Facking Computer

[Alsgalpal]

Ok, so my first day on my new job here at the insurance agency, I had to spend deleting the 211 folders full of MUSIC from iTunes on a computer that has 30 gig hard drive, 512 mb of RAM running a Pentium 4 processor. :codger:

 

I freed up 10 gigs of space, and the pc ran a bit quicker, although waiting for a window to close is like watching water drain out of a pool.

 

Very. Viscous. Water. Sludge is more like it, and the pool is thousands of gallons. You picking up what I'm laying down here?

 

 

 

My boss thinks that this is all I should need to work. He doesn't understand technology much, and I'm the most computer literate person here in the office. He said that I have all I need to operate our insurance platform.

 

I've tried to tell him that the addition of buttons to the dashboard requires more working space and I need an upgrade. I can only run music in the morning, and never run AVG since it bogs down immediately.

 

What do you do when task manager freezes?

 

Le :sigh:

 

I need a good arguement to use on him that he will understand so I can at least get a couple upgrades and run smoother.... He won't spring for a new pc until I'm paying for myself here at work as far as production. (know anyone in the Washington/Oregon area's that need amazing service and good insurance coverage? investments?) :sundog:

 

I just want to say Fack it and get my own laptop, configure it to Farmers, and then off I go.

 

Oh, and one other thing, the damn pc will bog down after about 1:30 pm. Sticks, hangs, etc. And, my IE (I have to use it!) will expire on webpages that I'm STILL freaking dadgummit working on!!!!

 

 

 

Any words of Great Rush Forum wisdom for me here?

[Alsgalpal]

Within an hour of working today, my PC froze.

 

Just before that, I got a pop up that said that Chrome was using almost all of the RAM. Grrr... PC is about to figure out that it CAN'T fly...

[Mike2112]

Hello old friend!!

 

Try CCleaner from Piriform:

 

http://www.piriform....wnload/standard

 

 

It is free and a must-have. Once you install it, run the cleaner (top button), then run the very important registry cleaner (2nd button from top). The registry cleaner will do wonders on an old computer like that, getting rid of all the old crap in the registry that is slowing things down...

 

Edit to add: Justy realized you only have 512MB RAM, that sucks... Still do the above and see if it helps, but I imagine an additional $20 memory stick to make it a GB of RAM will do wonders as well...

Edited July 23, 2013 by Mike2112

[Khan]

I'd probably just buy my own laptop with the stipulation that he understands it belongs to you, not the company.

Not worth the hassle for what laptops cost these days.

[calirush]

The only other thing I can think of that's polite is to find a software box showing a higher system requirement than you currently have. Good luck, and oh get rid of AVG it will slow the computer way down. Try Avast, lighter on resources.

[Alsgalpal]

Hey! Thanks all who resonded.

 

 

I was going through the computer to make sure I got rid of anything that was slowing it down... I found about 600 plus pictures that my coworker had on the PC when she was using it. I deleted them all per my boss' instructions as it was being used as her personal computer when she was at work...

 

I now have just over half of my hard drive used up now, instead of 25 gigs used out of 30!!! PC is running way better now. I was kind of pissed actually, when I told her that her pictures were here, she said "Oh yeah. I knew that. Just leave them and I will bring a stick tomorrow to get them." Um. No. I need my PC NOW. So, boss had me delete them. I got rid of AVG since it uses up way too much room.

 

Mike, I tried one of those registries a while back and it froze the PC beyond what Task Manager could take care of! Whattya do when your CTRL+ALT+DEL freezes? :LMAO: How are things with ya? How's the Fam?

[USB Connector]

Chrome is a memory hog. Every time you open up a new tab Chrome reallocates enough memory for ALL assets. So having two tabs open uses up twice the memory that 1 tab opens even though they're using the same assets (buttons, add ons, etc). I'm running a laptop with an i3 processor and 4gb of RAM and the bloody thing still causes it to have a 2 minute stroke/freeze every so often. I can vouch for avast and ccleaner as well.

 

Best advice I can give you is stick to IE. It's the lightest of the major browsers.

