Speeding up computers

[craiggsmith]

I'm getting complaints about the response of the clerk computers and wondering what can be done. It appears the slow startup time is due primarily to Sophos and to a lesser extent the windows updates pushed out via IEM. But I'm not sure what makes them so slow in general.

There isn't much installed but there are still a lot of processes running, but it's hard to know which ones are really necessary or if any would make a difference. All I know is my computer at work has a very lean image and it works well.

I did uninstall Java. I could attach a list of everything running but not sure if I should here.

On a related note, I noticed that the Flash updater wasn't running. Did the Church turn that off? I worry about it from a security perspective, although maybe I should just uninstall Flash completely.

[russellhltn]

maybe I should just uninstall Flash completely.

I'd uninstall it until you find a reason to have it. The reasons are getting fewer and fewer.

[russellhltn]

I forgot, Chrome has Flash "baked in" so if you're using Chrome it's unnecessary to have a separate flash install. And chrome seems to do a good job of updating itself - as long as you reboot or at least completely close the browser regularly.

I think most of the slowdown is Sophos. Which means there isn't much you can do about it. People need to start the computer before they need it and leave it on until going home. I hesitate to suggest using the power up settings in the CMOS to start the computer ahead of time, since for stake and general conference, there wouldn't be anyone to shut it down.

One thing you can do is disable any OpenOffice/LibreOffice quick loader. It's just something else competing for the disk drive at boot time. And I can't say as I've seen that much of a difference in app start time once the PC settles down.

[craiggsmith]

Thanks! I have disabled the office quick loader. There are a few other things I'll disable or uninstall like DVD writer utilities. Curious about turning off the Acrobat updater -- the update notices are really annoying, and so far the DC version doesn't seem like an improvement. But I worry about security updates.

My current thought is that if they restart the computer when they leave for the day instead of shutting it down, most of the updates should happen then and it should be relatively quick to wake up from hibernation. I don't know if everything will happen purely on startup though or only on login. If the latter, they could wait a bit and log in and then lock it and leave.

[russellhltn]

I'd leave the Acrobat updater on. It's needed. I've never seen a notice unless there's a update to install, so I don't see it as bothering anyone needlessly.

[drepouille]

Ten or so years ago, my counsel to all clerks was to turn the computers off when not in use. However, at some point it just made more sense to leave them turned on at all times. I told the clerks to simply exit MLS and lock the screen when they are done. This allows overnight automatic updates to run during the week, and a quick startup on Sundays, Wednesdays, or whenever the computer is needed.
I once heard a complaint from a young sister that her computer took too long to start up. I asked her why she shut it down at all, since every startup must load all system processes and services, and check for available updates. Just leave it running.

[Biggles]

Ten or so years ago, my counsel to all clerks was to turn the computers off when not in use. However, at some point it just made more sense to leave them turned on at all times. I told the clerks to simply exit MLS and lock the screen when they are done. This allows overnight automatic updates to run during the week, and a quick startup on Sundays, Wednesdays, or whenever the computer is needed.
I once heard a complaint from a young sister that her computer took too long to start up. I asked her why she shut it down at all, since every startup must load all system processes and services, and check for available updates. Just leave it running.

And the environmental and economic consequences spread across multiple computers running 24 hours a day?

[drepouille]

The Sleep modes (Suspend and Hibernate) allow computers to use minimal power when not in use. The Suspend mode allows the computer to automatically wake itself up to check for new updates and install them overnight.

[Biggles]

The Sleep modes (Suspend and Hibernate) allow computers to use minimal power when not in use. The Suspend mode allows the computer to automatically wake itself up to check for new updates and install them overnight.

Nevertheless that minimal power is still using electricity, which overtime mounts up.

For what it is worth, I'm not an environmentalist, but from a Church perspective, multiply the number of computers worldwide and the impact mounts up.

[craiggsmith]

In addition to the power usage, I'd think the heat generated by a computer on all the time in such a small room would make it uncomfortable. I didn't know it could wake itself up to check for updates in suspend mode; I thought it couldn't do that and always wondered why not. That would work well. I currently set them to go to sleep after 1 hour; maybe I should extend that?