Archive for July 2011
Auslogics BenchTown Benchmarks Your Windows System and Compares Results with Others
Windows: Auslogics BenchTown is a simple and free benchmarking tool that tests your system’s hardware and gives you a rating score that you can compare with others.
BenchTown checks your CPU, RAM, HDD, and graphics card (2D and 3D capabilities), and provides scores for each. You can also get a detailed view of these system properties in the program. the benchmark test took less than 5 minutes for me and was easy to use in the simple interface (much like Auslogics’ fast Disk Defrag, one of Lifehacker readers’ favorite Windows maintenance tools).
In the end, although you get a nice bar graph showing which components your computer tested well for, the “Ausmarks” score really has no meaning without context, so you’ll want to hit the “Compare with Friends” button to see how your system stacks up against other BenchTown users. the community at BenchTown.com is still growing (there are under 500 users right now), but you can compare your system against other users there (mine, being a laptop, albeit a newish one, was on the low side of average).
BenchTown isn’t as robust as other benchmarking tools we’ve mentioned in the past, like PC Wizard, but it does give you a different performance metric than Windows’ built-in Experience Index, which also gives your computer a performance rating. the community/comparison aspect may make BenchTown very helpful in determining when you need to upgrade your hardware.
Auslogics BenchTown | Auslogics via Addictive Tips
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Auslogics BenchTown Benchmarks Your Windows System and Compares Results with Others
How do i effectively test my ram?
Well i just built a new computer and it has been having some freezing issues. I have come down to it being either the RAM or the Hard drive. I wanted to know how could i test each of my three sticks of ram to see if they were the issue?
if you have any info about what else could be causing the freezing please tell.
what OS do you have?
Tech Review: Motorola Atrix 4G
Reviewing all three components as a single entity is difficult. Each has its own purpose and for the time being, each has its own pluses and minutes. So for the purposes of this review, I’ll break down the three individually.
The phone
Let’s start with the handset. like I said, it’s a pretty cool-looking phone. Lightweight and with an attractive (and comfortable) form factor. The handset is mostly plastic but it feels much , much sturdier. nothing about it seems even remotely flimsy. it feels good in your hand, it feels almost unnoticeable in the pocket. Not bad from that point of view.
The Android operating system is getting better every day. as an open-source platform, it’s a perpetual work in progress but still, it’s a spectacular OS. I’m a big believer in the theory that iOS is for anybody, Android is for people who can think for themselves. With that in mind, its disappointing that the Atrix ships with a number of unnecessary, preinstalled programs. Most of them can be removed, but it’s still There’s no need to get into a Android vs. iOS breakdown, so we’ll move on to what makes the OS tick.
Under the hood: The Atrix is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and comes complete with a gig of RAM and 16 gigs of storage. (You can expand that to 32GB with a microSD card). It’s a powerful, fast phone.
Display: A 960×540 capacitive touchscreen comes covered with Gorilla Glass from Corning. It’s sturdy. I fell asleep on the couch, phone and car keys on my pocket, and not so much as a scratch.
Connectivity: It’s all in there; 801.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and AT&T’s version of 4G.
Camera: The main camera, located on the back, is five megapixels but unless you’re recording a major life event, it more than adequately replaces your point-and-shoot. The front camera is fairly weak, but it’s not intended for capturing precious moments, anyway. I did like the 720p video capability quite a bit.
Battery: Battery life wasn’t as much of a concern as I had heard. With a fully-charged battery, I ran YouTube for about 2 hours and 20 minutes before the warning message first popped up. Not too bad — slightly better than most Android handsets I’ve sampled.
The HD dock
A nice touch, especially with the optional Motorola (or any USB/wireless) keyboard option which turns it in to a quasi-desktop computer. In short, the dock is a way to enjoy your media library anywhere and to that extent, it is effective.
The dock has three USB ports and an HDMI output on the back, along with connections for your stereo system. For $129, it’s pricey, but it might serve a purpose for those with a significant amount of digital media.
The laptop
More than anything, this was the component that excited me the most. Unfortunately, it left me the most underwhelmed.
The Webtop OS environment is a hybrid version of Ubuntu. I was completely unimpressed with the software – it was slow and buggy and wondered why Google’s Chrome browser wasn’t included in the package.
The software does do the basic tasks you’d need from an ultra-portable machine but as designed, it’s somewhat difficult to navigate.
From a physical standpoint, the laptop is attractive with a full-sized keyboard, similar to that of a MacBook and a very large (almost too big) trackpad. Sadly, the trackpad is limited in its usefulness and doesn’t include scrolling of any kind. The buttons are large but somewhat difficult to use.
Ultimately, the laptop is not by any means a bad addition. but at $500, it’s a bit pricey. there is plenty of room for improvement. Hopefully, Motorola and AT&T find a way to address the issues soon because the laptop could be an absolutely wonderful addition to your gadget collection.
The verdict
The concept is solid: an integrated phone/entertainment/productivity product – though the execution leaves much to be desired. Fortunately, the problems facing the Atrix can be solved easily, with basic software updates, and won’t require further investment from the consumer end. take the additional accessories out of the equation, though, and the Atrix is a powerful handset, possibly one of the finest Android options I’ve tried. at $99 (with the usual two-year contract), the price is right.
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How to tell if computer has bad ram/mbo etc??
So I've been experiencing a lot of computer problems recently, and having a lot of difficulties pinpointing the exact issue. I had been getting a -lot- of random stop errors, my computer was freezing up/rebooting randomly very often. I tested my ram using memtest86 and found thousands of errors, so I rma'd the ram, got new ones and put those in and still recieved stop errors while trying to reinstall windows xp. So now I went to get it tested at a local computer shop and they said my motherboard was shot, so I rma'd the mbo, and still recieved the same stop errors.
