Tech Forum

Well I have been reading about all the budget cuts and they are asking us if we could hold off another year. We replaced the stake computer last fall. We have one ward computer that is real slow and I was wondering if we could take the old stake computer and make it a ward computer? If so what are the steps to do this? Also I have been reading a lot on this site about increasing the memory from 256 to 512. All the computers are very slow. What do you believe is the major factor in the how slow a computer is working? Hope that is not to many questions but this site is a great help for all stakes and wards.

farwest wrote:We have one ward computer that is real slow and I was wondering if we could take the old stake computer and make it a ward computer?

I'm a little surprised the FM group hasn't demanded the old one back for proper disposal. Is the old stake computer any better then the ward one? Unless the ward computer didn't qualify for replacement when the 6-year program was announced (less than 500MHz) it's likely to be the same age and same model.

farwest wrote:If so what are the steps to do this?

Given that it's been out of service for awhile, I'd unnstall MLS and then re-install the current version. Then backup the old machine and restore on the "new" one. You'll also have to call CHQ and have them reset the security for the ward so you can send/receive. Otherwise MLS on the new computer will get an error message. Be sure to clear off any stake documents.

farwest wrote:Also I have been reading a lot on this site about increasing the memory from 256 to 512. All the computers are very slow. What do you believe is the major factor in the how slow a computer is working?

Factors causing slowness:

- Only 256MB of RAM
- Having OpenOffice Quickstart running at boot time (eats up memory, competes for resources at boot.)
- Not defragging the hard drive.

Depending on the models of computers, you may only need to do a memory transplant from the old stake machine to the ward computer to solve it's problem. Again, examine what are the differences between the machines and then and go from there. You may find there is NO difference - the ward just complains louder.

farwest wrote:Well I have been reading about all the budget cuts and they are asking us if we could hold off another year. We replaced the stake computer last fall. We have one ward computer that is real slow and I was wondering if we could take the old stake computer and make it a ward computer? If so what are the steps to do this?

The stake technology specialist has some flexibility in moving computers around. But if the stake computer was replaced some time ago, the old computer should have already been disposed of. Computers that are replaced can be cascaded down -- the replaced computer can then replace another computer in the stake -- but that should happen at the time of the replacement, and whatever computer is actually put out of service is to be disposed of according to current disposal guidelines (available from your FM group).

But if somehow that old stake computer is still around, it could be designated to replace a ward administrative computer. The process for installing it is basically the same (probably easier) than setting up a new computer.

farwest wrote:I have been reading a lot on this site about increasing the memory from 256 to 512. All the computers are very slow. What do you believe is the major factor in the how slow a computer is working?

There are a variety of factors that affect performance; many of them are not easily fixed (speed of processor, bus, hard drive). However, there is abundant evidence that increasing the RAM from 256MB to 512MB does help performance. It's quite cheap to do these days, so if you have some budget available in the stake, it's probably a good idea.

farwest wrote:Also I have been reading a lot on this site about increasing the memory from 256 to 512. All the computers are very slow. What do you believe is the major factor in the how slow a computer is working?

Without going into too high tech jargon, 256meg of RAM is not enough to run the operating system and MLS. To compensate for this shortage, a portion of the hard disk is used as if it were RAM. However, the trade off is how slow in comparison it is to RAM. Besides being slow, the hard drive is beating itself to death with all the demands to read and write RAM data.

512 is good, but if you can get two sticks of 512megs of memory, even better. If you can fill all four slots with identical memory, the best. These Dells work most efficient with two or four sticks of memory rather than one or three. (Dual Channel, if interested)

Printing response times suffer the most with not enough memory installed. Also, running too many programs and/or the great family photo for background/wallpaper all use up precious memory and ultimately slows things down.

I hope that helps to answer at least a couple of your questions.
Steve