Would an SSD speed up a slow Laptop

[ppppenguin]

I've installed Windows 7 from scratch many times, including making spare instal disks. Linux is a lot easier, if only because there isn't any licensing hassle.

I've not installed W10 and don't ever want to. You more or less have to create a Microsoft account just to make it work at all. (There are ways round this but it's yet more work). I bought a new laptop with W10 but the first thing I did was make it dual boot with Linux. I've not booted W10 since then.

W11? I hope I never have the misfortune to meet it.

[PerdioPal]

"Wouldnt it be nice if you could just buy a USB Mem stick, from a reputable source, and were already to go" You can, cheaper single OS ones also exist.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/64GB-Bootable-W...0BTSXMMW8/

[Mike Watterson]

I've not installed W10 and don't ever want to. You more or less have to create a Microsoft account just to make it work at all. (There are ways round this but it's yet more work).

Win10 home is tricky. With Win10 pro just click on joining a domain and then create the local account at install time.
The Net use command on Win10 allows creation of users if the GUI option has been removed.

Then there is a setting to turn off the nagging to create an MS online account. Getting rid of junk and adverts takes a while.

However Linux has been getting better since 1999 and Windows NT GUI & user settings worse since Server 2003. So Linux surpassed Windows about 2007 and Libre Office better than MS Office for most users since about version 5.x. I was using Thunderbird, Filezilla, PuTTY, VLC, Audacity, VNC, Firefox, The GIMP, Libre Office, Calibre and others that are on Linux on XP and Win 7 before I completely switched in January 2017 by wiping Win7 OS off the disk. Switched from Windows to Linux server completely about 2006.

I solved network security issue of older Windows clients by having a 16G USB stick on a spare router configured as a switch and WiFi point only. It's setup to allow Samba1/Lanmanager/earlier insecure NT login and the Linux boxes with file shares are only the secure Samba (Win7 with SP and later) but can also connect to the share on the ex-router's USB port.

What's really tricky is getting Win98 running on later HW and adding USB storage support. I have one older tower PC that had Win7 upgraded to 10 in an office and then dumped to me that has Win98SE with 3rd party patches for a real DOS boot and Win9x. Actual 16 bit Win 3.1 will run in DOSbox on Linux or Android, but not 3.11 or WFWG 3.11 with all the 32 bit extensions, which is practically Win95 without Explorer and DirectX (original Win95 had no USB!) .

[Radio Fixer]

Morning All

Since my post of 19 and being overwhelmed by all the new Geeki stuff I have read slowly through all inputs and printed out selections from 14, 16, 23.

I get the idea that I need Mint first and then Mate is the desktop I use with it.

So following Jeffery's instructions I have downloaded Mint and copied it to a USB stick made bootable by Rufus. I am doing this on this W10 PC. The Laptop is W7 and so no need to worry about W7 not being supported by Rufus. I now get that I cant simply copy the Mint ISO file to the USB stick using File Manager.

Tried the USB stick in the Laptop and its seen in the BIOS and boots from it.
It got me to a selection but I faffed around deciding what to do and it defaulted and came up with two on screen options.

"Install Linux Mint" and "LSTY73" (Audio and Video)

Took the obvious and went for the Install. All went well until I got to "Erase Disk and Install Linux Mint". Decided not to do that as the W7 on the disk does allow the Laptop to get to an OS. Its a way back: always a good idea. So I will wait until the bare SSD arrives and try the Mint install to that.

Progressing and understanding better. Linux is no doubt easier if you took an interest from the start which I didnt.

If W10 does go on the Laptop I'm not too concerned about MS needing you to create an account. I did it in the early days on this PC and have simply just ignored it ever since. Get the occasional message: dont care. Its just another irritation like spam.

thanks Gary

[Mike Watterson]

I've installed Win10 numerous times and never used other than a locally created account. The options to click are tiny and in the bottom left corner as text. Or select "Join Domain" is offered. No domain needed. That later prompts local account creation.

@Radio Fixer / Gary. Glad you figured it out. There is an option for media programs and codecs, that are not open source. Accept that unless you are in the Doctorow/Stallman extreme FOSS camp.

If you shrink the Wi7 partition the Linux Live stick can install as well as W7, "dual boot". The Gparted or Disks programs on the Live stick can do this. Or it may be possible in Windows7.