Now I have no clue what is wrong, could the bad motherboard have caused my ram to go bad? can bad ram cause a mbo to go bad?
Is it possible that I have bad cpu which is causing the mbo to go bad which is causing the ram to go bad?
Since you have RMA's both the RAM and the Motherboard, I would suggest that you might have RAM that is incompatible with your Motherboard.
Try purchasing new RAM. Check to see if the Manufacturer of your Motherboard has any recommendations. I recommend Corsair. It is a good brand for RAM.
I don't think you have a bad CPU. I have experienced this before and as soon as I replaced the RAM (although the old RAM was perfectly functional), it worked perfectly. no more random reboots and system freezing up.
I suggest you test the computer registry documents were damaged, may lead to your question
You need to repair clean up the registry documents.
http://www.Fix-pc-Master.com
You can solve the problem
Can help you
10 Ways to Cure Your Virtualization Ills
‘tis the season to fix your virtual environment and there’s no better way to start that process than with a “to do” list. And, you know you need one. So, here’s your list for those dog days of summer, when you want to heat things up even more. You won’t solve all ten of these items in a day or in a week. It’s an ongoing process but you need to get started now, so here, here’s your license and your permission to fix what’s broken and put yourself in a better strategic position to expand and grow.
1. Virtual Host Updates – You need to update your virtual host systems on a regular basis. What’s regular? You need to check quarterly on the high side and monthly on the normal side. Remember that using Distributed Resource Scheduling, when you put a virtual host system in Maintenance mode, its VMs scatter like rats on a sinking ship, so you can perform these updates during normal business hours.
2. Firmware Updates – yes, you need to keep firmware up to date on physical servers, blades and enclosures. Some of these are critical so don’t slack on them. Quarterly to twice yearly should be sufficient to keep new hardware features and fixes coming your way. The easiest way to maintain these updates is to place yourself on vendor mailing lists for them. Every vendor worth its salt has lists that you can join to keep you abreast of critical updates.
3. Operating System Updates – yes, the dreaded OS patching rears its ugly head again. this necessary evil can drive you to the brink of homicide. there are new patches, security updates, service packs and updates of some kind landing in my email on an almost daily basis. In larger environments, it’s advisable to have a separate team to manage patching. Depending on the severity level of the patch, this could be a weekly exercise. Monthly is probably the correct frequency for most patching needs.
4. VMware Tools Upgrade – do you see that exclamation mark in the system tray on top of your VMware Tools icon? that means you need to update the tools package. It requires a reboot on Windows operating systems so plan accordingly. The update doesn’t takes a few minutes per system to perform but it’s worth it for the enhanced drivers and new hardware. this update needs to be performed when updates become available.
5. Virtual Machine Hardware Upgrade – this one is a pain but necessary for better performance. When you update from an earlier version of VMware to vSphere, you’ll have to do this. There’s no easy way to do it either. It’s a lengthy process that requires multiple reboots and network reconfiguration on your VMs. if you’re running vSphere 4.x, check your virtual machine’s hardware by selecting a VM in VCenter and look at the Hardware version on the Summary tab. if it reads 4, you need to update. if it is 7, you’re cool.
6. Remove Orphaned VMDKs – this is one of those pesky housekeeping items that you absolutely must do. Disk files sometimes stay behind, when you delete VMs from inventory. And, once you’ve deleted a system from inventory, there’s no reason to keep any of its associated files around just burning up valuable space. Checking for orphaned VMs on a quarterly basis is sufficient to keep your LUNs clutter free.How do you check for orphaned disk files, you ask? I use a PowerShell script that I found somewhere and modified to fit my environment. The script scans your environment for orphaned VMDK files and provides you a report on its scan. No files are deleted during the scan. You have to do that manually and it’s recommended that you double check the findings and remove the orphans after you’ve made that verification.
7. Adjust vCPUs – as I discussed in, The Late great Virtual CPU Debate, you should inventory your VMs for multiple vCPU usage and do some serious pruning. Generally speaking, you should configure VMs with single vCPUs. Multiple vCPUs are for special cases and specific workloads.
8. Adjust Virtual Memory – You should take an inventory of your VMs, how much memory you’ve allocated to each one and adjust accordingly. You won’t necessarily adjust them downward but you probably will adjust a lot of them in the downward direction. Memory overcommitment is a big problem in virtual environments but it’s also a very popular thing to do. a wiser solution is to use performance data to determine what your VM’s memory needs are an adjust to best performance that doesn’t waste resources. why allocate 4GB of memory for a test web server, when one or two is plenty?
9. Change Operating Systems – this recommendation won’t make a lot of people happy but it’s a good practice. but, why would it make such a difference? if you run a lot of Windows servers in your environment, you’re also burning a lot of resources (Memory, for one) that could be used for other workloads.
For example, Windows 2008 R2 requires a minimum of 512MB RAM (OK, try running on that) but realistically needs at least 2GB of RAM out of the box for just the OS. Add an additional two to four GB for each standard workload. Add more for more intense workloads.
If you switch your workloads to Linux, you’ll find that you’ll use from one-eighth to one-half the memory per VM. plus, if you use Ubuntu Linux, you won’t have to deal with the extreme licensing fees from Microsoft. better performance, fewer consumed resources and no licensing fees. No brainer?
10. Add Capacity – if you’re growing your virtual infrastructure, add capacity. Don’t wait until you’re experiencing outages, the DRS dance or growth stoppage. Add capacity now and expand into it. You have to stay at least one step ahead of your growth expectations by adding capacity before you need it. Add additional memory to your hosts, add CPUs or upgrade your CPUs and add disk space to resolve performance bottlenecks or growth slowdowns. Hearing the words, “We’re out of capacity,” is an unacceptable excuse.
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