Q: Lately I’ve had some real problems with my computer slowing to a crawl. CPU usage is hitting the ceiling at 10 percent. I want to either improve my old computer or buy a new one that will meet my needs.
I’m not crazy about changing to Windows 7 and having to buy Office again. I have Office 2003. I have looked at the Task Manager, but can’t find any culprit that is using up the CPU I don’t need.
My computer is an Intel Pentium, 2.00 GHz, 4 CPU, 1.99 GHz, 512 MB of RAM. The hard drive has 140 GB of space, of which 123 GB is free. Which of the above numbers is most necessary to increase for my computer to speed up?
— Rita Cline
A: First of all, I can tell you that you’ll get significantly better performance out of Windows 7. As for bottlenecks, the most critical shortage in your current system is RAM.
When Windows doesn’t have enough system memory for what you’re trying to do, it moves data to “virtual memory.” That means it writes the data to your hard drive. That’s very slow compared with RAM. So adding RAM should give your computer a real boost.
I am a little concerned, however, that you may have some malware running for your CPU to be maxing out. I’d make sure your anti-virus software is up to date and try scanning with an anti-malware program, such as Malwarebyte’s Anti-Malware. Download a free version at www.malwarebytes.org.
If you decide to upgrade to Windows 7, check the system requirements on the Microsoft website. Among other things, you’ll note Windows 7 requires a minimum 1 gigabyte of RAM.
Finally, while I think you’d like Office 2010 a lot more than Office 2003, you don’t need to upgrade your version of Office when you move to Windows 7.
Q: You wrote recently that you can count on burned CDs being reliable only for three to five years. Does this hold true for burned DVDs as well? And if so, how does one store indefinitely original digital photographs and scanned hard-copy photos and slides? Does one need to recopy these “treasures” every three or four years to the latest medium?
— Dan Keller
A: Yes, the life span of both burned CDs and DVDs is only a few years. The exception to that is archival CD/DVDs, which claim a life span of 100 years. (I’m a little skeptical about that figure, however.) Unfortunately, they are more costly, running about $5 per disc.
Whatever medium you use for long-term storage, someone likely will have to transfer the data to an updated format long before 100 years comes to pass. After all, when is the last time you saw a computer with a floppy drive?
In other words, we need to start thinking more of data-storage management rather than just storage media.
Q: Can cables be used to adapt my Atrix 2 to an Atrix 1 laptop dock? Motorola seems to have made a mistake when it designed the Atrix 1. The orientation of the jacks built into the Atrix 1 face in one direction and fit snugly into an Atrix 1 laptop dock.
However, Motorola reoriented the Atrix 2 jacks the other way, and I found to my dismay that my laptop dock will not fit my new Atrix 2 phone. When I called Motorola, it had nothing to suggest, and there is no adapter for this purpose.
Will using cables allow me to use my original laptop dock? Can you as a journalist get on Motorola’s case and get it to offer us a fix for this?
— Paul Zohav, Bellevue
A: I hear you. And while we’re at it, how come every model of laptop requires its own, unique AC power supply?
Can’t we have a little more standardization? Or is it part of a marketing strategy? I have asked but have never gotten an answer.
As for using cables to attach your Atrix 2 to the Atrix 1 dock, I haven’t tried it myself but have found at least one other user who said he succeeded in making it work..
Questions for Patrick Marshall may be sent by email to pmarshall@seattletimes.com or pgmarshall@pgmarshall.net, or by mail at QA/Technology, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/
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