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Post by don on Apr 8, 2024 13:19:36 GMT
I’m writing this on my iPad and it’s great compared with my old Laptop. I wanted to look up some photos from when our grandchildren were younger and I turned the old laptop on……eventually. It takes an absolute age to boot up and then going back through the files took a long time. I haven’t used the laptop for five years and it’s about ten years old now so ancient in computer years. I imagine that my iPad is regarded by many to be old but by comparison to thee olde laptop it’s streets ahead.I didn’t realise how slow my laptop was and when it was new I thought it was fast compared with my older Desktop devices.
No real story here just my personal observation on what I experienced today. By the way don’t go looking at old photos it’s the fastest way to get absolutely nothing done in a morning there is.
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Post by Chester PB on Apr 8, 2024 15:31:49 GMT
I have found that regularly removing 'unwanted' files and defragmenting the disk makes a lot of difference to the running of a PC, and the need to do this is something you will not know about unless you have been told about it. If you have never done this, the first time might run for a while, but thereafter only a very few minutes if done weekly. It is always worth doing this a few days after any Windows update because the process can leave behind lots of temporary files. Do not use the PC until the disc defragmentation has finished.
If it's a Windows PC, try the 'Properties' display on the hard disc and see what options you are offered. You cannot do any harm my merely looking to see what options are offered. If it's a Mac somebody else will have to help you, but there must be a similar process available.
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Post by geoffr on Apr 8, 2024 16:22:20 GMT
I have found that regularly removing 'unwanted' files and defragmenting the disk makes a lot of difference to the running of a PC, and the need to do this is something you will not know about unless you have been told about it. If you have never done this, the first time might run for a while, but thereafter only a very few minutes if done weekly. It is always worth doing this a few days after any Windows update because the process can leave behind lots of temporary files. Do not use the PC until the disc defragmentation has finished.
If it's a Windows PC, try the 'Properties' display on the hard disc and see what options you are offered. You cannot do any harm my merely looking to see what options are offered. If it's a Mac somebody else will have to help you, but there must be a similar process available.
Don’t do this with a SSD. MacBooks have had SSDs for at least 10 years. |
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Post by zou on Apr 8, 2024 16:54:58 GMT
Don't forget any antivirus or security software will be firing up when you start a computer for the first time in ages. If it isn't up to date it may be checking for updates etc., as well as the resource intensive tasks it will be trying to complete. The other issue if it isn't up to date is that every dodgy bit of software doing the rounds will see an opportunity and try to find its way onto your hard drive.
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Post by peterob on Apr 8, 2024 17:15:46 GMT
I’m writing this on my iPad and it’s great compared with my old Laptop. I wanted to look up some photos from when our grandchildren were younger and I turned the old laptop on……eventually. It takes an absolute age to boot up and then going back through the files took a long time. I haven’t used the laptop for five years and it’s about ten years old now so ancient in computer years. I imagine that my iPad is regarded by many to be old but by comparison to thee olde laptop it’s streets ahead.I didn’t realise how slow my laptop was and when it was new I thought it was fast compared with my older Desktop devices. No real story here just my personal observation on what I experienced today. By the way don’t go looking at old photos it’s the fastest way to get absolutely nothing done in a morning there is. Yes, it is what you get used to. The PC I use for office stuff is not so old (2015) but what was acceptable performance in 2019 (when my work dried up) is now intolerable compared to what I use daily (new mac, ipad). A main difference with the new gear is not having a hard disk, having faster processors, having more memory. Win 10 (I updated from Win 8.1 when support ran out) is also running slower than Win 8.1 did. I definitely have to go and have a cup of tea after logging in while it does its sorting out. It is especially slow if woken up after a few days sleep. Used every day it is less obviously slow, clearly it buffers a lot of commonly used "stuff" while it is active then puts it away if not used for a while. I almost never turn the computer off completely. |
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Post by geoffr on Apr 8, 2024 17:19:44 GMT
I’m writing this on my iPad and it’s great compared with my old Laptop. I wanted to look up some photos from when our grandchildren were younger and I turned the old laptop on……eventually. It takes an absolute age to boot up and then going back through the files took a long time. I haven’t used the laptop for five years and it’s about ten years old now so ancient in computer years. I imagine that my iPad is regarded by many to be old but by comparison to thee olde laptop it’s streets ahead.I didn’t realise how slow my laptop was and when it was new I thought it was fast compared with my older Desktop devices. No real story here just my personal observation on what I experienced today. By the way don’t go looking at old photos it’s the fastest way to get absolutely nothing done in a morning there is. Yes, it is what you get used to. The PC I use for office stuff is not so old (2015) but what was acceptable performance in 2019 (when my work dried up) is now intolerable compared to what I use daily (new mac, ipad). A main difference with the new gear is not having a hard disk, having faster processors, having more memory. Win 10 (I updated from Win 8.1 when support ran out) is also running slower than Win 8.1 did. I definitely have to go and have a cup of tea after logging in while it does its sorting out. It is especially slow if woken up after a few days sleep. Used every day it is less obviously slow, clearly it buffers a lot of commonly used "stuff" while it is active then puts it away if not used for a while. I almost never turn the computer off completely. Sorry? Turn off a computer? I only ever let my Macs sleep, unless I won’t be using them for a month or so. Open the lid and away we go. I’ve been doing this for about 15 years. |
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Post by JohnY on Apr 8, 2024 18:39:11 GMT
I suggest that you keep the very old laptop off the internet. Copy everything that you want, your family may want, onto an external drive. Then back that up to another external drive kept off site, maybe with family.
