Topic: Got rid of Google Chrome today (I think)

[333]

Don't wait, sell it now.  Can you imagine what it will be like in 30 years?

"Well, kids, we used to have these things called printers.  It would print out words on what we called "paper"."

Besides, do you want to trip over that thing for 30 years?

[Scott S]

 I'm still having some slowing down problems, even with IE. It'll last about a week instead of 1-1.5 days like Chrome did, though.

 It's been suggested that I need more memory and that memory is different than disk space (of which my computer says I still have plenty). I DO get "your virtual memory is low"  warnings from time to time.
 I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff.....is there a way to check what I have and would more memory help?  I have pages that are slow to load, videos get jerky, etc.
 I can actually hear the hard drive running and "thinking" at times. A restart speeds things up for a while.

[Scott S]

 Oh, and one more reason I was told it was memory is that the more tabs I have open, the worse it is, especially when I had Chrome.
 Opening links is another thing that seems to be too slow.

[Skunk Stripe]

You can google how to increase your virtual memory, just put in "increase virtual memory" and your OS. On low ram systems, I would usually set virtual to be about double what my ram was.
Also, you can us msconfig OR a bit of an easier way is to download ccleaner, yes spelled that way, and there is a tools area and you can see the stuff that starts when your computer does.
Much of it you can disable, especially if it pertains to programs. Printer software is kinda touchy though.
Disabling these programs can really help.

Edit: these programs are still usable, they just do not use ram on startup.

[Scott S]

 I already use CC Cleaner and I went through my start up list the other day.

[Goldbug]

What kind of computer is this?

[Scott S]

 emachines desktop CPU running Windows XP.

[Goldbug]

But like how old? One thing about XP is that as it has improved over the years the minimum requirements have increased. So has the requirements for software that we're stuck using like media players, Adobe, Flash and browsers. Most browsers leak memory like crazy. I mean just to have a decent running computer you need 2GB of RAM and a processor that is less than 4 years old. If you've got that covered then your problems are 100% software / OS related. Most computers I run across are bloated with garbage and stupid chat software and widgets that tell you the weather on your desktop. They also have viruses, malware, crapware and spyware even though the scans come up clean.

If you've ever gotten a virus you need to reinstall the OS and start over. I have three computers here at home, two of them are pretty old  and one is running an old single core Intel Atom at 1.6GHz and 1GB of RAM (I use it to stream movies to my TV), it has XP Home. The other XP Home box is going on four years old but was a higher end system. Then I have my laptop which is newer but a very low end Celeron system. I run AVG (and no other preventative or scanning software), VLC media player and FireFox plus standards like Adobe, Flash and Silverlight. I have no other crap on my computers. I leave them all on 24/7 and I never notice any slowness or anything, even on the Atom box. I know what I am doing and I'm the IT guy at work but I don't work magic. I'm just careful.

[Skunk Stripe]

I basically do the same thing aside from leaving them on all the time. I like to keep my electric bill low. So I use sleep on my windows 7 laptop. Sleep, not hibernate, has worked awesome for me on this laptop which is over 4 years old. Win 7 has been flawless for me. For my use and opinion, I would never go back to xp, not for anything. 7 is just too nice and boots much better on newer systems. It even runs decent on 1 Gig of ram. Running 7 professional.  My only regret is that it is 32bit.

[Goldbug]

I have a 700 watt PSU in one PC, a hot tub, two fridges, two fish tanks (heaters, many filters and pumps- I'm pumping about 2500gph total), a ball python and a monitor lizard (big incandescents) in a four bedroom house and my electric bill was $20 last month.

I do not have A/C. Biggest contributor to an electric bill is HVAC. In my old condo I had less stuff but the place was smaller and in the summer my bill would hit $150 with A/C set to 74-78. Any lower and the A/C would freeze up (good A/C, crappy blower/furnace) and it would be hotter and the bill would be higher.

If your bill is down to around $10 a month and you want to save that last $2 then worry about computers.

Hardware lasts longer if you don't shut down too. I've had one PSU fail in the last ten years. Boot up is especially hard on HDDs and this is arguably the most important part of a PC to most people.

OK, soapbox off.

[Skunk Stripe]

I have never seen any electric bill that low. Typo? or super cheap electricity in your area. 2 lightweight laptops, 1 tv, fridge and other basics and it will never be below 50 a month here.

[Goldbug]

No typo. $20 as in twenty.