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Talking of AV software. I have been very annoyed with both Norton and Mcafee. Personally, I don't care for either one of them. They are so bloated, and therefore susceptible to bugs.

For the past few years, I have been using a program called F-Prot (not to be confused with F-Secure). It is pretty straightforward, just a good AV program. No whiz-bang bloated features. As far as I can tell, it has not caused my system to slow down one bit, and keep in mind my PC is a 800mhz system (I keep it pretty clean) with 512meg of RAM.

I am in no way associated with this company other than using their product.

Dex

Shaman's

The Internet Suite bites the big one. It is a memory hog on the level of AOL. Which is another question, are you running AOL? Not AIM stand alone, but AOL? The AOL shell is a joke.

I despise AOL so-o-o-o-o much I searched and deleted all "AOL" entries in my registry file --AFTER-- the WinXP Add-n-Remove supposedly removed AOL from my machine. There was a lot of it in there. Sign-Up & website URL's for their search engine and command line calls to AOL files/folders that no longer exist. How can anyone pay $23.90/Mo for Dial-Up that force feeds you crap while hogging the bandwith?????

I just checked my AVGFree's virus scan settings. Under "Additional Options" there's a check in the box for "Heuristic Analysis" put there by the install software when I OK'd the question during installation thinking more-is-better. It is, but it takes thousands more nanoseconds.

I was going to install CA's 2007 Internet Suite after a clean XP install . . . . but after your memory hog remark, now I'm less enthusiastic about it. I used it 2 yrs ago then went to Norton AV until last month when AVGFree helped me stay protected after NAV expired. AVGFree works fast, especially the boot-up sysfile scan and new definition downloads. CA was the top rated virus program by PC World Mag in a recent virus comparo, so their fat-slo-hog is apparently working very hard behind the scenes . . . while we wait.

On the CPU duty cycles, I haven't watched Task Manager while D/L'g files.

WinXP has been running for over 2 years on my laptop and I believe that's over 2 lifetimes in Win98SE years. I'm overdue for the practically routine MSW OS purge-n-replace re-install. It's prolly nothing more than that.

Is there a way to save and re-use all those critical update files in the Windows folders so I don't have to D/L the 207MB PLUS of files again? Please say yes.

registry file

Never had it, never will, doesn't need it. ( Mac OSX ) I scratched my head several weeks after buying my Mac, because I was spending half the time on it, vs my previous PC, a Windows machine. That's because I don't have to tweak it, protect it, fix it, etc.... Make the switch.

Rob: interesting thread.
I have always read your posts with great interest. I gather that you are the kind of person who enjoys getting under the hood and understanding how things work. Plus you have already made yourself familiar with concepts such as ramdisk and other things you have mentioned above. You are a prime candidate for running Linux.
I have used Linux since 1993, yes, before win95! I have been 100% Linux since 1999. I have tried several distros: Slackware, Redhat, Debian, Suse, Mandrake and lately Ubuntu.
I have consistently been using Redhat (since v3), now it's Fedora, and Redhat Enterprise on servers.
On a pure (home) desktop I would probably lean toward Ubuntu.

But,...

CycleRob wrote: History:
I got Win98SE on my Gateway 733mhz P3 20GB HDD Desktop (rarely used), WinXP Home on my Sony VAIO 1.5mhz 30GB HDD LapTop (always used).

Question:
lite video editing, picture editing and maybe a few games?

The desktop maybe a bit too slow for doing video editing!
Please post/pm any questions, I will be glad to assist you.

Enjoy the (Linux) ride.

popgazer,

Thanks for the help offer. Yes, I am an under-the-hood PC tamperer. Sometimes to my own detriment. I see me jumping to Linux and never looking back. It helps having a Desktop and a NoteBook PC so there's no interruption in Net access for here or my E-Mail if a new OS is disfunctional.

I came across the receipt for my first PC today while looking for something else. Bought it from a company called EPS from their detailed ad in a computer mag. It was March of 1990 and just over $2,000 for a 386SX-20 running DOS 4.01 -and- Win V3.0.
The 2MB of memory was included. TWO MB!! Also had a 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives. Seeing that $2,000 figure for that overweight slug made me sick. I remember being happy and empowered with the DOS 5 upgrade. Learned to write BASIC prgms for sequential data input, complex answer output at work too.
The Win V3.1 free upgrade was kinda buggy and I rarely used it. It's stored in boxes now and everything still worked, but very s-l-o-w-l-y. That was FIVE computers ago.

Rob,

Considering your windows tinkering experience, the desktop versions of Linux shouldn't be a problem.

