Topic: New weather computer

[WheatonRon]

Our university support staff uses CC Cleaner. They would not use any software without extensive testing and approval. When the license renewal for McAfee was coming the level 3 staff tested every solution and settled on MS Defender after 4 months of extensive testing. This was rolled out to over 800 desktops.  Also when it comes to updates my Win7 box updates at 3am and reboots. My Win10 laptop and 2 computers installs the updates on a reboot and generally I wait about 1-2 minutes.

Which does not contradict what I said - CCleaner is a very diverse SW, if you use it to manually disable startup programs, clean temporary folders etc. - it is very good. If you use it to automatically detect "faulty registry" items or let it change system configuration to "speed up your OS" you are very likely to only make things worse sooner or later.

I have tried numerous computer cleaner software (i.e., a utility) and most are bad, including CCleaner. However, I have been using Iolo's System Mechanic for a couple of years with good results.

As others have stated in this thread, your hardware should be more than adequate. I would get rid of any programs you never or rarely use. A clean install of the OS would be ideal. If using Davis's Weatherlink software, stay away from Windows 10--it doesn't rotate among CWOP servers like it should. XP, 7, 8 and 8.1 rotate properly among CWOP servers when uploading data from your computer to CWOP. For example, my Windows 10 computer using Weatherlink would only upload to CWOP server 4, so if that server was down, none of your uploads to CWOP would get posted until server 4 was back in service. Ideally, your uploads should rotate among the 7 servers CWOP uses. All the other Windows systems noted previously rotate.

[Garth Bock]

Well everyone's mileage differs. Saying that CC Cleaner will actually make things worse might have come about because the pc it was used on had a damaged registry. But who knows. I have not seen anything in other forums that says that using CC Cleaner causes damage. It all comes down to personal experience.....coke vs pepsi, Ford vs Chevy, Marianne vs Ginger, Windows vs Linux, Trump vs Hillary.....what works for some may not work for others, measure twice cut once and always backup your backup before proceeding.

[jlmr]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.   I want to get rid of Windows 8 but dread the thought of upgrading.  I did that on a couple of laptops and with one ok, and the other - wish I hadn't!

Now if I wanted to be lazy (building hardware is not my gift) and spend a little bit of my hard earned money which would you recommend: ADM A10-7800 or Intel Ci5-6400 and Acer or Lenovo.

Working fine this morning (for now)
Paul

If you where to buy one I would go with Intel, always have had better luck and the mother boards always seem better as far as chip set's go.
Now the bigger problem What version of windows? Or maybe Linux? If you need ease of use and something you know I would look into getting windows 7 for it. You have good stability with it and it wont reboot on its own because of an update (windows 10). If you feel like doing more with the system say run servers ie: web ftp database you can look into linux, Ubuntu installs with ease and runs CumulusMX fine. There will be a learning curve but really not that hard and very easy to secure the system compared to windows.

All said personally I would be looking at that intel I5,  Im using an Intel I3 with 8 gigs ram and everything works great, also uses a little less power, another consideration seeing this will be a 24/7 running system.
Good luck with whatever you do.

[Jáchym]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.   I want to get rid of Windows 8 but dread the thought of upgrading.  I did that on a couple of laptops and with one ok, and the other - wish I hadn't!

Now if I wanted to be lazy (building hardware is not my gift) and spend a little bit of my hard earned money which would you recommend: ADM A10-7800 or Intel Ci5-6400 and Acer or Lenovo.

Working fine this morning (for now)
Paul

If you where to buy one I would go with Intel, always have had better luck and the mother boards always seem better as far as chip set's go.
Now the bigger problem What version of windows? Or maybe Linux? If you need ease of use and something you know I would look into getting windows 7 for it. You have good stability with it and it wont reboot on its own because of an update (windows 10). If you feel like doing more with the system say run servers ie: web ftp database you can look into linux, Ubuntu installs with ease and runs CumulusMX fine. There will be a learning curve but really not that hard and very easy to secure the system compared to windows.

All said personally I would be looking at that intel I5,  Im using an Intel I3 with 8 gigs ram and everything works great, also uses a little less power, another consideration seeing this will be a 24/7 running system.
Good luck with whatever you do.

