Video Hesitates

[Fabrice Roux]

Usually the only performance "problem" with Zone Alarm on older machines comes with the non free versions. They all have the "OS firewall" and antispyware that kinda bring a lot of load on the CPU.

During the past year there have been problems with some antiviruses that made ZA eat memory. They also released some really bugged versions. Even with these issues, I still believe that ZA is the best all in one solution. I even keep old ZA 5.5 version for really old computers. :)

The main issue with XP firewall is that it's not efficient to block all these Phone home apps. I own most of my apps but it bothers me that they still phone home even when you turn off the automatic update.

ps: remark I still use ZA Pro 6.1 while the 6.5 is available for a long while. :)

[Gerry]

On my Dimension, when I had the ZoneAlarm issue, I was running Norton System Works, but that went after the whole Klez NSIS Media infections. BTW, the Klez worm attached itself to two backup older version files of AOL (now that it's free and most features are available via the Web, I'm working at weaning my wife off of it so I can dump it).

I really did like the ZoneAlarm interface but for whatever reason it cause my computer indigestion. Can you recommend so alternative Firewall programs that would offer better privacy protection that the Windows' one?

Gerry

[The_Lead_Factor]

Well Nortan is the most bulls*** excuse for an antivirus ive seen in ages....But they DID buy out Sygate so their firewall might not be too bad. Fabrice might know of a better one though so wait for his opinion.

Edited August 27, 2006 by The_Lead_Factor

[Fabrice Roux]

I concur... Norton is too heavy to be used on such computer. I keep my point of view... Zone Alarm Suite 6.1 is a good option for low specs computers.

Why do I use CA Etrust and Zone Alarm? Because I need to be able to shutdown either or both functions.

[Gerry]

Well, even though I relied on Norton for many years, I whole heartedly agree that SystemWorks became bloated with a lot of basically useless junk that gobbled resources.

I guess everyone's experiences with programs are different. Since I unistalled ZoneAlarm, my Inspiron is performing better than when it was new (it should with double the RAM). It boots up quicker and programs are responding faster than ever. PowerDVD, with all the whistles and bells on, works perfectly.

I am going to try out a few different well rated Firewall programs to see what works and what I like. Right now I'm giving a go with, what I guess is supposed to be new, Ashampoo's freeware firewall. From the various review I read, I guess it borrows heavily from a McAfee program and still has a few bugs depending on the system on which it's used. So far, it meshes nicely with what I've set up and not causing any conflicts that I've noticed.

One final question, should I hold in place with the 44.68 driver or, as someone on nVidia's forum suggested, try out an "84" driver?

Again, I appreciate all the thought and effort in trying to sort this out. You have my word, the offered advice didn't fall on deaf ears.

Gerry

Edited August 27, 2006 by Gerry

[The_Lead_Factor]

You can stay at 44.68, But upgrading to 84.25 might not be such a bad idea. You should give it a go and try it out a bit....Then if you dont like it, just roll back.

[Fabrice Roux]

One final question, should I hold in place with the 44.68 driver or, as someone on nVidia's forum suggested, try out an "84" driver?

Performance wise it will be hard to beat the 44.68 on your PC... if you run into compatibility issues jump to 67.66... but the recommended 84.25+ are for 6x00 and 7x00 cards.

From your GeForce 2 Go point of view the 84.25+ is bloated with pointless dlls and stuff. :)

ps: the biggest bloatware from Norton is their Internet Security suite... it warps your computer back to stone age.

[Guest Guest]

Naturally, I open your reply just after I installed the 84.25. Well, I'll see how it goes. At least I have several options to pick from should I notice a drop in performance. In any event, my Inspiron is now running smoother and faster at least it seems so) than my Dimension (the story of my life lately, get one thing fixed and another goes kaput).

I know this is OT from the laptop video problem but hopefully one of you folks might steer me in the right direction. Ever since I made the mistake of installing Earthlink's Total Access program around the 6th of July and unistalled it almost immediately after seeing what a mess it was and that Windows XP could manage my DSL connection, my Dimension has not been right. The Klez and this NSIS Media Trojan probably added to whatever the Earthlink program did. I keep having programs freeze up only to unlock as soon as I open the Task Manager. At times it just hums right along but then without rhyme or reason everything will slow to a crawl. Opening the task manager, without shutting anything down, always seems to clear up whatever is happening. All virus, spyware, trojan checkers and registry programs give a clean bill of health. Much of what is happening is very similiar to the way the Inspiron acted before I got it straightened out. I've posted HJT logs on Tom Coyote's and Dell's forums and other than some minor issues which have been attended to, no one can really give me an answer. I switched Firewalls from ZoneAlarm to Ashampoo's new one with some slight improvement. I dumped Norton SystemWorks some time ago and for awhile, I thought that did the trick...no such luck. I'm also paring down the number of apps running at startup and in the background and am seeking new ones with a smaller "footprint".

I'm wondering whether it's time to wipe the HD (actually, I'd upgrade to a new one as this still has the original 40GB, wh :) ich is only 55% filled, that was an affordable moderate size drive 4 years ago). It's driving my spouse nuts because of all the error messages, :P some one time only, others keep popping up at irregular intervals plus she thinks I can "wave a wand" and fix it instantly.

Now that the Inspiron's humming along nicely, I had indended to continue the upgrad process on the Dimension (put in a new 16X DVD-RW that I stumbled upon for $.99 on eBay with full manufacturer's warranty to replace the original CD-RW). The main areas I had intended to address after areat least doubling the RDRAM (not exactly a cheap proposition), upgrading the 64MB nVidia GeForce2 MX to something affordable in a 256Mb card and a larger HD. A 19" LCD monitor to replace the 19" CRT would be a nice to have but not essential. I figure, for what we use the system, those upgrades should get us a few more years use out of it.

Any suggestions, direction, resources will be most appreciated. I also apologize for straying from my original topic. If it's a Faux Paus :) to take up more space here with this new dilema, feel free to send me a personal message or email.

Regards;

Gerry