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FUNCTION RANDOM - All Things Technological On Your Mind

Started by Camazotz Automat, August 17, 2012, 04:04:35 AM

wr250

Quote from: cweb on April 13, 2015, 06:52:17 AM

In other news, looks like I might be reimaging my girlfriend's 4-year-old laptop. Thing is laggy and slow. Haven't dug too deep, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of software bloat on the top.

I'd like to run some diagnostics on the HDD and RAM first. I suspect that a RAM swap might fix some of the issues. Any recs on a good memory diagnostic program? I haven't done this in a while. Memtest seems to be a popular one.

She wants a new laptop, but I'm thinking it may be worth my trouble to see if this one is salvageable. Worst case, it becomes a linux box.
several things:
as mentioned get rid of the antivirus temporarily,unless its symantec or mcaffee then ditch those permanently (they are resource hogs). replace with windows essentials or avg. then run memtest.
check the cpu heatsink for dust buildup,a minor overheat will cause the cpu to go into a low power (and therefore less heat, and much slower) mode.

cweb

Quote from: area51drone on April 13, 2015, 10:54:27 PM
MV or Mudking are the ones  to ask but I use memtest.   You clear out the start up stuff, run registry entries etc?  Disable all unnecessary services?   Probably the first thing to do is delete the anti virus software and see if that speeds things up.
I've wiped most of the stuff I know is bloatware. She bought this years ago and her ex helped "optimize" it, so there are a lot of those stupid programs I'm wading through. Startup time isn't terrible as of now, but it could be better.

Quote from: wr250 on April 14, 2015, 05:43:35 AM
several things:
as mentioned get rid of the antivirus temporarily,unless its symantec or mcaffee then ditch those permanently (they are resource hogs). replace with windows essentials or avg. then run memtest.
check the cpu heatsink for dust buildup,a minor overheat will cause the cpu to go into a low power (and therefore less heat, and much slower) mode.
Good tip on the CPU. I haven't gone so far as to open the case yet. I'll start simple and make sure the vent areas are well-cleaned before I crack into it.

I'd rather avoid a reimage, but at this point she's fine with it. One thing I might try is uninstalling Firefox and reinstalling from the latest version. She complains what a resource hog it is. I tell her that it's always had that issue. And that (seemingly) 847 tabs open doesn't help.

wr250

if after all the above isnt good enough, and a reinstall (with format) of windows still isnt good enough, consider replacing the hard drive with a ssd drive.

on many laptops you can see the heatsink through the vents with a flashlight.

cweb

Quote from: wr250 on April 14, 2015, 07:03:54 AM
if after all the above isnt good enough, and a reinstall (with format) of windows still isnt good enough, consider replacing the hard drive with a ssd drive.

on many laptops you can see the heatsink through the vents with a flashlight.
The really nice thing about this model of laptop is that the HDD is accessible by removing a single panel on the bottom, then unscrewing 4 mounting screws- 5 minutes at the absolute most. So putting an SSD in there is an attractive and simple option!

albrecht

http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/
"It’s official: John Deere and General Motors want to eviscerate the notion of ownership. Sure, we pay for their vehicles. But we don’t own them. Not according to their corporate lawyers, anyway."

cweb

Quote from: albrecht on April 21, 2015, 11:00:38 AM
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/
"It’s official: John Deere and General Motors want to eviscerate the notion of ownership. Sure, we pay for their vehicles. But we don’t own them. Not according to their corporate lawyers, anyway."
Trying to squeeze more money out of customers. Fuckers. It's not like they build stuff to last anymore, anyways.

My grandparents would buy a tractor and get at least 20 years out of it. Heck, my parents bought a tractor second-hand from someone 20 years ago and it's still running. On its 78th birthday.

It just sucks that the argument for code is proprietary enough that some assholes will call it Intellectual Property just so they can collect money after they've ALREADY been paid.

albrecht

Quote from: cweb on April 21, 2015, 01:34:26 PM
Trying to squeeze more money out of customers. Fuckers. It's not like they build stuff to last anymore, anyways.

My grandparents would buy a tractor and get at least 20 years out of it. Heck, my parents bought a tractor second-hand from someone 20 years ago and it's still running. On its 78th birthday.