Today I bought a SSHD. It's a Hybrid drive with Flash and HDD.
Wikipedia Hybrid Drives
Seagate datasheet PDF link

[BusyBee]

The main time I get confused on Linux installation is on disk area allocation. I have found though, with an old expendable PC, that the best approach is actually to reformat everything and totally obliterate Windows. Although I must admit that I do have Windows on another laptop I have not missed it at all on the ones I have installed Linux on. All my program developmet and hardware design is done on Linux based applications now. I even went as far as buying a new laptop with nothing but the basic OS on and installing from scratch. It has increased my confidence no end. In my opinion keeping Windows is often more like the 'just in case' situation where we keep old parts instead of passing or selling them on.

The main point I would make about Linux, apart from the disk issue I give above, is that you will need to be ready to search out solutions online to little issues which come along. There is a lot of information about but, as usual, it's sorting through the chaff for the wheat. It's such a pleasure after Windows though as I have found that even a full install of Linux is often faster than a routine large Windows update. You do have an option in Linux Mint these days of automatic software installation, I think, but I unticked the box so that the computer just flags up installs. That is very helful to me as the biggest bind I have with Windows is it's tendency to make demands just at the wrong moment. I dread to think of the situation if I tried to use my flight simulator with it.

Tracy

Tracy

[Radio Fixer]

Interesting stuff Tracy and I wonder if I will become a convert. Quite hard to change completely though as I have been with MS since the days of DOS.

It might be tricky getting my head around using this W10 PC and a laptop with Linux on it so its try it and see. But I do it with a Smart Phone although not very well. Good job I wasnt tempted to buy a Windows one although I have love / hate feeling with Google.

Gary

[Radio Fixer]

"Today I bought a SSHD. It's a Hybrid drive with Flash and HDD."

I cant see the point in this as a Seagate 1 TB SSD can be bought at about the same price (just a quick search) as a 1 TB Hybrid. Perhaps the Hybrid is faster for Gamers?

Gary

[Mike Watterson]

"Today I bought a SSHD. It's a Hybrid drive with Flash and HDD."

I cant see the point in this as a Seagate 1 TB SSD can be bought at about the same price (just a quick search) as a 1 TB Hybrid. Perhaps the Hybrid is faster for Gamers?

Normally I'd agree.

It was at about 1/4 normal price or I'd not have bothered. In fact a Samsung pure 1T SSD can be half the price. However there is a totally huge variation on performance and life of SSDs. The really cheap ones essentially use the same Nand Flash as eMMC on a phone or tablet and similar to Flash in a USB stick. I remember a Netbook with "SSD" and cutting away some internal plastic, ribbon to HDD adaptor and 1.8″ HDD was faster for writes and some big block reads if disk defragged. That Flash was only faster on small block random access read.

Someone also tested high speed SD cards and found that while video application can be fast (large blocks), there was a huge variation on different makes with same rating for small block access, like in an ereader, or using a phone/tablet to edit/create/read non-video content.

The difference between good PCIe NVMe speeds and typical SSD SATA is huge. Also larger than 512G SSD may be slower due to more layers in chip, but some 512G are twice as fast as 256G, because it's the same chips as on a 256G, but interleaved addressing between the chips. When I last looked to put a PCIe NVMe in a laptop for a friend that had a SATA HDD, the 512G was best value and performance. The higher capacity per chip Flash using more layers is also likely less durable.

I think having a separate SSD and HDD is far better, but few laptops have that option. Though a sort of current product, I think the hybrid drive, an SSHD, is a niche and it's performance drops to about 1% on a large transfer like cloning a partition. I abandoned that as it was going to take about 10x longer than cloning to a regular SATA HDD in a USB 3.0 box. The Seagate PDF spec seems a bit opaque. However it has SMART reporting which most Flash/SSD do not, thus there is no advance warning of total failure with most SSDs and all USB Flash memory sticks.

[Radio Fixer]

I was surprised Mike that HDD are considered more reliable in the long term than SSD.

Well the DVD arrived from the Linux Shop and I tried it.  Came up with the menu that I saw with the USB Mem stick that I successfully created (with help).

Pic of the Menu. Tried both the first two options (no info suppled on what to do!) and neither worked just bringing up error msgs and going around in a loop with the DVD drive making horrible noises.  Could read the files on the DVD, see second pic.

Tried the 3 rd option (OEM) and it booted to the same place that I left off when working from the USB Mem stick.  See third pic.  Its "superuser" again: is this the same as administrator?

Can anyone comment on these Options and why 3?  and which one should be used in different circumstances?  If this is too complex than just ignore it...  I found one that worked.

thanks Gary