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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
 Posted - 11/29/2005 : 15:04:56
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(May 8, 2007: Following is an newly-added, edited-down Quick Version of this overly long thread. Consider it a Preview or a Check List / Table of Contents added for convenience. That said - reading the entire thread for qualifiers or explanations or exceptions is still essential, but some re-vistors might like a quick re-cap.)
In 2004 SP2 was released for Windows XPP (sorry - I do not know much about XPH). At that time I started a LeoG thread complaining about SP2. I felt the Crusoe-powered Fujitsu P-Series were LABOURING under this thing, and that the advantages to XPP+SP2 were not really apparent. The advantages to MS seemed considerable, however, in that SP2 now had a security center baby-sitting service to the tech-disinterested. It took a couple of months for that complaint thread to run it's course but in the end it was learned that - installed from scratch and then THOROUGHLY "adjusted" - XPP/SP2 could become a real boon to the Crusoe-based P Series' performance. Anything except a complete 'fresh install' (with adjustments) failed to really help the performance. Following is a list of those adjustments + install procedure:
Before you start obtain your firewall / antivirus or if you haven't got one, go online and 'save' any recommended free or trial package of firewall+av software first - do a fresh XP install offline - load the firewall / antivirus offline from a cd or usb storage stick - THEN get the firewall / av updated, THEN get Microsoft updates:
Install windows XPP with SP2 offline (this will erase your files - save everything to external storage that needs saving)
Start > all programs > admin tools > services > right click 'services' and pin to start menu
Right click taskbar > properties > advanced > control panel > display 'control panel' as menu
Start > control panel > automatic updates > turn off completely
Start > open services > mouseover "indexing service" > rightclick > properties > startup type > choose disabled > OK
Start > open services > mouseover "security center" > rightclick > properties > startup type > choose disabled > OK
Start > open services > mouseover "telnet" > rightclick > properties > startup type > choose disabled > OK
Start > control panel > add or remove programs > add/remove windows components > uncheck: indexing, msn explorer, outlook express, and any others you do not need right now
Start > control panel > add or remove programs > remove all trial software that shows up with most factory imaged new installs (reboot)
Install antivirus and firewall offline then > start > control panel > windows firewall (turn off)
Right click "my computer" > properties > advanced > performance settings > visual effects > uncheck the top 10
Right click the screen display > properties > appearance > effects > uncheck everything except "clear type" > apply / OK
Start > all programs > accessories > system tools > disk defragmenter (right click + pin to menu)
Start > defragment > defrag your hard drive (do this a few times)
Go online > update fire wall > update antivirus (if you use a router, the native windows firewall should be enough security, and it's faster)
Start > control panel > automatic updates > turn on > download Windows updates > turn off auto updates (do this once a week)
Start > run > type msconfig > enter > startup > uncheck everything except windows functions, antivirus / firewall functions
Once a week turn off your system restore and then turn it on again for a speed boost
Filehippo.com is a good site to get Antivir & AVG lightweight security software > uninstall & change-up every week or every month for a speed boost
BIOS VIDEO boost on P2000 - boot your P. Hit F2 [for BIOS menu] Click your 'right arrow' key one time [to move the cursor one space to the right from MAIN to ADVANCED]. Click your down arrow key 2 times moving the cursor past 'display' and 'compensation' to 'video speed mode'. Click ENTER key bringing up the option from 'power saving' to 'performance'. Click ENTER key after choosing 'performance'. To save your changes & exit - click F10 + "YES" and you're done. The machine continues the boot in video performance mode. It is supposed to direct more power to video. To return to battery saving mode, obviously, just go back in and undo.
ATI Radeon Mobility Graphics Chip tweak: (ATI Rage chip owners cannot benefit from this) Download (to your Desktop) the Radeon Omega Drivers 2.4.78a (ATI Catalyst 3.7) available from the list provided by http://www.driverheavendownloads.net/omegadrive.htm (The 3.7 Catalyst were the very LAST ones issued that improved the 2120 performance. I went to 4.6 but it ruined my 2120's DVD playback (all the P1120 people loved 4.6 tho')). Next go to Control Panel>ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS and remove the ATI Radeon drivers and reboot. Naturally the display looks terrible now, but you just need to see the Omega download and activate it. Say "yes" to all questions - load all options and "proceed" when it wants to know if you OK "unauthorized / unsigned" installs, etc. If it wants to "overwrite" say yes to that too (as many times as it takes.) Then reboot.
Hardware upgrades: faster hard drives and faster wireless cards are available and very worth it (although the antenna 'range' is impossible to improve on, unfortunately).
(May 8, 2007 - end of this "Preface" - the original tweaks thread begins here...)
