Comments

Insufficient information for a meaningful diagnostics !!

hmmmmmmm.. did you try poking it with a pencil ??

Posted by /pd at February 22, 2005 10:11 AM

I have the same experience with my computers. They usually last about 4 years for me until they are simply over loaded with junk (Then I let the kids have it). Most of it occurs as a program is added here, a few children games there, spam filters, virus software, etc. Eventually, the computer is trying to be everything to everyone or simply goes out of date. I’m still on Windows 98 on one computer. Yikes, I am a 5 pc family.

I have a travel computer that is only used when I hit the road; no games, no email (except web access), and limited number of additional programs. Yes, it takes a few minutes to burn a CD on one computer and load on the travel computer but there are never any failures or issues. The six hour battery works great for international travel and the small footprint works great in the cheap seats of the plane.

Posted by RTodd at February 22, 2005 10:28 AM

As a tech guru, I agree Tom and RTodd. However I think that the users and not the computers are at fault. Users keep adding so much junk that the computer eventually bogs down.

One work-around is to reformat my computer every couple of years. The only install the programs I truly need. You'd be amazed at how many printer drivers, utilities, tax software, etc. get loaded that are never really used.

It is no different than keeping a clean desk in your work environment. If you never toss anything out, then things get cluttered and your productivity drops.

Posted by George Daouros at February 22, 2005 11:19 AM

As a tech guru, I agree Tom and RTodd. However I think that the users and not the computers are at fault. Users keep adding so much junk that the computer eventually bogs down.

One work-around is to reformat my computer every couple of years. Then only install the programs I truly need. You'd be amazed at how many printer drivers, utilities, tax software, etc. get loaded that are never really used.

It is no different than keeping a clean desk in your work environment. If you never toss anything out, then things get cluttered and your productivity drops.

Posted by George Daouros at February 22, 2005 11:19 AM

Don't worry about working with win 98 - I do it's much safer as many of the virus writers have moved on to newer kit!!!

What we need is more companies doing PC servicing. You wouldn't dream of servicing your car (unless you are mechanic) why is it the same for your pc? We are still operating with the owner/tinkerer model (I guess the first cars were like this!) Now most people use a pc as a tool rather than being into the technology for it's own sake. Feels like the market could suddenly shift away from the microsoft hyper complex operating system model (apple's cheap new entry pc or some other entrant) it's been talked about for years but maybe soon it will happen.

Posted by PaulH at February 22, 2005 11:45 AM

There is no reason TP should be messing with a 2 yo computer. Wipe the HD and auction it off. Buy a PowerBook.

You should hire and make IT friends. They can build an unattended install DVD. A bootable DVD with your OS, applications, files and your install configuration. The next time your computer is sluggish or crashes, pop the DVD in and rebuild your computer without touching the keyboard.

Rebuild your computer every quarter. Keep your blade sharp.

Posted by IT at February 22, 2005 12:07 PM

Too many viruses/spyware can almost kill a machine. You could backup your data, reformat the drive and restore it with a fresh install of Windows XP and all of your apps. Of course that takes the better part of a day and is only a temporary fix until it gets infected again. And it WILL get infected again no matter how good your anti-virus/spyware software is!

The other solution is to use a Mac but that is not always a feasible solution.

Posted by Ryan Taylor at February 22, 2005 12:08 PM

Tom,

Time to backup the info on that machine, format it, and splash a Linux distribution on it!! Or quite possibly try a cd bootable (Live cd distribution). Many flavors to choose from and something interesting for everyone!!!!

Who knows, you might just say "Wow!".

My 2 cents.
Chuck

Posted by Chuck at February 22, 2005 12:13 PM

I use both a Windows and Macintosh computer. I have found that I can bang the daylights out of the Mac and it keeps on ticking. I have found that I have spent an enormous amount of time downloading and patching the Windows machine more that my Mac. Maybe you should "test drive" a completely new vehicle from a different manufacturer.