[calirush]

Chrome is a memory hog. Every time you open up a new tab Chrome reallocates enough memory for ALL assets. So having two tabs open uses up twice the memory that 1 tab opens even though they're using the same assets (buttons, add ons, etc). I'm running a laptop with an i3 processor and 4gb of RAM and the bloody thing still causes it to have a 2 minute stroke/freeze every so often. I can vouch for avast and ccleaner as well.

 

Best advice I can give you is stick to IE. It's the lightest of the major browsers.

 

I quit using IE years ago. I refuse to use it on any computer I own. Every once and awhile I'll try a new version but am quickly disgusted. I have Chrome and Firefox both active on my desktop right now with several tabs each going, no problem. Most of the time that there is a hangup it usually involves flash player or other similar types of plug in's.

 

I am also running a I3 laptop. I have 6 gigs of memory.

[USB Connector]

Chrome is a memory hog. Every time you open up a new tab Chrome reallocates enough memory for ALL assets. So having two tabs open uses up twice the memory that 1 tab opens even though they're using the same assets (buttons, add ons, etc). I'm running a laptop with an i3 processor and 4gb of RAM and the bloody thing still causes it to have a 2 minute stroke/freeze every so often. I can vouch for avast and ccleaner as well.

 

Best advice I can give you is stick to IE. It's the lightest of the major browsers.

 

I quit using IE years ago. I refuse to use it on any computer I own. Every once and awhile I'll try a new version but am quickly disgusted. I have Chrome and Firefox both active on my desktop right now with several tabs each going, no problem. Most of the time that there is a hangup it usually involves flash player or other similar types of plug in's.

 

I am also running a I3 laptop. I have 6 gigs of memory.

 

There really isn't anything wrong with IE for casual web browsing. It's lightweight and works well enough.

[Digital Man]

Hello old friend!!

 

Try CCleaner from Piriform:

 

http://www.piriform....wnload/standard

 

 

It is free and a must-have. Once you install it, run the cleaner (top button), then run the very important registry cleaner (2nd button from top). The registry cleaner will do wonders on an old computer like that, getting rid of all the old crap in the registry that is slowing things down...

 

Edit to add: Justy realized you only have 512MB RAM, that sucks... Still do the above and see if it helps, but I imagine an additional $20 memory stick to make it a GB of RAM will do wonders as well...

 

This is a great registry cleaner.

 

I would uninstall (if they are installed):

 

adaware

spybot

 

 

Then remove anything from your startup folder that isn't essential. (Start button | Programs (all programs) Typically this folder can be empty, most things in there are for convenience not necessity.

 

Download and install Malwarebytes (make sure you only get the free version)

 

Run CCleaner

Run Malwarebytes

 

If they won't run boot into safemode and run them there.

 

It should run better after that.

 

Mike is right, RAM is going to help tremendously if you can get him to buy some,

[OneLittleVictory]

:fuckinputer: try that

[Spindrift82]

IE may be good for browsing, but it lets in so many viruses. Even with the latest version, Microsoft is vulnerable. I wouldn't trust anything that isn't Firefox or Chrome.

 

Even Safari is more trustworthy against viruses than IE.

[calirush]

IE may be good for browsing, but it lets in so many viruses. Even with the latest version, Microsoft is vulnerable. I wouldn't trust anything that isn't Firefox or Chrome.

 

Even Safari is more trustworthy against viruses than IE.

 

Some might find the comparison chart interesting.

 

http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/

[Spindrift82]

There is no denying that Microsoft have stepped up their game. IE 11 is much, much better than the previous versions from even a few years ago.

 

Safari hasn't evolved, but its usability is easy, and that's why it's appealing. On a non-Apple product, though, it's unfeasible because it will let in viruses. Plus, the latest Safari browser for Windows isn't the latest browser for Mac.

[Alsgalpal]

Hello old friend!!

 

Try CCleaner from Piriform:

 

http://www.piriform....wnload/standard

 

 

It is free and a must-have. Once you install it, run the cleaner (top button), then run the very important registry cleaner (2nd button from top). The registry cleaner will do wonders on an old computer like that, getting rid of all the old crap in the registry that is slowing things down...

