Cleaning/Speeding Up Computer

Hax said:
eneville said:
Well, you can probably tell from my sig that I'm going to fight the corner for GNU/Linux. X hasn't screwed up on me for years, it's better now than it every has been. Maybe you're mixing up X with the window manager?

As I work with Linux/Solaris boxes for my day job, doing anything with Windows is painful and I'll often pull faces at the computer trying to make something dead simple in unix happen on Windows.

You're pretty much on your own when there's a BSOD during boot on windows, it's the opposite case with unix.
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Nope, not confusing X with windowing manager, I *do* know the difference after years of developing chartplotters running Linux as the OS :p

As for the BSOD comment, Windows still gives you the chance to boot into safe mode. Linux gives you the chance to boot to a console prompt (if you know how to edit the boot line that is). Linux = no GUI, just console and keyboard. Windows = basic GUI with most, internet to look up help, etc...

I know which I would recommend for most users who aren't comfortable with console commands, which is a large proportion of the people who use PCs these days. Hell, I know developers who've struggled with the console be it Windows or Linux, most don't have to get near it these days.

I agree that Linux is a nice OS, I just don't think it suitable for everyone.... Yet...
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The thing is that I'd estimate the BSOD frequency is *FAR* greater than the single user boot (S) mode. The majority of installs don't have any xorg.conf files (apart from conf.d files for peculiar hardware) so things "just work", in my opinion far better than things on Windows where very specific drivers are required so internet access is more essential there.

Anyway, Linux crashes much less IMO, I've not seen a single user boot on my desktop since I had an AMD K7 so maybe a decade ago and that was through faulty hardware. The biggest X problem IMO is nvidia drivers. That aside, I've used Linux installs for users that are so clueless about their desktops. Using something like Ubuntu is just fine for this sort of user. The only thing they need to know is where the firefox icon is. Works just fine, not heard any complaints, I wouldn't expect them to start using Mutt as their primary email client or to start writing documents with LaTeX or anything crazy just yet.
 
eneville said:
Anyway, Linux crashes much less IMO, I've not seen a single user boot on my desktop since I had an AMD K7 so maybe a decade ago and that was through faulty hardware. The biggest X problem IMO is nvidia drivers. That aside, I've used Linux installs for users that are so clueless about their desktops. Using something like Ubuntu is just fine for this sort of user. The only thing they need to know is where the firefox icon is. Works just fine, not heard any complaints, I wouldn't expect them to start using Mutt as their primary email client or to start writing documents with LaTeX or anything crazy just yet.
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Where as I've been forced to single user mode no less than 5 times in the last 12 months on my single Linux box (normally after files are updated), whereas neither my desktop, my OH's desktop nor my laptop (all running Windows 7) have experienced any issues over the same period. In addition to this, the Linux box does pretty much diddly squat - just sits there serving files and occasionally playing a video. The Windows machines on the other hand are used far more - especially my machines which are used for development work as well as video and photo editing. Not to mention the odd spell of gaming going on too. These machines are far more taxed than the Linux box.

Anyway, I was merely saying that Linux isn't necessarily the answer for everyone - especially not for those who have just one computer (so can't use another to look up help on the internet) and are not comfortable with the command line. Some people present it as being a cure-all, I was simply pointing out that it is not without it's own complications.
 
Just to chime in with my observations, as I have stated before I am running a lite version of Linux from a USB drive, the only reason I started using it was because of a total crash running windows no BSOD, no anything, a black screen with a flashing cursor. I had already downloaded linux, and installed it on the USB drive and tried it out as a backup for an event like this, it got me on the internet almost instantly, and more importantly allowed me access to the original drive.

What I like about it is it's 'virgin' at boot up it only ever exists as an OS in ram so the core program never changes, anything I change like wallpaper, the way the desktop is, browser bookmarks etc, are saved separately in a 'slackosave' file on my external HD.

Once I get to the bottom of my original problem with Windows, or my hardware, I will re-install it, there are Windows programs I cannot do without, the Ideal situation for me would be to have my day to day stuff running on say Win 7, with the ability to hot swap straight over to LInux without a reboot for using the internet.

One thing I am impressed with is how effortless Linux finds hardware and installs it, Vista was a huge PITA with issues like unsigned drivers, Win 7 was a vast improvement over Vista in this regard, LInux is a breeze in comparison, and NO NAG SCREENS! AT last I have an OS that does not try to hold my bloody hand at every decision I make!