It just sucks that the argument for code is proprietary enough that some assholes will call it Intellectual Property just so they can collect money after they've ALREADY been paid.
I agree it is total bs and I hope someone wins a lawsuit or some laws are made to stop this idea. You buy the thing you should be able to do whatever you want with it- for your own personal use. You bought it, you own it. I have no problem with Deere, GM, Hollywood, etc etc saying it is wrong to copy their products and distribute or sell them to others en masse but if you buy a tractor, truck, CD, or phone you should be able to take it apart, do maintenance, back up copies (where applicable), etc for your own use and even sell it to someone else. Are GM lawyers going to claim that I can't sell my truck to a 3rd party without some kind of new "contract" between buyer of used truck and GM? Crazy. Yet another reason why I don't like all the "computers" and "high-tech" in, relatively, simply machines like tractors and trucks (yes, fuel costs savings, safety, and convenience are good but now it is getting too much and too much $$ to repair because you need expensive (or proprietary) systems to analyze the chips etc.)

pate

Quote from: albrecht on April 21, 2015, 11:00:38 AM
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/
"It’s official: John Deere and General Motors want to eviscerate the notion of ownership. Sure, we pay for their vehicles. But we don’t own them. Not according to their corporate lawyers, anyway."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQf9N_pl9dE

edit: reported for not being on-topic in thread


wr250

Quote from: albrecht on April 21, 2015, 11:00:38 AM
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/
"It’s official: John Deere and General Motors want to eviscerate the notion of ownership. Sure, we pay for their vehicles. But we don’t own them. Not according to their corporate lawyers, anyway."

any titled vehicle you dont own anyways. the state owns it, because it owns the original title. this is what allows the state to tow your vehicle against your will should you be caught doing something like driving with no insurance.

albrecht

Quote from: wr250 on April 25, 2015, 12:18:34 PM
any titled vehicle you dont own anyways. the state owns it, because it owns the original title. this is what allows the state to tow your vehicle against your will should you be caught doing something like driving with no insurance.
I've heard the claim also about land, unless you have some allodial title which is very rare and down the rabbit-hole you can go when you start on the "truth" theories of taxation, ownership, fiat money, etc. Pretty soon you are living in a bunker in Montana or Texas and listening to JBW and Alex Jones!
I think they can tow you if you are driving on a public road (and, oddly to me, a private toll-road- I tried to fight a ticket to no avail because the toll-operator has cut a deal with public safety officials to monitor traffic there. Seem questionable, to me, unless the officers are paid for their time by the toll company but I guess it is legal.), you can have your truck without insurance and drive it around just fine on your ranch etc and if moving to another field and you cross a public road I don't think you need insurance either (if you have a loan on it though that company might make you have insurance.)

wr250

Quote from: albrecht on April 25, 2015, 03:34:40 PM
I've heard the claim also about land, unless you have some allodial title which is very rare and down the rabbit-hole you can go when you start on the "truth" theories of taxation, ownership, fiat money, etc. Pretty soon you are living in a bunker in Montana or Texas and listening to JBW and Alex Jones!

dont pay your property tax and the real owner will evict you eventually and sell the property off for the tax owed. if you can be evicted from "your" property without compensation, then you do not really own it do you?

Quote
I think they can tow you if you are driving on a public road (and, oddly to me, a private toll-road- I tried to fight a ticket to no avail because the toll-operator has cut a deal with public safety officials to monitor traffic there. Seem questionable, to me, unless the officers are paid for their time by the toll company but I guess it is legal.), you can have your truck without insurance and drive it around just fine on your ranch etc and if moving to another field and you cross a public road I don't think you need insurance either (if you have a loan on it though that company might make you have insurance.)
yes you have to have some violation on a public road (this includes most parking lots) for them to tow the vehicle. on private land , you can get as drunk as noory last night and drive on your land all you want, and they can do nothing.

albrecht

Quote from: wr250 on April 25, 2015, 03:48:01 PM


dont pay your property tax and the real owner will evict you eventually and sell the property off for the tax owed. if you can be evicted from "your" property without compensation, then you do not really own it do you?

I agree, as I said you need allodial title to really own it (and even then, I guess, in a time of crisis, war etc that won't mean much. Though it is interesting how title law seems to be respected even amongst enemies (to wit Guantanamo lease, Spanish land grants still respected now, etc.)