---------------------- November 29, 2005:
As some new forum members have requested a post summary of speed tweaks for Windows, I will brave the waters. I am NOT a TECH - I suck at tech. Don't blame me if any of this goes wrong for you - but it is an attempt to log what I do for my 2120 w/ XPP.
Here goes...
XP performance on a Crusoe pc requires tying up all loose ends in the operating system. Make adjustments at your own risk - but these listed here pose little threat. If you are vague on the concept do some homework using the internet resources footnoted....
There is now no excuse not to load XP with SP2. In fact one could be considered negligent if they didn't. Go to MS online and order the free SP2 CDROM - it is so worth it.
You must do it [XP + SP2] as a fresh install - SP2 can be buggy if you don't. While some recommend using the native Windows SP2 firewall to safely load updates from Microsoft, I do not. I was actually attacked using the native firewall, so I recommend starting the fresh install offline.
Before you start obtain your firewall / antivirus or if you haven't got one, go online and 'save' any recommended free trial package of firewall+av software first - do a fresh XP install offline - load the firewall / antivirus offline from a cd or usb storage stick - THEN get the firewall / av updated, THEN get Microsoft updates.
Tweaking for performance can begin as soon as you load XP + SP2 prior to installing fw/av and prior to any updates.
Even before you load a firewall / av go ahead and shut off indexing, ms messinger, outlook express, fax, msn explorer and all the other useless options you find when you click Start> control> add / remove> add / remove windows components. At the very least do this to shut off indexing.
Right after this click Start> administrative tools> services> - and then scroll for "security center" and right-click it. Click properties, find the drop menu and disable this thing. You really want to do this - it is easily undone if you are nervous and want it back. You will save tons of pc resources with this item disabled and all you need to do in place of it is make sure you have your own firewall / av operating before you go online. Sometime in the future you might want to return to services, and disable telnet and indexing and much much later in this process - automatic updates. See online resources for "why". Black Viper will recommend dozens more - but I do not.
Install your firewall / av. [Click off any autoscans 'cause there is nothing to scan for. Note: if you forgot SP2 and now try to install it in over AV it will be a headache forever. SP2 must follow the fresh Windows install.]
Go online. Update firewall / av being sure to shut off MS native firewall. Two running firewalls is trouble, and the MS one can come on when you don't suspect it. Do all firewall / av updates. Do all "express" [not "custom"] MS Updates.
Next click Start> run> type in "msconfig" hit "enter" then click "startup" tab. Uncheck all non-essential tray-icon items like the quickpoint or quicktouch, the ati video, the prisma wireless, etc. Leave on your firewall / av icons.
Reboot. A warning popup can be checked and clicked away forever. Not a worry.
Next click Start> mouseover My Computer and rightclick> click properties> click avanced > performance settings> now uncheck the first 10 boxes [all the way down to 'smooth edges' ] then click "OK". Later on you may want to try unchecking other boxes one at a time and see how you feel about your choices. The first ten are basically 'speed' oriented choices.
Next click Start> control> display> appearence> effects> here you can uncheck scroll effect or fade effect - just uncheck the whole menu. BUT definitely activate the second menu and choose clear type. Un-check the remaining 4 boxes & then check "OK".
***While you are here - or if you return later, you can play with the native 96dpi screen size by clicking on the Settings> advanced> general tabs. Try 100dpi or 105dpi [this takes some playing around - that is one weird sliding-scale tool!] Do this tweak especially if your eyes hurt when looking at a too small PC screen. The only downside to playing with the screen % is that sometimes online when there is a Form to read or fill out, the letters are a bit too big and partially disappear from view - a very rare problem and un-do-able by going back to 96dpi.***
Now is a good time to Start> all programs> accessories> system tools> defragment. Rightclick defragment and pin to the Start Menu because for performance you should defrag every day - after the first five times it should just take one minute.
THE ABOVE TWEAKS are basic & fundamental & undoable. If you need to return to a previous setup click Start> all programs> accessories> system tools> system restore. System restore will return your PC to previous setups. Just follow directions.
BUT the downside is that the more days you leave SR "On" [to continually record & remember all your changes] the more it slows down your Crusoe-based computer. BlackViper hates SR and says turn it off and leave it off. I have a better way. Turn it off then turn it on. Do this every day or every week. You 'erase' it's memory then start it up again and it keeps your PC FAST! Plus then you can always "go back" to a happy PC setup. The sucker eats RAM if you leave it on all the time. Viruses can hide it it too - just turn it off then turn it back on & you'll be ok.
In terms of appearance, choosing the older Classic style will gain you a little extra zip. Just Start> control> display > appearance> windows and buttons> windows classic style. You can still tweak the colors and it can look really great (- just not like XP.)
One last tweak - for video performance - this is the most useless of all, but since it is do-able & safe, I may as well throw it in. We owe it to ourselves to use all options!
