Keep your computer responsive and secure

This is not actually a request for help, but more of a precaution to help avoid having to ask for help about issues related to the computer itself. For instance, did you know that a lot of the problems you may experience in this site and others, can be tracked down to your system having problems? It can be that you have too many programs running in the background consuming memory. It can be that you have too much garbage on your disks and its totally fragmented, making the computer slower. It may be that you have protection installed (anti-virus, firewall, spyware eradicator and so on) that takes almost all the resources from your computer and meddles in the scripting affairs of the website you're currently visiting. It may be a whole lot of things.

Here's a few tips to keep your windows machine fast and secure:

1) Use a good linux distro.
2) If you can't be bothered to install or configure linux - use a live-cd version (like Knoppix).
3) If you want more programs installed in your knoppix and can't be bothered to do it yourself - hire some linux freak to customize it to suite your needs.
4) If you think it's a hazzle carrying around a linux live-cd everywhere, consider getting a usb-stick with linux on it.
5) If you can't be bothered to learn how to install and configure linux on a USB-stick - hire some linux freak to do it for you.
6) If you still want to use windows (perhaps you have no choice - those capitalisitc pigs that rules the company you work for, eh?) here's a few tips to get it working properly:

6.1) Use linux.

There. Did that help anyone?

?
🙂-'~

Linux may be better overall than Windows but I think you'll find most people are set in their ways and do not wish to go to the trouble of relearning a new [to them] operating system.
Personally I use the Live Knoppix cd you mention, though not all the time.

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
do not wish to go to the trouble of relearning a new [to them] operating system.

You say you're using knoppix, so you should know that a GNU/Linux distro is not all that different from windows (user wise).

Although, I must admit, I still use windows alot in my work. I have to. Or I won't be able to test the programs that I write. Other than that, I slip my own custom made live-cd whenever I get the chance.

And since this thread is so meaningless it might even be removed by moderators for boring us all, I'd like to say something about live-cd:s. Wouldn't it be pleasant for the average computer user if (s)he could easily create his/her own live-cd with just the software needed from a graphical user interface? Then, we could create perfect systems (you can't crack a system that resides on a CD) that can be used from anywhere. No more problems. No more attacks. No more viruses. Aaaaah, that would be the day...

*looking with dreamy eyes into the horizon*

Oh, and personal settings and the like (bookmarks in your browser, local email and so on) could be saved on a writable disk (there are USB-sticks that doesn't cost alot these days).

Yes, that would be my dream system. A perfectly customized GNU/Linux distro on a CD and all my personal files and settings on an encrypted, password protected USB-stick.

*once again drifting away...*

yes.

if it aint broke.

dont fix it

Originally posted by celticcountry
yes.

if it aint broke.

dont fix it

Windows™ is broke. No one can fix it.

SuSE
Ubuntu
Linux From Scratch

Choices, choices...

Hey Stocken - I like the sound of this. Never heard of knoppix before, so here are a couple of possibly daft questions - I hope you can help me out here:
I've Googled and found knoppix.org. There it says you can boot a linux implementation from CD.

Q1] How do you get a WindowsXP system to boot from CD? Is there something to press as it boots that will let you do this?
Q2] Do you need to leave the CD in the drive after it has booted?
Q3] Does it take long to boot the knoppix system?
Q4] When I'm running knoppix, can I see my Windows files? Eg, would I be able to open a pdf file that I saved when running Windows?
Q5] How close are MS Office and Open Office? Are there many features that the latter doesn't support?

That's all I can think of at the minute!

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

Originally posted by Diapason
Q1] How do you get a WindowsXP system to boot from CD? Is there something to press as it boots that will let you do this?

Since windows XP is proprietary software I doubt you'll be able to get it to run from a CD without much trouble. If we could carry our windows with us between computers, the mighty MS would lose a lot of profit.

Originally posted by Diapason
Q2] Do you need to leave the CD in the drive after it has booted?

It depends. I have made a custom made live CD for myself that loads entirely into RAM (work) memory. I can do that because I have a lot of memory in the computers I usually work with.

If I remember correctly, you can't remove the CD while Knoppix is running. But you can put an image of Knoppix on the harddrive and boot from that image. Takes a little tinkering, though. Usually, people use Knoppix to find out if GNU/Linux is for them. Once they decide to move ahead, they learn how to make their own customized live-CD or install Knoppix to the disk next to Windows so that they can boot both those systems.

Originally posted by Diapason
Q3] Does it take long to boot the knoppix system?

Again, it depends. It depends on the hardware you have and what boot parameters you're using. If you start Knoppix without any boot parameters it will do some heavy hardware detecting to configure itself to run well on your machine. That can take quite some time depending on how much hardware you got, what kind of hardware you got and how fast your computer is (not talking about processor speed alone, but also bus speed and memory are very important factors that are often overlooked).