Usually (at least here though) they don't always evict you for property taxes but take it out of the estate/sale once you die. This might have changed in bad economies and has city has grown up around more rural areas. I had an old neighbor who refused for 30+ years to pay the taxes. He died and his daughter (the executrix) had to settle up before they could sell the place (he also refused electricity or water hook up and was a hoarder so it was a tear-down, basically.) Neighbors complained about his yard once (too wild, no maintenance etc) so he set it on fire (it is legal to burn here, unless there is a "burn ban".) No more complaints about yard maintenance! but I was the only one on the block that was friends with him and gotta kick out of his antics and let him take buckets of water from my hosebib.)

seems this is the place to post this  http://www.earthcam.com/network/

any other good cam site networks out there that you know about?

cweb

http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2015/03/16/how-windows-10-achieves-its-compact-footprint/
QuoteWe are also redesigning Windows’ Refresh and Reset functionalities to no longer use a separate recovery image (often preinstalled by manufacturers today) in order to bring Windows devices back to a pristine state.
Translation: you can reimage your computer sans manufacturer bloatware.

One potential negative is that you wouldn't have manufacturer drivers as part of the image. But I'd rather hunt for a few drivers than have to either uninstall McAfee's garbage or wait for a clean ISO to download.

Quick Karl

Quote from: wr250 on April 25, 2015, 03:48:01 PM
dont pay your property tax and the real owner will evict you eventually and sell the property off for the tax owed. if you can be evicted from "your" property without compensation, then you do not really own it do you?

Been saying that since I was 10-years old...

cweb

The weight lifted from your shoulders once the last major kinks are worked out of a program: priceless.

rvxtm

On the OS topic, my major cry with win10 is the crappy way MS feeds me bloatware without my approval.
Basically i need to remove the Ethernet plug or skip the connect to WiFi if i want to have my install clean.
With win10, you do not have the option to disable the "auto install devices and updates" in the first stat OOBE, this leads my computer to auto download all the 3d vision crap from nvidia package (months old version that is), some funky razer mouse drivers that i do not need, also on my laptop it starts grabbing old graphics drivers for the intel igpu.
On windows 8 you had the option do un-tick the box in the start wizard and that would let you manually install latest versions of drivers with features you actually need.

Oh well, it still feels too metro-ish to fall in love with, time will tell...

wr250

Quote from: rvxtm on May 21, 2015, 05:58:31 AM
On the OS topic, my major cry with win10 is the crappy way MS feeds me bloatware without my approval.
Basically i need to remove the Ethernet plug or skip the connect to WiFi if i want to have my install clean.
With win10, you do not have the option to disable the "auto install devices and updates" in the first stat OOBE, this leads my computer to auto download all the 3d vision crap from nvidia package (months old version that is), some funky razer mouse drivers that i do not need, also on my laptop it starts grabbing old graphics drivers for the intel igpu.
On windows 8 you had the option do un-tick the box in the start wizard and that would let you manually install latest versions of drivers with features you actually need.

Oh well, it still feels too metro-ish to fall in love with, time will tell...

wb and post often


An extremely rare glimpse of my computer system and network.

wr250

enable god mode on your windows 7 computer.simply create a folder on your desktop and name it: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
this gives easy access to 270 windows settings.

wr250

Microsoft to Release Low-Cost/Free Windows 10 with Bing Branding
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-to-Release-Low-Cost-Free-Windows-10-with-Bing-Branding-483275.shtml

Quote from: microsoft
Welcome to Windows 10, Now with ads brought to you by Bing

Just got a new Toshiba C55. Needed immediate update of 104  updates and 20 optional updates, took 18 hours. Then I loaded the Kaspersky anti virus suite and replaced the McAfee. Then I loaded all the subscriptionware I had before. Then I rid the puter of all the bloatware games and such Then loaded in hopes of using a trackball Set Point. Then I defragged. Then I discovered the C55 does not have a hatch to the memory slots as I wanted to put another 4 gig in. Then one of my subsriptions found that I had 8 out of date drivers some as old as 9 years with even the new ones nearly 5 years old( Toshiba is not updating drivers) anyway that is done.
The touch pad is touchy (no pun) sometimes it sticks , sometimes it seems to have variable stroke to pointer movement and jumps off the screen. I like the old Trackman wheel or marbleman Logitech trackballs but they go in and out of being connected . They did this on previous laptops. I tried to change search engines to DuckDuck,Ixquick  ,startpage but it keeps going back to google and that annoying bing thing that tries to guess where I am going. What about 10 coming as a freebee to 8.1 users? I would be glad to hear the folks that wrote the Metro thing had died horrible deaths.They deserve  death by wolverines.while staked on a fireant mound. I am going to Best Buy tomorrow  and request them to install my extra 4gig and get my trackball working or I will use my prerogative to return  the computer. With only 4 gigs just sitting idle the puter is using50 to52% Ram where the 4 core A8 is showing 2-8%. Got I remember having an Amiga with 8 MB memory and that was "something" in the day.

