Usefulwindows's Blog

Ah Windows XP, I still remember seeing it installed on new computers in late 2001 and I wanted a copy for myself, it was just a great OS.  Now in 2010 I would take Windows 7 over it any day, however Windows XP is still being used a lot to this day.  That being said, a 9-year-old operating system in this modern-day of online trouble is just not up to the demands placed on it.  But all is not lost as there are many different Internet Browsers out there that one can use.  Let’s take a look at them.  All of these test will be done in Windows Virtual PC on a computer running an Intel Core i5 661 running at 3.33 Ghz with 4 GB of ram.  All updates to Windows, WVPC, The Internet Browsers, Flash, Silverlight, and Java have been installed.  I have cleared the cache of all browsers with Ccleaner.

1. Firefox 3.6.3  Firefox seemed to load web pages the fastest and since the new version of Internet Explorer will not be available for Windows XP and that new version will support web standards, websites in the future will have some rendering issues in Internet Explorer 8.  Firefox is a great replacement for IE and offers a lot of customization.  you can get it at www.firefox.com

Firefox 3.6.3 in Windows XP

2. Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18702  While there is a new version of Internet Explorer in the works and it will not be available for Windows XP Version 8 works fine for now.  It has a lot of nice features and is rather fast at loading webpages from my tests.  It seems too that computers running IE 8 are less likely to get viruses and spyware. Even if you decide to use a different browser you should keep IE updated in Windows XP it will help keep you safe as the operating system uses parts of IE.  You can download it at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Internet Explorer 8 in Windows XP

3. Apple Safari 5.0 (7533.16)  Apple has done a great job at getting Safari turned around from the dud that version 3 was.  While version 4 finally looked like a normal Windows application version 5 has picked up speed.  I prefer its interface to Google Chrome however Chrome seems a little faster and is a little safer, however those looking for something to replace Internet Explorer I would suggest Safari first.  You can get it at http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Apple Safari 5 in Windows XP

4. Google Chrome 5.0.375.70  Google Chrome has gotten better with every release.  Version 5 gets some nice speed boosts.  While it is faster and safer than Apple Safari the user interface for Chrome is lacking, looking rather odd in Windows XP.  Still if you want to check it out you can get it here at http://www.google.com/chrome

Google Chrome 5 in Windows XP

5. Opera 10.53  In Windows XP the other browsers leave Opera in the dust, and to make matters worse Opera changed the default user interface and it is not a win in my opinion.  It too looks out-of-place in Windows XP however if you click on the red Opera button in the upper left hand corner and click on Show Menu Bar it will take it back to the older user interface that I like a lot.  The nice thing about Opera is that if you mouse over a tab it will show you a preview of that webpage, something I think other browsers could use.  Oh if you have a mobile phone I would suggest getting their mobile version it is much better than any other mobile browsers out there.  You can get opera at www.opera.com

Opera 10.5 in Windows XP With the New User Interface

Opera 10.5 in Windows XP with the old user interface

It is nice to see that there are still great internet browsers for the aging Windows XP.  I do suggest people start to upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as they can though as Windows 7 has a lot of great features like jump lists and the thumbnail previews in the start menu bar that makes it even easier to browse the internet.

Go back to Part 5 for Windows 7 32bit

Go on to Part 7 for Windows 7 64-Bit

With Server 2000 we saw the release of a 64 bit version of that Operating System, and then soon there after a 64 bit version of XP and Server 2003.  These were for the Itanium Processors from Intel.  Later after the introduction of X86-64 instructions from AMD we would see non Itanium 64 bit versions of Windows released (Server 2003 and XP)  Theos early adopters would find hardware support to be buggy however.  It would not be until the release of Windows Vista that 64 Bit Windows would start to gain momentum.  Today we still have the option on installing 32 bit or 64 bit versions of Windows 7, but is 64 Bit always the best way to go?