Jim he needs a PC just to run Cumulus and a few other rather low-demand programs, do you really think he needs an i5?! Even i3 is an overkill. Even my 1GB laptop could handle that very easily with a very old dual core.

In my office I have i3 with 8GB RAM and it is lightning fast even when I have dozens of tabs opened in Chrome while editing an icon in Photoshop and running an Excel macro in the background.

If I understand it correctly this is a PC dedicated to his weather station, not his everyday machine.

[PaulMy]

If I understand it correctly this is a PC dedicated to his weather station, not his everyday machine.

But my weather station equipment is my everyday...


Seriously, I do have an old laptop for other personal usage as well as a second newer laptop for my ongoing work with the non-profit corporation www.komokaseniorsapartments.com


The laptops are wireless and I use them to compare performance and how things look.


Since it seems to be working quite well for now I am leaning to return the new computer and get a new VP2+ ISS instead .


Paul

[Jáchym]

OK what I meant was not if you use it on a daily basis (which you surely do because you track the weather 24/7)

What I meant was - if this laptop is ONLY supposed to serve the purpose of processing the data from the PWS - and will not be used by you as a normal PC for browsing the web, watching videos, office work etc. - then you absolutely don't need i5.

If this is a PC that you use for all the above IN ADDITION to processing data from your PWS, then that of course would be a different matter, but I assume this is not the case because you surely have a more powerful PC than 1GB of RAM which is what the laptop you currently have and want to replace has.

[Garth Bock]

Since it is a dual use computer, weather and business/personal, then you need to look at both sides of the coin. What weather services/software you are running and what biz/personal software you need to run at the same time without majorly impacting both. Your 8 gig of ram is more than adequate and actually some is wasted by any O/S. The only thing is the AMD. I tried one but back in the days when MS/Intel supposedly went out the way to make software not run very well on the AMD. Not totally proven though. I still see better performance on an Intel. As for I5/I7 they provide great performance but only if the software takes advantage of it (like a friend of mine who bought an HD Road King...to go to work and back...in town). Currently I run 5 weather packages plus a jpg capture program and only see 40% usage on a 4gb dual core Dell Optiplex Dual Core 960. I can still surf on it too if I need to. You can pick up a good used Dell off of eBay and save the bucks to put into a VP2+.

[WheatonRon]

If I understand it correctly this is a PC dedicated to his weather station, not his everyday machine.

But my weather station equipment is my everyday...


Seriously, I do have an old laptop for other personal usage as well as a second newer laptop for my ongoing work with the non-profit corporation www.komokaseniorsapartments.com


The laptops are wireless and I use them to compare performance and how things look.


Since it seems to be working quite well for now I am leaning to return the new computer and get a new VP2+ ISS instead .


Paul

Paul,

I don't quite understand your decision. It is kind of like deciding you want a new car because it is old, but when driving to shop for one, you decide to replace your boat that you frequently haul around with your car! I replaced my VP2 ISS earlier this year and have no regrets. But replacing the ISS in lieu of a dying computer doesn't make a lot of sense to me, particularly since your existing computer clearly is showing signs of age. My guess is your computer isn't powerful enough for Win 8.1--I assume you upgraded the computer from Win 7? I upgraded my old weather station computer from Windows Vista to Windows 10 and after a couple of months, it died--literally! Granted, an upgrade from Win 7 to 8.1 isn't nearly as drastic as going from Vista to Win 10! Since you have decided to use your existing computer, I would suggest you put the computer back to its condition on day one--a system recovery. Obviously, before doing that you need to copy your files (photos, documents, etc.). Replacing your hard drive with a solid state drive would likely fix your problem, but the logistics of doing so could be overwhelming! Enjoy your new ISS. You might get by just replacing the PCBA, replacing your temperature-humidity sensor with the SHT31 sensor, and cleaning the plates by soaking them in bleach overnight. If you have a fan, you might replace it too.

[PaulMy]

Quote<blockquote>If I understand it correctly this is a PC dedicated to his weather station, not his everyday machine.</blockquote>


 But my weather station equipment is my everyday...

