Vista So Slow

I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play
my first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia
drivers and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center
and do a Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the
overall feel of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of
windows. I also don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when
trying to add a program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while,
seems like Gates targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...

I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not
so sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670
with XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.

I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left
to return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will
upgrade me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...

Brad

"Brad" <veo@nospamalltel.net> wrote in message
news:e917e$46c09b51$471ddd33$28151@ALLTEL.NET...
>I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
>didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play my
>first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia drivers
>and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center and do a
>Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the overall feel
>of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of windows. I also
>don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when trying to add a
>program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while, seems like Gates
>targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>
> I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not so
> sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670 with
> XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>
> I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
> version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left to
> return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will upgrade
> me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>
> Brad

While it shouldn't be a problem with a system with the specs of yours, you
might look at Norton. I hate Norton and it is a huge resource hog. Also,
it certainly won't help if you have a bunch of applications running in the
background, using up system resources. Before your week is up, check
performance with Norton disabled and also look at what is running on start
up.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:56:33 -0400, Brad <veo@nospamalltel.net> wrote:

>I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
>didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play
>my first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia
>drivers and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center
>and do a Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the
>overall feel of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of
>windows. I also don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when
>trying to add a program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while,
>seems like Gates targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>
>I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not
>so sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670
>with XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>
>I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
>version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left
>to return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will
>upgrade me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>
>Brad

Vista is faster than XP on my computers. There are some things you
can do but I don't know if I can remember them.

Certainly turn off indexing, unless you see yourself using the
upgraded search feature in Vista.

Uninstall Google desktop. Consider uninstall Google Toolbar. Both
have processes running in the background.

Don't use Vista's sidebar. Gadgets can use up system resources.

As someone else said, ditch Norton. Go with free AVG, Zone Alarm, and
sypware of your choice.

Turn off Windows Defender.

If you don't like popups, turn that off in the Control Panel Users
applet.

Use CCleaner to clean things up, then NTRegOpt to "defragment" the
registry.

Defragment your hard drive upon receipt of system and after major
installs / uninstalls.

Go into the advanced Power settings -- you can turn off indexing there
as well, and there may be some other options.

Turn off indexing in MS Outlook. I forgot where that is -- it's
hidden very well.

Use msconfig or your favorite program to control what processes start
up. Create a "Startup Disabled" folder and move Startup shortcuts you
don't need to that.

After rebooting after using msconfig or another startup configuration
program, look at the processes you are running to determine if you can
shut some of them down. There are some like pesky mosquitoes -- AOL
probably being the worst I have experienced. I make sure that
Installshield updater is not run because they have been using that to
sell upgrades. I also seem to frequently need to manually stop

I get good speed without using Ready Boost, but you can try it out to
see if it helps. Ready Boost uses memory on a flash drive or even SD
card to speed up the system. You shouldn't need it but if it's on a
desktop system it doesn't hurt. Laptops with removeable card readers
can use Ready Boost on a SD card, but be prepared to lose your card in
case you accidentally eject it.

You can turn off Aero Glass. I don't know if that improves
performance. I turn it off because I find it annoying and like the
cleaner look with it off.

The specs you have should be enough to run Vista very well. Unless
you have _very_ demanding applications, you should not need more than
2G RAM.

If you come across any other ideas to improve performance please post
them here.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:56:33 -0400, Brad <veo@nospamalltel.net> wrote:

>I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core,
>Brad

A few more things:

- Look up a post by Tom Scales in which he did a Media Direct update
which he said improved performance in Outlook 2007.

- While looking at processes, click the CPU column twice so it sorts
by CPU time descending, and you will easily see what processes are
taking up CPU.

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:22:58 -0500, Journey <usenet@merr.com> wrote:

>A few more things:
>
>- Look up a post by Tom Scales in which he did a Media Direct update
>which he said improved performance in Outlook 2007.

Scratch that -- you said you have a quad core desktop. Above would
only apply for laptop users.