I asked this question about my old laptop, a Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR)  It had an Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 running at 2.16 Ghz with 2 Gb of Ram.  It came with 32 bit Windows Vista Home Premium and I wanted to upgrade to Windows 7.  After a bit of research I decided to just try installing Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

Now this computer came with 32 bit Vista and I had also installed 32 bit Windows 7 to test, I had looked at which is faster Vista Vs 7 and XP Vs 7  which you can read here

For those interested here are the numbers for Windows Vista 32 bit on this machine.  The Pass Mark Performance Test got a score of 537.8  this is not bad at all for a laptop.  Below is the Windows Experience Index (in Vista scores range from 1.0 to 5.9)

Windows Exprierence Index from Vista

Now Windows 7 32 bit got a 590.4 out of the same Performance Test.  Below is the Windows Experience Index (in Windows 7 scores range from 1.0 to 7.9)

Windows Experience Index from 7

Now Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit gets results that are not what I expected.  The Pass Mark Performance Test score is a 528 This is slower than both the 32 bit version of Windows 7 and Vista. When you look at the test results Windows 7 64 bit actually does better in some areas but worse in others however this result is in every test category, there is not one category where Windows 7 64 bit does worse in comparison to its 32 bit counter part.    Below is the Windows Experience Index and note that these values are the same as the 32 bit version.

Windows Experience Index on Windows 7 64 Bit

It is odd that the Windows Experience Index is the same but the test results are different.  After using the computer I would suggest the 64 bit version as I felt is was improved over the 32 bit version.  As always your results may very, so in conclusion I would say if you have a slower system with less than 4 Gb of ram stick with 32 bit but if the system is faster and still under 4 Gb or ram go with 64 bit, and always go with 64 bit when you have more than 4 Gb of ram.  At least that is my opinion.

This article has been updated and move to the new site you can go here to read it.Go back to Part 4 for Windows Vista 32bit.

Go to Part 6 for Windows XP

Check out Part 7 for Windows 7 64-bit

Windows Vista was given a bad rap because of the release candidates and because some software and hardware no longer worked with it.  Vista has matured a lot from its 2006 release and now after Service Pack 2 is a nice operating system to use.   It is not as good as Windows 7 I will admit but it’s not that bad either.

As with every Windows version starting with some releases of Windows 95, Internet Explorer has been included with Windows, but is it really the best to use, I will look at the five major browsers and see which one works the best in my opinion. For a look at the 64-bit version click here.  This time I am doing these tests on my Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR) laptop with a 2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 Gb of ram, and a 7200 RPM hard drive.  This computer is running Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit.  All updates have been run for Windows, the internet browsers, Java, and Flash. All tests are ran unchashed.

1. Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18828  If you have passed on the newest Internet Explorer, well it’s time to look again.  This is not the Internet Explorer from Window past, nor is it the one that shipped with Vista.  IE 8 is fast a loading normal web pages but is not as fast when it comes to Java or Flash.  This is supposed to be better in IE 9 however for now all we have is 8.  But 8 is nice, I love the new features like the Web Slices pictured below.  These give you a quick glance from Ebay auctions to the weather in your area.  There are is also new visual search, and accelerators.  IE is my main browser for a lot of things, and my daily browsing.  You should check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=79154fb4-c610-4a1e-811d-dfe0f1dd84d1&displaylang=en

Internet Explorer 8 in Windows Vista

2.  Firefox 3.5.5 Firefox is not the fastest program to open but it renders pages faster than IE.  I use Firefox for work because of the built-in spell check which I wish IE had.  Firefox also supports a wide variety of plugins.  The interface is dated and cluttered but it still does a good job, I’m looking forward to see what comes out in version 3.6.  you can check it out at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html?from=getfirefox

Firefox 3.5 in Windows Vista

3.  Opera 10.01  This browser has come a long way, Version 9 was just not that great but 10 is fast and slick.  The user interface is very good at staying out of your way.  I like the thumbnail previews on the tabs.  It also has a most used page like other browsers called Speed Dial.  It is actually a good alternative browser if you’re looking for something other than the leaders IE and Firefox or want something different from the hyped up ones Safari and Chrome.  You can get it at http://www.opera.com/

