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  1. #1
    Titanium Member efc's Avatar
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    Frustrated by sluggish operations

    I have tried many distros. I have only one real complaint. All operations are, so slow on my old computer.

    Questions. Are others having this problem? Have some of you found tweaks that would speed operations? Would upgrading my computer make a real difference?

    Specs:
    AMD overclocked to 892 Mhz
    768 MB pc133
    Linux Mint Debian Edition

  2. #2
    Friendly Neighborhood Super Moderator phishhead's Avatar
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    my old 733 with 512 ram seems to be running xandros fine. I've noticed it does take apps to open alittle longer than xp but once their open it runs great.



  3. #3
    Super Moderator Super Moderator Big Booger's Avatar
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    Give this a go:

    Just in case your distro isn't pretweaked enough.

    Linux users looking for something to help speed up their systems may want to consider Powertweak Linux, a free system optimization tool.

    The tool runs as a daemon in the background on a Linux machine and can be used to tune CPU performance by modifying the configuration registers in a Linux system. The program also can be used to adjust CDROM drive speeds, optimize file system performance using " /proc/sys " entries and change power management settings by interacting with hard drive " sleep " settings, similar to the use of the " hdparm " command.
    Download: Powertweak Linux

    Also be sure to read this related article:
    Check it out

    How big is your swap? Do you even have a swap? Are your hard drives running in PIO or DMA mode?

    I have Xandros running on a PIII 1.0GHZ with 512MB ram and it works jim dandy.

    Also try checking your hard disk speed:

    "hdparm -tT /dev/hdx " on whatever drive is / . If its really slow it may account for slow loading. This might be fixed by playing with hdparm but I won't go into it until we have some more info.


    Go into a console and run the following:

    "hdparm -tT /dev/hdX " on whatever drive X is / (hda, hdc, etc.)

    That should fix it.

    And speaking of swap *above*, try tweaking your "swappiness"

    http://kerneltrap.org/node/3000

    You can add
    ---------------------------------
    vm.swappiness=10
    to the /etc/sysctl.conf file.

    Also try a other I/O schedular like cfq.
    You can change the schedular by adding a line

    -----------------------------------------------------
    elevator=cfq
    to the grub.conf

  4. #4
    Titanium Member efc's Avatar
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    Look like good suggestions. I will give them a try.
    Linux Mint Debian Edition

  5. #5
    Hardware guy Super Moderator FastGame's Avatar
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    efc, my Linux box has the same spec's as yours. SuSE 9.3 is slow compaired to XP on the same PC.

    On my A64 3700, 1gig ram system, SuSE is real fast.
    Last edited by FastGame; April 20th, 2006 at 17:22 PM.

  6. #6
    Titanium Member efc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastGame
    efc, my Linux box has the same spec's as yours. SuSE 9.3 is slow compaired to XP on the same PC.

    On my A64 3700, 1gig ram system, SuSE is real fast.
    OK, that is one of the answers that I have been seeking. Last week I passed on a cheap barebones sale. I will buy one in the near future.

    I also found SuSE to be very slow. I am back with XandrOS today. It is much better.
    Last edited by efc; April 21st, 2006 at 14:00 PM.
    Linux Mint Debian Edition

  7. #7
    Hardware guy Super Moderator FastGame's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by efc
    OK, that is one of the answers that I have been seeking. Last weak I passed on a cheap barebones sale. I will buy one in the near future.

    I also found SuSE to be very slow. I am back with XandrOS today. It is much better.
    I think XandrOS runs real good, even on wimp PC. Thats the OS I want and like the most, but it doesn't support my modem

    Ubuntu runs nice, but modem.........

  8. #8
    Super Moderator Super Moderator Big Booger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastGame
    I think XandrOS runs real good, even on wimp PC. Thats the OS I want and like the most, but it doesn't support my modem

    Ubuntu runs nice, but modem.........
    Have you tried posting in the Xandros forums for help getting your modem working in Xandros?

  9. #9
    Banned adeydas's Avatar
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    What do you guys think about Ubuntu? I have tried both the 32 and 64 bit versions and I must say that its quite fast...

  10. #10
    Old and Cranky Super Moderator rik's Avatar
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    Suse 10 is the most reliable and stable distro I have run to date. I'm running it on a PIII 550 w\512 ram

  11. #11
    Hardware guy Super Moderator FastGame's Avatar
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    Have you tried posting in the Xandros forums for help getting your modem working in Xandros?
    No, I searched the Ubuntu & Xandros forums and found post where they got the modem to work. Both OS have the drivers....the hard part is getting the OS to find the modem. I did everything they listed and no luck, SuSE found the modem right off the bat so I stuck with SuSE

    When you're in Newbe stage and trying Linux for the first time, I don't think you should have to learn some advanced BS just to get hardware working.

  12. #12
    Super Moderator Super Moderator Big Booger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastGame
    No, I searched the Ubuntu & Xandros forums and found post where they got the modem to work. Both OS have the drivers....the hard part is getting the OS to find the modem. I did everything they listed and no luck, SuSE found the modem right off the bat so I stuck with SuSE

    When you're in Newbe stage and trying Linux for the first time, I don't think you should have to learn some advanced BS just to get hardware working.
    And there you have reached the crux of why Linux is not ready for primetime (fully).

    You shouldn't have to configure hardware for any OS... it should be automated *providing you have an internet connection (but in your case that's hard to do LOL)

    Dialup modems are the worst in Linux..

    When are you going broadband FG? I think we are all rooting for you!

  13. #13
    Hardware guy Super Moderator FastGame's Avatar
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    When are you going broadband FG? I think we are all rooting for you!
    As soon as you guys come over and help me cut down 1 acre of trees so wireless can get through, or help me put up 120' tower

    I just don't want to pay $500 for satellite dish and $70 a month for service....if trees are gone I can get wireless (higher speed than satellite) for $35 a month.

    Everyone around me now has the wireless....except me the idiot who has 80 acre's of woods

  14. #14
    Super Moderator Super Moderator Big Booger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FastGame
    As soon as you guys come over and help me cut down 1 acre of trees so wireless can get through, or help me put up 120' tower

    I just don't want to pay $500 for satellite dish and $70 a month for service....if trees are gone I can get wireless (higher speed than satellite) for $35 a month.

    Everyone around me now has the wireless....except me the idiot who has 80 acre's of woods
    I have an idea:

    A grounded weather balloon. Run your antenna up with a weather balloon, enough to clear the tree lines. That should help you get the wireless.

    People in the boonies really need fiber over the powerlines... that'd take care of so much trouble as the grid is already there... and wireless needs direct line of sight... And satellite is latency hell.

  15. #15
    Old and Cranky Super Moderator rik's Avatar
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    Agreed. Broadband over the power lines would be da shiite for most of us. Then the Telcos could all suck the ass crack for the raping we consumers are taking.

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