Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Tune-Up Needed

My home computer, upon which I type this very blog, is very much in need of a tune-up.

Dell Inspiron E1505
Intel Centrino Duo
Windows Vista OS
Office 2007 Suite
Internet via Google Chrome

Any ideas?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fr:

I am no expert but I was in same boat - I realize you do not have tons of time - but depends on what the problem is? - slow internet connection, blank screen etc - there are several free diagnostics on internet - I have guy in northern Ohio that works on mine and is no fan on Dell

have you run the diagnostics available on the computer now such as disk cleanup, any free virsus scans or Disk defrag??

could be slow working virsus

in dire need - Geek Sqaud at Best Buy will run stuff for $50 bucks but all depends on person looking at

best bet is find a local computer guy you can trust at parish, or school to look under the hood.

let me keep thinking

Michael Fye said...

These programs will work wonders.
-CCleaner
-Advanced System Care 3 (use the utilities included too)
-Smart Defrag

For Viruses and Malware:
-Malwarebytes Antimalware
-A-squared Antivirus (if you think you have one)
-SUPERAntispyware

Also:
-uninstall programs you don't use.
-using CCleaner, you can stop start-up entries. Two links to help with this:http://windows.about.com/od/maintainandfix/a/8ways2speedup.htm
AND
http://www.switched.com/2009/03/03/how-to-shut-off-startup-programs-windows/

Finally, if you want to get really technical. Get DriverMax to update your drivers.

L Hennessey said...

It's called a Mac ;-)

David Peyton said...

First I would consider upgrading to Windows 7, Home Premium is not too expensive. It is much more efficient and safe. Dells are not too awful bad really but you need the right software and OS on them. I would look at the amount of RAM you have and consider upgrading that as well. Aside from that I would consider a Mac as well. I work on PC's for a living and am more than willing to look at and work on our system for you as well or consult on a system upgrade if that is the way you want to go as well. The system you have is not bad for what it sounds like you need it for but may just need a refresh and some minor upgrades.Please email if you are interested. I am in Middletown.

Kat said...

Get a mac.

Anonymous said...

fire. and lots of it.

John F. Kennedy said...

I'm with Lucas and Kate;

Get a Mac! I've been running a Mac OS since the late 80's.


Andrew,
Isn't that a quote from Dr. Hibbert from the Simpsons?

Michael Fye said...

If my earlier suggestions help, please let me know.
And if anyone is going to suggest a costly upgrade or a costly new computer, I will recommend a free alternative (just like the programs listed above):
Ubuntu - A free Linux Operating System to replace Windows.

Free, light, easy, and no blue screens OR dictatorship of Steve Jobs.

Mike Shea said...

Nick Francesco is a well-regarded computer guru here in the Rochester, NY area.

I suggest you take your machine through Nick's "Windows Waltz." It is not a quick process (several reboots are required), but it is quite thorough.

See here.

ADL said...

Get rid of Vista.

But anyway:

Start menu > type "msconfig" and hit enter > the System Configuration Utility will appaer > go to the "Startup" tab and uncheck anything you don't need > Restart. You'll speed up once you get rid of all the junk that starts with Windows.

That is, if you don't have a virus and if Vista isn't crapping out.

And I think Apple directly gives money to Planned Parenthood as opposed to Bill Gate's fund which is at least not as direct.

David Peyton said...

The problem with the Linux Distros (I like Fedora) is compatibility.

If all you are doing is internet and word and excel then I would say go with Linux as it is free and so is openoffice.

If the goal is to do this on the cheap then at the least to just do a refresh of Vista. Backup and then do a wipe and re-install. I know it sounds like a lot of work but until 7 that is pretty much what you need to do every so often. Your system is Windows 7 capable and a fairly decent system from what Dell.com says.

I have used all 3 mentioned systems and find good things about all of them.

Macs are great but they are costly at the outset. I don't think that you would be disappointed however should you choose to do that.

I am in in the Cincinnati area if you want someone to look at or refresh your system.

Anonymous said...

For my home/personal computer I moved to a MacBook Pro about a year ago and when I want to run Windows I fire up Virtual Box [http://www.virtualbox.org/] and run Windows 7... If your are just running a desktop you could switch to a Mac Mini [http://www.apple.com/macmini/]...

If you don't want to upgrade to a new system... There are a few things you can do on your PC... Upgrade the memory, Upgrade to Windows 7 [Windows 7 runs better and faster than Vista used to on my work-issued HP]. Defrag your drive... There are also suggestions from others here too.

-Robert