[Xenon]

I am gonna soon move to college, and before i do that, i'd have to upgrade my PC : i am upgrading :

>> increase RAM from 384 (current) to (384 + 256) or (384 + 512)
i have 2 free slots.

>> add an additional HDD, ( current is 40 GB) i will add some 80 GB more, as my 40 GB is nearly full,

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besides this, my current Win HOME XP (original OS) is taking too much time to log in to an user which i find annoying, and i cant diagonise the problem, i have removed several crap programs at startup, still the PC is always accessing the HDD for more than 6 mins for no reason at startup, i look into the task manager, and i find that the SYSTEM IDLE PROCESS is taking cpu % 96, which seems to be ridiculous.

this is despite that i run defragmentation every week and scandisk every fortnight, and virus check every month, and run live update every time its necessary, so i dont think this is due to a worm or addware or spyware infection...........
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also plz notify how much RAM does ORacle 9.i takes to operate smoothly without messing up other programs.
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now seeing this, i think i may remove the entire OS, and start fresh from a reformatted HDD, and before that, back up all my programming work onto CD's.
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or plz suggest what u think is best.


thanking you
Xenon

[Amadeus]

Hmm...there a few things you can do, but since you're upgrading the hardware anyway, I'd think you may wish to go with your first thought, and reinstall the OS. Be reinstalling, you can be assured that IF there was any malware on the system, it will likely be wiped.

[Xenon]

ok thanks for ur opinion


btw, i ve already registered my OS with Microsoft (which is the first thing u have to do with XP home original, so that the OS gets "unlocked) , and its likely that it will ask for registration again when i re install it. and the OS wont work till i register it.

i tried looking for help in troubleshoot, but i didnt get the answer.

so is there any provision for this reinstallation without affecting functionality ?

[Amadeus]

If you own the copy, you can reinstall it is many times as you need to...the registration is on file. It will likely check against the database, then allow to to go forward.

[Xenon]

oook ! i didnt know that. ty !

[Xenon]

Btw what are the advantages that Linux gives ? ive seen that u prefer linux Amadeus, so u might be able to tell !!

and what config is optimum for linux ?should a newbie like me opt for linux and WinXp both at the same time (Multi -OS in fact)

i have 2.1 Ghz AMD processor, and 384 MB ram at the present.

[Amadeus]

Well, there are many people who will tell you that Linux is the only way to go, but I prefer the more balanced approach of saying that different operating systems all have their place...each has strengths that others may not have, and each user has different priorities.

For instance, if you are a diehard PC gamer, I would not recommend Linux at this time. Although the market will improve, right now support for games is lacking somewhat.

Linux distros have many advantages...they are free of the bloat of many windows offerings, provinding the user with a fast, functional, fully customizable operating system (providing you understand the source code). M$, is closed source, so you cannot modify the underlying workings of the system, and contains many things I do not find desirable in a system...constantly running backend processes with no discernable function, processes that serve as critical dependancies for other processes, despite having nothing to do with them, and a myriad of others (far too many to discuss in a short post). I find Linux to offer what I require, and offer it in such a way that I am able to fully tweak it so it's perfect for me...it is not perfect for everyone. There are many applications that do not run on Linux (although open source versions are usually available, as well as emulators such as WINE).

As an example of differing needs, I will relate my situation. My primary operating system at home is Linux. My wife, however, does not share my affinity for Linux at this time, so we also run an XP box. At work, the company mandates the installation of Windows on their computers, so that is what I use (although every day I insert a Live CD and work from that...shhhhhh).

All I can really suggest is to try some Linux...if you like it, keep it. If not, you can always revert to Windows. One of the easy ways to try it is to install a distro of Linux one the same computer as windows, and dual boot it. the easiest to install is probably Knoppix, but I also recommend Ubuntu (more info here. In fact, both are available as Live CDs, so you can try them without even installing!

If you'd like to try, take a look at the different distros (I'm a debian man myself), and ask any questions you have about configuration. Our own Nova Dragoon is a linux expert, and can likely provide some great guidance.

[unreal_origin]

if you want to dl some linux .iso here is a legit website

Linux ISO

though some of the new verioson you have to do to the linux distributors linux. Example Fedore Core 3 is avalibe on this website. but if you go to the actual Fedoe website Fedore Core 4, is avalible.

If you want a good linux that is a desend boot up then i would suggest SuSE, since it is pretty good and on one cd

[Amadeus]

unreal_origin, on Nov 3 2005, 04:23 PM, said:

if you want to dl some linux .iso here is a legit website

Are you insinuating the sites I provided are not legt?

[1lacca]

One more important thing: check your hardware if it is supported by the Linux distro / kernel you are going to install! Core components should not raise any problems, but if you have some special gadget or planning to buy new hardware its well worth to do some research in advance. About a year ago I spent some nights coding medley raid drivers as the support for my integrated raid controller was broken and I had the silly idea that I want a dual boot with windows from sata discs in raid 0. I know, I know, its plain stupid , but I was curious how fast it could get...

[unreal_origin]

Quote

Are you insinuating the sites I provided are not legt?

i am not saying that i am only saying that when people send me the site, i like to know if i am dealing with a legit or not site

*Edit* quotes.. i am disappoapointed in myself

This post has been edited by unreal_origin: 03 November 2005 - 07:04 PM

[Amadeus]

I was just kidding, man. I think providing explicit confirmation of a site's legitimacy is a good idea.

[Xenon]

well i tried it, i need to get on more with that, but till now i have found these ..
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> 3 min in total to log in from power on, and my Xp takes 7 mins to do that..
>supports all installed hardware in my PC, sound card, graphics card etc etc.
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i think ill go for dual boot.

but i havent installed anything in linux yet.
is it convinient to work in Borland C++ in linux? , im kinda absolutely new to linux and dont want to a do a foolish thing.
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XP problem
have a good look at the image..

my system is really really slow due to the SYSTEM IDLE PROCESS and plz tell why is it for ? and i cant kill it...
It uses 91% - 95% of CPU
IT also keeps my SYstem HDD busy for 14 long minutes and thus log on is really slow.
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This post has been edited by Xenon: 08 November 2005 - 03:48 AM

[Amadeus]

Borland has several products available...you might wish to check the homepage...much of the borland product list is not linux compatible, but I know they used to have at least a couple of c++ builders that would run on linux....don't know if they're around anymore.

Linux has many other tools for programming....you can use eclipse, even kdevelop if you wish to have an IDE, or go with a text editor and gcc for that old school flavour (my own favourite!).

As for the System Idle Process...this is a sentinel program, not an actual process. Resources indicated by the process are actually NOT being requested elsewhere...it runs at the lowest priority...it is not the reason for your computer slowdowns at all...it would be better to say that the idle process inidcates the percentage of your resources that are NOT being used by user implemented functions. It makes use of unused resources...any other process initiated on the computer will superceed the Idle process.

[Xenon]

Quote

As for the System Idle Process...this is a sentinel program, not an actual process. Resources indicated by the process are actually NOT being requested elsewhere...it runs at the lowest priority...it is not the reason for your computer slowdowns at all...it would be better to say that the idle process inidcates the percentage of your resources that are NOT being used by user implemented functions. It makes use of unused resources...any other process initiated on the computer will superceed the Idle process.

but if that;s NOt the case, then why does my PC stay busy (both HDD and CPU) ??? i have removed all heavy programs from startup in msconfig, except Norton Systemworks.

i am really not able to understand or pinpoint the source for my PC really slowing down..