Recommend a good PC forum

dcmeigs

My laptop has software issues. I need to get some education. Can anyone recommend a good forum for getting good solid PC advice?

shadowofnight

http://www.notebookforums.com/forumindex.php

Good one.....

dcmeigs

Thanks man, I'll check it out.

John30_30

dcmeigs wrote: »

My laptop has software issues. I need to get some education. Can anyone recommend a good forum for getting good solid PC advice?

+1 on notebookforums.

What kind of issues? No one's been shy about asking for PC help here so far....;)

apc

Try: http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/

SKsolutions

Is this one not PC enough?
\Crap,

Try searching the hardware/software problem with different search terms, error reports etc. Someone, somewhere has posted it before.

dcmeigs

John30_30 wrote: »

+1 on notebookforums.

What kind of issues? No one's been shy about asking for PC help here so far....;)

Well the newer Hp laptop threw a jug, oil on the windscreen, forced off field landing, gear sheared off, lots of sheetmetal damage, never fly again... you get the idea-total loss.

So I got out the old Sony Vaio and there are not enough Os in the word slow to describe it's speed. This is not just because of tech specs but because there are way too many things running and most of them are not wanted. I took Shadowofnight's recommendation and went to notebook forums and found out about "What's Running". Most of these things are not in the "Add Delete software" control panel list so I'm still looking for ways to remove them.

I don't really want to reformat if I can avoid it because I have some very useful software that I still use and the disks are not with me here. And I can't find my XP disks either.

Thats about it for now other than to praise the notebook forum and add thanks again for the recommendation.

Sami

A good place to start is to run pcpitstop from their website (for unwanted processes and other stuff that explains why it's slow).

http://pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp

SKsolutions

That's a different issue, it works, but it's slow. You can clean out your Start folder for starters. Another approach is to go to the Admin Tools panel and set each service to manual, that is presuming you know what it is, and what is dependent on it. Again, you can google each service to see if it's critical or not.
Also, Try downloading service pack3 to get rid of all those old hotifxes.
Install Spybot and use it to disable most of that Sony/other crap. There are other ways, but this is pretty safe and can be undone easily. I think I have around 35-40 services running in XP, and quite a few of those are security apps. You can go much lighter than that.

messiah

There are many things you can do to help your pc run faster. First thing I would do is defrag the Hard drive. My personal favorite tool for this is perfect disk. Many programs that you install will automatically be set up to run on start up. You can decide what programs to have run by clicking the start button on the lower left corner of the screen, click on run, type in msconfig and then click on startup. Check or uncheck the programs you want or do not want to run. The biggest gain in speed however will come with the addition of extra memory. If you have any ?'s, feel free to ask.

John30_30

dcmeigs wrote: »

So I got out the old Sony Vaio and there are not enough Os in the word slow to describe it's speed. This is not just because of tech specs but because there are way too many things running and most of them are not wanted. I took Shadowofnight's recommendation and went to notebook forums and found out about "What's Running". Most of these things are not in the "Add Delete software" control panel list so I'm still looking for ways to remove them.

I don't really want to reformat if I can avoid it because I have some very useful software that I still use and the disks are not with me here. And I can't find my XP disks either.

Thats about it for now other than to praise the notebook forum and add thanks again for the recommendation.

Those startups are obnoxious, and alot of them are Software Companies that pay the individual manufacturers to bundle their crap with the OEM computer. It's about Market Share, and they almost always include on startup.

What you do to disengage them without uninstalling is Click Start/Run, then type in msconfig in the Run box.

This will bring up System Configuration. Click the Startup Tab, and that shows everything that loads on startup. Now, some of these services are intuitively named, some you may need to google. There will also be a column where the service is located, almost all of which are either in Windows System32 or Program Files. Many of these are applications that you don't need starting up every time. Uncheck them. Leave the Windows services alone, as well as your AV, Firewall, possibly also defragger. Be real sure about what you're unchecking.

In fact, if you're nervous about some and can't find the definitive using Google, list them here and I (and some knowledgeable others also) can try to help you make that determination.

Basically, when you uncheck these services, it frees up the oldtimer's meager resources on startup. So you'll go down the list, Okay it, then it will want to reboot. You should notice an immediate improvement on startup.

messiah

John30_30 wrote: »

Those startups are obnoxious, and alot of them are Software Companies that pay the individual manufacturers to bundle their crap with the OEM computer. It's about Market Share, and they almost always include on startup.

What you do to disengage them without uninstalling is Click Start/Run, then type in msconfig in the Run box.

This will bring up System Configuration. Click the Startup Tab, and that shows everything that loads on startup. Now, some of these services are intuitively named, some you may need to google. There will also be a column where the service is located, almost all of which are either in Windows System32 or Program Files. Many of these are applications that you don't need starting up every time. Uncheck them. Leave the Windows services alone, as well as your AV, Firewall, possibly also defragger. Be real sure about what you're unchecking.

In fact, if you're nervous about some and can't find the definitive using Google, list them here and I (and some knowledgeable others also) can try to help you make that determination.

Basically, when you uncheck these services, it frees up the oldtimer's meager resources on startup. So you'll go down the list, Okay it, then it will want to reboot. You should notice an immediate improvement on startup.

Lol I think I just said that;)

John30_30

messiah wrote: »

Lol I think I just said that;)

Dang, you did. I guess it's easier to surf on the same thoughtwave than to read it.

Ender

My all time favorite: http://www.hardocp.com/

dcmeigs

OK, I did the configsys as some of you recommend. This is what I was looking for so thanks for the suggestion.

As you suggest there are many that are obviously not needed and others that I'm quite unsure of. I'll google them but here is the list anyway. Any comments are appreciated.

