The Four-eyed Journal » Windows Vista

Back to a Vista-Ubuntu dual-boot setup - Ubuntu 10.04 works perfectly with my laptop

jhay — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:13:34 +0000

After spending an entire day migrating and configuring my blogs to my new VPS hosting account, the unthinkable happened. My laptop’s original hard drive crashed. Well, the Windows Vista installation on it anyways. I suspect it was a trojan or some other malware because in my attempt to fix things from Windows in Safe Mode, the malicious file “pc-off.bat” was found in the root directory of C:/

My attempts in removing the damn file were unsuccessful. Something else, another malware was re-creating the file right before the system restarts. So, I’ve decided to reformat the hard drive and start with a clean install of Windows Vista. The one thing that stopped me was that all my files stored in the drive weren’t sycnhed with the backups I have stored on an old IDE drive housed in an enclosure. And since I have no other means of accessing a SATA drive at home, a trip to the mall was scheduled yesterday to enlist the assistance of computer technicians in recovering my personal files and reformatting the drive.

Then the idea of getting a new and bigger capacity hard drive popped into mind. The one that crashed is nearly 3 yrs old and had been in regular use more than 18 hours every day. After visiting each computer store in SM Dasmarinas, I settled with a Seagate 320GB SATA drive from TCA for Php2,950. For another Php350 they installed the new hard drive in my laptop, that’s the price of losing the set of small screw drivers we had at home. Then they offered to install my licensed copy of Windows Vista but for a Php1,400 fee, I refused after saying ‘You want me to pay your technicians that much for a task I could easily do myself? Up yours!’ at the back of my mind. My next stop was at CD-R King where I bought an enclosure for the old Samsung 120GB SATA drive for Php250.

Vista + Ubuntu Linux in Dual-boot

The bigger hard drive was not only meant to provide more storage but to enable me to have my laptop running on dual-boot setup of Vista and Ubuntu Linux 10.04. I’ve always wanted to return to this setup because of Ubuntu’s appeal and the liberating experience I get whenever I use it. Ubuntu could also be used to recover my files on the Vista partition should it crash again. It may not be foolproof, but it gives me a better chance of recovering my data and to keep on working even if Vista has shot itself in the head.

My Ubuntu 10.04 desktop (Click to zoom)

The 320GB hard drive was partitioned to provide 250GB for Vista and 50GB for Ubuntu Linux. I installed Vista first then followed by Ubuntu. Things slowed down when the LiveCD of Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx I burned had read/write errors on it. So instead, I installed Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron from a CD Canonical sent me two years ago for free. Yesterday was then spent upgrading to Ubuntu 10.04 the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. You may ask why I didn’t use Wubi or the Windows-based Ubuntu Installer. I didn’t because I want a fully-functioning Ubuntu installation on its own dedicated partition and it would defeat the purpose of having Ubuntu as a secondary OS in case Vista crashes.

I worked on Ubuntu first because I used it to download all the Vista drivers for my laptop along with the basic set of programs that will be installed like utilities, security and other apps that are good to start a fresh install of Vista with. It meant that the Vista partition didn’t need to go online ‘naked’ and exposing it to various threats from the internet just to download all those drivers and programs. It also gave me enough time to reacquaint my self with Ubuntu and its latest version Lucid Lynx which by far is impressive as my Compaq Presario c765TU and all of its components are working well with it. The audio, mic and headset jacks, the wireless adapter, even the hot keys are working. If only Photoshop CS4, Lightroom 2 and Microsoft Office could be installed on Ubuntu 10.04 natively, I’d dump Vista altogether.

I’m not going to skin Ubuntu to look like Mac OS X because I feel that it does Ubuntu a great disservice especially with how 10.04 has become more feature-rich, more compatible with a lot of hardware and besides, the current theme looks nice on its own. For now, I’ll be using Ubuntu whenever I would blog, blog-hop and just surf the internet. Video, audio and heavy image editing will done on Vista. More stories to come from this new dual-boot setup of mine, as I’ve already taken much of your time. Thanks for reading this far and hope to see you on the next post.

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 now completed

jhay — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:57:24 +0000

Microsoft has announced that the Windows Vista and Server 2008 Service Pack 2 has been completed and is now being prepared for public release. For our benefit here are the key improvements brought by SP2:

Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches
Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology
Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista
Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration
Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

Ability to natively write data to Blu-ray discs and the addition of Windows Connect Now are definitely something to be delighted about. I’m just curious though as to how Windows Search would be improved by SP2.

Also, the Windows Vista SP1 Service Pack Blocker Tool has been removed meaning Vista users who used the blocking tool will now see Windows Vista SP1 available via Windows Update.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of notable changes brought by Service Pack 2 and expect it to be publicly available this quarter.

Hopefully, this would improve Vista and pave for a smoother transition to Windows 7.

Combining Linux & Mac OS X – sort of

jhay — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:30:00 +0000

So I’ve finally taken the plunge. I gave in to the habit of tweaking the UI of Vista on my notebook so as to become more productive, suit my workflow and please my personal preferences.

