How to make a T41 faster?

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electrizer · #1 Post by **electrizer** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:59 pm

Hi!

Recently I bought a 1 GB RAM stick so I have now 1,25 GB RAM in my T41. I did it to make it faster. What gets me is that when Windows' 'welcome' screen appears it takes it awfully long to boot the system until the hard drive stops that 'grinding' sound.

What else can I do apart from unchecking unnecessary items in Startup in msconfig? Is Windows reinstall the only hope? I know that T41's CPU may pose some obstacles, regardless of how much RAM there is inside.

Thanks in advance for any ideas or links

electrizer

sarbin · #2 Post by **sarbin** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:07 pm

faster cpu.
more ram.
7200 rpm hd.
and optimizing startups, as you mentioned.

all are good.

electrizer · #3 Post by **electrizer** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:20 pm

sarbin wrote:faster cpu.
more ram.
7200 rpm hd.
and optimizing startups, as you mentioned.

all are good.

I also consider buying a T60.

How else can I optimise the startup process except from msconfig? Is it possible to buy a new Duo CPU without replacing the entire motherboard?

rook · #4 Post by **rook** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:27 pm

take look for windows registry tricks:

- full L2 cache usuable for system core
- swap file cleaning during shutdown
- no swap execute protection (warning, may cause issues)
- big hdd r/w cache
and so on...

i've TP with PM 1,5GHz, 1,2GB ram and 60GB 4800rpm Hitachi hdd, and my windows xp boot up within max 35s including, desktop and all systray [censored].

sarbin · #5 Post by **sarbin** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:36 pm

not a core duo/core 2 duo, but whatever is the highest class cpu that is compatible with your planar. post your machine 'model-type' and we could probably recommend one.

i use "codestuff starter" ( http://codestuff.tripod.com/products_starter.html ) or microsoft's "autoruns" ( http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... 63902.aspx ) to manage startups, in addition to modifying services' startup parameters through the services snap-in (start... programs... administrative tools... services) using a site like: http://www.blackviper.com/ as one of several guides.

of course, you could always just upgrade to a t6x, as you say.

i'd still go through the startup optimization on it though.

hth.

aaa · #6 Post by **aaa** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:43 pm

CPU will not help as much as a hard drive upgrade. You yourself mentioned "until the hard drive stops that 'grinding' sound"; the hard drive is the slow part here, if it were the cpu then the drive would be silent for extended periods during startup.

But yes, the cheap way is a Windows reinstall, it always speeds things up. I'm assuming you've defragmented already.

#7 Post by **richk** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:56 pm

The hard drive rotatation speed is the most important factor in startup time, because windows needs to read lots of small files. The bottleneck is the latency time, which is the time it takes the drive to rotate to where the sectors containing the data get to the heads. (on average, half a revolution)

gunston · #8 Post by **gunston** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:19 pm

replace your hdd with 7200rpm hdd,

you would see the performance boost!!

intellution · #9 Post by **intellution** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:09 pm

Hi, have you tried to scan (complete scan) your drive for viruses/spywayre? Usually slows down startups

awolfe63 · #10 Post by **awolfe63** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:44 pm

Post your complete specs - then maybe we can make better suggestions.

Maccess · #11 Post by **Maccess** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:34 pm

exctrlst.exe to shut down all the performance monitors running in the background. You will hardly ever need this information, and if you do, you can easily switch the monitors back on.
===
set your VM page file minimum and maximum size to the recommended size so the system doesn't waste time expanding and contracting pagefil.sys
===
Get omegadrivers or ATI catalyst drivers if you have an ATI videocard.
===
Install the Intel INF update files for your computer's Intel Chipset.
===
I'm not sure if the T40 supports Dual-channel RAM (the T43 does). Use CPU-Z to find out if it activates after installing matched pairs of DDr SO-DIMMs.
===
Get the "quickest" RAM you can find. "Quickest" means the lowest cache latency. Since DDR is at least five years old, newer modules have been made with lower cache latencies. You'll have to change BOTH SO-DIMMs. Read here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tig ... ,1236.html

agarza · #12 Post by **agarza** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:32 pm

If you don't have the $$ right now, reinstall Windows. I prefer a modified Windows version tuned for speed. I do not use OEM Windows Version, my T42p is blazingly fast.
Furthermore, add a 7200RPM drive and you will be very happy.
Install a light antivirus such as ESET 3.0.667

#13 Post by **Johan** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:18 am

In addition to the many suggestions above, I'd like to point your attention to the following threads which also deal with upgrading T4x's to make them more "speedy", with resect to the hardware configuration (there are many, many threads about this on the forum!); see: Upgrade Questions and Upgrading T41 processor.

Since 7200 rpm 2.5" ATA/PATA/IDE HDD's have gone out of production, and are therefore very hard to find nowadays, you should/could consider upgradring your HDD to one of the newest generation 5400 rpm HDD's, as they by some users are claimed to be almost as fast as 7200 rpm drives - as discussed e.g. in the threads 7200 rpm ATA drives and Hitachi website - 7K100, 100 GB PATA HD is unavailable.

As already asked above, please post the M/T (model/type) of your ThinkPad (e.g. 2373-N1G), so that we may be able to understand your current hardware configuration?

PS: As to your apparent slow boot, see the thread T60 Startup Freeze - Explorer.exe just stops responding (the post there of Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:22 pm), as you might also be troubled by the "TVTsched" process? In any case, regardless of being troubled by "TVTsched" or not, see the two tools "Process Explorer" and "Autoruns for Windows" linked to there; they are both VERY useful in the process of speeding up the boot process.