Here's a brief CNET review of Ubuntu:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4660-10165_7-66 ... ag=nl.e729

The most complete out of the box version of Linux (for me) has been Linspire...this cost $50. However, they have just released a free version...Freespire.

http://www.linspire.com/

http://freespire.org/

jb

Hey Rob, I've been using ubuntu linux for about a year and half. I knew nothing about computers when I started and learned about them with linux. I'm actually having to learn about windows because I purchased a GPS and it only wants to interface with a Windows box. Everything else I've learned to do on linux.

If you can find some local help to ease the initial partitioning and set up a dual boot with Window/linux it gives you time to ease into things and use the operating system that suits the particular task. Good luck and PM or email me as I may be able to help you with "simple" problems or recommend sources for help.

I downloaded and tried out UBUNTU, and I have to say, I'm not impressed. I suppose, for the total computer neophyte, it's... ok, but, CYCLEROB is far from being a neophyte. He's pretty savvy when it comes to technology, and I think he'd get frustrated with UBUNTU's limitations. I've also used Linspire, and I think if your looking to migrate from windoze to linux and have *no* linux background, Linspire's the way to go. It is tailored to 'look and feel' like windows, so its a no-brainer if you feel comfortable with the Microsoft way of doing things.

I still stand by my original recommendation and say Mandriva is better hands down, at least for Robby. Even the standalone CD version (Mandriva Free) was more robust then what you get with the UBUNTU version IMHO.

And UBUNTU is not free, if you want to pay for hand holding support. That's how they make their money, support. But, thats how Red Hat, Mandriva, SUSE do it too. All of those versions can be downloaded for free, they have to provide that service if they're going to publish Linux under the GNU license.

There were a bunch of things I personally didn't like about Ubuntu, in the short time that I tried it on my AMD Athlon 64 test system. I wont go into any detail here, as I don't think it's appropriate, and I certainly dont want to start a flame war on which version of Linux is better.

It's just that I've met with CYCLEROB, and feel confident in my reccomendations...

Mark
--------------
member #3, and UNIX user since 1980

I was at Fry's Electronics store yesterday and went to the Software OS section just for kicks. There it was, xandros desktop premium home edition Linux OS for $44. It allows:

1-- Multi OS boot capability.
2-- Auto/Manually performs ALL harddisk partition change operations non-destructively if needed, including NTFS, FAT & FAT32 partitions existing on one drive.
3-- reads/writes to NTFS partitions.
4-- ability to run all windows programs.
5-- includes FireWall and Virus programs with individual Folder encryption capability.
6-- migrates and uses your WinXP desktop, Favorites, E-Mails, BookMarks, Address Books, files and other settings from a Windows system.
7-- CD/DVD burning, Net Phone and IM programs.
8-- wireless, network, iPod and digicam support wizards
9-- "4 clicks and you are there".
10-- MultiMedia programs with full support of MP3, MPEG, WAV, MIDI and others.
11-- Multiple Workspaces - - 1 to 20 DeskTops with simultaneous log-ons.
12-- Min Req'd: Pentium 200Mhz, 128MB RAM, 1.5GB HD space, video card and bootable CDROM.
13-- Three CDR's and a 384 page printed manual included with a 30-day refund guarantee - WOW!


After reading all that and more, I bought it. It does everything I want and more, with all the protection, features, WinXP & NTFS/FAT32 compatibility I needed with spoon-feeding auto-wizard capabilities if I need them. It will go on 1 WinXP and 2 Win98SE computers using the Dual-Boot config (WITHOUT PAYING BILL GATES FOR ANOTHER LICENCE) before next year. After WinXP is the ugly sister locked in the closet so long she's no longer needed, I'll delete her.

PROBLEM: My VAIO's mystery alien password protected BIOS prevents me from booting from CD. I'll have to fix that first with BIOS assaulting programs I D/L'd to break the PW or remove the LapTop's very VERY well hidden CMOS battery to force reset of the default values. THEN I can install xandros Linux.

Regardless of the hurdles facing me - - - I'm free of the MicroSoft OS prison and all the forcefed buggy bloatware that goes with it.

CycleRob wrote: Regardless of the hurdles facing me - - - I'm free of the MicroSoft OS prison and all the forcefed buggy bloatware that goes with it.

Hey Rob,
This one's for you

http://www.romanpoet.org/112/switchlinux.swf

owldaddy wrote:The new Mac's running on the Intel chip, also run all those Windoz programs if you really must. I wouldn't pollute my Mac with them however, after all, we buy our Mac's for the software, and the ease of use. not the hardware. Go down to the nearest CompUSA, and try it out, and have them run Bootcamp for you, so you can see how it works with the Microsoft stuff. I'd bet that once you try the Mac alone, running their Unix based OS, you'ld be hooked. Besides that Gateway is due to be retired. They just don't make them like that any more.........
Don

I have to agree with everything except go to CompUSA to have them demo a Mac. Same go's for Best Buy, etc....
These stores know nothing about Apple products, even if they sell them. IMO
Go to a Apple Store where they actually know the product. If you don't have one close to you, call Apple directly.