No, I did not download one of those transformation packs to make Vista look and behave almost exactly like Mac OS X. I’ve grown tired of living in a dream and have decided that if I wanted to use something like Mac OS X, I’d get the real one. Albeit, someday, in the distant future. lol

What I did was simple. The Taskbar was moved on top of the screen, just like in OS X and Ubuntu. This way, I don’t have to strain my hand every time I scroll down when switching between running apps I’ve minimized and the same goes for my neck and eyes. I’ve only used OS X twice in my entire life, so it was in using Ubuntu Linux that I’ve come to appreciate the more natural look of the menus popping down from the top instead of from below.

Next, I’ve downloaded and installed ObjectDock. It’s a free and open-source application that works like the Dock in OS X. At present, it contains all the shortcuts to the applications that I use regularly. Firefox, WinAmp, FileZilla, NotePad++, Evernote, Photoshop and Flickr Uploader. Yes, since last week, Windows Live Writer is also included as well. What about Microsoft Word and Excel? Good question. I hardly use those nowadays that why I’ve become accustomed to launching them from the Start Menu or Vista’s nifty Search function.

As you can see from the screen-shot of my new desktop, which sports the WordCamp Philippines wallpaper, Vista’s Sidebar is missing. It’s because I’ve decided not to use it anymore. John Clyman from PC Magazine was right, using the Sidebar was really a personal preference and so I’ve decided that since I never really needed Sidebar, it’s much better to regain the screen space it once occupied.

The goodies

The immediate benefit is that I now have a much more organized, cleaner and less-cluttered desktop. Everything I need are just a few clicks away and I can keep an eye on the apps that I’m currently running. Plus, I get more eye-candy from ObjectDock instead of Vista’s Aero which is more demanding system resources.

Second, performance has increased significantly. Since Sidebar is no longer being used, my notebook’s startup time decreased dramatically. Plus, apps that I run are more responsive because they have more system RAM to work on. Proof of this is that I was able to run five Firefox windows each with not less than three active tabs, and close all of it after a whole day’s worth of web browsing without Firefox crashing. In between, Photoshop, EverNote and PowerPoint were ran at different times during the session.

Third, I was able to increase my output by some significant margin. Sidebar with its Notes, Calendar and Slideshow gadgets turned out to be more of a distraction that kept me from focusing on my work. Instead WinAmp has taken its place on the screen serving my daily dose of my favorite music from The Bee Gees, Bamboo and The Eraserheads. Tunes that help keep my creative mood and juices going and going and going.

Lastly, for now, I’ve learned to use keyboard shortcuts to get around the desktop instead of using the trackpad which gives my hand some extra strain. The only time I use the trackpad is when launching apps from ObjectDock, navigating in Windows Explorer and doing some quick editing in Photoshop. If ever there’s a need for an application from the Start menu, I just press the Start menu key, search for the app and hit Enter to launch it.

Too bad, I can’t get Lauchy to work on my notebook the first time I’ve installed it. Ah but that’s for another post. So far, I’m happy with the new setup. I’m not really after making Vista look and behave like Mac OS X just to get more eye-candy or impress my friends. All I wanted was to get things done, the way I wanted it done.

So did you changed Vista’s default UI too? Do share your stories, tips and tricks.

Joining the Windows Vista bandwagon

jhay — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:07:08 +0000

After four months of resisting the evil, albeit necessary, I’ve finally switched to Windows Vista just this last Friday. The upgrade took place in the midst of a roller-coaster weekend hence my recently prolonged absence from blogging.

What finally made me decide to upgrade to Windows Vista?

Windows XP has been crapping out on me lately, for some strange reasons, my laptop suddenly lost the ability to detect any Wi-Fi signal it was exposed to, my home network, Burger King’s free WiFi and DLSUD’s own WiFi network, were all of a sudden undetectable by my laptop.

I tried out everything short of taking it to the service center because I knew it had nothing to do with any hardware damage, hence it was something related to a driver issue and knowing that this Compaq c756TU laptop wasn’t optimized for Windows XP that could be very well the culprit.

Rather than prolonging my disrupted work flow by taking my laptop for service, which could take a week or a month, I decided to take the plunge and had Windows Vista installed and up to now, it has been quite smooth though without some annoyances that makes me miss Windows XP.

I opted to purchase and install a licensed copy of Windows Vista Home Basic edition since I’m not really interested in getting the fancy-shmancy graphics of Windows Aero and all the other unique features of Vista Premium, I just need to get the Compaq c765TU’s full hardware features working smoothly. Right now, I control WinAmp via the keyboard with shortcuts and the notebook’s sound levels using the hotkeys. Plus, the I/O ports and jack for the audio components are also now fully functioning saving me from strenuous mice movements. Lastly, I’m beginning to appreciate the Sidebar were some gadgets are indeed useful and worth the strains on the system resources.

Speaking of which, I also upgraded the laptop’s memory from the standard 1GB to full 2GB of RAM. The performance has been so satisfactory for the last three days. What’s more amazing is that most of the software tools and productivity apps have been working fine on Windows Vista. Then again, this is a good opportunity to learn new things and discover and compile all the neat apps we could find that makes using Windows Vista a little bit easier.

That’s it for now, I’ll back once things have settled down and I get to fully get the hang of using Windows Vista.