Windows XP SP1 and earlier

Having upgraded two PCs yesterday from Windows XP Service Pack 1, I wonder how many old, unprotected systems are there out there? Users, in this case a teenager and a senior citizen, are oblivious to any notion that you have to protect and maintain these computers and if you don't, eventually they stop working.

Now that Windows XP SP1 has been added to the unsupported list of Microsoft products, there should be someway of telling these people that a free upgrade is available and reasonably simple to apply. Then when it is installed the usual warnings that 'No antivirus' or 'Out of date antivirus' should at least warn them that something is wrong.

With all the publicity that is about Internet security, fraud and ID theft that appears, you would think some bells would start ringing somewhere. Indeed this week as been all about the Internet Explorer vulnerability and few of my customers contacted me about this. Yet for many people there is obviously no concern at all and they continue to think that they are invulnerable to any of these issues They are protected by the trial version of the antivirus software that came with their PC purchased six years ago and never bothered to pay from any further subscriptions or look for free alternatives such as AVG.

I try to tell them about the risks, even overplaying them to scare them into action, but I think that my words are falling on deaf ears as they claim not to be 'computer literate'! Anyway all the more work for me I suppose.

Snake oil software

Looking for the ultimate resurrection software for your failing PC? A lot of the utility packages offered in the market are pure snake oil software. But for years I've been using Norton Utilities (now Systemworks) and especially Norton WinDoctor to analyse and repair PC problems. For Windows XP and earlier, it does a good job in analysing and repairing the registry, finding invalid shortcuts, missing program files and libraries, etc. And big advantages that you can run it directly from the CD, it is quick and effective and it impresses the customers.

Now that Windows Vista systems are getting older, I've been on the lookout for something similar. I could upgrade Norton Systemworks but I'd like to see a positive review of it for Windows Vista and I don't want to pay full price (£38 inc. P&P) for it as there is no upgrade version. Recently I've been trying Iolo's System Mechanic 8 trial version and it appears at least to do a good enough job in cleaning up the clutter in a system without destroying it. The Advanced automatic mode works better and defragments the hard disks and registry as well, but I've yet to try the individual tools. I'm happy with the results but do not like the annual subscription method of renting the software. At present I'll continue using the trial period on customers computers and then uninstalling the software.

I remove a lot of this sort of software from people's computers who have download and ran these programs in a desperate attempt to recover their systems back into working condition. Mostly these programs are scams which did not achieve their advertised capabilities, demand money to complete the process and usually make the situation much worse. The snake oil products of the IT industry.

DELL mini 9 netbook

I bought and installed my first netbook for a DELL mini 9 netbook for a customer recently and I was not impressed. It seems to me that these netbooks are a bit of a fashion item especially for the young and not an effective IT appliance at all.

This was the more expensive Windows XP model with 16Gb solidstate disk drive. It took an age to install Windows not it and I had to use an old external CD writer drive to install additional application software. The 9" screen is too small for me to see properly so you either have to bend over to look at it when it is on your desk or hold it one hand and peck at with the other instead of resting it on your lap. The processors (Intel Atom N270) seems quite slow and it becomes warm to the touch underneath after a while.

My other concern is they quickly get expensive. I see that you can get a similar hardware spec Acer Aspire One running Linux lite for just over £160 and this is probably worth the money. But if you want Windows, extra data storage and a 10" or 12" screen the prices quickly rise to well over £300. For this money you can begin to get a proper laptop with larger screen, hard and optical disk drives, etc.

I think that I'll pass on these for now.

Fighting the urge to build

I haven't built a PC for over a year now. I find myself browsing the component websites choosing just the right motherboard for the best 'bang for the buck' CPU, the cheapest, fastest hard disk drive, the latest graphics card, etc.

I usually browse the DELL website for the best value computers that I can offer to my customers. Since starting this business, I quickly realised that building PCs was an expensive waste of time. You have to:

1) spend time selecting and ordering the components
2) assemble then into the case, typically at least a couple of hour's work as usually something goes wrong.
3) pray that the thing starts
4) load the Windows operating system and basic software applications
5) try to convince the customers it is what he wanted
6) persuade the customer to buy a legal version of Windows as well
7) not offer a warranty, but feel morally obliged to fix if something goes wrong

I realised that I could offer ready-made DELL configurations that were easier to sell, the customer has a warranty and I made most of my money on the installation services. DELL has a good reputation for making good looking, great value computers that are well designed and built. I don't get to fix much old DELL hardware.

You get some satisfaction from opening the box of the latest whizz-bang PC from DELL, but it is not the same as building your own. It is a statement to your technical knowledge and skill of getting this selected bunch of assorted parts to leap into life as the fastest computer you have ever worked on.

Ahh well, I'm fighting the urge to waste money in choosing which motherboard would best suit this processor. Because by the time I add the case, PSU, hard and optical disk drives, memory, graphics card, software, etc., I could have bought a great DELL desktop, have better peace of mind and saved myself some time and money.