Also if $$ is tight, don't be afraid of buying a used Mac on ebay or something. Even a 3 year old mac will do most day to day stuff just fine. Check for refurbished Macs at apple.com to save money too.

I have XP installed on my MacBook so I can run Garmin software.
Runs great, only used 4 Gigs too.

It's Back!

I finally installed Xandros Desktop Home Edition Premium about 2 weeks ago and it works OK . . . .BUT . . .

***** The BAD*****
-- It treats my many FAT and FAT-32 Windows file FlashDrives in an unfriendly manner. It will not display the volume labels, which I use to identify which is which. It will not allow renaming any of the 3 (apparently system) parent folder(s). It finally shows the root files and folders on them after you click thru 3 proprietary named subfolders. The FlashDrive's label I assigned to each in WinXP is still invisible and inaccessable. I tried! My only way to ID the FlashDrive (ie: 1GB red, 4GB white, 2GB Silver, 4GB-PQI, 500MB-SD, etc) was to create a TXT file in each root folder with those exact names. It requires that 3 subfolder recurse every time I have to access them - - - maybe that's a changeable setting.

-- Boot times very different!!!
WinXP Hm boot up: 1min 11sec, shutdown: varies 13sec---19sec
Xandros boot up: 2min 51sec, shutdown: 35sec

-- There is NO On-Screen graphical KeyBoard available. I could not find one anywhere in the LINUX community OnLine. I use my laptop very often after 10PM in only the light from the 27" TV and the OSK in WinXP works great when I sit or lay on the couch with the NoteBook PC on a side table. This lack of an OSK is it's biggest intolerable, unacceptable flaw and why most all my posts are using XP. Daytime use I'm on Xandros and using the real keyboard. If you want to see the OSK in WinXP, just open the run window, type OSK (enter) and it should pop up, ready to be configured and dragged where you need it.

-- The way Xandros is laid out will take weeks of use to know where and what name utility I need to use to do what I want to do. Control Panel? Defrag? Device Manager? Mouse scroll lines change? ZIP up files? The help system and first run program has all the answers in detail, but it's like trying to learn Spanish, which I also really don't want to.

-- The alien Linux file system created it's file system partition on a portion of the free space on drive D: as drive E. That E: drive is alien and totally invisible to any file manager program I used in in XP. In WinXP drive E is still the CDROM, just like before. WinXP cannot see or use the Xandros partition, BUT, Xandros CAN see and use the WinXP file system's files with some needed restrictions imposed by Xandros. I guess that's the safe way add-on dual booth partitions can operate.

-- It has crashed twice after locking up on an update download and had to be 1-fully & 2-partially re-installed because it would not boot up.


***** The GOOD*****
-- It configured and made my notebook's Linksys WiFi card, Linksys WiFi Router and Westell 6100 DSL modem have operational access in under 2 minutes. I watched the hundred+ lines of code ZIP by in a small window as it inquired, tested, configured, tested, repaired, retested, repaired, retested, confirmed and closed itself out with the fast working, trouble free setup. It did a lot so fast with only the SSID name (GoldBoxer) and 10 digit network key input from me. BAM!! I was on line! As far as software goes, the speed, accuracy and mastery would make Microsoft turn green if they saw it work. Very impressed with THAT operation alone!! After shut downs and reboots, everything still works fast and automatically, no matter when or how I turn things "on". That's very unlike Win XP that still needs a network "repair" to make it work even after many many re-installs and configuration changes with BellSouth (the Modem) & Linksys Tech support peoples. Xandros did copy that flawed disfunctional setup, but made it work flawlessly in under 2 minutes. With a lot of tech help my WinXP login STILL fails 80% of the time if I don't turn things on in the right order and correct delay between them.

-- It reads and re-writes NTFS, DOS, FAT-16 and FAT-32 files on ANY drive.

-- It allows you to change just about ANYTHING you want in ANY menu, just like FireFox's add-on MenuEditor Extension does. Microsoft needs to take a lesson here to see how their competeter made the computer mold itself to your wants, NOT what some overpaid, pimply geek squad with small hands only allows you to do. Cheap shot but they have that and more coming for their greyed-out, inflexible and missing menu choices.

-- You can individually itemize and limit specific, individual folder access operations to all other "non Administrator" users.

