On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:26:20 -0600, Gloria P wrote:

> Nancy Young wrote:
>> Gloria P wrote:
>>> blake murphy wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 01:23:22 -0400, cybercat wrote:
>>
>>>>> I was so surprised to like Vista.
>>>>
>>>> from all the online ****ing and moaning, i expected an ordeal. it
>>>> was not.
>>
>>> I had the same experience. My new laptop came with Vista installed
>>> and I was prepared to go back to XP. I haven't had any problems with
>>> Vista at all.
>>
>> I picked up a nasty case of adware or something and decided to replace
>> my pc. I was really worried about the Vista thing. I have
>> yet to figure out what all the yelling was about, I'm fine with it.
>>
>> nancy
>
> I've been told by People Who Should Know that the major problems with
> Vista arise when it is used on underpowered computers and most newer PCs
> have enough memory to handle it.
>
> gloria p

it's true that my vista was on a new machine, presumably with the juice to
run it. i did disable the User Account Control (UAC) within the first
couple of days because it annoyed the shit out of me asking for
authorization every time i wanted to do something.

your pal,
blake

"blake murphy" > wrote
> have any of you vista users tried the voice-to-text program?
>
Not yet, but I will and let you know.

cybercat wrote on Fri, 2 Oct 2009 13:31:09 -0400:


> "blake murphy" > wrote
>> have any of you vista users tried the voice-to-text program?
>>
> Not yet, but I will and let you know.

I'm hoping my machine will hold on until I can get Windows 7. I've
played with Vista in stores and it annoys the hell out of me.



--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Stu wrote:
> On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:15:46 -0400, Bob Muncie > wrote:
>
> -->Dimitri wrote:
> -->>
> -->> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> -->> ...
> -->>> Bob Muncie wrote:
> -->>>> zxcvbob wrote:
> -->>>>> Sqwertz wrote:
> -->>>>>> On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:39:58 -0700 (PDT), --Bryan wrote:
> -->>>>>>
> -->>>>>>> How often does everyone replace their home computer?
> -->>>>>>
> -->>>>>> Replace? I just keep upgrading. Motherboard every 1.5 years, other
> -->>>>>> parts as necessary or as I acquire them.
> -->>>>>>
> -->>>>>> My case is probably 7-8 years old (a very upgrade-friendly Antec
> -->>>>>> case and power supply).
> -->>>>>>
> -->>>>>> -sw
> -->>>>>
> -->>>>>
> -->>>>> I've switched to using laptops for everything. I keep using them
> -->>>>> until something major breaks. I paid extra for a 3 year warranty
> -->>>>> this time because I had 2 in a row break after 13 months. It's
> -->>>>> still going strong, even the battery, after 2.5 years
> -->>>>>
> -->>>>> Bob
> -->>>>
> -->>>> It's just waiting till you get to the 37th month mark :-)
> -->>>>
> -->>>
> -->>>
> -->>> I know that, but I only paid $600 for it, so I'm OK with getting 3
> -->>> years out of it (but I'd be a lot happier with 5+ years)
> -->>>
> -->>> Bob
> -->> I run both my laptop & my desktop 24 hours per day - generally I get 5+
> -->> years out of them. I really think the "trick" is keeping them cool, as
> -->> cool as possible. In addition I use the energy saver power setting on
> -->> the laptop - it runs a little slower but 200% cooler than the high
> -->> performance setting.
> -->>
> -->>
> -->
> -->I completely agree. I also believe most of the heat failures is due to
> -->not performing vent cleaning, and if necessary, occasionally opening the
> -->case to vacuum a bit also.
>
> Never vacuum a computer case, use a can of compressed air to blow the dust out.
> First blow off all the cards and the motherboard's cpu fan. Then the power
> supply from the back of the case in, and then out from the inside.
>
> -->
> -->Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the pc started making noises (or
> -->can also start going silent even when on). That normally just means that
> -->a $15 fan is going bad, and is easier, and quicker to replace then
> -->performing an oil change. True, the noise "could" have been the hard
> -->drive, but that's not often the case these days. It's usually the amount
> -->of dust bunnies inside the case or clogging the vents.
> -->
> -->Bob
>
> The noise could be the power supply dirty, the power supply fan packing it in
> (if it is don't be cheap replace it with a good quality one), or it could be
> the cpu fan is so jammed with dust it won't turn. I had one like that, cleaned
> it all out and it ran for three years.
> The trick is don't be cheap, the adage that you get what you pay for is correct
> with computers.

Stu - Been doing this for years, and I live in the boonies, and have had
two cats and two dogs. Current desktop for just Inet use and daily work
is seven years old, and still ticking. Use a regular vacuum on the out
side of the vent holes *perfectly* fine. Been IT service delivery for
almost 30 years, so I know. Use the house vacuum on the open case
components? Also fine as long as you don't make contact with individual
components (I think that's the point you Are making).. The point was to
"suck up" dust bunnies using the wand type attachment. I've done that
for years, on many PCs, and all is well. Don't use your "regular" vacuum
with a furniture or floor attachment on your PC other than the wand
attachment. That is not a good thing. Use the small wand attachment, and
not touch the actual circuit boards or components, and just suck-up dust
bunnies, that is good.