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Post by Bipolar on Apr 8, 2024 19:09:37 GMT
Is your old laptop a windows laptop?
If it is Windows something that can help speed up the old laptop, go into control panel then APPS or Programs/uninstall a program.
You should see a list of all the software installed in your laptop. Scroll through the list and look for things that don't
look like programs you installed or use. In the list it should tell you if they are seldom or never used.
Pay attention to "games" Nefarious programs will install spyware in your laptop and often they will be listed as games.
You are generally safe to uninstall them. Don't uninstall anything with Microsoft in the name. I do this with my wife's
Windows 10 laptop on a regular basis and it make a noticeable difference in speed.
I bought my wife a new laptop in 2017 and took her then probably seven year old laptop with windows seven on it
and used it up until a few months ago when I gave it to a needy person. I had installed a SSD in it and replaced
Windows 7 with Linux Mint 21. It was lightning fast after that and unlike windows it doesn't fill up with
spyware and bloatware and slow down.
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Post by John Farrell on Apr 8, 2024 19:25:03 GMT
Interesting thread - yesterday I bought a new laptop, to replace our 6 year old one. Now I'm getting used to Windows 11...
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Post by JohnY on Apr 8, 2024 19:26:41 GMT
Linux is not for everyone. I used Sunos and HPUX at work for many years. These, like Linux, were Unix derivatives. I think that I can just remember my way around the old Unix tools that still exist in Linux. Linux, in its various versions, is brilliant and is used to support many websites and application servers.
From a photographers point of view Linux is the perfect OS for running GIMP. I am a bit of a geek which is why I got into computing in the first place.
Linux and Gimp are too geeky for me in old age.
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Post by andy on Apr 8, 2024 20:59:09 GMT
Don't forget any antivirus or security software will be firing up when you start a computer for the first time in ages. If it isn't up to date it may be checking for updates etc., as well as the resource intensive tasks it will be trying to complete. The other issue if it isn't up to date is that every dodgy bit of software doing the rounds will see an opportunity and try to find its way onto your hard drive. Antivirus bloatware can certainly cause things to run very slow, particularly if there is more than one of them installed. There could be windows antivirus stuff and a 3rd party application like norton or similar tying themselves in knots and get nowhere fast. I say switch them off and live dangerously. Just avoid software from untrusted sources. My PC is over 10 years old, possibly closer to 15, and runs fine. |
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Post by spinno on Apr 8, 2024 21:05:38 GMT
Interesting thread - yesterday I bought a new laptop, to replace our 6 year old one. Now I'm getting used to Windows 11... it does take a while I have a W10 laptop which I use for photo stuff which is ok but gets a bit creaky and flakey at times (like its owner I hear you cry) but my W11 seems to fly. Only annoyance is onedrive constantly trying to upload, then sulking when I turn it off |
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Post by Chester PB on Apr 8, 2024 21:15:53 GMT
I have found that regularly removing 'unwanted' files and defragmenting the disk makes a lot of difference to the running of a PC, and the need to do this is something you will not know about unless you have been told about it. If you have never done this, the first time might run for a while, but thereafter only a very few minutes if done weekly. It is always worth doing this a few days after any Windows update because the process can leave behind lots of temporary files. Do not use the PC until the disc defragmentation has finished.
