Guest retro_kid Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 hi i just installed linux a couoke days ago and one of the things i noticed is that it takes a little longer for it to load up programs and stuff, when compared to when im using windows xp. is there anything i can change? please help cause this is the only thing bothering me about linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyme Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 welcome to the board. what's your system setup (specifically processor, RAM, etc.)? are you using KDE, GNOME? do the programs lag when you are using them? or just when starting them? is it only the first time you start them or everytime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest retro_kid Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 hi thanks for welcoming me :D ! i dont know what kind of processor i have it just came with my computer, but i know its 2.2 Ghz and i have 512 of ram. i have two hard drives a 40 and 120 gig. i have my 40 gig hold both my mandrake and xp home operating systems. 64 mb nvidia geforce4 mx vid card. im using GNOME right now, but i've tried using all the other ones like KDE and stuff, and the programs run slow in all of em. what i've noticed is that it takes quite a while for the program to load up and also it sort of takes a while when im using the programs also. this is everytime. pleeease help me! thanks alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyme Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 did you install the nvidia drivers? (not sure this will make a big difference, but it's a good idea anyways) if not, see: http://mandrakeusers.com/DOlson/tutorials/.../nvidianew.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest retro_kid Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 i just want to know how i can make linux run faster and solve the problem of it running slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Scrimpshire Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 i just want to know how i can make linux run faster and solve the problem of it running slow. That's what tyme is trying to help you with: did you install the nvidia drivers? ...if not, see:http://mandrakeusers.com/DOlson/tutorials/nvidianew.html I too, have a problem with some apps taking longer to load with my GeForce4 card using the latest drivers from NVidia, so I don't think it'll help much. I didn't have this problem in 8.1. For me, it doesn't matter which DE/WM I use....Gnome, KDE, IceWM....they are all the same. I cannot say that the apps run slower than normal once they are running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvc Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 First place to look is always /var/log/messages /var/log/dmesg Look for any errors, espesially hardware related...chipsets, DMA etc.... It's very likely that you won't find much but it is the first place to look cuz you can't expect a family of five to get ready to go somewhere in 20 minutes :wink: (bottleneck) How new is your puter? Do you know what motherboard? Because even though it may be supported, the support for a new puter can be poor when it comes to performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest retro_kid Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 my computer is pretty new, i bought it last december. and i dont know what kind of mother board i have. steve, do you still have the problems with apps taking long to load? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Scrimpshire Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Yes. Is your card a 64 MB DDR card like mine? I'm assuming so. I was thinking maybe the DDR part had/has something to do with it. Certain apps, for me, I type the command and BAM, they're up (Sylpheed-claws, gaim). Other apps can take as long as a minute to load (Netscape, Patience) These are just a couple examples. I'm still on the search for answers myself. Not everyone experiences the problems you and I do. I'm using the same exact kernel I was using in 8.1, so I don't think it's a kernel issue. And I'd like to reiterate...I did not have this problem with 8.1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qnr Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Welcome to the board (from me too). Once you've been here a while, you'll grow accustomed to using the Search link near the top of the page. With it, you'll be able to find some reasons why Linux applications load more slowly than Windows apps. One reason is Linux is more modular, and Windows is more monolithic. However, that can be done later. Let's look at one section. Let's see if your drives are slowing you down- You'd think that wouldn't be the case because Windows and Linux use the same drive - however, they might initialize them differently. Here is how you check: [*]Open up a terminal [*] su to root: type su, hit return, the type in your root password [*] type hdparm -Tt /dev/hda [*] We need to know what it says, so - while you have the post a reply window here open, take your mouse - go to the terminal window that you ran the command in, and while holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse over the output. Then, select the post a reply window again, and click the middle-mouse button (wheel) and it will paste the output here. do the same thing for your other physical drives, for example, replace /dev/hda Which I imagine is the 120 G drive, and you don't have any Linux apps on it, so this step isn't really necessary at the moment, but it will be useful for comparison. here's an example from my computer terry@timestorm: /home/terry 21:25:51 $ su Password: root@timestorm:/home/terry# hdparm -Tt /dev/hda /dev/hda: Timing buffer-cache reads: 128 MB in 0.59 seconds =216.95 MB/sec Timing buffered disk reads: 64 MB in 1.70 seconds = 37.65 MB/sec root@timestorm:/home/terry# hdparm -Tt /dev/hdc /dev/hdc: Timing buffer-cache reads: 128 MB in 0.61 seconds =209.84 MB/sec Timing buffered disk reads: 64 MB in 2.93 seconds = 21.84 MB/sec root@timestorm:/home/terry# hdparm -Tt /dev/hdd /dev/hdd: Timing buffer-cache reads: 128 MB in 0.59 seconds =216.95 MB/sec Timing buffered disk reads: 64 MB in 1.38 seconds = 46.38 MB/sec You can see that /dev/hdc is significantly slower than /dev/hda and /dev/hdd - that's to be expected, because it's a much older drive. But say it's the same model as the others, and I want to see why it's slower... I