com/AcerWeb/ and check out your specific battery. The models affected are: TravelMate Series Beginning with: 242x, 320x, 321x, 330x, 422x, 467x, 561x, C20x and Aspire Series Beginning with: 556x, 560x, 567x, 930x, 941x, 980x.
============== CPU Prices Dropping
The Intel/AMD price war is heating up. Dealer prices of most AMD processors have dropped 20-25% over the past month. Intel has been increasing market share, so their prices haven't dropped quite as rapidly, but they have also been coming down faster than they usually do.
============== Rick's Rant: I'll be a monkey's uncle -- or only attempt under adult supervision
With a title like that how can you not continue reading? Welcome again, faithful readers. This has really been a CIPCUG month for me to host a SIG as well as I get to host a clinic at the next general meeting. So bring on your most confounding questions and issues, and I'll try to make some sense of it all. If not, I'll be a monkey's uncle!
"I'll be a monkey's uncle." Just where did that come from? I'm glad you asked; here it is. The term nowadays refers to expressing complete surprise or disbelief. But the truth of the matter is that the origin of this phrase has more to do with scientific inquiry than with a monkey being part of the family. In 1871, Darwin published the Descent of Man outlining his theory of evolution, sparking controversy that continues today. It seems Darwin's scribblings not only added yet another excuse to snipe and name call but also contributed to our English lexicon. I'll be a monkey's uncle was originally a sarcastic remark made by nonbelievers of Darwinism.
The club recently approved an upgrade of its computer to Microsoft's newest operating system, Widows Vista. Our office subscribes to Microsoft Action Pack, and we receive regular shipments of all the company's software as well as copious amounts of information on how to tell everyone how much they need this stuff. We receive numerous licenses for evaluation purposes, notfor-resale and in-house use only. We decided to donate one of our copies of Vista Business to the club to use as a teaching aid for all those club members who are curious and want to know everything about Microsoft's latest and greatest operating system. But, of course, the old and tired Pentium 4 2.4 GHz processor and 512mb RAM was just not up to the task of running the new OS efficiently so off to the shop it went for a hardware upgrade as well as software. The board thought it would be good to use this opportunity to demonstrate how an end user could also potentially perform the same act. Therein comes the rub. I agreed to be the guinea pig and perform the whole operation without testing any of the components and under the watchful supervision of CIPCUG members. Normally when performing a hardware demonstration I like to do it like the cooks do on the Food Channel. I prepare everything in advance and make sure my recipe works the way it's supposed to. When the time is right, I just reach under the counter and pull out a fully prepared construction in full working order. But not this time! I did this just the same way Joe PC User would approach this after taking a shopping trip down to Fry's. So with a crowded room full of watchful eyes I attempted to upgrade the CIPCUG PC.
The first thing to go wrong was that after I installed the CPU and RAM on the mainboard I tested the unit to see if it would POST. I plugged in a power supply, video card and keyboard and stuck my trusty screwdriver across the two pins labeled PS on the board and waited in anticipation as the board LED light powered up and the CPU fan started spinning, but nobody was home. This particular board had no speaker so I plugged one in to listen for a POST code error. Again nothing. As more than 32 pairs of eyes watched my every move, the beads of sweat started to appear on my brow. I removed the video card, nothing, the RAM, nothing, and as I pulled the CPU fan off, disaster of disasters -- The CPU glue was so strong it pulled the CPU right out of its socket, bending a few of the pins as it was forcibly ripped from its socket. I had to manually bend the pins back into place. It was sink or swim time now. Do I give up in utter, abject defeat and send everyone home disappointed? I had to think of something quick, and as my nervous eyes scanned the room I saw a package that had arrived that day. And, yes, in it was a motherboard that we sent out for repair, and it was socket AM2. I quickly threw it on the bench and furiously attached the components to the board fired it up and -- nothing happened -- but wait, it beeped! Still no picture, but it beeped. All hope is not lost as I realized that this board had video on board and I plugged the LCD into the board, but it also had a separate video card. I switched it around and YES!!!! It POSTed!!!!! The SIG must go on.
After I regained my composure, we proceeded to finish installing everything in the case, and off we went into the classroom to install the Vista OS. With a few minor blips and bumps, we got it installed and updated with a COA. This version of software was an upgrade, and there is a workaround that allows you to install and upgrade a version without a previous OS installed. We spent the rest of the evening exploring Vista and even visited www.deadtroll.com for some shock value. By the time everyone left, I was thoroughly exhausted, and even I didn't feel like talking much more. The only bad thing to come out of this is that I think I talked just about everyone in the room out of attempting this themselves and to allow a professional to do the work for them.
So I would like to end this with the monkey's uncle part. The next day Michael Shalkey arrived for work and had to wade through the flotsam and jetsam of the wreckage of our repair shop. I had left a note to send the defective unit in for repair. Being the ever inquisitive person he is or just that he never listens to me, he cleared the CMOS on the board and tested it again and guess what?
Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle if that board did not POST and run perfectly. I hope he doesn't expect a raise or anything out of this. But he was quite pleased with himself, nonetheless.
Score one for the "Cat in the Hat."
============== CIPCUG Notice
You don't have to be a member of CIPCUG to subscribe to this E-letter, but we do make a short notice of upcoming events.
Be sure to join Brynn Burtwistle who will be discussing SmartComputing this Saturday (April 28).
May 26: ADS Technologies
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