-- You can switch INSTANTLY to another DeskTop, up to 20 of them for each user, each with different EVERYTHING like icons, colors, wallpaper, access permissions, menus, etc. The desktops change so fast it's surreal. Those 20 possible DeskTop choices is FANTASTIC even if I only have single Day & Nite versions.

-- Free Virus & FireWall protection are on and working soon after you log in to the community.

-- FireFox is the default browser. All my FF BookMarks, exported to a FlashDrive as an HTML file in WinXP were put in FireFox in Xandros. All the Extensions had to be reloaded online and re-configured.

-- MyDocs from WinXP and many Win files can be accessed and used by Xandros. It cooperates with XP to soften the seperation anxiety if you want to.

-- The boot screen is a simple reddish, silver & white Xandros logo on a black screen with 4 numbered choices that you have the ability to re-order. Overall, very classy, modest and handsome looking as every change gracefully fades in and out. Setup in Xandros allows you to choose the boot menu's default operating system, Windows or Xandros, and how long to wait to AutoBoot the #1 choice (WinXP for now).

---------------------------------------

The way it is now, I do NOT use Explorer as my browser and XP UpDates are a poison I might selectively sip once every 3 months. It's proven to be a lot of Bloatware crying wolf to me. I create weekly XP restore points and have all important progams backed up on a good 3rd external hard drive salvaged from a dead MotherBoard's Tower unit. Formatting my C drive and re-installing XP is preferred to choking on performance killing, resource hogging, so called "security" Bloatware "UpDates".

I have another mostly desireable operating system waiting to be learned, refined and used. Under Xandros I really miss using the OSK, IrfanView, TurboNavigator, ClipTrak, Convert and the fact that all the CDR programs I bought do not have Linux compatibility. When I get an OSK program and like replacements of my other favorites for Xandros, that change will happen fast!

Here's the look-see Website for my version of XandrOS Desktop Home Edition - Premium
One big difference is the price I paid at Fry's Electronics store - - - - just $44 after their rebate.

Rob,

Thanks for taking the time for the write up. Very informative. Do your think Linux might ever be your primary OS?

If all someone wanted to do is email, web browsing, and write a document or two, I can't see the need for anything else.

In my former occupation, I had free access to all versions of Windows and Mac OS's. Now that I have to purchase them myself, Linux is looking more attractive.

jb

Hold off on your decision.

I'm having a fatal freeze on boot problem that's being addressed by E-Mail to Xandros tech support. I cannot access Xandros at all. It happened twice. Both times required that Xandros be re-installed to make it work again. Both times it happened after I downloaded and then ran the 482 MB service pak update. I'm waiting for the E-Mail solution from them.

Browsing speed is a second or 2 slower than Win XP's browsing speed, prolly because of it's firewall filtering. Right now I'm more than a little angry about it's 384pg manual being absolutely NO help for my blank black screen freeze on boot situation, especially after seeing many mentions of expert mode and it's command line solutions on the help screens. Maybe the tech support guys will have to tell me.

One good thing I found poking around the system is that I found a way, using "virtual links" so I can see and easily read/write access my many flashdrives in their cloned version of XP's "My Computer" type file manager . The flashdrive's files are seen, read and written to in real time using the DOS-FAT file system. Xandros itself uses RFS, or Reiser File System which is alien, inaccessable and totally invisible when I'm in WinXP. Yet I can see, read, modify & write almost all the non-system WinXP files from Xandros's file manager. Go figure.

When I get Xandros fixed up, running smooth AND I get an OnScreenKeyBoard program, for it, then it'll be the default boot-up OS.

Well. The failures I've been having in the Xandros upgrades now has an explanation. The reason why some icons dissappeared from my systray is now clear. The reason why copying a full data CDR to my hard drive takes forever and sometimes crashes and re-boots with only 89MB copied to the HD is now clear.

Last week I started getting this still black screen error message, that you DO NOT EVER want to see, before the Win Logo shows. I wrote it all down:

SMART Failure Predicted on Hard Disk O: Hitachi_DK23DA-30-(PM)
WARNING: Immediately Back-Up your data and replace your hard disk drive. A failure may be imminent.
Press F1 to continue . . .

Things are working, but now that I'm aware of it, not at full XP Home's speed. About a dozen boots with that error message halting boot-up.
I thought is was caused by the MasterBootRecord (MBR) being damaged by the Xandros service pack installation crash. Not so. The almost 5 year old 30GB HD is slowly(?) dying and will be replaced this week after a trip to our local Best Buy for at least an 80GB model. I guess 5 years is good service for my 15" NoteBook PC's HDD.

I am planning to upgrade to a new 17" NoteBook PC (NOT A MAC) after the Vista intro dust settles, but well before Christmas. Looking forward to the 17" NoteBook's default numeric keypad and a bigger better screen.