Posted by Bruce at February 22, 2005 12:50 PM

Computers these days outdate more psychologically rather than functionally. How many PC had you changed during the last 10 years? Did your investments returned in better document quality? Are you sure you are more productive? You now have more connectivity but you don't need that much of performance. I remember my first 130MB HDD on an 386 machine. I thought I would never fill it up. And it was so, until Win95 came up requiring disk space of 100Mb. And the snowball started rolling. Nobody no caress about code-optimization, because once you get it on the market the hardware will be twice faster... It's endless... but for a business worker? Do you really need a talking pin assist in MS-Office? YES, the usability has increased a lot, but it does not require that much of computing power...
Have an outdated PC means – not cool. The real job (word-processing, excel, email) does not require to upgrade so often. My Dad is working with a Pentium 166MX / 32Mb RAM with W95 & Office97. His performance is much faster than my P4/512Mb. I made a test how much time it boots-up, print a document, send an e-mail. So… He is faster, he is more productive… He can be more responsive… So where is the advantage of fast computing power at a business desktop? :)

Posted by mantautas at February 22, 2005 1:23 PM

Tom -

Why do you keep working with that Wabi-Sabi (Micro-Sabi?) computing platform!? Jeez Louise! :)

It's an either/or world bub.

1) Either reinvent your PC hard drive (painfully & regularly); OR...
2) Go Mac. No worries. You already have the "think different" part beautifully licked.

C'mon. Regis taught you better'n this!

fin

Posted by Gerald Buckley at February 22, 2005 2:47 PM

Tom,
I have spent my entire career in computers. Currently I’m doing a lot of Enterprise Architecture for large federal government systems. To keep me grounded in what normal people have and do, I do a bit of volunteer computer fixes for free. Owning a computer is like owning a car. Some people change the oil, some don’t. Those that don’t take care of their computer usually are not picky about what programs they install. This extra stuff, leads their machine to be rather slow. I currently have a machine that is 4 years old at home. I’m careful what I install and have a good virus checker and use spybot search and destroy. Despite the fact that the floppy drive and a CD drive have burnt out on the machine, it still works fine. I’m running XP and office 2003 with no problems.
My advice would be to look at 1. Spybot search and destroy (it is free) to remove stuff from the startup script. 2. Go to the control panel -> add and remove items and remove old stuff. 3. Run disk cleanup tool. 4. Check disk for errors 5. deframent your disk (puts similar stuff together so that you computer and access your drive faster.

Any questions please call.

Posted by Steve Battista at February 22, 2005 3:45 PM

Ohh... I'm such a brainiac. I just left the wrong email address on the previous post. My email address is steve.battsta@cox.net.

P.S. About the call thing, just drop me an email if you have questions.

Posted by Steve Battista at February 22, 2005 3:49 PM

What don't you like about your old computer (beyond frustrating you and wasting your time)?

Posted by Mike Prophet at February 22, 2005 3:57 PM

- Stop clicking 'Yes' to any pop-up requests to install new things on your computer. You need to be very careful about this.

- Ask yourself if whatever it is that you're downloading is actually going to be used. Quality control is key. How many times are you going to use that nasty tool to see the day's forecast before you realize it's doing a lot more than just that on your computer?

- When you install an application, make sure it doesn't install itself into your task bar or upon starting your computer. Again, this requires you to not hastily skip through the installation of any software since this step is usally overlooked.

- Download a shareware version of a windows startup manager. These things rock. You just need to be careful not to deactivate anything that your computer needs as a running process. By deactivating a lot of unnecessary processes upon startup you'll find your computer boots up much quicker.

- Defrag your hard disk. You have an option here-- either use the really bad partitioning tool provided with windows (start --> accessories --> system tools) or buy some partioning software. This will tidy up your hard disk (your current hard disk state is a bunch of messy blocks pointing all over the place and this re-arranges them nice and neatly).

- if you have < 512MB of RAM , invest in some to bring yourself up to AT LEAST that amount-- 1 gig (1024MB) wouldn't hurt either

- are you using on-board sound/video? if yes, and you do graphics/sound intensive work you should invest in a video/sound card and let them do the processing instead of working that cpu

- sledge hammer: pretend the computer is the latest merger between p&g and gillette

drop me an email if you have any questions (except about the sledge hammer)

Posted by Dau at February 22, 2005 6:21 PM

Tom

As a "Think Different" kind of guy, the answer couldn't be more obvious. It's time for an Apple 15" Powerbook. Say goodbye to viruses and the blue screen of death. Hello WOW! I've switched over half of our office—and no one wants to go back. It's your turn now.

Posted by Bruce Johnson at February 22, 2005 7:52 PM

I gave it nearly 6 hours and have you READ the gyrations the PC world imposes on you!? Defrag, Defrag. Don't Click This But DO Click That But Only On A Full Moon. Do you have a sound card? (A SOUND CARD!? What the HELL!?) Control Panel and remove "old stuff". Spybot. Polyglot. Artery Clot. Full of Snot. PC? NOT!!!