Opera 10.01 in Windows Vista

4.  Chrome 3.0  The newest version of Google Chrome is actually better than version 2.  I sure beats Safari in all but one thing, the user interface leaves much to be desired.  I prefer Safari’s user interface however Safari is a dog compared to Chrome, still does not have anything for me to want to switch and it is made by a company that makes money off advertising.  You can check it out at http://www.google.com/chrome?hl=en&brand=CHMI

Chrome 3 in Windows Vista

5. Safari 4.0.4 Looks better than any version before it, they have finally use the Windows interface instead of porting the ugly grey Mac interface.  Safari 4 looks better than Chrome too, however it is not as fast, the top sites take some time to load and the browser itself does not load webpages very quickly.  We will have to see what Apple does with Safari 5.  You can get it at http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Safari 4 in Windows Vista

What will be interesting to see is how the browser makes will react to Windows 7, with the jump lists and such.  IE, Firefox, and Opera already are working on some things.  IE 8 currently uses the jump lists to their fullest in Windows 7.

Go back to Part 3 for Windows 2000

Go to Part 5 for Windows 7 32Bit

Some of you know that I set up Windows Vista Home Premium on this Netbook earlier and you can read that here.  I was glad to say goodbye to  XP and see Vista running on this little machine.  Well the day after Thanksgiving I was able to get the family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium for $150.  It was time to upgrade the Mini, I knew my fiance would love the new features and I wanted to see how much better it would run on there.  So again I went to work.

Here is some background, I got this Netbook because it is light and portable, not to just check e-mail and look cool.  This thing is very light.  I would suggest any of the HP Netbooks if you are interested in them.  This one is an HP Mini 1000 the true model number is the 1030NR.  I have read that the best thing you can do to these computers that run Intel Atom processors is to upgrade the ram and I did just that, I upgraded it to 2Gb.  Other than that this thing is still stock.

The upgrade was much simpler than putting Vista on this and I would say that anyone could do this very easily.  I had purchased an external DVD drive when I got the Mini so I attached it to it and booted off of the Windows 7 install disc.  The Mini will only support 32bit versions of Windows. I booted off of the 32bit disc and formated the hard drive and installed Windows,  it was simple.  Afterward I ran Windows Updates and installed Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate.  Total Windows, Office and a few programs fills up the 16Gb Solid State hard drive.  Just a few gigs free when it is all said and done.  I again disabled System Restore and set to a manual page file size instead of letting the OS manage it.

Windows 7 on HP Mini 1030NR

This was an easy install, the Device Manager was clear from the end of installation.  However a basic mouse driver was installed.  If you want the scroll function, download the Vista mouse driver from another HP laptop that used a Synaptics driver.  Also just a note the built-in webcam in the Mini works just fine in Windows 7, did not have to load any drivers for it the Windows Setup did it automatically.

All in all this Mini seems faster with 7 installed than with Vista.  The numbers are interesting, below is the Scores from Windows 7, check out my other blog here for windows Vista’s numbers on the same machine. Remember in Vista the highest score was a 5.9, in Windows 7 the highest score is a 7.9

Again I ran the Passmark Performance Test and Vista got a 172, while Windows 7 gets a 178.8, not a big jump but it is still a performance increase and you notice it on the Mini, the system is much more responsive.

So if you bought that Netbook on Black Friday or have an older one  I would suggest a Windows 7 upgrade.  If you do not have an external DVD drive you can look into local computer service shops to do an upgrade for you.  Windows 7 takes everything good about Vista and makes it better, as well as taking the bad and making it great. This upgrade is simple and recommended.

To start this seems to work on other motherboards that use the Promise 378 chipset, so give this a shot and let me know how it works.  When I did my comparison of Windows 7 to Windows XP (which you can read here) I needed an XP machine to install 7 on.  I chose my Dads it is an Asus KV8 SE Deluxe motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ running at 2.2GHz, 2 Gb of ram and an ATI X800 All-in-Wonder.  I partitioned the hard drive and booted up the Windows 7 disk.  Now this motherboard has the Promise 378 Sata chipset and if any of you are familiar with the Promise 378 chipset for sata you know how much of a pain it is.  It’s hard enough to get Windows XP installed.  Well I tried to install Windows 7 and things went fine until I got to the point in the installation to select the hard drive where Windows is to be installed.  There were no hard drives listed!!! I was confused.  I did some searching and found that there were no Promise 378 drivers made for Windows Vista let alone 7.  So I got to thinking and working.

