Shameless plug for SSD

[TMan]

"STD" - bad. "SSD" - good. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

I've had a few Hard Drive problems with this old notebook computer. Unfortunately, trying to move everything to the new Windows 7 laptop was a failure. This was in spite of paying more money for an upgrade to Windows 7 Professional to be able to run a virtual XP machine under Windows 7. Microsoft SUCKS!!!

So what to do? After some research I decided to Google my model number. I got a hit at www.crucial.com

Since I only had ~750M of RAM, I decided to upgrade to 2G of RAM and install a 128G Solid State Hard Drive (SSD). I bought the drive with the data transfer kit, which includes a CD with a software program and a USB adapter that connects to the SSD.

It worked like a charm. I went from a 40G harddrive to a 128G drive. Previously, there were several files that could not be defragmented. Since the program did a sector by sector clone, the same problem existed on the SSD. I then did a defragment on the SSD and got rid of all the fragments.

The results have been amazing. The CPU and motherboard are still slow, but anything having to do with disk reading and writing have been vastly improved.

The company guaranteed that everything would work with my old laptop, and they were absolutely right.

The other advantage is that the fan runs much slower because the SSD doesn't produce the heat the 5400 RPM HD did. I've heard people advise not to use the 7200 RPM HD's in a laptop because they produce too much heat.

[MLB]

I hadn't heard about solid state hard drives. I suppose it's entirely reasonable with the proliferation of usb hard drives. Are they all that different from a monster thumb drive?

[TMan]

Depends on what you mean by different. I have a thumb-drive (flash-drives) with one of the Linux operating systems on it. I can boot from it, but it is reading from a USB 1.0 hub on my laptop. Slow!!!

The new SSD's are SATA III, which means if your motherboard supports it, it will scream. My old laptop is SATA I, so it isn't nearly as fast, but the SSD still makes a heck of a difference.

There are thumb-drives out there now that support USB 3.0, but they are expensive. I haven't bought any yet, but both my 'old' desktop and my wife's new one have USB 3.0

In theory USB 3.0 has a speed of 5GB and SATA III of 6GB. So you bring up an interesting point: My wife's computer has 2 SSD's: a 256GB with Windows 7 and a 128GB with Ubuntu (Linux). It also has a 2TB 7200 SATA III drive for applications and data. I really don't need 128GB for Ubuntu. I could get a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive and keep Ubuntu on it. That would free up the 128GB SSD for applications or data. (Her new camera makes big RAW files).

All I would have to do is reconfigure the BIOS.

My wife has the fastest Lenova notebook that they make, but it is still slow bringing up Windows 7. I gave her the one I built her for Christmas after giving her the camera. She was amazed that it could boot Windows 7 in just a few seconds. I knew she was impressed because I later heard her telling one of her friends on the phone how amazed she was at the speed.

Incidentally, I'll never buy another desktop computer again. It is much easier buying the parts I want and setting it up the way I want it. Then if I want a new mother board, like one that supports USB 4.0 if it comes out, all I do is buy the board.

One other thing, if you are still reading, I've noticed quite an improvement when accessing sites on the web. At first I thought it was my imagination, but then I thought about it. A lot of web content is written out to the hard-drive. If the drive is slow, or badly fragmented, then it takes longer to display the page.

[MLB]

I'm still reading TMan... but I'm thinking that desktop parts are going to be going the way of the dinosaur. Laptops, tablets, and super cell phones. All disposable electronics (for better or for worse.)

I heard that Microsoft may be investing in Dell Computers, just to keep a market for their software.

[TMan]

Ever try editing a photo on a laptop or cell-phone? No, need a big screen (especially if you have old eyes).

Perhaps with a really fast laptop with Firewire, I could run my ham radio equipment, but so far I haven't seen anything fast enough in a laptop for me.

Just the video card in my wife's computer is really big.

The advances in technology are just amazing. My wife has a thing called a FitBit that she wears inside her clothing. www.fitbit.com/one

She usually goes to the gym here in the hotel before work she wears it then, and then under her clothes at work. It tracks calories burned, steps taken etc. Oh, if you wear it at night, it tell you about your sleep patterns.

In the evening, she syncs it via bluetooth to her laptop and the data is stored in the "cloud".

It is very light, but what I don't like about it is that it contains lithium-polymer batteries, which from what I've read and been cautioned (have them in my model RC helicopters), they can catch fire during charging. I have a special fireproof bag that I use when charging the heli batteries.

I left the Utica in 1975. Prior to that I had Utica to Syracuse, and Utica to Albany, and everything north of that as my territory. If you added up all the memory in all the computers in my territory, it wouldn't be as much as what is currently in my cell-phone.

Prices? The Mod 50 had a 64K BOM (Basic Operating Memory) go bad. I remember the branch manager asking me if I was positive because the FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) cost over $50K.

Dinosaur? yes, that would be me.

[MLB]

I was just waxing nostalgic yesterday with a co-worker about our early computers. Mine only goes as far back as the Timex Sinclair, though I spent most of my time with the Commodore Vic-20 and C-64.