wr250

Quote from: Unquenchable Angst on June 05, 2015, 06:36:24 PM
Just got a new Toshiba C55. Needed immediate update of 104  updates and 20 optional updates, took 18 hours. Then I loaded the Kaspersky anti virus suite and replaced the McAfee. Then I loaded all the subscriptionware I had before. Then I rid the puter of all the bloatware games and such Then loaded in hopes of using a trackball Set Point. Then I defragged. Then I discovered the C55 does not have a hatch to the memory slots as I wanted to put another 4 gig in. Then one of my subsriptions found that I had 8 out of date drivers some as old as 9 years with even the new ones nearly 5 years old( Toshiba is not updating drivers) anyway that is done.
The touch pad is touchy (no pun) sometimes it sticks , sometimes it seems to have variable stroke to pointer movement and jumps off the screen. I like the old Trackman wheel or marbleman Logitech trackballs but they go in and out of being connected . They did this on previous laptops. I tried to change search engines to DuckDuck,Ixquick  ,startpage but it keeps going back to google and that annoying bing thing that tries to guess where I am going. What about 10 coming as a freebee to 8.1 users? I would be glad to hear the folks that wrote the Metro thing had died horrible deaths.They deserve  death by wolverines.while staked on a fireant mound. I am going to Best Buy tomorrow  and request them to install my extra 4gig and get my trackball working or I will use my prerogative to return  the computer. With only 4 gigs just sitting idle the puter is using50 to52% Ram where the 4 core A8 is showing 2-8%. Got I remember having an Amiga with 8 MB memory and that was "something" in the day.
windows 10 is supposed to be free to legit users of 7/8/8.x . and my 1st computer had 256 bytes of ram.

Quote from: wr250 on June 05, 2015, 06:48:37 PM
windows 10 is supposed to be free to legit users of 7/8/8.x . and my 1st computer had 256 bytes of ram.

I remember playing the text game PYRAMID 2000 on a trash eighty and thinking, "this is amazing."

I don't remember the RAM, but it was as much as thousands of dollars could buy at the time and measured in Ks, not Ms. We played it at my friend's dad's insurance company after business hours.

(The godDAMN mummy kept stealing my batteries, Padre. I'm sure I've told that story somewhere on early GNS.)



My first computer I owned had an 80286 chip with I believe 1 MB RAM, upgradeable to 16 MB if you were froggy.

Previous to that, I tried to get a discarded x8086 to work but could not and destroyed it (and if I'm to be honest with myself, partly on purpose) while trying. Since I never got it beyond error messages, I don't count it as my first.

What good is endless RAM when computer manufacturers abuse their consumers with cancerware? I just made that phrase up, but I'm sure someone has already coined it and used it to refer to the currently fashionable excrement marketed as responsible coding.

It's all insulting and a pain in the ass.

Leviathanic RAM on Lemonic PCs.  (That's a phrase you will find nowhere but here. Even if you do not specify exact search string. I just now checked and "cancerware" brought up over 1,000 hits. Small, but some pinhead beat me to it.)

If you can find a good tech place that you can truly trust, it's easier to buy the computer and drop it off there without even opening it and pay to have it deveined and all your software installed and updated.  Though the big box stores don't have the techs that can get the job done for all that. And a good deveining isn't cheap.

What a headache it's all become.  I swear to Christ my old ~Bait Computer~ gives me less trouble than my latest hardware that shall not be named here.

I dread getting a newer BC. It's going to be hell. I can feel it. But I'm being forced by bloatweb and flashprick. You can't be a BC unless your hook is in the water with the big fishes.

Now get off my computer before I shoot you, you zipper head bastards. 

I need to go polish my Gran Torino


wr250

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on June 07, 2015, 06:19:01 PM
I remember playing the text game PYRAMID on a trash eighty and thinking, "this is amazing."

