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Complete instructions here: Remove VisualBee Toolbar (Uninstall Guide)

SlimCleaner is not generally malware: SlimWare Utilities SlimCleaner 4

Bruce

OK thanks for that link.
I will try removing visualbee and see how it goes.

rstew

Thanks all.
I will revisit the startup folder and see what I can get rid of.
No actual boot up or running problems, just interested in fine tuning

rstew

“The system is quick and responsive. Bottom line – no upgrade needed. Heck, she never even gets a low memory warning when she’s doing a bunch of things all at once. My PC has a quad-core with more memory and an SSD that’s much faster on all benchmark tests, but in practice both systems feel similar in terms of responsiveness. ”

That pretty much says it all. If it ain’t broke; don’t fix it!
The best,

rstew

My GF’s PC is also an older Core2Duo Socket 775 from around 2007 that was running too warm. i added a front air intake fan and installed SpeedFan, then set both front and rear fans to run at 50% as the minimum speed. CPU core temps dropped by 8 deg. C. – 10 deg. C. right away. So now it runs cool even when she has a dozen or more webpages open with one page either playing video or maybe playing a game at pogo.com, etc. The cpu still has its original Intel heatsink/fan. If more cooling was needed the next thing i would’ve tried would be fresh application of good thermal paste (Arctic MX2 or similar) and re-seat the heatsink/fan. Sometimes that can drop temps. by another 3 or 4 deg. C.

As a suggestion, if the GF’s computer is still running a duo core, you could get a huge increase in speed by simply swapping the CPU out in favour of a quad core. Something like a Q6600/6700 if it is a 1066 fsb mobo, or a Q8400/9500 if 1333 fsb would make a very noticeable change in speed. They are readily available on eBay.

rstew

UPDATE:
I went to change my processor and made a discovery.
When i swapped in the Q6600 a few weeks back I installed the cooler heat sink 1/4 turn rotated from the way it needs to be.
The result was one side of the heatsink block was hanging up on a row of capacitors nearby the socket, thus preventing it from fully seating on the processor. One edge of the case was in contact; the rest not at all.
It appears that was the reason I have been seeing high core 0 temps all this while.
This time I seated it properly and I took it off after a trial seating just to make sure. Good contact right across the processor!
Put her all back together and voila; nice low temps right across all 4 cores. Core 0 still runs a tad higher, but way closer and all are cooler now. Live and learn I guess. No harm done in the end.
What I have learned is always do a trial fit of the heatsink then take it off and examine the heat transfer paste to make sure it is in full contact.
Talk about feeling like a dummy! 🙂

rstew

Ok thanks all for the great advice!
I now just have to get off top dead centre and get it done.
Many thanks to this forum and all it’s knowledgable members!

rstew

Well I now have SpeedFan running just about exactly how I want it.
All in all it is a great utility with lots of depth for the individual user to customize to his or her liking.
I put a post with my detailed experiences so far in the Maintenance forum, for anyone who may be interested.
Next up for tweaking, the fsb clocking tab!

rstew

Alt + PrintScr captures the entire screen into the clipboard, from where you can paste into whatever app you want.

Depending on the Windows version, you may also have installed the Snipping Tool, which allows you to select the part of the screen you want. Snipping Tool is available at least from Windows 7 and later.

Thanks for the snippng tool tip; that works great.
Alt-Prt Scrn does not seem to work at all. At least if it is saving the screen somewhere I sure don’t know where it is.

rstew

Still playing around with SpeedFan and tweaking the speed control strategies.
It is working pretty smoothly now and the irritating cycling of the fan up and down from about 80 to 100 percent is all but gone. Research continues!
Has anyone experimented with the system clock speed adjustment window? I would like to hear any comments back, pro, con, or otherwise.
Thanks for all the help so far.
rstew

Thanks all.
I was able to find it in the help/about area.
Turns out it is all up to date and has been all along.
When windows is installing updates it is not always clear exactly what is updating, unless you view the updates afterward.
But how boring is that?

Anyway, all good!

rstew

mngerhold;
Thanks so much for that handy link; lots of good info there.
That helps a lot.
Clint;
It looks like the board I have does indeed support software fan control, as all seems to be working just fine now.
The fans normally run at perhaps 40-50% speed and they are siltent.
But when the cpu is busy it quickly ramps up and keeps the temps under control.

Very handy utility all in all.
rstew

If you want a good tutorial on Switching Power Supplies, take a look at this:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-Power-Supplies/181

Prescott; thanks for the link. Very good information there.

Cheers,
rstew

So I have been fooling around with the advanced fan control part of SpeedFan, and it is basically the school of hit and miss. Eventually I managed to build a processor fan control window, and another for chassis fans, which I think are working as intended.
Does anyone know of a set of detailed instructions for SpeedFan? That would be a huge help.
I couldn’t find much on the site other than some very general information.
I would still like to know what the two fan speed control boxes on the main screen are for?
Are they minimums? Manual speed overrides? Or?
And what are the ‘log’ check boxes for? They don’t seem to do much.
Has anyone fooled around with the speed settings?

Thanks for any ideas,
rstew

Thanks Rui that helps a lot.
I guess after making a rescue cd it would be a good idea to test it out by re-booting from the DVD drive and see what happens!

rstew

Pretty sure that XEON is Socket 771, requiring a pin mod/adapter to enable it’s use in a S775 ‘board.

If I had to upgrade any Gateway, a good PSU would be my first acquisition.

Satrow,
I assume PSU refers to power supply?
The original is only a meager 300 watt unit, so it might be a little light.
I have a couple of bigger power supplies sitting around so I will swap.
Appreciate the suggestion.

rstew