 

Edit to add: Justy realized you only have 512MB RAM, that sucks... Still do the above and see if it helps, but I imagine an additional $20 memory stick to make it a GB of RAM will do wonders as well...

 

This is a great registry cleaner.

 

I would uninstall (if they are installed):

 

adaware

spybot

 

 

Then remove anything from your startup folder that isn't essential. (Start button | Programs (all programs) Typically this folder can be empty, most things in there are for convenience not necessity.

 

Download and install Malwarebytes (make sure you only get the free version)

 

Run CCleaner

Run Malwarebytes

 

If they won't run boot into safemode and run them there.

 

It should run better after that.

 

Mike is right, RAM is going to help tremendously if you can get him to buy some,

 

So, just plugging the stick into the USB port will help? That's it? Just that???

:fuckinputer: try that

 

Oh, I've been wanting to turn this damn thing into a fledgling and shove it out our second story window!!!!

 

There is no denying that Microsoft have stepped up their game. IE 11 is much, much better than the previous versions from even a few years ago.

 

Safari hasn't evolved, but its usability is easy, and that's why it's appealing. On a non-Apple product, though, it's unfeasible because it will let in viruses. Plus, the latest Safari browser for Windows isn't the latest browser for Mac.

 

Our dashboard for work only works on IE 8 with ZERO updates on IE. I tried to run it on Chrome and it's just not compatible with anything other than IE8.

 

My agent came in and was with me when I was doing a presentation to one of our HUGE portfolio accounts, and my IE kept freezing after pulling up a new page, so I had to close it every time to get ANOTHER page. :eyeroll:

 

He now sees that I need a new machine. I think I will be getting one soon. :fuckinputer:

 

I'm sure I will have a whole new set of issues with IE will arise, but I guess I have to pick my battles.

 

OH, and I forgot to add that it's WAY WORSE in the afternoons.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Alsgalpal

[Tarkus406]

You're in a very similar boat that I was recently in! Our design department at work (which includes me) was stuck using PCs built in 2003. Our wonderful arsenal of software included Pro/ENGINEER (3D CAD modeling software, graphically intense), Office 2003 (2010 had been out for 3 years), all on Windows XP! Granted, XP was a fantastic operating system, it was still outdated (and I don't mean by Vista!) And of course we all had top-notch specs. 32-bit pentium processors, 1GB RAM (real low for CAD), Shitty stock graphics cards...

 

I would spend collectively 1-2 hours each day sitting and waiting for commands to execute in Pro/E. And occasionally the system would hang up completely and Pro/E would crash, forever obliterating any work I had recently done. This was the norm. It totally sucked. I asked the IT dudes "WTF why won't you get us new computers?" and they're like "What do you mean?! We bought your's when you got hired!"

Yup...they did...$120 on ebay. Hosers.

 

I was really really close to buying my own computer. Seriously, I was going to drop $1000 on my own to get a new computer that I would own and maintain. In other words, f**k those guys.

 

The only thing that saved me there was that at that time, upper management wanted us to switch from Pro/E to SolidWorks. :) SolidWorks is a resource hog. :) SolidWorks 2013 won't install on Windows XP. :)

 

Awesomeness ensued! Shiny new Dell workstations for all! Windows 7, 16GB of RAM, Xeon processors, NVIDIA Quadro 4000 graphics cards, and 27" flatscreens! And now, we're basically in computing heaven. Have been for almost a year now. Productivity has shown an increase already!

 

 

Anyway, now that my heartwarming little story is over, some words for you!

 

 

Stop trying to make that shitbox they have work. The better it runs, the more that old fart's going to want to keep it! (I know, I'm making the assumption he's like 80. :P ) I'm not saying restore all the music or anything, but if AVG bogs it down, run it.

Make it so that doing any kind of work is absolutely impossible, and demonstrate to the guy! I know he expects you to work with what you have, but the man needs to be realistic. You just can't expect something that ancient (I'm picturing Windows 2000 here) to have close to the output capacity that a new workstation could have. So anytime he asks you "what are you doing" or "hows it going" or "whats taking so long", show him that hourglass cursor turning like mad! :fuckinputer:

 

If you can in any way convince the guy to invest in a new PC, get the latest stuff! Buy a computer when Windows 8.1 comes out. W8 is a little different, but great once you get used to it. It performs very well and is actually somewhat faster than Windows 7!

