PC worth upgrading or replace?

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"Cookie"
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#2918922 26-May-2022 13:33

I agree a fresh install would be best.

But I am concerned about the length of time the pc would be unavailable to the community while everything is reinstalled.
I will have another look to see what exactly is installed and whether we even have all the files to rebuild.

A clone job would be really quick, if not a little bit dirty. 😉

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RollyShed

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#2918925 26-May-2022 13:40

A number of questions and answers for this computer here -
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-23-all-in-one-desktop-pc-series/8499724/model/8667211

Put Linux Mint on a 240GB SSD for speed and ease of use. An SSD of that size less than $60. For mounting possibly the screws on the underside of the SSD might line-up with something rather than the holes on the sides of it.

Linux Mint because it is so easy to move from a Windows approach to a well set up Mint.

There is another one about to go out the door here, boot time 30 seconds on an old laptop. To move files and folders, a USB to SATA adaptor.

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#2918930 26-May-2022 13:47

kiwifidget:

...

WIFI = b/g/n connected to public library wifi portal

...

There is probably nothing I can do about the internet speed, it's quite variable between bad and atrocious.

...

Are you sure it's the internet that's atrocious and not the wifi signal? What sort of wifi card does it use?

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xpd

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#2918936 26-May-2022 14:01

Even a full re-install etc should only take 2-3 hours if that.

And unfortunately on wrong side of Auckland for me to be of any help.

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kiwifidget

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#2919024 26-May-2022 17:04

xpd:

Even a full re-install etc should only take 2-3 hours if that.

And unfortunately on wrong side of Auckland for me to be of any help.

No worries, thanks for the offer.

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rhy7s

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#2919141 26-May-2022 19:15

Windows 10 on a hard drive is often pretty inconsistent, normally that amount of RAM should keep the pressure off though.

Something to try, I had a neighbour's laptop here that was running slowly, took ages to boot, finish logging in, and keyboard lag was significant. This was for a very clean and lightly used system, in task manager I noticed sysmain was pegging disk usage at 100% for hours without settling down. Disabling it made for a much more responsive system. Maybe worth a try? https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-is-superfetch/

Another recent system was painfully slow until removing AVG and reverting to Defender. I've found 3rd party AV often has deleterious effects on UI performance as well as disk and network access speed. Also see https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/01/antivirus-is-bad/

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#2919162 26-May-2022 20:26

Unfortunately AVG is installed.

I'm not too happy about that but given the public access nature of the pc, the committee insists it have "extra" protection.

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#2919163 26-May-2022 20:29

The committee needs some extra education ;)

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kiwifidget

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#2919164 26-May-2022 20:32

I would put myself in that category too then.

If not AVG, then what?

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RollyShed

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#2919170 26-May-2022 20:40

kiwifidget:

I would put myself in that category too then.

If not AVG, then what?

Linux Mint to make it easy to use, reliable and fast.

Time to install - 8 minutes, updates about 7 minutes, added setup time about 15 minutes at the most.

Boot up time, if slow, 30 seconds.

kiwifidget

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#2919172 26-May-2022 20:47

@rollyshed , your persistence is admirable.

We do have an even older and slower laptop that I just might Linuxise, but for now the AiO is going to be Windows.

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yitz

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#2919173 26-May-2022 20:52

What about short stroking the drive, i.e. resizing the boot partition where the system resides to only the first 100 GB or so as access times and throughput are typically faster at the begininng of the drive. Worth doing?

Although the 2 TB and 3 TB drives that come with AiOs and notebooks are always slower than normal for some reason...

1101

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#2919359 27-May-2022 10:03

As per all the above advice

Install a SSD.

Ive fixed alot of slow PC's by installing a SSD . Its allways the best fix for slow PC's
Less than $100 . All in ones can be a a pain to work on & fit a SSD though (not all)

Also,
that allin1 is a low spec system. Dont expect speedy. It will be Ok with an SSD, but never will be fast.

AVG is garbage . Get rid of it . Its now little better than malware , it not the same product it was many years ago.
If you MUST use a Free AV, try bitdefender . Or buy ESET Nod32

Slow startups ,usually the HD is slow.
Also can be AV doing startup scans, cloud storage (eg Dropbox) trying to sync & download on startup, Win updates installing.
A SSD will help with all the above though

Dont install Linux , unless you have the skills & experience with it . And are willing to be the permanent admin for it .
People will want something the same as they use at home. Thats Windows

Changing the OS is NOT the fix for a slow HD :-)

RollyShed

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#2919365 27-May-2022 10:41

1101:Install a SSD.

Ive fixed alot of slow PC's by installing a SSD . Its allways the best fix for slow PC's
Less than $100 . All in ones can be a a pain to work on & fit a SSD though (not all)

A 250GB was $57 a couple of weeks ago but now up to $63 Kingston, or $69 Crucial.

The best first step, fit an SSD.

If installing Linux Mint -

Having installed 40+ installations for people, only good things. Questions (very few) I get are the same questions what ever system. What is the best way to do this doc, how do I download this item (video or document), etc.

A classic user - she had problems getting her assignments done using Windows. I was asked to and installed Linux, she then had no problems, passed her exams and got a job. Yes, a couple of simple questions, the same no matter what system, how best to do something to a document.

My partner, MS was destroying things each month in 2018. Eventually MS wiped the disk and reverted it to Win7 from 10. So? Next morning she sat down at a Linux machine (disk) which everything had been backed up to, dragged the desktop icons back to where she usually has them and carried on as if nothing had happened, except it never breaks. That disk wiping only happened to about 1,000,000 people around the world. And it keeps happening, Google it.

About people wanting something the same as they use at home -

It doesn't mean they know how to use Windows properly. So set things up so they are obvious and easier to find than on Windows.

Changing the OS is the fix for a slow HD

The worst Windows I came across, took a long time, I made and ate lunch before it got going. Then 8 minutes to reboot Windows. Linux on an SSD on that computer - 20 seconds. Possibly 1-1/2 minutes if left on an HD.

However it is up to you what you do. If you require help, there are plenty who will give advice, what ever system you use.

xpd

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#2919384 27-May-2022 11:31

kiwifidget:

I would put myself in that category too then.

If not AVG, then what?

Linux...... ;)

No, if on Windows 10, then no AV is needed except maybe something like Malwarebytes.

Windows 10's built in solution is pretty damn good these days.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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