Masterchef - The Professionals
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Help For Pc
18 Answers
Hi I have just seen an advert for something to boost connection speed for PC if it's getting slow. It's called Xtra PC and is probably from US. It is priced at 33.50 euros. Has anybody seen this and any thoughts about it's reliability
Answers
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Xtra-PC simply gets your computer to use a version of Linux, instead of Windows. You can download the same, or similar, software for free if you're confident enough to deal with extracting ISO files.
Alternatively, you can get various versions of Linux in ready-to use formats on a USB pen drive, for not much more than the cost of the drive itself, from multiple sellers on eBay. For example, your post has reminded me of this product, which I've been thinking of buying myself:
https:/
Alternatively, you can get various versions of Linux in ready-to use formats on a USB pen drive, for not much more than the cost of the drive itself, from multiple sellers on eBay. For example, your post has reminded me of this product, which I've been thinking of buying myself:
https:/
Zacs:
If your PC is already configured to look for an operating system on an external drive, rather than its own hard drive (or SSD), as many/most are when bought from Currys (etc) these days, all you need to do is to plug the USB memory stick into your computer and turn it on. It will then boot from Linux automatically. That's as simple as it could possibly be!
If the computer isn't configured to boot from an external drive though, then it's necessary to make a one-off tweak to its BIOS/UEFI which admittedly might look a little daunting to some people but is actually very easy in practice.
If your PC is already configured to look for an operating system on an external drive, rather than its own hard drive (or SSD), as many/most are when bought from Currys (etc) these days, all you need to do is to plug the USB memory stick into your computer and turn it on. It will then boot from Linux automatically. That's as simple as it could possibly be!
If the computer isn't configured to boot from an external drive though, then it's necessary to make a one-off tweak to its BIOS/UEFI which admittedly might look a little daunting to some people but is actually very easy in practice.
It's important to remember that no piece of software can make a computer run any faster - that's a hardware thing. If you want your PC to run faster, give it more memory or a faster hard drive or a faster processor.
All systems appear to slow down over time as more and more software is installed which is configured to load when the machine boots, and which adds more and more information to the registry. That's what all these "booster" apps focus on.
All systems appear to slow down over time as more and more software is installed which is configured to load when the machine boots, and which adds more and more information to the registry. That's what all these "booster" apps focus on.
MrsLadyBug; It might be worth trying CCleaner. It's free to download, and it cleans up your computer by getting rid of accumulated junk. If your machine runs slowly, then the first time you run CCleaner it might take quite a while, but it should then run much faster if you clean your PC again.
I think that Buen doesn't rate it much any more, but I still use it almost daily. Buen might care to comment.
I think that Buen doesn't rate it much any more, but I still use it almost daily. Buen might care to comment.
Mrs LB:
An 'operating system' is the computer coding which is on a computer (or, say, a mobile device, such as a phone), which turns it from a set of electronic components into a working device.
[A 'regular' PC normally uses Microsoft Windows as its operating system but some people prefer to use Apple devices, which use macOS instead. Mobile phones though use Android for their operating system, unless one buys an iPhone, which uses iOS].
However, while the makers of 'regular' PCs normally put Microsoft Windows onto to them (in order to get them to work), there's another operating system, called Linux, which can also be used on them. If you were to plug an Xtra-PC memory stick into a USB port on your computer, and then turn it on, your computer would (as long as it was set up to do so) completely ignore the fact that Windows is on its hard drive and use Linux from the pen drive instead.
However, unlike Microsoft Windows, Linux is completely free. It's illegal to charge for it but it's OK to put it onto a memory stick and then charge for the stick (plus a small fee for the task of copying Linux onto the stick). So the people selling Xtra-PC are actually charging €33.50 for a memory stick, that's worth no more than a few euros, and putting some free software on it.
Anyone who wants to try Linux, in a hassle-free way, can buy a USB memory stick with Linux on it from eBay for far less than €33.50. Linux actually comes in loads of different versions though, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint and Puppy Linux. (Some of those have sub-versions too, such as the various 'flavours' of Puppy Linux). The memory stick in my eBay link, above, has more than two dozen different types of Linux on it, which a user can try at their leisure. (If they really like a particular version, they can then permanently install into onto their computer's hard drive, or SSD, either alongside Windows or instead of it). The Xtra-PC memory stick only has one version of Linux on it and costs a lot more!
An 'operating system' is the computer coding which is on a computer (or, say, a mobile device, such as a phone), which turns it from a set of electronic components into a working device.
[A 'regular' PC normally uses Microsoft Windows as its operating system but some people prefer to use Apple devices, which use macOS instead. Mobile phones though use Android for their operating system, unless one buys an iPhone, which uses iOS].
However, while the makers of 'regular' PCs normally put Microsoft Windows onto to them (in order to get them to work), there's another operating system, called Linux, which can also be used on them. If you were to plug an Xtra-PC memory stick into a USB port on your computer, and then turn it on, your computer would (as long as it was set up to do so) completely ignore the fact that Windows is on its hard drive and use Linux from the pen drive instead.
However, unlike Microsoft Windows, Linux is completely free. It's illegal to charge for it but it's OK to put it onto a memory stick and then charge for the stick (plus a small fee for the task of copying Linux onto the stick). So the people selling Xtra-PC are actually charging €33.50 for a memory stick, that's worth no more than a few euros, and putting some free software on it.
Anyone who wants to try Linux, in a hassle-free way, can buy a USB memory stick with Linux on it from eBay for far less than €33.50. Linux actually comes in loads of different versions though, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint and Puppy Linux. (Some of those have sub-versions too, such as the various 'flavours' of Puppy Linux). The memory stick in my eBay link, above, has more than two dozen different types of Linux on it, which a user can try at their leisure. (If they really like a particular version, they can then permanently install into onto their computer's hard drive, or SSD, either alongside Windows or instead of it). The Xtra-PC memory stick only has one version of Linux on it and costs a lot more!
Re. CCleaner, as mentioned by Atheist above:
So-called 'registry cleaners' can potentially do more harm than good, although I accept that the risks are low with the better ones these days.
CCleaner has always been among the best known of such software. However, on the rare occasions that I find myself wanting to use a registry cleaner, I prefer to use the free version of Glary Utilities these days:
https:/
So-called 'registry cleaners' can potentially do more harm than good, although I accept that the risks are low with the better ones these days.
CCleaner has always been among the best known of such software. However, on the rare occasions that I find myself wanting to use a registry cleaner, I prefer to use the free version of Glary Utilities these days:
https:/
Thanks Buenchico for your informative information. I will probably have to get someone to do some cleaning up on it. My Grandson did it once before for me but I am not sure when he will get the time to do it for me now.
Thanks anyway and to anybody else who has tried to help me.
I only know what I have taught myself on the computer, and a lot of it was guesswork and luck.
Thanks anyway and to anybody else who has tried to help me.
I only know what I have taught myself on the computer, and a lot of it was guesswork and luck.
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