Kevin wrote:
> "Brad" <veo@nospamalltel.net> wrote in message
> news:e917e$46c09b51$471ddd33$28151@ALLTEL.NET...
>
>>I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
>>didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play my
>>first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia drivers
>>and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center and do a
>>Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the overall feel
>>of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of windows. I also
>>don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when trying to add a
>>program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while, seems like Gates
>>targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>>
>>I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not so
>>sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670 with
>>XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>>
>>I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
>>version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left to
>>return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will upgrade
>>me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>>
>>Brad
>
>
> While it shouldn't be a problem with a system with the specs of yours, you
> might look at Norton. I hate Norton and it is a huge resource hog. Also,
> it certainly won't help if you have a bunch of applications running in the
> background, using up system resources. Before your week is up, check
> performance with Norton disabled and also look at what is running on start
> up.
>
>
With the Quad core I was hoping to run two or three applications in the
background.

I had planned on uninstalling Norton, after the 30 day trial, I still
have one lic. to use from my Trend Micro PC-cillin, but I think i will
go ahead and uninstall it now.

Four things I'd mention

When Vista is first installed, the indexing service will take quite a while
hours/days before it's through indexing everything. Things should get better
when indexing is done.

So far from what's I've seen myself, Vista really perks up when you move
from 1gig to 2gig of ram. I'll bet it might improve a bit with 4gig, but I
wouldn't expect a huge increase.

I'd take a quick look at what the systems Vista Performance rating is. You
don't mention what video card or HD's you have, but you should be able to
see if one of the system subsystems is scoring much lower than the rest.

As far as moving to Vista-64, do it with caution because of the lack of
driver support and possibly application incompatibilities. Check before hand
to make sure any hardware (especially older hardware) is supported, and
check the popular applications you might run for compatibility/

BTW, those annoying pop-up boxes 'can' be turned off if you want.


"Brad" <veo@nospamalltel.net> wrote in message
news:e917e$46c09b51$471ddd33$28151@ALLTEL.NET...
>I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
>didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play my
>first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia drivers
>and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center and do a
>Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the overall feel
>of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of windows. I also
>don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when trying to add a
>program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while, seems like Gates
>targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>
> I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not so
> sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670 with
> XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>
> I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
> version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left to
> return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will upgrade
> me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>
> Brad

"Brad" <veo@nospamalltel.net> wrote in message
news:e917e$46c09b51$471ddd33$28151@ALLTEL.NET...
>I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
>didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play my
>first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia drivers
>and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center and do a
>Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the overall feel
>of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of windows. I also
>don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when trying to add a
>program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while, seems like Gates
>targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>
> I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not so
> sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670 with
> XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>
> I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
> version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left to
> return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will upgrade
> me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>
> Brad


Brad -

How many processes running while idling at desktop? Just curious.

If you can, check task manager and post back....

Thanks,

Stew

Brad wrote:
> I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
> didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play
> my first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia
> drivers and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center
> and do a Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the
> overall feel of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of
> windows. I also don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when
> trying to add a program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while,
> seems like Gates targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>
> I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not
> so sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670
> with XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>
> I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
> version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left
> to return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will
> upgrade me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>
> Brad

First thing I always do with a new machine is blow it out and do a clean
install of the O/S. I'd be very tempted to use and XP CD at the present
time.

Bob

Plus all the XP hardware drivers for the D9200 gathered from various sources,
not necessarily all Dell. Mustn't forget drivers. Ever... Ben Myers

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:15:44 GMT, Bob Levine <nospam@nospam.net> wrote:

>Brad wrote:
>> I can't believe how slow Vista Premium is on my new D9200 quad core, I
>> didn't really expect it to be this bad. It crashed after trying to play
>> my first DVD movie, says it was video card problem, I updated Nivdia
>> drivers and things seem ok now. But I can't play live tv in Media center
>> and do a Norton virus scan without causing video stutter. But even the
>> overall feel of Vista is slow, sort a like using an older version of
>> windows. I also don't like all the pop up warning boxes you get when
>> trying to add a program or hardware, It seems redundant after a while,
>> seems like Gates targeted Vista for kids in the 1st grade...
>>
>> I only have 2 gigs of memory and plan to upgrade to 4 gigs, but im not
>> so sure it will make it feel much faster once I do. My D8400 P4 HT 670
>> with XP MCE with 3gig memory feels so much faster.
>>
>> I only have the 32 bit version of Vista and was wandering if the 64 bit
>> version would be a big improvement in overall speed? I have a week left
>> to return the computer back to Dell, I might try and see if they will
>> upgrade me to the 64 bit versions or better yet to XP...
>>
>> Brad
>
>First thing I always do with a new machine is blow it out and do a clean
>install of the O/S. I'd be very tempted to use and XP CD at the present
>time.
>
>Bob