Boot your P. Hit F2 [for BIOS menu] during the small moment that option appears during the boot. There is no mouse action here, so click your 'right arrow' key one time [to move the cursor one space to the right from MAIN to ADVANCED]. Click your down arrow key 2 times moving the cursor past 'display' and 'compensation' to 'video speed mode'. Click ENTER key bringing up the option from 'power saving' to 'performance'. Click ENTER key after choosing 'performance'. To save your changes & exit - click F10 + "YES" and you're done. The machine continues the boot in video performance mode. It is supposed to direct more power to video. I don't really notice a big change. To return to battery saving mode, obviously, just go back in and undo.
FOOTNOTES:
I am a very flawed and accidentprone human being. Please double-check all my statements for errors - I make plenty.
www.BlackViper.com is the Master & Flawless & Selfless Guru of Windows Salvation - but he is on vacation.
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
In His place I offer [be careful - I have not tried all this stuff. For FYI purposes only!]
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2002
also:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ then click: "notebook dummyguide articles"
old BV pages [not as good but navagatable archived pages]:
UPDATE: I am refreshing my link to (edited) BlackViper archived page:
http://www.dead-eye.net/WinXP%20Services.htm
Nice to know there is still one out there... NS
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Edited by - NigelS on 05/08/2007 13:02:28 |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2005 : 20:27:44
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http://web.archive.org/web/20041128094512/http://www.blackviper.com/
is a slightly newer archive. 
God, I miss the Black Viper site.
After fully optimizing your Windows XP to however you like it (including defrag, remember), I'd recommend making a disk image with a backup software to avoid the hassle in the future when you may need to reformat again. Ugh. |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2005 : 01:04:57
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Thanks oion! Good point that - and really nice to see you here!
I think I will add some more points for speed tips.
As is well known on this forum - every notebook can be noticably sped up by moving to a faster hard drive. For myself I was hoping for 50% faster, but it was more like 20%. Booting is faster, applications and menus open faster, video plays smoother - it is a definite cost-benefit. This applies of course to all the new notebooks as much as Crusoe-style.
With Crusoe there is no point to accessing all these different performance tweaks or hardwares if you are using heavy, bogging software [firewall, antivirus, music & video players, whatever...]
Recently a LeoG forum member recommended that I try a free-to-try ZoneAlarm Pro suite of spy-AV-firewall software which I loaded last weekend. It is really great stuff [thanks Ken! - appreciate it]. ZA have come a long way in improving the usual usability of protective software - so many easy to apply options and tools. Plus the operations are all made very transparent, which is new and good. [Really - it is hard-working, idiotproof stuff.]
The thing is that in the end there is all-too-often a tax on the Crusoe cpu.
I could tweak that trial software but sooner or later ordinary web surfing would inevitably run the Crusoe cpu at 75% to 99% on a steady basis - just by surfing alone. [I do not have a Pentium product to compare.]
My Norton NIS subscription is still valid and NIS runs the cpu very little, but applications open very slowly and the RAM is always way over 200 rather than say - 150 - 180.
For low overhead software I have been playing around with Antivir [which our friend Ken has reported "calls home" too often for comfort] plus free Avast! and free AVG. While each are offered as free versions, you have to wonder what the software manufacturer is holding back over the paid-for versions.
Anyway I un-installed the ZA Pro after a week [sorry to see it go - I liked absolutely everything about it] and tried the ZA free firewall which is much faster but probably not as protective, plus the free AVG antivirus which I worry is less protective than the purchase-able AVG product. Free software is a very common topic on this forum because all the Crusoe owners know it has a low resource overhead. Free = light. And until now a lot of choices have been available. Sadly, a lot of longstanding, reliable softwares have bitten the dust recently.
Sygate has been purchased by Symantec [Norton], Kerio is gone, Outpost is now on Lavasoft's newest product - the old landscape has changed somewhat except that Norton, McAfee and the like continue on with their effective but demanding products. [Honestly - I can download Avast! fully configured and up-to-date any day of the week in about 2 minutes. To reinstall my Norton NIS takes at least an hour! Those updates are as extreme as Windows' updates!]
I am happy to pay big $ for protection if the software is safe, fun to use and easy on the cpu. Funny thing is - there is no such thing.
So I downloaded the ZoneAlarm free FW and the AVG free AV and right now - ? My P2120 is QUITE useable. The interfaces are great, and I feel 95% protected [using a hardware firewall as well].
I may go back to Avast! because it is one of the FEW protective softwares with 100% appealing features AND it LETS MY HARD DRIVE SPIN DOWN!. I really prefer that. Most AVs keep your hd spinning all the time. What I DO NOT know is - is free Avast! decent protection against threats? If it is, then why do they offer a paid-for version? AND - does the paid-for version run as nicely as the free version? [Not true with ZA - as I've said...]