I knew I was running the Promise 378 in ATA mode so I could connect only one hard drive.  So I thought of loading an older driver and looked at Asus website for one.  But before I did that I thought for a moment, an XP driver might not work.  Windows 7′s code is based on of Vista’s.  Vista’s code is based on Server 2003.  And that was the ticket.  I went here http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

1. Under General Download the first Select Product select Motherboard.

2. the second one is  Select Series select Socket 754

3. the third one is Select Models select KV8 SE Deluxe

Then hit search then when it asked which operating system you are using select Win 2003.  (if you are installing the 64-bit version of 7 or Vista try downloading the Windows 2003 64-bit driver instead)

Now it will say XX Files Found and under there click on IDE

Then down load the second driver (pictured below), Promise SATA378 Driver V1.00.0.26 (ATA Mode)

The Second Driver is the ATA Mode Driver

Expand the zip file to a folder and burn that folder to a disc.

Then restart your installation and when you get to the point that no hard drives show up take out your Windows 7 install disc and put in the one with the drivers, or if you have a second optical drive insert the burned disc into that.  And then in setup hit load drivers and select the 2003 driver, it should find it automatically.  It did for me and after a while of searching the drive shows up.  Continue the setup as you normally would.  That is all you have to do.  This should work for Windows Vista or Windows 7.  Here is the end results.

Device Manager Showing The Win2003 SATA Driver Installed

It took some doing but here is the proof, a screen shot of the Computer Properties.

Asus KV8 SE Deluxe running Windows 7

It does not do too bad performance wise although I get weird graphic glitches, AMD is not going to release a Windows 7 driver for the X800 graphic card in this machine, but the card could be going bad as well.  Below is the Windows Experience Index.

Windows Experience Index

Well I think I would leave 7 on here if I could get the graphic glitches fixed, but this computer is old and is slated to be rebuilt.  It does not handle Microsoft Flight Simulator X very well.  I hope this helps people figure out how to get Vista and 7 installed on their Promise 378 hardware.

I had a friend ask me last night if Windows 7 runs better than XP, and I did not know.  I knew that it ran better than Vista, so I went to work. 

First my laptop has never known Windows XP and it never will, I do not like XP and prefer Vista over it and love 7 over both of them.  Some would say I am nuts but as a computer technician the newer versions of Windows make my life easier.  This laptop is a Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR) with 2Gb of Ram and an Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 running at 2.16 GHz this also runs an Intel Mobile 965 Express Graphics Chipset.  The laptop came with Vista Home Premium 32bit and I installed Windows 7 Enterprize 32bit.     Below is the Windows Experience Index from Vista.  Please note that the Index range is from 1.0 to 5.9 in Vista.

Windows Experience Index form Vista

As you can see the laptop does ok but below is the Windows Experience Index from 7 it seems like there is not much of a difference. Please note that in 7 the Index range is from 1.0 to 7.9 and that might be why the numbers are different. 

Windows Experience Index from 7

The difference in the numbers is interesting however I also ran Pass Mark Performance Test in both operating systems.  I figured this would give me a good answer if Windows 7 was in fact faster than Vista.  In Vista the Performance Test got a total score of 537.8 while in 7 it got a total of 590.4  I think these numbers speak for themselves.  Vista is slower than 7 the benchmark proves this.  So then what about Windows XP?