Canned Air is good for cleaning individual components, or circuit boards
themselves. (I am using two cans of air now. One for the PC, and one for
the room air cleaner which is fussy).

Thanks Stu, for pointing out I did not clarify my usage well enough. I
suppose there is at least one person that would open up their desktop,
and run the house vacuum cleaner over it :-)

Point is, keep the dust/dirt level to a minimum, your desktop will last
longer. Dust/dirt means heat build-up. Heat build-up means a shorter
mean time between failures.

Bob

Default User wrote:
> Bob Muncie wrote:
>
>> Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the pc started making noises
>> (or can also start going silent even when on). That normally just
>> means that a $15 fan is going bad, and is easier, and quicker to
>> replace then performing an oil change. True, the noise "could" have
>> been the hard drive, but that's not often the case these days. It's
>> usually the amount of dust bunnies inside the case or clogging the
>> vents.
>
> My computer at home has been making noise for several years now. It's
> the integral fan on the processor assembly. I don't think there's any
> way to lubricate that fan bearing. I'd have to swap the whole assembly,
> so that's not cost effective. I can tell the fan is still turning.
>
>
>
>
> Brian
>

Brian - Since your computer is is functional, but you know you have a
processor (fan) issue, you can use software to monitor that, unless your
PC is too old. Haven't done research on the for about 5 years, but there
is software that can monitor temps (freeware included), although they
are processor monitoring drains. OTOH, if your PC meets all your needs,
you can replace rather cheaply before failure if you are a DIY guy. CPUs
plug in and don't require soldering even. And the fan type cooling plugs
into as easily as plugging in your toaster. Just need to read... And
yes, I know many of us fail to do that. :-)

Replacing the fan is also an option if it is not glued into place.
Processor fans are not that expensive. Many just clip on to the CPU, and
still plug in just like a toaster. Normally it's only heat sink coolers
(not fans) are glued.

Bob

Stu wrote:
> On Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:22:24 -0400, Bob Muncie > wrote:
>
> -->Stu wrote:
> -->> On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:15:46 -0400, Bob Muncie >
> wrote:
> -->>
> -->> -->Dimitri wrote:
> -->> -->>
> -->> -->> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> -->> -->> ...
> -->> -->>> Bob Muncie wrote:
> -->> -->>>> zxcvbob wrote:
> -->> -->>>>> Sqwertz wrote:
> -->> -->>>>>> On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:39:58 -0700 (PDT), --Bryan wrote:
> -->> -->>>>>>
> -->> -->>>>>>> How often does everyone replace their home computer?
> -->> -->>>>>>
> -->> -->>>>>> Replace? I just keep upgrading. Motherboard every 1.5 years,
> other
> -->> -->>>>>> parts as necessary or as I acquire them.
> -->> -->>>>>>
> -->> -->>>>>> My case is probably 7-8 years old (a very upgrade-friendly Antec
> -->> -->>>>>> case and power supply).
> -->> -->>>>>>
> -->> -->>>>>> -sw
> -->> -->>>>>
> -->> -->>>>>
> -->> -->>>>> I've switched to using laptops for everything. I keep using them
> -->> -->>>>> until something major breaks. I paid extra for a 3 year warranty
> -->> -->>>>> this time because I had 2 in a row break after 13 months. It's
> -->> -->>>>> still going strong, even the battery, after 2.5 years
> -->> -->>>>>
> -->> -->>>>> Bob
> -->> -->>>>
> -->> -->>>> It's just waiting till you get to the 37th month mark :-)
> -->> -->>>>
> -->> -->>>
> -->> -->>>
> -->> -->>> I know that, but I only paid $600 for it, so I'm OK with getting 3
> -->> -->>> years out of it (but I'd be a lot happier with 5+ years)
> -->> -->>>
> -->> -->>> Bob
> -->> -->> I run both my laptop & my desktop 24 hours per day - generally I get
> 5+
> -->> -->> years out of them. I really think the "trick" is keeping them cool,
> as
> -->> -->> cool as possible. In addition I use the energy saver power setting
> on
> -->> -->> the laptop - it runs a little slower but 200% cooler than the high
> -->> -->> performance setting.
> -->> -->>
> -->> -->>
> -->> -->
> -->> -->I completely agree. I also believe most of the heat failures is due to
> -->> -->not performing vent cleaning, and if necessary, occasionally opening
> the
> -->> -->case to vacuum a bit also.
> -->>
> -->> Never vacuum a computer case, use a can of compressed air to blow the dust
> out.
> -->> First blow off all the cards and the motherboard's cpu fan. Then the power
> -->> supply from the back of the case in, and then out from the inside.
> -->>
> -->> -->
> -->> -->Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the pc started making noises
> (or
> -->> -->can also start going silent even when on). That normally just means
> that
> -->> -->a $15 fan is going bad, and is easier, and quicker to replace then
> -->> -->performing an oil change. True, the noise "could" have been the hard
> -->> -->drive, but that's not often the case these days. It's usually the
> amount
> -->> -->of dust bunnies inside the case or clogging the vents.
> -->> -->
> -->> -->Bob
> -->>
> -->> The noise could be the power supply dirty, the power supply fan packing it
> in
> -->> (if it is don't be cheap replace it with a good quality one), or it could
> be
> -->> the cpu fan is so jammed with dust it won't turn. I had one like that,
> cleaned
> -->> it all out and it ran for three years.
> -->> The trick is don't be cheap, the adage that you get what you pay for is
> correct
> -->> with computers.
> -->
> -->Stu - Been doing this for years, and I live in the boonies, and have had
> -->two cats and two dogs. Current desktop for just Inet use and daily work
> -->is seven years old, and still ticking. Use a regular vacuum on the out
> -->side of the vent holes *perfectly* fine. Been IT service delivery for
> -->almost 30 years, so I know. Use the house vacuum on the open case
> -->components? Also fine as long as you don't make contact with individual
> -->components (I think that's the point you Are making).. The point was to
> -->"suck up" dust bunnies using the wand type attachment. I've done that
> -->for years, on many PCs, and all is well. Don't use your "regular" vacuum
> -->with a furniture or floor attachment on your PC other than the wand
> -->attachment. That is not a good thing. Use the small wand attachment, and
> -->not touch the actual circuit boards or components, and just suck-up dust
> -->bunnies, that is good.
> -->
> -->Canned Air is good for cleaning individual components, or circuit boards
> -->themselves. (I am using two cans of air now. One for the PC, and one for
> -->the room air cleaner which is fussy).
> -->
> -->Thanks Stu, for pointing out I did not clarify my usage well enough. I
> -->suppose there is at least one person that would open up their desktop,
> -->and run the house vacuum cleaner over it :-)
> -->
> -->Point is, keep the dust/dirt level to a minimum, your desktop will last
> -->longer. Dust/dirt means heat build-up. Heat build-up means a shorter
> -->mean time between failures.
> -->
> -->Bob
>
> How true.
>
> btw... I ran my own IT biz from 94 till fall of 97, that's when all the cheap
> knock offs started to come out and you couldn't make a living.
> If only people knew about the cheap substandard parts there are in a prebuilt
> machine sold by the big box computer stores, they'd take the time and have one
> built for them.