At the end of the day I will take my chances with the software that totally frees up my notebook response - safe or not. I have had the safe-and-slow Crusoe experience, but I'm done with that! I'll report back here with whatever I discover.
Here are some FANTASTIC resources on this topic:
http://www.webuser.co.uk/products/Firewalls_203_index.html
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1865450,00.asp
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=173402915&pgno=1
browse around on this site - it is current and thorough:
http://www.firewallguide.com/freeware.htm
Update: Right now my 2120 is runnng about as fast and responsive as it can possibly run - I am really enjoying this after years of Norton NIS. I now have no firewall software installed [except native XP which is unnoticeable in terms of speed and unsafe without a dedicated hardware-firewall.] I have two hardware firewalls one after the other and they are not slow - amazing but true. I am using ZoneAlarm free version which is light & fast & lets my hard drive spin down. I really expect to get a virus or spyware - but I backup all important files everday to a usb removeable storage stick. I surf safely [& boringly] and do not visit kaazaa or any spy-intense sites. If I did, I wouldn't use this notebook, it is too sensitive. I also have an external hard drive containing a fresh XP + SP2 install with all the updates. If and when I get an infection, I will scan the usb storage and fresh install the OS using the external hard drive + some imaging/ghosting software I have. This takes about 15 minutes. Anyway - that is my current set-up. [I'll be the first to report here if it all blows up in my face! LOL!]
Update 2 A low-overhead software tip. Back in the day there were many lightweight softwares available which Crusoe users benefitted from. They are mostly unavailable now, and with the tweaking Microsoft has done via SP2 - less necessary. Still, I found a German website which is offering the english language free download of the musicplayer called WINAMP LITE. No longer offered anywhere else, I still love this thing. It is a truely ugly interface, but just get used to it & you will see it is quicker [read: instant] and more versatile than any other. MediaPlayer 10 is great, but it is about 10x slower than WA. Get it here:
http://www.chip.de/downloads/c1_downloads_ls_getfile_v1_15863565.html?t=1139040760&v=3600&s=89e5e64ec9ed5f0083a05639692ab039
cheers - NS
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Edited by - NigelS on 02/04/2006 03:31:54 |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2005 : 01:28:37
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Hardware comment: a proudly Canadian product called AlphaShield is my favourite hardware firewall. It has zero tax on the system and has 100% stealth. No software, plugs right in. Brilliant.
NOW - I have been having problems with my LAN port [now fixed] but this cornered me into exclusive use of my wireless. I use the old NetGear 802.11b wireless router. I was under the inpression that if you have a router then there is no need of firewall software. Is this true? This router did not pass every security test - altho' it did pass most.
My AlphaShield [not wireless] passes every test - when I connect it in front of my NetGear router [both together] - success! I get no performance loss and 100% testable security.
But I still do not understand why the wireless router isn't enough of a firewall. The product actually comes with a firewall software cd, so I get the hint - but what security does it offer? Anyone know the answer? Thanks in advance... |
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alexr
Junior Member
USA
373 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2005 : 04:05:40
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Security is usually best done in layers, like in an onion. You want a router with a firewall, some of the newer ones are double firewalled. Make sure you check every now and then if a firmware upgrade includes firewall improvements.
If you can add a dedicated hardware firewall in front of that, like AlphaShield, even better.
Now add another layer, the software firewall on your computer. It protects your computer from other, possibly infected, computers in your network. It protects you when you take the notebook down to the local coffee shop and use their wireless.
Or when you travel to a client with a less than bulletproof network.
Depending on your needs and what configuration ability you need you have a wide variety of products to pick from.
The built-in ICF of Windows XP is better than no firewall. It has a low enough impact to be recommended for the user
who has no need for any special configuration or logging. It is not enough if you have no hardware firewall between the computer and the DSL/cable modem.
Alex
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2005 : 00:23:14
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I'll just add here that Eset's acclaimed NOD32 antivirus is probably the lowest resource-hogging AV available that also has a very good record (well, Virus Bulletin, at least). Commercialware. Of course, I don't leave it in memory and enable only for manual scans...
Don't forget the anti-spyware things. Any system really must be checked periodically for spyware crap.
So outside the static one-time tweaks for system speed, the minimum three maintenance routines users should have: AV check, spyware check, defrag.
p.s.: Even a 5400 drive is faster than the stock 4200, but there are other factors at work for drive throughput speed other than RPM, including track density and things like that. So a brand new 4200 with very high density and new technology could be "faster" than an old 5400. Or something.
