JDPFu.com 2025

Some of you know that I’m a fan of Linux. Ok, so that is an understatement. Would you like to convert? I’ll help you! Linux lets me do what I want while still providing nearly complete control over the hardware, for free. I like it and I’m shocked when other computer users don’t like it too. In fact, I think that almost every Grandmother should be running Linux these days.

Here’s a story, Linux Experiment Gone Horribly … Perfect, about a tech trying to solve problems with a client’s laptop. After exhausting all other solutions to a virus infected, spyware running, root kit loving Vista install, he got to the point of needing to reinstall Vista, but no reinstall disks were available. The client didn’t have them or any backup. The answer? Ubuntu Desktop 10.04 (Lucid Lynx).

In short, unsophisticated computer users will probably do better with a properly configured Linux system. I’d try Ubuntu, Mint or PCLinux on end users for the best outcomes. All are based on Debian, very stable and work on almost any hardware.

Would you like to try Linux? I’ll help you!

Over the years, I’ve been using this blog to help myself remember how to do things and to share some great tools and techniques with you. I figure it is time to recap some of those articles whether they are computer, financial/retirement, or just interesting things.

I follow a few email lists. Whenever they list is not related to Linux, there are always MS-Windows questions. With the release of Windows7, more and more of those questions are about specific software working under Windows7, especially when there were issues under Vista. Most of this article was taken from an email concerning Investors Toolkit, TK6, and whether it will run on Win7 on a Netbook.

The Questions

Can Window7 run … whatever-program

How to solve this

There are many ways to solve this issue. This is just the one I used based on my experience and expertise. I didn’t use this complex solution initially, it was only after all other solutions attempted failed, badly. My Windows Vista and Win7 computers were losing 2 minutes a day. After the first attempt to correct it with daily time sync, is was still losing about a minute, which was impacting some scheduled events. 1 minute off matters when someone else sets the start and end schedule.

Learned today that you can have both Vista and Win7 copy the entire path to a file in Explorer by holding the Shift key as you right click. Now there’s a Copy as Path option. When you paste, you will get “c:\directory\path\to the entire\file.txt”, including the quotes. Nice.

Sorry, it doesn’t work in other versions (no WinXP), but there are programs that will do it. Google a little.

I need your help deciding how to use the free Windows7 Ultimate license Microsoft gave away yesterday. I want to use it on my laptop but need some considered feedback on how would be best?

Current Laptop Config

1. 4GB of RAM – may put 8GB in later
2. 320GB disk
3. Main OS is Vista-64bit Home Premium
4. VirtualBox 3.0.6 for Virtual Machines
   1. xubuntu
   2. WinXP Pro
   3. Ubuntu
   4. OpenSolaris
   5. FreeBSD

Initial Thoughts

My initial thoughts are to

• replace Vista with Win7-64
• eventually remove my WinXP-Pro VirtualBox
• use the built-in WinXP Compatibility layer

I spend 14 hrs a day in the xubuntu VM and only boot WinXP to run Quicken, a few MS apps and access TrueCrypt data. Perhaps 3 times a week.

Questions?

1. How good is the USB support in the WinXP VM?
2. HDMI output?
3. GigE networking – WiFi networking?
4. How good is the driver compatibility for Win7-64? All-in-One Fax, printer, scanner, old Creative Xen and built-in laptop camera are the only devices I see using, in addition to normal flash and ext USB disk drives.
5. Hauppauge 950Q ClearQAM TV tuner must work.
   • Does Media Center work with this TV tuner and ClearQAM? The current MCE doesn’t.
6. Can I consider Win7-32bit at all. Does it access the full 4GB of RAM? Is an upgrade to Win7 64-bit easy?
7. TrueCrypt, MS-Visio, MS-Office 2007, and VideoRedoPlus are the only uses for Windows that I have. No gaming, er … very little gaming.

Choices

1. Run Win7 in a VM, get used to it. Decide later
2. Backup the data and VMs, repartition the disk for OS, Apps, Data, and install Win7 ??-bit as the main OS
   • 32-bit or
   • 64-bit?

Thoughts and suggestions? Did I miss an option?

I read yesterday that AVG on Vista had been causing network issues for some people. I’ve had some of those issues with my WiFi connectivity – disconnects as often as every 15 minutes. Usually, it stays connected about 45 minutes then disconnects unless I force the connection to stay active by moving files around my network. Sadly, moving large files started failing about and hour into the move – disconnection.

Last night, I de-installed AVG from my Vista-64 host. At the end, a reboot was required, but the machine refused to come back up, BSOD, twice. Safe mode boot did work so I forced a checkdisk. Over 2 hours later, the system rebooted and seems to be working. I haven’t been wifi disconnected at all since then. Everything seems just a tiny bit faster. I’m not really worried about viruses on that box since it is used to run virtual machines, VirtualBox. I’ve been running an Ubuntu VM for about 3 hours now. No issues.

Update: About an hour later, the network got slow and I lost my ssh connection to another box on my network. This issue never existed with WinXP. It appears that AVG may not be the cause … just Vista-64 Home Premium remains. That OS sucks.