So, you see, I really couldn't tell how long it will take to startup for you because I don't know anything about your computer.

Originally posted by Diapason
Q4] When I'm running knoppix, can I see my Windows files? Eg, would I be able to open a pdf file that I saved when running Windows?

If you have windows running on your machine and all your files are on a disk formatted using the NTFS* file system then you may need to download and use a special program to be able to read that disk in the first place (can't tell if that program is now part of Knoppix or not).

However, if your files are saved on a FAT32 disk (very rare these days but you never know), then you can read them without problem.

Usually, the problem is not being able to read files on linux filesystems from windows and not the other way around. Eg, from windows you won't be able to access files on a linux disk, but from linux there are ways to access files on a windows disk.

Note. If you're using the encryption and password protection on your files in windows (which would also mean you have NTFS), then you've got problem accessing them from any other system.

Also, the filesystem in linux systems are very different from that of windows. This may confuse you at first but it's really very simple once you get to know it. In linux, there are no disks identified as C:, D: and E: and so on. Rather you have a root folder, identified with a single slash (/), and then beneath it are all the other folders of the system. One folder can be its own disk, CD or network accessible folder, but you see them all as being part of the same directory tree.

* To find out what filesystem is used on a disk from windows, you can right click the icon for the disk (like C:\ ) in Explorer and choose properties. There you can see what filesystem is used.

Originally posted by Diapason
Q5] How close are MS Office and Open Office? Are there many features that the latter doesn't support?

While there are many options for office-like software, Open Office is perhaps the most popular. I have Open Office installed on my live-CD as well as in windows. The latest version of Open Office (version 2+) is quite a remarkable piece of software. You can do most things in it that you can do in MS Office (including opening your MS Office saved files in it), but there are limitations. However, Open Office also has a lot to offer that MS Office currently lacks.

While there are differences, there are usually ways to get around them without too much hazzle. The two office suites are similar enough to be interchangable, in my opinion. But it all depends on how advanced a user you are.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1571626,00.asp
http://www.openoffice.org/

Originally posted by stocken
Since windows XP is proprietary software I doubt you'll be able to get it to run from a CD without much trouble. If we could carry our windows with us between computers, the mighty MS would lose a lot of profit.

Sorry - didn't make myself clear!
My PC usually runs WinXP. I want to tell it to boot Knoppix from a CD. How do I get it to do that?

Thanks for all your replies - I'm tempted to give it a try soon!

... presumably I can download knoppix and burn it onto a CD using my WinXP system and can then boot up using knoppix?

Originally posted by Diapason
Hey Stocken - I like the sound of this. Never heard of knoppix before, so here are a couple of possibly daft questions - I hope you can help me out here:
I've Googled and found knoppix.org. There it says you can boot a linux implementation from CD.

Q1] How do you get a WindowsXP system to boot from CD? Is there something to press as it boots that wi ...[text shortened]... ort?

That's all I can think of at the minute!

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

Finally, let me just say that I've had friends trying out Knoppix, who were dissapointed that Knoppix weren't the solution to all ends. They inserted the disk, booted and found that the default language is German (the creator of knoppix is from Germany). They wouldn't take the time to figure out how to run knoppix with their own language as default.

Or they would attempt to access their files from their windows system, and they couldn't find it (remember, the filesystem hierarchy is quite different in linux systems). They wouldn't take the time to figure out how to access their windows files, even though there are links right there on the desktop.

Many other obstacles are bound to strike you in the face. All things considered, if you have the patience to figure those differences out (and there's plenty of help to receive from online discussion forums - just google on linux+knoppix+help), I'm sure you'll find Knoppix a good alternative to windows.

But don't expect everything to be exactly as they are in windows. That would defeat the purpose, if you think about it. It's an alternative to other operating systems/software packages, not a clone.

Originally posted by Diapason
I want to tell it to boot Knoppix from a CD. How do I get it to do that?

Depending on your computer, there are a certain key (or combination of keys) to press as the computer boots. For instance, it may say:

To Enter BIOS press Del

which would mean that in order to access BIOS, you need to press the delete key as you see the message.

Once you're inside BIOS, you can look up an option that says something like "boot order". There you should be able to choose which disk to boot from first, second and so on. Make sure the CD-player are given as the first option, and the harddisk as the second or third option. Save and restart the computer (should be done automatically when you save and leave bios).

Now, when you boot the computer with the Knoppix CD in it, you will automatically be thrown into Knoppix. If you boot the computer without a CD in it (or an unbootable CD) you will be taken to the previous default (windows XP in your case).

Hope that helps.