Another hardware speed tip if not already mentioned: You can't have too much RAM. Certain applications (such as Winamp) can be tweaked to take advantage of RAM caching instead of disk. RAM is always faster than the HDD and takes less power. Unfortunately, the P-2000 series has a ceiling of 384, but that's good for XP. |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2005 : 20:43:43
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oion - you have gone over this in the past I realise, but can you clarify? It seems like you are saying you scan regularly, but you don't run realtime or background protection? Can I ask do you use Outpost as firewall? Or any firewall? Re: spyware - I use spybot and lavasoft all the time but never really catch any bugs. Besides, spybot's rep is going downhill a little. There are commerical antispy products I have been trying out - but then you run backgound FW AV AS and it gets to be too much for the Crusoe [as fine as those products are these days - I'm quite impressed except for the resource tax which we Crusoe owners pay for.] I have been testing LOTS of trial & freeware - it's kind of fun. You know I never realised how clever Sygate's free firewall was. It's too bad Norton decided to buy it and retire it [for their own empire building reasons... of well] Anyhow as I have mentioned in the past - I use freeware not because I dislike paying but because it is always so lightweight - this still seems to be the case. There isn't one suite of protection I have tried that I would keep - even tho I like them. I recall a long time ago you explained you surf in a certain way that minimises exposure to malware. Aside from NOD32 scans [& I presume Spybot & Lavasoft] is there anything else you use? I'm thinking of paying for an antispy product like webroot or lavasoft pro and scanning with that - would it be worthwile? Or is it smarter to just reinstall regularly - I actually don't mind that. Appreciate your input - as always. NS
PS - alexr: cheers on the concise advice. The onion analogy is appropriate - I only this month discovered the dedicated firewall hardware would not interfere when attached to the wireless router. It works great. For some reason I'm getting 11 mbsp instead of the 10 mbps I got from my LAN port. Wierd. Thanks for the interest & comments. |
Edited by - NigelS on 12/05/2005 23:18:37 |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2005 : 22:04:38
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I use Outpost Pro firewall (payware) since I wanted something up-to-date on three computers (specifically one machine for parents who don't know better and go clicky on things  ). I believe the latest commercial firewalls may have anti-spyware controls built in--at least the latest Outpost Pro 3.0 does. Adaware SE (free) has a fairly good reputation and runs decently as well.
In general, going back to the firewalls, one thing to remember about freeware vs. commercialware is that if a company offers both, it is quite possible that the freeware version is an older version instead of just feature-lite. This means the main core may not protect against newer threats since its last update and, specifically, cannot be updated for the newest threats. That doesn't make them worthless, of course, but certainly a bit looser than the latest counterpart (this may be more of an issue with antiviruses than firewalls, however). Naturally, though, commercial security companies are beholden to their paying constituents and should work faster on that front. PC Flank has some good tests for security softwares. This is a somewhat out-of-date comparison test of over 20 firewalls (2003), which was the reason why I ended up with Outpost. I don't know much about hardware firewalls so I can't comment on them.
A software firewall is one of those things I always leave in memory whenever my P is online. Normally I disable as many background processes as possible short of crashing Windows just to squeeze the Crusoe that much more, but a firewall really is a must.
quote:
It seems like you are saying you scan regularly, but you don't run realtime or background protection?
I recall a long time ago you explained you surf in a certain way that minimises exposure to malware.
And yes, while I do recommend users scan with an AV regularly, this is not the same thing as leaving it in memory, as you inferred.  The reason why I don't personally leave my AV as a background process is because my e-mail, surfing, and downloading habits generally preclude the most common sources of viruses.
For example:
I use the Opera browser often with many things disabled (scripting, Java, Flash/plugins), and by nature Opera doesn't talk to the Windows OS as IE does (no ActiveX). It's freeware and has a good security record--specifically, because it's a small, private company, it can patch that much faster. It's also among the fastest browsers around under objective tests.
(And while I obviously like Opera best, essentially any browser is better than IE for security--just avoid the "skin" browsers like Maxthon, though, since they inherit all of IE's security flaws.)
I use PINE, a command-line e-mail on the Linux platform. The main things are that it does not execute any scripts (not terribly HTML-friendly) and cannot open or execute attachments ever. In fact, PINE is very attachment-unfriendly.  There are freeware GUI e-mail clients with decent security features as well, though they may be buried in preferences. Remember, with MS Outlook, it was possible to execute a Windows script just by VIEWING an email, which is often enabled in that quickview pane thing.
And last but not least, while I download a lot of stuff online, they're always from reputable and usually prescanned sources.
Then there's the whole issue of worms and trojans, things not necessarily covered by antiviruses; there was at least one other thread about this, though.
quote:
Aside from NOD32 scans (& I presume Spybot & Lavasoft) is there anything else you use? I'm thinking of paying for an antispy product like webroot or lavasoft pro and scanning with that - would it be worthwile? Or is it smarter to just reinstall regularly - I actually don't mind that.