Johan

#14 Post by **underclocker** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:47 am

Upgrading to a T60 will certainly do it.

In addition to the high spped and/or large capacity new hard drive upgrade, popping in a Dothan CPU would provide performance results. However, any Dothan over 1.7GHz is still somewhat expensive for the performance increase that you'd get.

electrizer · #15 Post by **electrizer** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:03 pm

Thanks guys for all the suggestions! Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of a speed freak. I'd just like to get speed which is adequate to how I treat the machine. I always use a firewall/antivirus (Kaspersky Internet Security 6.0), never install unnecessary software.

I've tried defragmenting but it asks me to check the disk beforehand which is impossible (NTFS?).

Where to get the model number? My specs are :

Intel Pentium M 1600 (Banias)
1280 MB RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 32MB
Seagate ST9502012A 46 GB hdd

On top of that, is there a complete system maintenance tool that scans and defragments disks, maintains startup processes, etc??

awolfe63 · #16 Post by **awolfe63** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:16 pm

Faster HD - defragmented.

This will be the biggest improvement.

electrizer · #17 Post by **electrizer** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:47 pm

Can somebody give me a list of compatibile HDDs I could buy?

Thanks in advance!

awolfe63 · #18 Post by **awolfe63** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:14 pm

For a T40 - any 2.5" 9.5mm PATA drive. In practice, that is about every new 2.5" PATA drive.

The Hitachi and Seagate 7200 RPM drives are the best - but pretty much impossible to find new.

I've had good luck with the Western Digital Scorpio WD1600BEVE and Western Digital Scorpio WD2500BEVE. The former is only about $70. Smaller drives are only about $10 less so I would splurge.

electrizer · #19 Post by **electrizer** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:35 pm

do you mean something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0070412281

but this one is SATA. There's plenty of SATA's but no Parallel ATA's

Also is there HDD capacity limit for a T41 i have to stick to? The leonovo website mentions something about 30, 40 and 60GBs.

Moderator edit: Shortened URL to prevent horizontal scrolling

aaa · #20 Post by **aaa** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:00 pm

electrizer wrote:do you mean something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0070412281

but this one is SATA. There's plenty of SATA's but no Parallel ATA's

Also is there HDD capacity limit for a T41 i have to stick to? The leonovo website mentions something about 30, 40 and 60GBs.

No limit. Just has to be PATA.

electrizer · #21 Post by **electrizer** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:03 pm

HAS to be PATA? Meaning that SATA won't do? It won't work?

#22 Post by **rkawakami** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:22 pm

Correct. The interface (i.e., the pins on the back end of the drive) is totally incompatible between PATA and SATA.

#23 Post by **Johan** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:30 pm

... if following the above advice(s) about getting a "new" 7200 rpm ATA/PATA HDD, then - as already said - beware that these are very hard to get hold of nowadays, as the production has been stopped. However, I just saw one for sale in the Marketplace here; check this one although nothing is stated about its exact condition? Also, I am not certain if the seller will want to ship out of USA - ask!

To test a Hitachi HDD for errors, use the free Hitachi tool Drive Fitness Test (or ask the seller do it?).

Johan

NovaKnowledgeNow · #24 Post by **NovaKnowledgeNow** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:38 pm

Beside removing things from your MsConfig file
Run Disk clean up
Run disk defrag

If you're still not happy, reload windows on there.
I'll bet you'll see quicker load times.

On a hardboot, I'm loading in less than 30 seconds on XP SP3

electrizer · #25 Post by **electrizer** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:54 pm

Is there any alternative name for PATA? E.g. IDE or something? I've found some 5400 RPM PATAs but no 7200 rpm. What about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0264607481

Moderator edit: Shortened URL to prevent horizontal scrolling

awolfe63 · #26 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:04 pm

PATA is a newer name for IDE. That drive is fine - but to be honest probably not much faster than the $70 WD drive I mentioned before and only half as big.

The only other choice is to get a T43 SATA Ultrabay adapter (and depending on where you get it from - cut off a pin) and use that with a SATA drive as the main drive.

AIX · #27 Post by **AIX** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:49 am

I won't pay 120$+ for that Seagate drive

Better buy a new 5400 rpm drive with the (new) perpendicular recording technology at half of the price.

agarza · #28 Post by **agarza** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:01 am

Any 5400rpm would boost your laptop performance, also disabling msconfig services that run on the startup. But a clean reinstall of Windows will definitely give you a more responsive laptop. And a 7200rpm would give you a freaky speedy laptop.

It's a shame T4x users are limited to use a maximum of 100GB on a 7200rpm PATA drives, newest Hitachi 7K320 would boost 320GB, 7200rpm and 16MB buffer. Time to upgrade

electrizer · #29 Post by **electrizer** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:35 pm

Can anyone give the reason why ScanDisk won't check my hdd? the message I'm getting says that the program cannot obtain exclusive access to some files. Then it's asking me if I want him to do it upon the next restart. I choose yes and then there is another message (don't rememeber) and nothing happens. Is it because of NTFS? I want to do that because otherwise the defragmenter won't run. And I'm stuck. Again

electrizer · #30 Post by **electrizer** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:58 pm

The message after the boot is "Cannot open volume for direct access". But from what I see it's a problem of many people.

How to make a T41 faster?

How to make a T41 faster?

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