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Post by zippy on Oct 28, 2014 8:59:20 GMT
As PB says, the apparent fast boot of Windows 8 is a bit of a con, because it shows you the logon screen when it's actually only part way through the boot and does the rest in the background.
I noticed that if you log on immediately there's quite a delay until the user logon has completed. It looks to me that the total process is about the same speed as Windows 7.
Anyway does it really matter ? A few years ago we'd have given anything for a boot time as quick as we get today. I used to start up the PC then go make coffeee while waiting !
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 28, 2014 13:10:54 GMT
DOS was always quick  As was my lovely Desqview running on top........ 4 or 5 windows running on a 286 with 8MB RAM and it was fast |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 28, 2014 23:17:32 GMT
We are truly spoiled these days. I remember when Word for Windows came on 16 floppy disks, and don't let's even start on Netware.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 0:02:32 GMT
Still using XP and love it! One of my machines has W7 on it which I also quite like. The GF has Vista on her lap top.. what a pile of crap! All my PC's are probably far too old for all this new fangled stuff to work properly I would guess.
A question for the resident PC expert: Why does a PC (all of them in my experience) get so much slower, to start up in particular. but also generally, as it is used more? Even with regular clean ups, defrags, registry cleaning etc I find they all slow down markedly. Only a formatting and reinstallation of the OS seems to sort it!
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 8:24:40 GMT
We are truly spoiled these days. I remember when Word for Windows came on 16 floppy disks, and don't let's even start on Netware. Had to evolve or people would just give up When I changed Payroll from horrid Sage to Moneysoft I was staggered at how good it was I made 2-3 calls to support, answered instantly and they said it was all ok, done automatically I was so used to all sorts of rubbish with Sage I could not grasp it 'just happened' with Moneysoft Anyone who puts in the effort to do such a good job deserves the business |
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 8:26:48 GMT
Still using XP and love it! One of my machines has W7 on it which I also quite like. The GF has Vista on her lap top.. what a pile of crap! All my PC's are probably far too old for all this new fangled stuff to work properly I would guess. A question for the resident PC expert: Why does a PC (all of them in my experience) get so much slower, to start up in particular. but also generally, as it is used more? Even with regular clean ups, defrags, registry cleaning etc I find they all slow down markedly. Only a formatting and reinstallation of the OS seems to sort it! Non techie answer I have 2 words to answer Technology Computers Reformatting is the longer equivalent of turning off and on - that works 99% of the time anyway |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2014 8:27:02 GMT
That's interesting - we use Sage but I know very little about it, except when I help them to get support via remote access.
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2014 8:33:33 GMT
A question for the resident PC expert: Why does a PC (all of them in my experience) get so much slower, to start up in particular. but also generally, as it is used more? Even with regular clean ups, defrags, registry cleaning etc I find they all slow down markedly. Only a formatting and reinstallation of the OS seems to sort it! It need not be, for a modern OS at least. XP is obsolete (in the true meaning of the word) and was notorious for collecting crap and slowing down.
From W7 onwards, there are things you can do to keep it clean. One of the best utilities that Microsoft now provide is Disk Cleanup. Run it once a month and tick all the boxes. Set the defrag scheduler to defrag weekly at a time when you're not using the machine (not for SSD drives). Avoid registry cleaners unless your machine is in quite a state (usually from too many installs/uninstalls and the installation of games), but if you do need one then CCleaner is good. I never have to reformat/reinstall between OS versions, but I do tend to install fresh for a new OS - upgrading brings all the crap with it.
These days, with the likes of OneDrive, you don't need to store documents locally so a fresh install and reinstalling the apps is not as onerous as it once was. The Microsoft Account carries over all the settings you need.
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 8:36:40 GMT
*Seriously*
Put in Moneysoft on a free 1 months trial - They do that too.
Let them see how damned easy it is (get over the surprise that some things just happen, as they ought to)
See the price, compared to Sage
Take my word for the service comparisons. Sage awful, Moneysoft fabulous
Updates and upgrades were a nightmare with Sage.