Well my father has a computer that I figured would be a great it is a home built machine with an Asus KV8 SE Deluxe motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ running at 2.2GHz and with 2Gb or Ram and an ATI X800 XT All-in-Wonder.  It already has Windows XP installed and it has never known Vista, so I partitioned the hard drive and installed Windows 7 Enterprize 32bit.  Pictured below is the Windows Experience Index from Windows 7

Windows Experience Index in Windows 7

As before I ran the Pass Mark Performance Test on both operating systems and here are the results you have been waiting for.  Windows 7 got a total score of 390.1 where Windows XP got a total score of 440.6  XP did better in 2D and 3D graphics than 7 and that could be do to the lack of proper driver support, as time goes on im sure that gap will close.  Really XP does not do that much better than 7 but it is a little faster.  Still my mother was using Windows 7 for the first time today on my fathers computer and really liked it and wants to use it more, and she has never used Vista. 

So Windows 7 is faster than Vista but just a little slower than XP, not bad Microsoft, not bad at all.  If you are thinking of making the jump to Windows 7 the numbers speak for themselves, go for it.  The new Features and the fact that it is more energy efficient make Windows 7 worth the upgrade, even if it is a little slower than XP.

I know it may seem silly for some people to talk about a 12-year-old operating system, however it is still being used even today but is not supported with security updates. If you have been thinking of upgrading to Windows 7 or at least Windows XP, now would be a good time.

The last version of Internet Explorer released for Windows 2000 was IE 6 Service Pack 1. It is not updated anymore at all and has not been updated with new features to make browsing the internet easier and more secure. Internet Explorer 6 was first released in 2001 and was no longer supported on July 13, 2010. But is Internet Explorer 6 SP1 still best to use on the aging Win 2K? Let’s see what the best internet browser for Windows 2000 is.

Something else to consider is the fact that out of the 5 major browsers only three are available for Windows 2000, IE, Firefox and Opera.  Safari and Chrome have left the Win 2K users out in the cold.  I will be looking at Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera on Windows 2000 and see which one is the best to use.

I will be running Windows 2000 in a virtual machine within Virtual PC 2007 Service Pack 1.  It will be running on Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit.  The computer has 2GB of ram and a 1.46 Ghz Intel Pentium Dual Core. The computer is a Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR)

1. Opera 10, this has come a long way from version 9 or 8 for that matter.  It looks great on Windows 2000 and is fast as well.  I highly suggest it for 2000.  If you’re looking for something that will look good and is fast than Opera is for you. You can get it at  www.opera.com

Opera 10 on Windows 2000

2. Firefox 3.5.3 Fast, fast fast, and is very customizable with add-ons.  It has a bit of a dated user interface that looks a little awkward on 2000 but it is still a good choice and is recommended.  You can get it at www.getfirefox.com

Firefox 3.5 on Windows 2000

3. Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (6.0.2800.1106)  Microsoft does update this with security updates for now but let’s face it, it is outdated and does not have the modern security that Opera and Firefox have.  Also is does not render some pages properly and is slower than the others.  The user interface looks dated and old.  I would not suggest using this for your daily browsing, however is you are still running an older version update to IE 6 SP1, it will help protect  you a little better and allow other Windows programs to access web features better.  You can get it at  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1e1550cb-5e5d-48f5-b02b-20b602228de6&DisplayLang=en

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 2000

It is a good thing that Opera and Mozilla have paid attention to the fact that Windows 2000 is still being used to this day.  Windows 2000 is past its prime and I do suggest updating to at least Windows XP as soon as you can, remember all support ended for 2000 on July 13, 2010 and that includes IE 6 SP1.  I will write more articles about Windows 2000, (like How to keep it secure with Free Antivirus Here) (And Installing 2000 in Windows Virtual PC Here) As I can see some people still use it.

Go back to Part 2 for Windows Vista 64bit

Go to Part 4 for Windows Vista 32bit

Most of you don’t know that I am engaged, not too long ago my girlfriend’s laptop was stolen and it was time to get her a new one and she only had one request, that it be light.  She has back problems and did not like lugging her laptop around to class.  So I looked into Netbooks and found a HP Mini 1030NR at Best Buy for a good price.  I did not have much money so the $299 price was in my range and a friend told me he would help me out.  I chose the Mini because of its screen, the solid state hard drive, the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, and I liked the keyboard better than the other ones I had tried, it was much easier to type on.  Now if you know me you know I can’t leave any computer stock so I maxed out the ram at 2Gb.  And then I did some research.  I found that the Mini has an integrated Intel graphics chipset that supports Windows Aero Glass.  Also the Intel Atom processor only supports 32bit versions of Windows.  The Mini comes with Windows XP, but I figured that the Mini might support Windows Vista but it would take some doing , and so I went to work.