I'd also say it's worth it to perform an "all around" upgrade and get Microsoft Office 2013 (assuming you use Office much). It works fine with legacy documents.

As for your company's software and the "IE8 or bust" deal...that surprises me. I'd check and see if your boss had been keeping up with software upgrades provided by the company (Farmer's, you say?). I find it kind of hard to believe an insurance company like that would require a crusty old browser like that to operate. Especially now that Internet Explorer has improved so much over the last couple of versions (even more so with 11, I hear!). Definitely check on that! If your boss is how I'm interpreting him to be, he's got that "If it works, leave it alone" mentality. My company was using ANCIENT ERP software until this year just because it "worked". They went from version 1.0.0.0 to 7.0! WTF!

 

Some Specs to consider!

• Memory: 6-8GB of RAM should MORE than suffice, with what you do. You could probably get by with 4, but I don't know how intense your dashboard software really is.
  
• HDD: Most standard PC's come with 750GB-1TB of hard disk space now, so that should never be a problem.
  
• Anti-virus: In a business setting, I would recommend actually paying for a service. The free ones are nice (I'm using Windows 8's built in "Defender" myself!), but I don't know if I'd trust them with clients' personal information and things of the such. The choice, of course, is your boss's (hopefully open to your suggestions!), but I might lean toward Trend or Kaspersky.
  
• You shouldn't need much more than stock in terms of graphics, so no worries there.
  
• An Intel i3 processor would be perfect, most likely.
  

You should be able to get a PC with this stuff from Dell or HP (even Acer has nice products) for less than $800. And that's assuming you get a decent sized widescreen monitor for your extra buttons ;)

And of course if you end up with anything nice, get CCleaner installed right away and run it each week. It's the shite. :)

 

I wish you all the best in convincing your tightwad employer to upgrade your work equipment! He just needs to realize that. It's WORK EQUIPMENT, not a toy for fun and merriment.

:cheers:

 

 

TL,DR - New computers > Old shitty computers

Edited August 14, 2013 by Tarkus406

[The Analog Grownup]

When a work computer freezes, go get the supervisor and tell him/her "this is hindering my work". They should understanding that cashing out on a new computer is actually saving money.

[Alsgalpal]

You're in a very similar boat that I was recently in! Our design department at work (which includes me) was stuck using PCs built in 2003. Our wonderful arsenal of software included Pro/ENGINEER (3D CAD modeling software, graphically intense), Office 2003 (2010 had been out for 3 years), all on Windows XP! Granted, XP was a fantastic operating system, it was still outdated (and I don't mean by Vista!) And of course we all had top-notch specs. 32-bit pentium processors, 1GB RAM (real low for CAD), Shitty stock graphics cards...

 

I would spend collectively 1-2 hours each day sitting and waiting for commands to execute in Pro/E. And occasionally the system would hang up completely and Pro/E would crash, forever obliterating any work I had recently done. This was the norm. It totally sucked. I asked the IT dudes "WTF why won't you get us new computers?" and they're like "What do you mean?! We bought your's when you got hired!"

Yup...they did...$120 on ebay. Hosers.

 

I was really really close to buying my own computer. Seriously, I was going to drop $1000 on my own to get a new computer that I would own and maintain. In other words, f**k those guys.

 

The only thing that saved me there was that at that time, upper management wanted us to switch from Pro/E to SolidWorks. :) SolidWorks is a resource hog. :) SolidWorks 2013 won't install on Windows XP. :)

 

Awesomeness ensued! Shiny new Dell workstations for all! Windows 7, 16GB of RAM, Xeon processors, NVIDIA Quadro 4000 graphics cards, and 27" flatscreens! And now, we're basically in computing heaven. Have been for almost a year now. Productivity has shown an increase already!

 

 

Anyway, now that my heartwarming little story is over, some words for you!