The Sirens of Infinite Loop are calling you Tom... Hear the raw passion in my appeal? (do you notice ZERO passion in the other camp? Only further grief there bro).

I think it was the character Delbert in "O Brother Where Art Thou" who said it... C'mon in boys. The water's fine!

Posted by Gerald Buckley at February 22, 2005 10:36 PM

Meanwhile, ALL of my five (5) Apple computers hum along.

No viruses on my Apples.

No spyware on my Apples.

No adware on my Apples.

Take a tip from Steve Jobs and get an "Insanely Great" computer and leave your worries behind.

Posted by Erick Blackwelder at February 23, 2005 12:43 AM

Tom, is your fav old a laptop or a desktop?

Posted by Gabriel Salcido at February 23, 2005 1:15 AM

Tom, Mac is the go. Note all the tech heads above giving you detailed crap about how to solve your probs...

I have worked in many offices with Windows and watch them crash every week or three, sometimes three times a day (the most 12 times in a day.)

Macintosh, elegant, WOW! INSANELY Great (if only for the lo crash sensation) GASPWORTHY! Lovemarks+ Scintillating etc!

15 years a Mac boy... and my 'ol G3 keeps on hangin' in there!

I'm lovin it!

Posted by Steve G at February 23, 2005 2:42 AM

Tom,

A few tips...

1) Get a really good anti-virus running, and keep it up to date.
2) Get a hardware firewall for home.
3) Get and run Firefox. Apart from the fact that it's completely and utterly brilliant and cool (like kills popups, has a wonderful search and plugin features), it does a lot of things to help keep your machine secure. It's generally kept more up to date in terms of patching known vulnerabilities than IE is.
4) Run Windows update, and keep it patched.
5) Get your new machine partitioned into "programs" and "data" drives and then get the programs drive "imaged". This means that if something bad happens, you just drop the image back in of the programs and off you go again (there are some tools that do this real simply).
6) Get a techy guy to set up your machine with a user with low user priviledges and a user with admin priveledges. Most of the time, stick with low priviledges. This means that any time a program tries to install through social engineering, it won't be able to. The admin one is for use when you want to actively do an install.

Next time you are in the UK, I'll be glad to give you a chat about it. I'm sure your old machine can be resucitated too. Mail me if interested.

Tim

Posted by Tim Almond at February 23, 2005 6:43 AM

Somewhere above, Chuck suggested Linux.

Tom, you're always raving about the new, the exciting, the bleeding-edge -- I'd love to hear your take on some of the new Linux desktops. (Caveat: I'm a Linux fanatic; I have linux on 2 PCs and a laptop at home. I'm not anti-Windows, just pro-Linux)

But even if this were to be your first Linux foray, you probably already know that there are many different vendors distributing their own customized version of Linux; for best results, check out:

the new alternative drug to viagra

ubuntu linux (ubuntulinux.com)
Fedora 3 (fedora.redhat.com)
Suse/Novell (what is it now? I forget; anyways, www.novell.com/linux/suse)

There are other good choices, but those will give you an good idea of what a Linux desktop can be.

See if anyone who does IT for you is secretly a Linux guru, have them install it, and check it out. Surely you, of all people, don't want to be stuck using Windows "just because... that's what everybody uses...."

Anyways, just adding another .02 to that particular idea. :-)

Posted by Phil Crissman at February 23, 2005 10:05 AM

Ditto on getting a Powerbook w/ 15" screen. I don't think my G4 has crashed once since I got it 14 months ago.

Posted by John O'Leary at February 23, 2005 12:25 PM

I would like to suggest two reasons why more people don't go Apple:
1) Most of us have a sizeable investment in software for Windows that would have to be scrapped if we were to switch. In most instances, the cost of replacing the software would greatly exceed the cost of the machine. Then there would be the issue of whether existing data files could be converted.
2) Many of us rely on applications that aren't even available in a version for the Macintosh. Mindjets wonderful MindManager software comes to mind. And with Apple's 2% market share, most developers regrettably don't find it worthwhile to write for the Mac.
Resolve those two issues and I would likely make the switch.

Posted by Doug Smith at February 23, 2005 9:38 PM

Probably time for aMac. If you need an app like MindManager, then you can very effectively run VirtualPC. For what you do with the computer (surf, e-mail, PowerPoint) you're nuts not to switch and give up all the hoopla.

If you want a demo, let me know and I'll get Steve to send one over. Seriously.

Posted by Chris at February 27, 2005 1:50 AM