Both systems have their pros and cons, I expect that eventually Linux will evolve a GUI that's as user friendly as Windows, and one BIG plus with LInux is, it's free!
 
I manage a Windows network with over a thousand clients and use Windows at home and, whilst it has it's frustrations, both Server 2008 and Windows 7 have proved to be excellent.

As an example on all the above machines I have only seen 2 BSOD's in the past year and one of those was because a kid had put some tin foil on the RAM module.

I'm not decrying Linux or Unix at all but I agree with Hax that neither of them are a 'universal cure all' and whilst they both have significant strengths they (just like Windows) have their frustrations too.

Horses for courses and all that.
 
A good single specific example of the different arguments is of perhaps when I bought this netbook in August.
Windows 7: everything worked out of the box, bloated manufacturer software installed, very slow to respond to multi-tasking. Need to download virus checker, malware-type software. Although very low-powered, especially in the video card area, I would be able to run games without hassle.
Linux Mint: installed version 11 of Mint after a test run with the live CD. Couldn't test wi-fi as needed to install a proprietary driver so needed to have Mint installed on my hard drive to do it but wasn't overly concerned as everything else worked out of the box and was so much more snappy and responsive, and all the software I need to use was either already part of the OS or could be downloaded for free without worrying about malware except for games, where there are a few unpolished titles at best. However, when I took the plunge I decided against keeping Windows, on balance, for my uses, which is mainly reading this forum! However, installing the proprietary driver caused Mint to lock up very regularly without warning. Windows was already gone. I dug out a few other older discs to try and did, and for similarity with Mint 11 I decided to stick with Mint but version 9. Driver worked fine and everything has been great since.

Dual booting or running one in a virtual machine is always an option!
 
NotTheStig,
I tried Mint 11 dual booting with Win7, that set up went pear shaped on the third boot, I am inclined to think that I did not set up the boot loader properly, or after reading your post maybe it's Mint 11 that's the problem.
I might give version 9 a try, if I could get the technical programs I use that rely on Windows to work on Linux, there would be no looking back, it is frustrating (yes,I have tried WINE without any luck), I have some issues with Libre Office saving documents in word format, it's a bit fiddly, I help people with CV's quite a bit and Linux is being a pain in that regard.
 
Glad to see Linux works well for some people, and others have pointed out it can be more responsive as there are less unwanted programs running, no need for junk. So if your computer is running slow, try a Live CD. It could be a nice breath of fresh air.
 
osdset said:
Just to chime in with my observations, as I have stated before I am running a lite version of Linux from a USB drive, the only reason I started using it was because of a total crash running windows no BSOD, no anything, a black screen with a flashing cursor. I had already downloaded linux, and installed it on the USB drive and tried it out as a backup for an event like this, it got me on the internet almost instantly, and more importantly allowed me access to the original drive.

What I like about it is it's 'virgin' at boot up it only ever exists as an OS in ram so the core program never changes, anything I change like wallpaper, the way the desktop is, browser bookmarks etc, are saved separately in a 'slackosave' file on my external HD.

Once I get to the bottom of my original problem with Windows, or my hardware, I will re-install it, there are Windows programs I cannot do without, the Ideal situation for me would be to have my day to day stuff running on say Win 7, with the ability to hot swap straight over to LInux without a reboot for using the internet.

One thing I am impressed with is how effortless Linux finds hardware and installs it, Vista was a huge PITA with issues like unsigned drivers, Win 7 was a vast improvement over Vista in this regard, LInux is a breeze in comparison, and NO NAG SCREENS! AT last I have an OS that does not try to hold my bloody hand at every decision I make!

Both systems have their pros and cons, I expect that eventually Linux will evolve a GUI that's as user friendly as Windows, and one BIG plus with LInux is, it's free!
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you can easily disable the nag screen's. i disabled uac and signed driver's


computer hasnt bsod in the last 2-3 years since i installed win7 on it.

and ive changed the hardware on it as well



(i agree with you i keep a couple boot cd's on hand, e.g. puppy linux and ubcd4win (got loads of antivirus programs on it, makes it a breeze to fix people's computers)
 
I use OS X. This is because after 10 years of windows I decided I had better things to do with my time then wait for the endless updates slow booting times and slow running of programs microsoft made or third party. I bit the bullet and brought a mac even though the tech specs are poo and the price tags are a joke. it has been rock solid.
 
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