 

 

Stop trying to make that shitbox they have work. The better it runs, the more that old fart's going to want to keep it! (I know, I'm making the assumption he's like 80. :P ) I'm not saying restore all the music or anything, but if AVG bogs it down, run it.

Make it so that doing any kind of work is absolutely impossible, and demonstrate to the guy! I know he expects you to work with what you have, but the man needs to be realistic. You just can't expect something that ancient (I'm picturing Windows 2000 here) to have close to the output capacity that a new workstation could have. So anytime he asks you "what are you doing" or "hows it going" or "whats taking so long", show him that hourglass cursor turning like mad! :fuckinputer:

 

If you can in any way convince the guy to invest in a new PC, get the latest stuff! Buy a computer when Windows 8.1 comes out. W8 is a little different, but great once you get used to it. It performs very well and is actually somewhat faster than Windows 7!

I'd also say it's worth it to perform an "all around" upgrade and get Microsoft Office 2013 (assuming you use Office much). It works fine with legacy documents.

As for your company's software and the "IE8 or bust" deal...that surprises me. I'd check and see if your boss had been keeping up with software upgrades provided by the company (Farmer's, you say?). I find it kind of hard to believe an insurance company like that would require a crusty old browser like that to operate. Especially now that Internet Explorer has improved so much over the last couple of versions (even more so with 11, I hear!). Definitely check on that! If your boss is how I'm interpreting him to be, he's got that "If it works, leave it alone" mentality. My company was using ANCIENT ERP software until this year just because it "worked". They went from version 1.0.0.0 to 7.0! WTF!

 

Some Specs to consider!

• Memory: 6-8GB of RAM should MORE than suffice, with what you do. You could probably get by with 4, but I don't know how intense your dashboard software really is.
  
• HDD: Most standard PC's come with 750GB-1TB of hard disk space now, so that should never be a problem.
  
• Anti-virus: In a business setting, I would recommend actually paying for a service. The free ones are nice (I'm using Windows 8's built in "Defender" myself!), but I don't know if I'd trust them with clients' personal information and things of the such. The choice, of course, is your boss's (hopefully open to your suggestions!), but I might lean toward Trend or Kaspersky.
  
• You shouldn't need much more than stock in terms of graphics, so no worries there.
  
• An Intel i3 processor would be perfect, most likely.
  

You should be able to get a PC with this stuff from Dell or HP (even Acer has nice products) for less than $800. And that's assuming you get a decent sized widescreen monitor for your extra buttons ;)

And of course if you end up with anything nice, get CCleaner installed right away and run it each week. It's the shite. :)

 

I wish you all the best in convincing your tightwad employer to upgrade your work equipment! He just needs to realize that. It's WORK EQUIPMENT, not a toy for fun and merriment.

:cheers:

 

 

TL,DR - New computers > Old shitty computers

 

 

You, my sir, are a genius and LONG TIME NO FREAKING SEE!!!! How's life going for you? Congratulations on your nuptials. I can't think of a sweeter girl.

 

Oh, I miss working with SolidWorks. That was so much fun.

[Tarkus406]

You're in a very similar boat that I was recently in! Our design department at work (which includes me) was stuck using PCs built in 2003. Our wonderful arsenal of software included Pro/ENGINEER (3D CAD modeling software, graphically intense), Office 2003 (2010 had been out for 3 years), all on Windows XP! Granted, XP was a fantastic operating system, it was still outdated (and I don't mean by Vista!) And of course we all had top-notch specs. 32-bit pentium processors, 1GB RAM (real low for CAD), Shitty stock graphics cards...

 

I would spend collectively 1-2 hours each day sitting and waiting for commands to execute in Pro/E. And occasionally the system would hang up completely and Pro/E would crash, forever obliterating any work I had recently done. This was the norm. It totally sucked. I asked the IT dudes "WTF why won't you get us new computers?" and they're like "What do you mean?! We bought your's when you got hired!"

Yup...they did...$120 on ebay. Hosers.

 

I was really really close to buying my own computer. Seriously, I was going to drop $1000 on my own to get a new computer that I would own and maintain. In other words, f**k those guys.