If it's a Windows PC, try the 'Properties' display on the hard disc and see what options you are offered. You cannot do any harm my merely looking to see what options are offered. If it's a Mac somebody else will have to help you, but there must be a similar process available.
Don’t do this with a SSD. MacBooks have had SSDs for at least 10 years. Re. Don’t do this with a SSD. This depends on the type of SSD - whilst Windows does not offer the option to 'Optimise' external memory (like memory sticks), it does allow this for internal SSD. My 6 year old PC has an SSD for all the programmes (C drive), including Windows, so that the hard disc (D drive) only stores files. I regularly 'delete unwanted files' and 'optimise' the SSD and it continues to work well. This also avoids the build up of 'temporary' files created during Windows updates, and regular defragmentation should optimise performance. This probably why 'Optimise' appears to be the Windows 10 term for defragment and disc 'tidy up', so on the D drive it is only run after I have added a lot of new files or deleted some.
The other advice about unwanted programmes is useful, but most of them will be inactive and, although taking up some disc space, should not affect the performance of the PC. However, it does no harm to uninstall software you will never use, like games that are included with the operating system. I have noticed that some of they may re-appear after updates anyway, perhaps because their absence in detected.
The advice about software updates after not using the PC for a while is important too, unless it will not be connected to the internet and is only used for file storage and viewing. But there may be a risk of viruses being accidentally loaded onto it if you use memory sticks to transfer files from another PC, because any anti-virus software on the old PC will be long out of date not notice them.
Basically, any PC you use that is connected to the internet needs to have up to date operating system, anti-virus and web browser software. |
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Post by geoffr on Apr 8, 2024 21:42:52 GMT
Don’t do this with a SSD. MacBooks have had SSDs for at least 10 years. Re. Don’t do this with a SSD. This depends on the type of SSD - whilst Windows does not offer the option to 'Optimise' external memory (like memory sticks), it does allow this for internal SSD. My 6 year old PC has an SSD for all the programmes (C drive), including Windows, so that the hard disc (D drive) only stores files. I regularly 'delete unwanted files' and 'optimise' the SSD and it continues to work well. This also avoids the build up of 'temporary' files created during Windows updates, and regular defragmentation should optimise performance. This probably why 'Optimise' appears to be the Windows 10 term for defragment and disc 'tidy up', so on the D drive it is only run after I have added a lot of new files or deleted some.
The other advice about unwanted programmes is useful, but most of them will be inactive and, although taking up some disc space, should not affect the performance of the PC. However, it does no harm to uninstall software you will never use, like games that are included with the operating system. I have noticed that some of they may re-appear after updates anyway, perhaps because their absence in detected.
The advice about software updates after not using the PC for a while is important too, unless it will not be connected to the internet and is only used for file storage and viewing. But there may be a risk of viruses being accidentally loaded onto it if you use memory sticks to transfer files from another PC, because any anti-virus software on the old PC will be long out of date not notice them.
Basically, any PC you use that is connected to the internet needs to have up to date operating system, anti-virus and web browser software. Not defragmenting a SSD is probably old advice, I avoid Windows and Apple doesn’t offer a defragmentation program. However with an old computer it is entirely possible that any SSD it might have is the type that shouldn’t be defragmented. Removing unwanted files on the Windows tablet I have for car manuals certainly works and keeps the SSD space to a maximum. What “optimising” does I couldn’t say. Most programs can just sit taking up space but some actually remain partially active unless removed, which is why we had stripped down corporate builds when I was working. My tablet having only a 128GB drive I have removed anything I can. I don’t need a remind you that old PCs need to be approached with some caution, especially if they have been idle for some time, one never knows what they might have downloaded before being switched off. |
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Post by John Farrell on Apr 8, 2024 23:18:40 GMT
Interesting thread - yesterday I bought a new laptop, to replace our 6 year old one. Now I'm getting used to Windows 11... it does take a while I have a W10 laptop which I use for photo stuff which is ok but gets a bit creaky and flakey at times (like its owner I hear you cry) but my W11 seems to fly. Only annoyance is onedrive constantly trying to upload, then sulking when I turn it off The old laptop is still usable, if rather slow. I usually use a desktop computer, which is reasonably speedy, if not as fast as the new laptop. The difference is an I5 processor, 24gb of ram, and an SSD in the new laptop...the desktop is I3, 8gb ram and a HDD. |
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