NVCpl
reminder
PartSeal
TVTInstTool
SPMgr
VAIOUpdt
igfxtray
hkcmd
ICO
AvRmtCtr
jussched
RTHDCPL
avgtray (I think this is for the AVG virus software)
PSDiagnosticM
Apoint
winampa (Winamp media player?)
Switcher
qttask
msmsgs (MS messenger?? That must die!!)
ctfmon
GoogleToolbarNotifier (I wonder what that does?)
NMBgMonitor
WMPNSCFG
Backup Manager
hpodd01.exe
Service Manager

Thanks for the help. Why would I go eleswhere?

wz2p7j

I've had great luck with PC Mech:

http://forum.pcmech.com/

messiah

You can delete them all.

messiah

John30_30 wrote: »

Dang, you did. I guess it's easier to surf on the same thoughtwave than to read it.

Yup.

exalted512

SKsolutions wrote: »

Is this one not PC enough?
\Crap,

First thing I thought when I read the title...haha.
-Cody

SKsolutions

I saw the title^^ and was expecting something, umm, -different.:D

Kill them all, but you may want to leave these if it's working better for you.

NVCpl - Nvida, you can kill but it's better than the generic VGA driver
reminder -dunno, sony
PartSeal - May want to keep, Sony Sys Backup, not XP restore
RTHDCPL -Audio will still work if you kill it, but may not have some options.
avgtray - You can kill, but won't have tray access
Apoint - You can kill -your mouse will still work, but may drop some features.
Switcher -dunno, sony
ctfmon - needed for some programs, save drafts ect.

hpodd01.exe - HP printer diagnostic, you should be able to kill this too. . .unless you need it, then it would be good to have. . . so leave it. . . unless it bugs you. . . then KILL it.

dcmeigs

SKsolutions wrote: »

Is this one not PC enough?
\Crap,

Oh, there really are forums dedicated to pol. correctness. Do a google search and dive into the insanity!!!

Well, I unchecked all the boxes except for most of the ones you listed. I have a clean system tray and a speedy computer. "What's Running" shows a real improvement too. All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now. Thanks for all the help.

I do have another question, and it is as PC as PC can be. This laptop has a 1.73 Ghz Pentium M, XP-SP3, and 500 megs of RAM. I'm sure that a memory upgrade would be a real help and I understand memory is real cheap now. Where is the diminishing return on memory upgrade and what am I limited by? I currently have two 256 meg chipsets that are labeled DDR PC2700 CL2.5. I suppose I'd be looking for a pair of 500 meg or 1 gig DDR PC2700 chipsets? Will the bios and associated hardware support such an upgrade?

Maybe this? Or perhaps this?

Thanks

Dave

messiah

Depends on what your motherboard will support. I'd suggest a matched pair @ 2gig (1 gig each). That is if your mb will support 2 gigs. You will notice the improvement immedietly.

mshan242700

Anandtech: http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.aspx?catid=34&flcache=68975

Not sure which sub-forum would be best (notebooks, operating systems, software).

dcmeigs

messiah wrote: »

Depends on what your motherboard will support.

How does one make that determination?

Edit: Nevermind. I found the crucial website and the scanner. It says the 1 meg (2x512) is the recommendation. I imagine that means either the motherboard tops out there or they don't make a 1meg chipset in the DDR 2700.

Part No: CT498953
Qty: 2
US $34.99 ea.



* Maximum Memory: 1024MB
* Slots: 2 (2 banks of 1)
* Standard Memory: 256, 512, or 1GB removable
* USB Support: 2.x Compliant
* All memory slots may be filled, some of the existing memory may need to be removed in order to upgrade.

Q: Will my system recognize the maximum upgrade?

A: Possibly

How much memory your Windows OS will recognize depends on which version of Windows you are running. 32-bit versions of Windows will see (and utilize) only 3GB or 3.5GB. To utilize more memory, install a 64-bit version of your OS. More information about OS memory maximums can be found at http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.aspx?qid=4251.

Q: What memory goes into my computer, and will a faster speed be backward-compatible?

A: DDR memory with support for DDR PC2700 speeds.

Because DDR memory is backward-compatible, you can safely upgrade your system with any of the guaranteed-compatible DDR speeds listed below, even if your manual calls for PC1600 or PC2100 speeds.

Q: How much memory can my computer handle?

A: 1024MB.

Adding the maximum amount of memory will improve performance and help extend the useful life of your system as you run increasingly demanding software applications in the future.

Q: Do I have to install matching pairs?

A: No.

No, you can install modules one at a time, and you can mix different densities of modules in your computer. But if your computer supports dual-channel memory configurations, you should install in identical pairs (preferably in kits) for optimal performance.

Q: Does my computer support dual-channel memory?

A: No.

Your system does not support dual channel.

Q: Does my computer support ECC memory?

A: No.

Your system does not support ECC. Because ECC and non-ECC modules should not be mixed within a system, install the same type of modules that are already in your system.

messiah

Post up the make and model, we can go from there.

messiah

It's 1 gig, not 1 meg. You'd still notice a big improvement over what you have now. 35 bucks is nothing compared to the increase in speed you'll get!

dcmeigs

I just edited the post above with that info while you were posting. Looks like 1 GIG max.

dcmeigs

And it's $70 total from Crucial directly (need qty 2). Tiger direct has them from Ultra for 20 bucks each. They look the same to me. The link is the first one in post #21.

dcmeigs

messiah wrote: »

Post up the make and model, we can go from there.

Sony Vaio PCG-7A2L

Sami

dcmeigs wrote: »

Sony Vaio PCG-7A2L

Two of these should do the trick: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231038

Sorry, that's DDR2, not DDR.

CuE0083

I like hardforum.com