I don't remember the RAM, but it was as much as thousands of dollars could buy at the time and measured in Ks, not Ms. We played it at my friend's dad's insurance company after business hours.

(The godDAMN mummy kept stealing my batteries, Padre. I'm sure I've told that story somewhere on early GNS.)

My first computer I owned had an 80286 chip with I believe 1 MB RAM, upgradeable to 16 MB if you were froggy.

Previous to that, I tried to get a discarded x8086 to work but could not and destroyed it (and if I'm to be honest with myself, partly on purpose) while trying. Since I never got it beyond error messages, I don't count it as my first.

What good is endless RAM when computer manufacturers abuse their consumers with cancerware? I just made that phrase up, but I'm sure someone has already coined it and used it to refer to the currently fashionable excrement marketed as responsible coding.

It's all insulting and a pain in the ass.

Leviathanic RAM on Lemonic PCs.  (That's a phrase you will find nowhere but here. Even if you do not specify exact search string. I just now checked and "cancerware" brought up over 1,000 hits. Small, but some pinhead beat me to it.)

If you can find a good tech place that you can truly trust, it's easier to buy the computer and drop it off there without even opening it and pay to have it deveined and all your software installed and updated.  Though the big box stores don't have the techs that can get the job done for all that. And a good deveining isn't cheap.

What a headache it's all become.  I swear to Christ my old ~Bait Computer~ gives me less trouble than my latest hardware that shall not be named here.

I dread getting a newer BC. It's going to be hell. I can feel it. But I'm being forced by bloatweb and flashprick. You can't be BC unless your hook is in the water with the big fishes.

Now get off my computer before I shoot you, you zipper head bastards. 

I need to go polish my Gran Torino
i got mine in 1977. and the amount of memory didnt have no stinkin k,m,g,t, in front of its bytes.
it was bytes.

Quote from: wr250 on June 07, 2015, 06:23:24 PM
i got mine in 1977. and the amount of memory didnt have no stinkin k,m,g,t, in front of its bytes.
it was bytes.

They just don't make'em like that anymore.

I finally think I have got the bloatware off the new puter. Trying out Comodo Dragon browser. Certainly has everything that I had been missing on Exploiter and Firefox. Seems most of the graphics were missing from opened pages and I was having to move the pointer around to find buttons blindly.
I was always partial to Amigas from 1985 till I ended up here after the beginning of the century. I hung on for 10 long dead years of Amiga resurrection attempts and rumors. I had 6 Amigas, I was crazed. Bought a 1000, Then acquired a 2000 added emplant to run mac7+, had a 80485 bridge card to run OS2, Later put a 68040 board with 8meg memory. Later I aquired another 2000 that had been tweaked up. a 600, Then I won another 1000  at a club meeting door prize which had been an unmanned lauch monitering unit at Lockeed at the space center and had many in house tech mods.I sort of gave up on all of them after I had filled a 250meg hard drive.. That original 8MEGs ram I had on the 2000 cost about $1000. I could buy 3 of my present computers for that. Nice idea at it's time,Amigas were sort of modular with amiga slots, PC slots, processor slot for upgrading CPU,memory extra hard drive ports and a video slot for a toaster or opalvision(which promised to be a toaster like card but the add ons never made it out). Had a gret club with a lot of space center techies belonging and treating us peons to many goodies.
I built my first PC in 2002 thereabouts with a Athlon XP , an ATI 8600 all in wonder,one of those Audion sound cards w/ext box, nice for the day.That lasted till about 3 years ago. Had Mandrake 8 then 9 and or RedHat 9 before I succumbed to XP ser.1 then 2 and 3.
I would have built again but since AMD annonced the intro of a 1090FX controller in 2012(still vapor) I have been afraid the 990 would be superseded as soon as I got one. I will build on another MSI MB or possibly an Asus if and when. Then I will look for the latest greatest Linux again.
I was planning on building and have a huge case here, 4 hardrives several CD,DVDrom,ram,blueray drives but I found Addonics and found a way to plugg all into a USB3 header still have room for 5 more 3.5 and 4 2.5 drives in that case. I miss mucking around in a desktop case.


chefist

Just installed the Obi 100 using Google Voice...works great! got a home phone again for FREE...after my magic Jack subscription ran out last year...

thanks MV!

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