HP Mini 1000 Netbook running Windows Vista Home Premium

Now the Mini does not have a DVD rom drive so I bought an external one for it.  I then booted up and formated the hardrive with Vista Home Premium.  The Mini has a 16Gb solid state drive in it and I knew that would be a problem later on.  Vista installed without any problems, once the desktop was loaded I went to the Device Manager, and it was a mess.  HP’s website does not have much Vista drivers for the Mini so I had to go to the manufactures of the different components.  I was able to get graphic, network, wireless, chipset, and the quick play buttons all installed but I noticed something.  A generic mouse driver was installed and it did not support the scroll function of the touch pad.  Some might say this is not an important feature but I love it.  I found that the same mouse pad was used on other HP laptops and downloaded the Vista driver from another model

Clean Device Manager on Netbook with Vista installed

Now I had a clean Device Manager (pictured above), next was to update Windows.  This was a chore since I had also installed Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate and her antivirus software.  I got Service Pack 1 for Vista installed but there was no room for Service Pack 2.  So I ran the service pack cleanup tool which removes the backed up files and then ran SP2 and ran the tool again after that.  All the other updates installed fine for Vista, but then Service Pack 2 for Office would not install.  In the long run I figured that System Restore was going to have to be disabled.  I also set a limit to the Page File as well so it would not get out of hand.  That did it I was able to install all updates I wanted and after removing the temporary files with Crap Cleaner I had over 2Gb of free space.

I will say Vista actually runs well on this little Netbook, it is not as fast as my laptop but it works and it is light and gives my girlfriend all the functionality she needs, while staying protected with Vista’s advanced security features.  It took some doing but I am glad I did it and I can’t wait to get Windows 7 installed on there next.  That little Netbook runs Aero Glass just fine.  Now it’s not the fastest computer as you can see by the Windows Experience  Index below.  In Vista the highest score you can get is a 5.9, so it holds its own. I ran PassMark Preformance Test on it and on my low end Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR)  which also runs Windows Vista Home Premium, and the Mini gets a 172 overall score while the Compaq only gets a 393.3  The Mini keeps up in 3D graphics and keeps up with 2D, but  the Compaq does better with the processor and memory.   The weak point is the Intel Atom processor.  While the Intel Atom N270 runs at 1.6 GHz it is still not as fast as Intel’s mobile chips in laptops.  As the Atom evolves these Netbooks will become much better machines further blurring that line between Netbook and Laptop.

Windows Experience Index on HP Mini in Vista

I am a computer technician and I like performance.  I love using her Netbook, Vista runs fine on there.  I don’t understand why the Netbooks with traditional hard drives in them don’t have Vista running on them by default.  I can understand why XP is on the ones with small solid state hard drives because of the space restrictions.  I would suggest to anyone that has the ability to do it to install Vista on their Netbook and try it for themselves.  Also since Windows Vista runs on here, then Windows 7 will as well.  I have since updated to Windows 7 which you can read here.

Well I got the evaluation of Windows 7 Enterprise and I installed the 32bit version on my old Toshiba laptop.  It has 1Gb of ram and a 2 GHz Celeron processor and a 30 Gb hard drive, it is a Toshiba Satellite A15-S127.   It does not run too bad on there, it installed all drivers except for the video card, which is weird since Vista did install a driver for it but for some reason this is lacking from 7.  So while I can not run anything that requires graphic power I could not anyway in Vista, the laptop is not up to it so it’s not a deal breaker.  I admit it does seem faster than Vista and I like it over all.  I have a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for my Compaq laptop coming in the next few days and I will install 7 on that and test it.  First I will be doing my review of  internet browsers in Vista 32bit (Which you can read Here) and in 2000 (Which you can read Here).