New guy with a few questions

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  1. Posts : 42
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
       #1

    New guy with a few questions


    Not new to PCs, or Windows. Recently had a PC with XP but after a nasty virus I went to linux. A friend at work asked about playing some PC games so I bought a somewhat decent laptop to play some average games.

    My questions are.
    1, My laptop is lacking in the harddrive performance, being 5400 RPM is what causes it to score a 5.9 on the the windows experience. If I replace the hard drive how will I get my copy of Windows to the new one if my Key as been activated already?

    2, On msconfig, what do I need to run at start up? Right now I have avast and my synaptic pointing device. Do I need more or can I just have the Avast

    3, If I get a new drive, what would you guys recommend? SSD would be nice but I cant justify the price per gig just yet

    More questions will follow I'm sure thanks in advance
      My Computer


  2. tea
    Posts : 157
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit
       #2

    Use the same key, Windows keeps a record of your hardware and allows you to change things like RAM and Hard drives with no problems.
    If you can't get an SSD, a 7200RPM drive will be a lot faster than a 5400RPM drive.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 8,398
    ultimate 64 sp1
       #3

    hi 1fox2go, and welcome to sevenforums.

    1 - you should not have any problems re-activating a new install. just install onto your harddrive, and activate as before. it's the same machine after all.

    2 - lots of software likes to put entries into msconfig. most of it completely unnecessary and can (and should) be disabled. you are right in keeping your a/v and touchpad stuff. only keep the important stuff (unless you find that your software doesn't work properly). can you upload a screenshot of your msconfig startup list?

    3 - ssd's are very nice and will make a big impact of boot and program load times. but as you say, they are still horribly expensive compared to their hard cousins. you can compromise by buying a 7200 rpm drive.

    we are here to answer any more questions you may have. :) fire away!
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 5,056
    Windows 7 x64 pro/ Windows 7 x86 Pro/ XP SP3 x86
       #4

    1) A lot of us have 5400 rpm hdds and 5.9 is about the max an hdd will score on WEI. Heck, I have a 7200 rpm drive, it still scores 5.9. If you really want to switch get a good 7200 rpm drive. I believe 10000 rpm are also available, look around fot those though they'll tend to run hotter.

    2) If you intend to game, add as much more RAM as the mobo supports.

    3) Make an image of the system using a program like Acronis or look around for free hdd cloning programs, there are several posted in this forum as well. After you change hard drives, you can just restore the image, no reactivation will be required. FYI, you can also clean install win7 on the new disk (provided you can get hold of an install dvd), then activate by calling MS.

    4) Avast and Synaptics are about fine on startup. I also have checked entries for the password manager, bluetooth and dell dock though thats a matter of preference.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 9,606
    Win7 Enterprise, Win7 x86 (Ult 7600), Win7 x64 Ult 7600, TechNet RTM on AMD x64 (2.8Ghz)
       #5

    You said this is a laptop, could be the laptop graphics GPU slowing it down.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 42
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    The laptop graphics is ATI Radeon 5650 with 1 gig of video RAM it has 4 gigs of system RAM. I made Backup and recovery discs as the very first thing prior to doing anything with this machine. I used the Acer backup software and the Windows software. Is that enough? Should I find another program?

    Some say this laptop supports 8gig some say 6, first I will see how it handles what I plan to throw at it and work from there. I have read the reviews and many say the slow HDD is what made some of their games perform at a lower level.

    My questions about the cd key were because I used the XP recovery disc that came with my old laptop and entered the key that was on the laptop and it would not accept it. After calling Microsoft support and getting nowhere, in a fit of frustration I installed Ubuntu on it and have been using it for the past 2-3 years.

    I only plan to use this laptop for the games, WoW, Fallout 3, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and for work if need be. For work I will be on a private network and most likely not be on the internet. Being a network tech i really only need SSH, and console connections

    Thanks for the help, anything else I should do before I start using this PC?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 11,424
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64
       #7

    1fox2go,
    Have you considered running your current hard drive in a usb enclosure then run a SSD for your OS and Apps. only. All your data will reside on the external drive and a 60 to 80 gig SSD should serve you nicely, use less power, less heat, much less time.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 42
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I have not thought of that. I really dont plan to store anything on this hard drive other than the OS and the games. I have a portable 500gig usb drive as well as an external 2 TB drive
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 11,424
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64
       #9

    Could be a consideration as these SSD's tend to be life changing additions. Yes they are expensive to consider a 1/4-1/2TB but all most of us really need is a 60-80gig and all of our apps. & os are handled nicely. Drop your stock 2.5 hdd into something like this:Ineo I-NA206U All-In-One Portable Storage - Leather Pouch, 2.5 SATA to USB, Black at TigerDirect
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 42
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    ahh yes, for 20 bucks thats not bad. Thanks

    So does everyone feel the Windows back up and acer recovery software is enough or should I find a new piece of software to make my Image discs?
      My Computer


 
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