could use hdparm -I and check to see whether (U)DMA is enabled, for example:: root@timestorm:/home/terry# hdparm -I /dev/hdc /dev/hdc: ATA device, with non-removable media Model Number: WDC WD307AA Serial Number: WD-WMA111535835 Firmware Revision: 05.05B05 Standards: Supported: 4 3 2 1 Likely used: 5 Configuration: Logical max current cylinders 16383 16383 heads 16 16 sectors/track 63 63 -- bytes/track: 57600 bytes/sector: 600 CHS current addressable sectors: 16514064 LBA user addressable sectors: 60074784 device size with M = 1024*1024: 29333 MBytes device size with M = 1000*1000: 30758 MBytes (30 GB) Capabilities: LBA, IORDY(can be disabled) Buffer size: 2048.0kB bytes avail on r/w long: 40 Queue depth: 1 Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, with device specific minimum R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16 Current = 16 DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 *udma4 Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 Cycle time: no flow control=120ns IORDY flow control=120ns Commands/features: Enabled Supported: * READ BUFFER cmd * WRITE BUFFER cmd * Host Protected Area feature set * Look-ahead * Write cache * Power Management feature set * SMART feature set * DOWNLOAD MICROCODE cmd HW reset results: CBLID- above Vih Device num = 0 determined by the jumper So, lets see if maybe your drives are slowing you down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest retro_kid Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 Yes. Is your card a 64 MB DDR card like mine? I'm assuming so. yeah infact it is. thats probably it huh? well i have an old 32 MB video card, i'll try putting that in then run linux. maybe thats it. and steve if you do find the answer to our problem please let me know. i'd appreciate it a lot. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest retro_kid Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 [vince@x1-6-00-03-47-e6-b0-6c vince]$ su Password: [root@x1-6-00-03-47-e6-b0-6c vince]# hdparm -Tt/dev/hda hdparm - get/set hard disk parameters - version v5.3 Usage: hdparm [options] [device] .. Options: -a get/set fs readahead -A set drive read-lookahead flag (0/1) -b get/set bus state (0 == off, 1 == on, 2 == tristate) -B set Advanced Power Management setting (1-255) -c get/set IDE 32-bit IO setting -C check IDE power mode status -d get/set using_dma flag -D enable/disable drive defect-mgmt -E set cd-rom drive speed -f flush buffer cache for device on exit -g display drive geometry -h display terse usage information -i display drive identification -I detailed/current information directly from drive -Istdin similar to -I, but wants /proc/ide/*/hd?/identify as input -k get/set keep_settings_over_reset flag (0/1) -K set drive keep_features_over_reset flag (0/1) -L set drive doorlock (0/1) (removable harddisks only) -M get/set acoustic management (0-254, 128: quiet, 254: fast) (EXPERIMENTAL) -m get/set multiple sector count -n get/set ignore-write-errors flag (0/1) -p set PIO mode on IDE interface chipset (0,1,2,3,4,...) -P set drive prefetch count -q change next setting quietly -Q get/set DMA tagged-queuing depth (if supported) -r get/set readonly flag (DANGEROUS to set) -R register an IDE interface (DANGEROUS) -S set standby (spindown) timeout -t perform device read timings -T perform cache read timings -u get/set unmaskirq flag (0/1) -U un-register an IDE interface (DANGEROUS) -v defaults; same as -mcudkrag for IDE drives -V display program version and exit immediately -w perform device reset (DANGEROUS) -W set drive write-caching flag (0/1) (DANGEROUS) -x tristate device for hotswap (0/1) (DANGEROUS) -X set IDE xfer mode (DANGEROUS) -y put IDE drive in standby mode -Y put IDE drive to sleep -Z disable Seagate auto-powersaving mode -z re-read partition table [root@x1-6-00-03-47-e6-b0-6c vince]# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [vince@x1-6-00-03-47-e6-b0-6c vince]$ su Password: [root@x1-6-00-03-47-e6-b0-6c vince]# hdparm -Tt/dev/hdb hdparm - get/set hard disk parameters - version v5.3 Usage: hdparm [options] [device] .. Options: -a get/set fs readahead -A set drive read-lookahead flag (0/1) -b get/set bus state (0 == off, 1 == on, 2 == tristate) -B set Advanced Power Management setting (1-255) -c get/set IDE 32-bit IO setting -C check IDE power mode status -d get/set using_dma flag -D enable/disable drive defect-mgmt -E set cd-rom drive speed -f flush buffer cache for device on exit -g display drive geometry -h display terse usage information -i display drive identification -I detailed/current information directly from drive -Istdin similar to -I, but wants /proc/ide/*/hd?/identify as input -k get/set keep_settings_over_reset flag (0/1) -K set drive keep_features_over_reset flag (0/1) -L set drive doorlock (0/1) (removable harddisks only) -M get/set acoustic management (0-254, 128: quiet, 254: fast) (EXPERIMENTAL) -m get/set multiple sector count -n get/set ignore-write-errors flag (0/1) -p set PIO mode on IDE interface chipset (0,1,2,3,4,...) -P set drive prefetch count -q change next setting quietly -Q get/set DMA tagged-queuing depth (if supported) -r get/set readonly flag (DANGEROUS to set) -R register an IDE interface (DANGEROUS) -S set standby (spindown) timeout -t perform device read timings -T perform cache read timings -u get/set unmaskirq flag (0/1) -U un-register an IDE interface (DANGEROUS) -v defaults; same as -mcudkrag for IDE drives -V display program version and exit immediately -w perform device reset (DANGEROUS) -W set drive write-caching flag (0/1) (DANGEROUS) -x tristate device for hotswap (0/1) (DANGEROUS) -X set IDE xfer mode (DANGEROUS) -y put IDE drive in standby mode -Y put IDE drive to sleep -Z disable Seagate auto-powersaving mode -z re-read partition table [root@x1-6-00-03-47-e6-b0-6c vince]# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest retro_kid Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 is that what you needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvc Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 put a space between -Tt and /dev/hda hdparm -Tt /dev/hda :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOlson Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 The images aren't showing up in my tutorials. They will have to be fixed by hand. I suppose I will have to do that, and post a fixed tarball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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