IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I’m trying to copy data from my old Windows XP machine to my new Vista computer. It’s really slow and I’m worried there’s something wrong with my new system.

The slow copying to Vista computers has upset a lot of people. It’s certainly messing up a lot of computer techs who’ve agreed to a set price for a new computer setup. What used to take at most an hour on an XP machine can take a day on a Vista system.

There’s a number of theories for this, some report changing the network adapter settings can resolve the problem, others blame the Indexing service while a few posters are suggesting Digital Right Management as being the culprit.

If it’s the DRM then right now we have no solution, that’s been pretty well protected so far. So we’d suggest starting with the easier stuff.

Disabling the Indexing service

Type Services at the Start Search bar, right click on the Windows Search service and select Properties. In the start type choose Disabled for the start type. Then stop the service by right clicking on it and selecting Stop.

It’s worthwhile leaving the Indexing service off as Microsoft’s indexing service has had problems in the past. If you do find it is affecting some software, then you can turn it back on later.

Changing the network adaptor settings

Some techs have found changing the network adapter speed from “Automatic” to whichever setting is suitable for your network has worked.

When changing this setting, it’s important to check what the speed of the device at the other end of the network cable is. Most switches and routers are 100 bps and newer computer are usually gigabit. If in doubt, assume it is 100.

To change the settings, type “control” into the start search bar. In the control panel click Manage Network Connections. The next window will bring up your network adapter connection details and right click on the adapter then choose Properties.

In the properties page, click the “configure” button underneath the adapter name. In the advanced configuration, choose “Media Type” and set it to the correct speed for your network. If in doubt, set it to 100/Full Duplex.

Disable thumbnails

It is possible the way Vista handles thumbnails are responsible for these problems. To disable this, go to the Control Panel, click on Folder Options and change the “Always show icons, never thumbnails”.

If none of this works, it might prove quicker to copy data to an external drive and then copy across over time from that drive. You should have a copy of all your data on an external drive as part of a data protection strategy.

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