Seriously, I do have an old laptop for other personal usage as well as

I've been making this more confusing than I should have
1. My old laptop is a 2008 Toshiba which when new was Vista, and I upgraded to Win 7 a few years ago, and then recently to Win 10 (which I regret doing).  It is for my personal use, storing pictures, etc. and nothing to do with my weather hobby other than periodically browse from it to my weather sites to get a different perspective.


2. My business laptop is also a Toshiba (Intel Ci7...) which came with Win 8.0 and then MS automatically upgraded to Win 8.1 ( ) and which I this past summer updated to Win 10 and it works acceptable most of the time.  Again nothing to do with my weather hobby other than occasionally browse to my weather sites.


3. My Acer XC desktop AMD... 8GB ram, etc. is my weather computer (Cumulus, Davis Envoy, Blitzortung, Yawcam, Sunrecorder, related weather programs, backups, editing websites, etc. etc.).  This had been running extremely slow/no response for short periods, using 100% of CPU and hard disk access at times, but other times quite well and using no more than 50% of memory.  This was an original Win 8.0 an still is and can only go to IE10 which is not good so now using FF most of the time.  The other day, after a couple of reboots surprisingly it seems to be working much better (for now).


I dread having to reinstall all my weather hardware, programs, templates, scripts, drivers, etc. but to stop frustration on using the weather computer I was prepared to bite the bullet and do something - replace it and get rid of Win 8.0!  However after some of the comments here that the processing power of my Acer should be more than enough for me, and seeing the performance of other more powerful boxes at the computer stores, I am holding off in replacing it and work to see how much of the unnecessary programs I can get rid of.

If you feel like doing more with the system say run servers ie: web ftp database you can look into linux, Ubuntu installs with ease and runs CumulusMX fine. There will be a learning curve but really not that hard and very easy to secure the system compared to windows.

Unfortunately this kind of change is out of my league.


I really appreciate all the comment and discussion and it certainly has helped.


Thanks all!
Paul

[Jáchym]

Paul, one very important thing to realize - you fear having to re-install everything (which would most likely solve the problems) - but keep in mind that getting a new PC will mean you will have to do the exact same thing.

[Garth Bock]

With most of the weather software you won't have to do a totally fresh install where you will have to start over entering all the settings. Check with each package for moving it to a new computer. You might just have to install the software app and then copy the original folder back ontop of it which would restore the settings. There are ways to make it less painful than starting all over.

My weather computer has 2 drives...one for the O/S and the other drive is where I installed all of the apps. Both are 2 separate drives and not partitions. If the O/S drive crashes I can reload it, reinstall the apps on the C:/ and then repoint the links to the executables on the other drive. No long reinstalls and entering of settings. The drives are backed up and imaged on an external drive.

[WheatonRon]

Quote<blockquote>If I understand it correctly this is a PC dedicated to his weather station, not his everyday machine.</blockquote>


 But my weather station equipment is my everyday...

Seriously, I do have an old laptop for other personal usage as well as

I've been making this more confusing than I should have

...


3. My Acer XC desktop AMD... 8GB ram, etc. is my weather computer (Cumulus, Davis Envoy, Blitzortung, Yawcam, Sunrecorder, related weather programs, backups, editing websites, etc. etc.).  This had been running extremely slow/no response for short periods, using 100% of CPU and hard disk access at times, but other times quite well and using no more than 50% of memory.  This was an original Win 8.0 an still is and can only go to IE10 which is not good so now using FF most of the time.  The other day, after a couple of reboots surprisingly it seems to be working much better (for now).


...

If you feel like doing more with the system say run servers ie: web ftp database you can look into linux, Ubuntu installs with ease and runs CumulusMX fine. There will be a learning curve but really not that hard and very easy to secure the system compared to windows.

Unfortunately this kind of change is out of my league.


I really appreciate all the comment and discussion and it certainly has helped.


Thanks all!
Paul

The plot thickens! Since your weather computer is on a desktop, making adding hardware quite easy (unlike a laptop), buy a small Solid State drive, and install the O/S on it and leave everything else on your other hard drive. This does mean performing a system recovery and reinstalling your programs, but it will likely fix your problem! If you are not comfortable with this task, get a quasi-computer literate friend to help you. You can get a decent solid state drive for $100 or so, for example, a Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal Drive on Amazon is about $90!