As I mentioned earlier, I do use the commercial Outpost Pro 3.0; it offers site-specific and computer-wide controls, something very useful for me since I have 8-9 active web browsers for testing purposes. NOD32 and Outpost are the only two paid security apps I have at the moment, and while I have Adaware SE installed, I honestly rarely use it. Beyond that, I also reformat semi-regularly, usually twice a year or something, though that is really a function of how much I ruin the registry with software.
If you have a decent imaging/ghosting software, by all means use it. It is often the "absolute" resort, assuming the original image was clean to begin with.
Good thread, NigelS. Eventually I'll get around to linking to relevent archived threads, or you can do so. Maybe get this stickied. |
Edited by - oion on 12/03/2005 22:28:44 |
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crisp
New Member
USA
83 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 09:32:15
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quote:
[i]
Another hardware speed tip if not already mentioned: You can't have too much RAM. Certain applications (such as Winamp) can be tweaked to take advantage of RAM caching instead of disk. RAM is always faster than the HDD and takes less power. Unfortunately, the P-2000 series has a ceiling of 384, but that's good for XP.
Oion, I followed advice from the P1000/2000 forum and managed to find a 256MB RAM to replace my "Buffalo 128" bringing my P2120 to 512MB RAM. I don't know how much of a gain from the 384 this is, but between the 512 and new 7,200RPM Hitachi drive, as well as a few of the tweaks from many of you that "weren't WAY over my head", my system is MUCH improved over the snail it had become before my HD crashed altogether last month....
- crisp  |
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MrMisanthrope
Junior Member
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 10:16:39
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quote:
Originally posted by oionAnother hardware speed tip if not already mentioned: You can't have too much RAM. Certain applications (such as Winamp) can be tweaked to take advantage of RAM caching instead of disk. RAM is always faster than the HDD and takes less power. Unfortunately, the P-2000 series has a ceiling of 384, but that's good for XP.
God I wish there was some way to add RAM to a P1120.... 
I see 35%-40% CPU when running nothing but Task Manager & randomly moving the mouse. 
As for low overhead AV, I've been running Computer Associates EzAntivirus (ETrust). Seems to work pretty well. Cheap too.
------------------
Small Talk is just Verbal SPAM. |
Edited by - MrMisanthrope on 12/06/2005 11:38:20 |
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skatman
Senior Member Member
Afghanistan
1148 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 15:34:22
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As far as AVs go, I have tried and extensively tested:
Norton Corporate 8 and 9 fully licenced
Antivir AVG - freeware
AVAST! free and licenced version 4.6
Norton Corporate is passable at best. It taxes your system, slows down disk access noticably, and let's things through once in a while.
AVAST! is rock solid. It can monitor not only HTTP traffic, but also your entire LAN connection, has dedicated processes for IM, Mail, etc... but it does tax your system, even a fast one. The difference between the free and paid versions are more convinient "advanced" features that, as far as the core protection goes, are irrelevant. The free version does update itself automatically. I've thrown viruses at it through FTP, HTTP, in double zipped archives and it catches them all. If you're setting up a computer for your kids or for someone who likes to press "Install me" buttons on all those pop up windows, or just likes to surf porn, this is one, IMHO.
Antivir is a compromise. It's much better than Norton at catching things.... hasn't let me down yet. However, it does let some stuff, such as viruses in some double zipped (archive within an archive) pass through. It does catch the virus when you open the archive, but if you just let it sit on your HD, it won't pick it up, sometimes. As far as I undestand, the big difference (as far as AV protection is concerned) free and licenced version is that it does not update itself automatically. Not a big deal for me since I have a habbit of clicking the update button once a few days. The nice thing about AVG, is that it's very efficient. It doesn't slow down the disk access at all, and it realtively light on memory usage. I find that this one provides me with the best trade off between speed and protection. I've been using it for years on my PCs and have yet to have a virus get through undetected.
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 18:17:38
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| Excellent feedback, you guys - extremely interesting. skat - when I had Antivir I had no issues at all about updating. Just like you said - you click update button everyday. Not a hardship. I'd rather do it manually anyhow. Except with Avast! - that auto-update confirmation "computer voice" cracks me up! - ;} Also: thanks oion for letting me tap you for personal setup info. It helps a lot - cheers - NS |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 18:49:37
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quote:
Originally posted by crisp
Oion, I followed advice from the P1000/2000 forum and managed to find a 256MB RAM to replace my "Buffalo 128" bringing my P2120 to 512MB RAM. I don't know how much of a gain from the 384 this is, but between the 512 and new 7,200RPM Hitachi drive, as well as a few of the tweaks from many of you that "weren't WAY over my head", my system is MUCH improved over the snail it had become before my HD crashed altogether last month....
- crisp
Ah, the P-2120 can actually take 512MB (forgot about that), but what about P-2110?