Moneysoft they advise you when you start up the prog., click to download, install, works
This is how software should be
I could compare Sage to the Cortina and Moneysoft to the Cavalier all those years ago
except Sage is more like an *old* Skoda and Moneysoft like anything you want a car to be
Edit
Forgot
The support from Moneysoft is free, Sage is extra
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2014 9:15:58 GMT
It's down to scale, Mike. Our Bursary is a team of 5 and we do payroll for some 100 staff and school fees for over 200 pupils. Moving to another solution is a massive upheaval, although I have persuaded them to move to SIMS which we use on the academic side. That will be a year-long project.
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Post by pre65 on Oct 29, 2014 9:32:31 GMT
A question for the resident PC expert: Why does a PC (all of them in my experience) get so much slower, to start up in particular. but also generally, as it is used more? Even with regular clean ups, defrags, registry cleaning etc I find they all slow down markedly. Only a formatting and reinstallation of the OS seems to sort it! You could check what is in "start up" and see what can be disabled. I use the "tools" section of CCleaner to do mine. Clearing the "prefetch" folder might help as well ? |
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 10:43:33 GMT
It's down to scale, Mike. Our Bursary is a team of 5 and we do payroll for some 100 staff and school fees for over 200 pupils. Moving to another solution is a massive upheaval, although I have persuaded them to move to SIMS which we use on the academic side. That will be a year-long project. The overhead I had to carry for Sage in time and grief was paid off in a very short time, first session I guess The changeover was painless and almost instant Get your guys to talk to Moneysoft see what they say Massive savings in money, but more importantly in time and grief. It will release hours or days a month for your guys |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 11:35:30 GMT
A question for the resident PC expert: Why does a PC (all of them in my experience) get so much slower, to start up in particular. but also generally, as it is used more? Even with regular clean ups, defrags, registry cleaning etc I find they all slow down markedly. Only a formatting and reinstallation of the OS seems to sort it! You could check what is in "start up" and see what can be disabled. I use the "tools" section of CCleaner to do mine. Clearing the "prefetch" folder might help as well ? Already done all that! Also the disk clean up utility is used regularly. The machine is perfectly usable and I have no intention of reformatting, it's just annoying that all machines I've ever had have got slower with time. On the odd occasion when disaster has meant reinstalling the OS I've been amazed how fast it is... at first! |
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 12:41:25 GMT
Some programmes need tickling, could help
EG. Outlook needs a Compact every so often
Some big files in some packages can cause problems
Auslogics seems the best free Defragger.
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2014 13:40:37 GMT
There are three other folders to empty on occasions to prevent crap from building up (assuming a standard C: drive):
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp (substitute <username> with your profile folder name)
C:\Windows\Temp
C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download (but only after applying all outstanding Windows Updates)
You can find gigabytes in the above folders on a well-used machine which has not been kept clean. The issue is not the storage (hard disk capacity is cheap), it's the filling up of the directory system with tens of thousands of rubbish file entries.
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Post by John on Oct 29, 2014 14:30:58 GMT
Thanks will try that tonight
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 15:33:37 GMT
That could be useful for me
Useful for XP and W7 ?
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2014 16:20:39 GMT
W7 - yes, however the XP folder structure is a little different. I'm going to say it again, very gently: XP is unsupported and obsolete. Stop trying to do things to rescue it and upgrade to a modern supported OS!  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 16:46:34 GMT
There are three other folders to empty on occasions to prevent crap from building up (assuming a standard C: drive): C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp (substitute <username> with your profile folder name) C:\Windows\Temp C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download (but only after applying all outstanding Windows Updates) You can find gigabytes in the above folders on a well-used machine which has not been kept clean. The issue is not the storage (hard disk capacity is cheap), it's the filling up of the directory system with tens of thousands of rubbish file entries. Already done all that to! I have now installed Auslogic Boostspeed and it really works! MUCH better than any of the other 6 or so utilities I've tried before. At a guess the machine is running a third faster easy. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 29, 2014 17:34:46 GMT
W7 - yes, however the XP folder structure is a little different. I'm going to say it again, very gently: XP is unsupported and obsolete. Stop trying to do things to rescue it and upgrade to a modern supported OS! Other priorities at work. We don't connect to t'internet or do email on them |
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