 

The only thing that saved me there was that at that time, upper management wanted us to switch from Pro/E to SolidWorks. :) SolidWorks is a resource hog. :) SolidWorks 2013 won't install on Windows XP. :)

 

Awesomeness ensued! Shiny new Dell workstations for all! Windows 7, 16GB of RAM, Xeon processors, NVIDIA Quadro 4000 graphics cards, and 27" flatscreens! And now, we're basically in computing heaven. Have been for almost a year now. Productivity has shown an increase already!

 

 

Anyway, now that my heartwarming little story is over, some words for you!

 

 

Stop trying to make that shitbox they have work. The better it runs, the more that old fart's going to want to keep it! (I know, I'm making the assumption he's like 80. :P ) I'm not saying restore all the music or anything, but if AVG bogs it down, run it.

Make it so that doing any kind of work is absolutely impossible, and demonstrate to the guy! I know he expects you to work with what you have, but the man needs to be realistic. You just can't expect something that ancient (I'm picturing Windows 2000 here) to have close to the output capacity that a new workstation could have. So anytime he asks you "what are you doing" or "hows it going" or "whats taking so long", show him that hourglass cursor turning like mad! :fuckinputer:

 

If you can in any way convince the guy to invest in a new PC, get the latest stuff! Buy a computer when Windows 8.1 comes out. W8 is a little different, but great once you get used to it. It performs very well and is actually somewhat faster than Windows 7!

I'd also say it's worth it to perform an "all around" upgrade and get Microsoft Office 2013 (assuming you use Office much). It works fine with legacy documents.

As for your company's software and the "IE8 or bust" deal...that surprises me. I'd check and see if your boss had been keeping up with software upgrades provided by the company (Farmer's, you say?). I find it kind of hard to believe an insurance company like that would require a crusty old browser like that to operate. Especially now that Internet Explorer has improved so much over the last couple of versions (even more so with 11, I hear!). Definitely check on that! If your boss is how I'm interpreting him to be, he's got that "If it works, leave it alone" mentality. My company was using ANCIENT ERP software until this year just because it "worked". They went from version 1.0.0.0 to 7.0! WTF!

 

Some Specs to consider!

• Memory: 6-8GB of RAM should MORE than suffice, with what you do. You could probably get by with 4, but I don't know how intense your dashboard software really is.
  
• HDD: Most standard PC's come with 750GB-1TB of hard disk space now, so that should never be a problem.
  
• Anti-virus: In a business setting, I would recommend actually paying for a service. The free ones are nice (I'm using Windows 8's built in "Defender" myself!), but I don't know if I'd trust them with clients' personal information and things of the such. The choice, of course, is your boss's (hopefully open to your suggestions!), but I might lean toward Trend or Kaspersky.
  
• You shouldn't need much more than stock in terms of graphics, so no worries there.
  
• An Intel i3 processor would be perfect, most likely.
  

You should be able to get a PC with this stuff from Dell or HP (even Acer has nice products) for less than $800. And that's assuming you get a decent sized widescreen monitor for your extra buttons ;)

And of course if you end up with anything nice, get CCleaner installed right away and run it each week. It's the shite. :)

 

I wish you all the best in convincing your tightwad employer to upgrade your work equipment! He just needs to realize that. It's WORK EQUIPMENT, not a toy for fun and merriment.

:cheers:

 

 

TL,DR - New computers > Old shitty computers

 

 

You, my sir, are a genius and LONG TIME NO FREAKING SEE!!!! How's life going for you? Congratulations on your nuptials. I can't think of a sweeter girl.

 

Oh, I miss working with SolidWorks. That was so much fun.

 

Thank you! We are doing quite well. Just trucking along. I'm still working my way to two associate degrees. SolidWorks IS fun. I love it! Using that after bothering with Pro/E for a year was such a drastic relief. I absolutely HATE Pro/E to death now and will never take another job where I'd have to use it. I'm going to try to become a Certified SolidWorks Professional to help avoid that

[Spindrift82]

I have a Gateway Desktop that is 5 years old and still going strong. Yet my Dell laptop canned it after 2 and a half years.

 

I'd argue that Macs are more stable, but they're less feasible for people who are running Windows programs.