Basically, anything above 256MB is good. At 512MB you might be able to disable the disk paging file, but I don't know. Add RAM and a new HDD and you've probably gotten 50-75% increase in speed (completely subjective, of course). Tweak the XP OS down or even change the OS to something lighter and increase it that much more. It's not so intimidating.
Related to increased RAM, there was a suggestion somewhere to mount a RAMdisk with some free RAM and use that as the swap. Never tried that either, but I imagine it would work well.
I remembered that the NOD32 antivirus actually has a new engine that prevents its service from being disabled from either command line or services.msc; this is a good thing for a background AV as it prevents malware from trying to disable it, but I still wanted that 15 MB memory back, so I first disabled in services.msc, removed from the startup registry, and then rebooted. Manual scan still works just fine without the resident component and is very fast (comparison charts); I've only used Norton and Mcafee to a great degree besides NOD32, though. The deep-scanning advanced heuristics is supposed to be tops in the industry and did catch wild variants like Bagle and Sober without needing updates, which I guess is where the real test is. From my experience, if left on auto, it tends to update itself at least once a day anyway (and we're talking really small, under 100k downloads). And as with firewalls, having any AV is still better than nothing, but unlike firewalls, you can have more than one AV installed for manual scans; that's probably best of (all) worlds.
Antivirus detection comparisons:
http://www.virus.gr/english/fullxml/default.asp?id=69&mnu=69
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?display=summary (registration required) |
Edited by - oion on 12/18/2005 20:41:07 |
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MrMisanthrope
Junior Member
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2005 : 18:42:50
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Ok. Faster, yes - for now. Huge Pain in the arse too. Between DeIce restoration to Factory, SP2 install software install, Updates, Tweaks, Optimized Defrag, Ghost, Restore, etc, I've been working on this thing since Saturday. But it's working now. The hdd spins constantly, so at 1.1a I'm wondering ow much suckage it's going to have on my battery. Testing to do...
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Small Talk is just Verbal SPAM. |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2005 : 23:59:22
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Er - congratulations? That IS a long time to work on speeding up a P-Series. Sorry to hear it was so labour-intensive for ya.
I recon a footnote is probably in order here - a Caveat so to speak.
MrM raises a good point - this process can be quite demanding [more or less, depending on what is on your hard drive and on how much time you have on your hands...] and the results are definitely observable but not normally dramatic. Something to be considered before launching into it. On the other hand, a number of these measures can be taken in stages, and should be definitely considered as a beneficial addition when performing your normal, scheduled PC maintenance. |
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MrMisanthrope
Junior Member
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2005 : 20:53:59
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The problem was really one of Optimization. After I got my Factory Deice PQI file reloaded, I SP2'd the OS and built my basic software load (Office 2003 Pro, Adobe, Quickbooks, DataCAD and Bluetooth System Mechanic, and AV), defragged & created a User PQI. That wasn't too bad - had that done by Monday. However, after connecting to DSL and Updating all of the above, the next defrag literally ran for another 22 hours before it completed and I could do a new PQI, pull the drive, ghost it to my server then load the new K60. BTW, the total installed image is less than 6.5gb.
Grumble... P1120 lousy 240mb RAM... grumble...
However, it will be really interesting to see how that image runs on an 8gb CF mounted in the drive bay. (Yes, throughput is slower, but seek time is nil... as is power consumption & weight... experimenting is fun.)
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Small Talk is just Verbal SPAM. |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2005 : 21:06:15
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Experimenting is always fun.
Do you just use the Windows defrag? You might try the free DIRMS defrag, which I like (very fast command line interface). 22 hours is an awful long time... |
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MrMisanthrope
Junior Member
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2005 : 21:43:42
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Actually, I used System Mechanic's Optimised defrag which shifts all contiguous blocks to the front of the drive. Net result is a decreased seek time and less fragmenting later. I just didn't think it would take 22 hours to do a 26% fragged 6gb load on a 20gb partition.
But no matter what, I still will never be able to move mote than about 160mb in and out of RAM - so the swap file gets hit pretty hard.
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Small Talk is just Verbal SPAM. |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2005 : 18:24:30
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DIRMS can also move files to the front and compact (I think the default run is defrag+compact+defrag).
quote:
DIRMS can be run in a way to try and minimize the space between files. This in essence packs the files as closely together as possible. The program can be requested to perform compaction by typing "dirms <drive letter> compact", e.g. "dirms e compact".
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Files can be moved by typing "dirms <drive letter> move lcn" which instructs the program to move files from the end of the drive as far as possible to the beginning . Files can also be moved towards the beginning of the drive according to the last modified date by typing "dirms <drive letter> move date".
