Tag Archives: Vista

Fedora 12 working well for me

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I was working in Fedora 12 earlier today and found I had somehow installed a newer kernel … something I was doing last night got me there. I didn’t like having it in my bootmenu … and didn’t want to have a different linux to boot to, I’ve only worked for a day or so on one and have things peachy for the most, and didn’t want to have to go through any of the hoops to get wireless working again … it was an inadvertent install that I quickly shutdown and booted to my preferred one. I looked online for aide in previously written word and found no help.

Sometimes when I have problems I find it hard to actually “search” for the problem. Putting it into search terms is often troublesome. This isn’t a post about searching. That is only an aside. The real point is finding answers when there are no answers.

I found an older page on a forum detailing “yum” and it was something I was interested in since I’ve been using “yum” and like it better than the software adding part of Fedora 12. I found a few additional commands in that which enabled me to look at what I’ve installed recently and find programs or packages, just information that is helpful in diagnosing something, whatever it is.

I hate hotels. While I was writing this I was online and when I went to publish … I got a blank brower and what I’d typed was all wiped out when I used my “back” button (which auto-save feature of WP helped, but it last saved before I had typed the end of this post, several paragraphs which I don’t want to re-type/figure out right now.) In the past this has happened, I mean internet fritsing out, but WP hadn’t always lost the words, that was an early version, so I can’t say what did happen. I’m just gonna publish this and log out of Vista and go back to my happy OS. Fedora 12. I’ll re-work this post later.

Tweaking my Vista laptop

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The year is going fast now. Just a week until Christmas. We have most all of our shopping done, but yet to do some other necessary things.

I have been working on my laptop today as well. I was tired of having the lag time in typing to what shows on the screen and am happily typing away now. I don’t know for certain what thing it was, but I turned Indexing off of my drives and subfolders. I cleaned out System Restore files, reduced it’s allowed size, then eventually just shut it off since I really haven’t had success with it in the past with any other machines, living supposedly dangerously by having it turned off, but that’s the thing about it. I need a responsive machine or else I’d rather have nothing. Having a system that lags, skips and such for what you are typing into a browser, or any other program, is just ridiculous.

My laptop is an HP TX2513cl (12.1″ Tablet notebook) I’d searched and searched for information for two issues, the lag time in typing & the HD light flashing constantly, and I don’t mean consistently, I mean staggered constantly. Oooooooooon,off,ONNNNNNNNNNNNN,ofOOOOONofOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN, etc.

Now It’s flickering inconsistenly, acceptable for now. I have 116GB of free space now too. That’s more than half the partition free. I was close to having less than 1/3-1/4 free. I did uninstall some programs I didn’t want anymore, and dump temp files, the bulk of it was freed when I dumped everything but the last restore point in System Restore. I decided I was going to do tweaky things before deciding what files to burn to discs, & then when I free up more space I’ll get System Restore back on, maybe. I actually like searching with Indexing on, so that I’ll put back first, in reality.

I put up with that staggering lag thing in typing for so long. I guess I actually had it from early on. I didn’t make a memory about it precisely, just have it in the back of my mind as a consistent annoyance since early on. I got this computer when my latest baby was still small, so in my defense I will say I didn’t type a whole lot, thus wasn’t as bothered by it, as I am anymore since I now have a toddler (more time to write here and there.) I keep hesitating now, thinking “it’s coming” and then it doesn’t. It’s a horrible thing, that feeling, the acceptance of it is almost worse. Ugh.

I don’t want to see it again, but it would be nice to see what thing I did made it go away. I can say for sure that turning Indexing off didn’t do it. HD Light was as constant as ever once Indexing was off as well. So Indexing wasn’t the problem, most likely. I tend to want to blame System Restore, since I sure did with Win XP, was happy to re-install with my OEM disk any old time I had a problem that “System Restore” might have fixed. I can also say the trouble I’ve had with System Restore is absolutely insane & I just don’t like it.

I also installed Vista Battery Saver, which is freeware, a light program to aide laptop users in having better batter life. I”m typing unplugged right now. I have Aero on until 30% battery left, and don’t use the Vista Sidebar at all for many months. Battery is better with BOTH off. I am just testing it this way now, since I like the look of Aero.

Another thing I did was take out several things from starting up with the computer, they are easy enough to start IF I want them. Like ATI’s control center (rarely use it ever.) Windows Live Messaging, I’ll start it up if I want it later. New Side Note for MS One Note, I open One Note often enough and haven’t used the tray functionality of it anyhow. Just things like that. Not getting rid of them, but just not running them all the time.

Well, that’s enough for now. I can’t recall if I missed something, but I’ll write more another time about my tweaking adventures.

Thinking through Windows 7 Upgrades

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I’m going over things trying to decide if I can put Windows 7 on my old laptop and on the Desktop computer. I know I can, I just am not sure yet if there are enough drivers for essentials of graphics & internet connectivity yet.

My Desktop has been around for a long time, in computer years.

Athlon 64 3000+
Abit NF8-V mb
(The mb has Nvidia nForce3 250 GB chipset)
2 MB Corsair DDR (1mbx2)
ATI 7500 AGP
DWL-G520M wireless adapter

Those are the specs that pass and don’t pass muster with Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and online Windows 7 Compatibility checking.

In the Advisor I’m told my wireless adapter won’t work.

Online in the Compatibility area of Win 7 search for it and it’s compatible.

That’s just the icing on the cake for this affair. My main concern is the nForce 3 chipset, which I’ve read here and there about the same sort of chipset & ATI AGP and Win 7 troubles as I’m thinking I could have. Yes my desktop is “old” but it runs decent, stable as Win XP is. I don’t want it left in the dark ages, and when it comes down to it, I cannot afford to leave it there but can’t afford to upgrade anything except software soon. Hardware, like motherboard, the spiral begins, ever more quickly spinning downward at the thought of changing the MB to get a different chipset. No way. I have to make this setup work.

So it’s my business to attend to organizing the files in preparation for moving things around to eventually install Windows 7 in a dual-or-triple boot situation. Win 7 & Win XP, maybe some Linux flavor added in (I have been leaning both ways for years, maybe, maybe not …)

The old laptop is an HP Pavillion dv5 which they say on their website is supported as Win 7 upgradable, though they as of yet have no Win 7 Drivers.

I do know that my laptop came “Vista compatible” back in the day. Vista wasn’t out yet. Anyhow I have run Vista Upgrade Advisor on it in the past, it was OK to upgrade.

Running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor on my HP laptop was similar to my desktop, complained at my graphics processor.

But since my HP laptop is a manufactured product, unlike my desktop which I put together piecemeal, and HP says they’ll have drivers, then I’ll have to go with, sure, you will or Vista drivers will work or … I’ll just have to dual-boot the laptop too, just to be sure it’ll work.

Fun fun fun. Moving files, cleaning up. Backing up. Joy, joy, joy. Which reminds me, I need to back up my websites too.

Windows 7 Upgrade Family pack is avail. for $149 and it’s exactly what I can use. I hope the pricing stays around until I can do it.