I completely agree. That's one of the reasons I enjoyed building my own
PCs, I could pick the quality of the components, and since I used my own
skills, it would always cost less than even the cheap brand complete
configs. OTOH, now that everyone tends to be ISO standard, and use
individual components, even big name providers can normally provide a
decent build at a good price. :-)

Now it would just be hobby status to build. You can actually get good
products now from even the big names, at good prices. Just need to be
educated, or have an IT educated friend to lean on.

I was pointing that out to someone earlier today that exclaimed the
virtues of the 15", dual 8600 2.4Gb processor, 1Gb RAM, 250Gb disk,
Thinkpad for $584, that "that" was not a very good deal. Name is not
all these days. Need to evaluate the other aspects as well. ISO
components, reviews, performance, usage, warranty, etc.

But I hear you :-)

Bob

On 2009-10-02, Bob Muncie > wrote:

> Replacing the fan is also an option if it is not glued into place.
> Processor fans are not that expensive. Many just clip on to the CPU, and
> still plug in just like a toaster. Normally it's only heat sink coolers
> (not fans) are glued.

I doubt if what you are seeing is "glue". Typically, heat sinks have
a layer of "heat sink paste" or "thermal paste". It's not a glue, but
a thermally conductive paste that aids heat transfer from the cpu to
the heat sink. This stuff is used extensively throughout electronics
and is usually white, but not always. While it may appear sticky,
this is often due to the heat drying it out. If you change a cooling
device, heat sink, etc, apply new thermal paste. Some cpu's do not
use paste, but a heat transfer "pad". You can either replace the
"pad" (typically hard to come by) or just substitute thermal paste.

nb

"Bob Muncie" > wrote
>
> Now it would just be hobby status to build. You can actually get good
> products now from even the big names, at good prices. Just need to be
> educated, or have an IT educated friend to lean on.
>
> I was pointing that out to someone earlier today that exclaimed the
> virtues of the 15", dual 8600 2.4Gb processor, 1Gb RAM, 250Gb disk,
> Thinkpad for $584, that "that" was not a very good deal. Name is not all
> these days. Need to evaluate the other aspects as well. ISO components,
> reviews, performance, usage, warranty, etc.
>

I got this Acer with a dual core 3.6 Ghz proc., a 500 gb hard drive and 4
gbs of RAM for $525 almost a year ago. It has a 14.5 inch screen but that is
perfect for me, for a laptop.

Sqwertz wrote:

> On 2 Oct 2009 15:46:20 GMT, Default User wrote:
>
> > My computer at home has been making noise for several years now.
> > It's the integral fan on the processor assembly. I don't think
> > there's any way to lubricate that fan bearing. I'd have to swap the
> > whole assembly, so that's not cost effective. I can tell the fan is
> > still turning.
>
> If that fan wasn't working your computer (or rather, your CPU) would
> crash and burn.

No doubt. I can tell it's working regardless by sticking a finger into
it.



Brian

--
Day 243 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project