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Thread ID: 92690 2008-08-18 22:45:00 External hard drive recommendations please Beemer (6956) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
698484 2008-08-18 22:45:00 After buying a laptop recently I've noticed how fast it runs compared with my desktop PC. That's probably because the PC is loaded with heaps of digital photos so I'm thinking an external hard drive would be a good idea to free up some space. The photos range in size from 1MB up to about 10MB each, and there are hundreds of them. I do burn some off onto CD, but would like them somewhere I can access them quickly if I need to rather than hunting through dozens of CDs.

What size do you suggest and any particular brands I should be looking at? I am running a Compaq Presario with Vista Home Premium if that makes any difference.
Beemer (6956)
698485 2008-08-18 22:48:00 how fast it runs compared with my desktop PC. That's probably because the PC is loaded with heaps of digital photos

nope.

Whats the specs of the two systems and what have you got runnin at startup etc
drcspy (146)
698486 2008-08-18 22:59:00 nope .

Whats the specs of the two systems and what have you got runnin at startup etc

x2, you probably need more RAM .

The data on the HDD will only affect performance noticeably if it's very nearly full (5%-10%) .
wratterus (105)
698487 2008-08-18 23:06:00 The PC is a Compaq Presario SR5065AN with an AMD Athlon 64 x 2 dual core processor 4200+, 1024MB DDR2, 320GB 3G Sata hard drive.

The laptop is a Compaq Presario A900 - sorry for not knowing all the specs but it's got a dual core processor too, and from memory about 160GB hard drive.

Both systems are running Vista Home Premium but you're talking to a novice here, so when you say "what is running on start up?", I'm not sure what you mean - sorry to be a moron! How do I find out what runs on start up?

The PC shows that there is 216GB free if 292GB on the hard drive, and on the recovery drive is says there is 905MB free of 5.73GB. Not sure if that helps. Under system properties it says it has 1022MB RAM.
Beemer (6956)
698488 2008-08-18 23:16:00 That's heaps of space on the HD. RAM is your problem - 1GB (~1024MB) is NOT enough to run Vista well.

Get another 1GB for both your desktop and laptop.
jwil1 (65)
698489 2008-08-18 23:22:00 Yep, getting an external HDD is not gonna change anything.

You should add 2 GB to the desktop, it's cheap. I never recommend anyone to get Vista with less than 2GB of RAM. If you want it to run well.

Post a HijackThis (www.trendsecure.com) log, we can help you with what to do. :)
wratterus (105)
698490 2008-08-18 23:44:00 Thanks everyone - the laptop runs really well with what it's got, it's just the PC and I imagined it was the stuff I had on it that was making it slow as it wasn't that bad in the start - but I also have Photoshop and InDesign on it, so I suppose all those things slow it down a bit too.

Is an external hard drive still a good idea to have all my photos on though, for safety? If so, I'd still like some recommendations.

With buying RAM, can I install it myself (remembering I am a real novice when it comes to computer stuff!) or would I have to get someone to do that for me? I know a guy who does all my computer repairs so he could do it no problem, and I am sure he'd give me a good price as he's been good on that side of things in the past when I needed replacement parts, upgrades, etc.
Beemer (6956)
698491 2008-08-18 23:47:00 Post a HijackThis (www.trendsecure.com) log, we can help you with what to do. :)

I've run the scan - what would you like me to do now? There is a whole screen of data, so do I copy and paste that here?
Beemer (6956)
698492 2008-08-18 23:48:00 I've run the scan - what would you like me to do now? There is a whole screen of data, so do I copy and paste that here?

Yup.

I'd still get another GB of ram for the laptop though if you can afford it.
jwil1 (65)
698493 2008-08-18 23:49:00 Here goes then! I haven't done anything other than run the scan, I haven't fixed anything (not that I would know how...)

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 11:10:49 a.m., on 19/08/2008
Platform: Windows Vista (WinNT 6.00.1904)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6000.16711)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe
C:\hp\support\hpsysdrv.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\On-Screen OSD Indicator\OSD.exe
C:\WINDOWS\RtHDVCpl.exe
C:\Program Files\Google\Google Desktop Search\GoogleDesktop.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\hpwuSchd2.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe
C:\WINDOWS\ehome\ehtray.exe
C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
C:\Program Files\Google\Google Updater\GoogleUpdater.exe
C:\Windows\ehome\ehmsas.exe
C:\Program Files\Google\Google Desktop Search\GoogleDesktop.exe
C:\hp\kbd\kbd.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\OUTLOOK.EXE
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE
C:\Windows\system32\SearchProtocolHost.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
C:\Windows\system32\SearchFilterHost.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = go.microsoft.com
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.stuff.co.nz/
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = ie.redirect.hp.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = go.microsoft.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = go.microsoft.com
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = ie.redirect.hp.com
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Int ernet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Spybot-S&D IE Protection - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\2.1.615.5858\sw g.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Defender] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [hpsysdrv] c:\hp\support\hpsysdrv.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KBD] C:\HP\KBD\KbdStub.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [OsdMaestro] "C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\On-Screen OSD Indicator\OSD.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RtHDVCpl] RtHDVCpl.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Google Desktop Search] "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Desktop Search\GoogleDesktop.exe" /startup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 8.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvSvc] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\nvsvc.dll,nvsvcStart
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ avast! ] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ehTray.exe] C:\Windows\ehome\ehTray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpybotSD TeaTimer] C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - Startup: Adobe Gamma.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Google Updater.lnk = C:\Program Files\Google\Google Updater\GoogleUpdater.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: Add to Google Photos Screensa&ver - res://C:\Windows\system32\GPhotos.scr/200
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.1_04\bin\npjpi141_04.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.1_04\bin\npjpi141_04.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Spybot - Search & Destroy Configuration - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\PROGRA~1\Google\GOOGLE~3\GOEC62~1.DLL
O23 - Service: Adobe LM Service - Adobe Systems - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe Systems Shared\Service\Adobelmsvc.exe
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Antivirus - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Mail Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Web Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe
O23 - Service: ##Id_String1.6844F930_1628_4223_B5CC_5BB94B879762# # (Bonjour Service) - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Lic NetConnect service (CLTNetCnService) - Unknown owner - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSvcHst.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: FLEXnet Licensing Service - Macrovision Europe Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\FNPLicensingService.exe
O23 - Service: GoogleDesktopManager - Google - C:\Program Files\Google\Google Desktop Search\GoogleDesktop.exe
O23 - Service: Google Updater Service (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - c:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: LightScribeService Direct Disc Labeling Service (LightScribeService) - Hewlett-Packard Company - c:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LSSrvc.exe
O23 - Service: RoxMediaDB9 - Sonic Solutions - c:\Program Files\Common Files\Roxio Shared\9.0\SharedCOM\RoxMediaDB9.exe
O23 - Service: SBSD Security Center Service (SBSDWSCService) - Safer Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SDWinSec.exe
O23 - Service: stllssvr - MicroVision Development, Inc. - c:\Program Files\Common Files\SureThing Shared\stllssvr.exe

--
End of file - 7878 bytes
Beemer (6956)
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