In any case, it took less than 8 hours (i.e. it was finished before I woke up) to defrag my 27% fragged 16.5GB partition along with compaction and LCN move; then there's the issue of NTFS streams, for which I'm not sure any defragger handles correctly or completely. There's also the issue of page file location affecting drive-front moves. Now, I haven't tried Buzzsaw (background defrag on the fly), but the biggest question there is whether the performance hit is offset by defragged system speed gains. I vaguely remember that in the short time I tried it before, 7-9MB of RAM was taken. I don't think it's worth it on these limited machines since a weekly manual defrag works just fine.
Also, not all defragging utilities can defrag the paging file; this should only be done at boot-time since the paging file is basically in use when you're running Windows. I know DIRMS doesn't support it. I've never used a paging file or MFT defragger, though (fortunately my paging file is 0% defragged according to Windows, and the MFT has 4 fragments), and I don't think you're supposed to defrag the MFT... |
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MrMisanthrope
Junior Member
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - 12/18/2005 : 15:08:53
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System Mechanic will do a pre-os pagefile/registry hive and mft defrag if asked - either "next bot only" or "every boot". Since I'm not planning on doing a massive defrag again, I'll have to deep DIRMS on file for reference.
What really chaps my arse is clicking on an email and having to wait 30 seconds before the comp registers the selection... much less loads the text email. What's up with that? I've only got 2 browser windows in the background and no other apps running... grr...
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Small Talk is just Verbal SPAM. |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 12/18/2005 : 18:34:19
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quote:
Originally posted by MrMisanthrope
What really chaps my arse is clicking on an email and having to wait 30 seconds before the comp registers the selection... much less loads the text email. What's up with that? I've only got 2 browser windows in the background and no other apps running... grr...
Wow, that can't be right... It's still doing this even after an XP OS tweak-a-thon and a full defrag (using an online email system or something else)? Hmm. Maybe if you check what services are running in Task Manager that could give some clues. |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 12/26/2005 : 18:52:59
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| Leo - Best of the season to you! Is it OK with you if we make this one a Stickie? |
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bigjohn
Junior Member
358 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2006 : 14:01:45
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Nigel,
Thanks for the Alphashield tip, based on your advice, I bought one and installed it here at work.
Truly a great little box and does the job very well. |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2006 : 15:13:44
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Excellent! I avoided the AS for a year - it's marketing makes it look like scam technology [kind of overblown in it's claims - or something] but some online reviews were extremely convincing. Enjoy in good PC health!
BTW - the company responds very well to support queries AND there is downloadable software should you need to manipulate certain ports manually. I've never needed that myself. |
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oion
Advanced Member
USA
2092 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 19:00:12
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As an aside, some reviews about Alphashield (I had never heard of it before) say that it's good for "newbies" in that it has minimal configuration options; this is both a pro and con, however, and more experienced users should figure out a full router solution. Perhaps the downloadable software offers more control along this line. (Either way, it's definitely better than nothing!)
NigelS: Since this is "your" thread, you might ask LeoG directly via email to stickie. AFAIK, he doesn't exactly read the forums very often. |
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NigelS
Senior Member Member
Canada
1157 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2006 : 22:41:36
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Good tips, there, oion.
The AlphaShield supposedly has unique technology that closes every port that you are not currently using. Unique technology? How is that ever possible? I am too much of a chowderhead to go investigating [and make it pay...] All I know is that an online tester said that there was no noticable tax on surf speed & that while in use, the PC security software had 'zero events' in the record log. The AS has an optional 10 or 15 minute eggtimer disconnect which really IS the idiotproofing they are so proud of - but I don't use that function. I do not care for any instant messaging, so the "I'm too hidden" issues don't apply. I have never not had a web-page open for me with AS so it DOES succeed at walking that truly fine line of 'stealth' vs 'smooth surfing'. The downloadable software allows a person to force open any port and keep it open. As firewalls go it's nifty, but you still can't watch traffic in the outgoing sense - that is if a bug or Ad is constantly sending messages OUT - this thing can't tell you. It just hides you really well. I gotta tell you it is a pleasure to me - I am not a newbe, but I AM tired of manufacturers' promises of "10 minutes EASY install". When I bought my netgear, everything I read online swore up and down you would be surfing in 15 minutes with a foolproof interactive instruction guide. I must be very easily fooled - I spent all day configuring that thing. Worse - by the time I was fully secure, it announced that the full security config is also the most taxing of PC resources. Great - just what you want to hear after a brain hemmorage. I ain't being down on mySELF mind you - I am pretty clever at a number of subjects, but technology is just not one of them. AlphaShield is the one product I've bought which cleared EVery promise. So Far. [Touch Wood]
oion I REALLY appreciate your input. That fact you had a look at this product and didn't find a fatal flaw - even in theory - is quite reassuring. [As are all your feedback pieces here - so cheers, oion!]
I'll get to LeoG - our eclectic eccentric admin - asap. - NS |
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