In an attempt to relieve pressure on the hard drive of an older Microsoft Windows Vista laptop, I formatted a one gigabyte SD card using FAT (exFAT is not available on Windows Vista). I dropped the SD card into the slot, right-click in File Explorer and dedicated the SD card to ReadyBoost. The laptop immediately began to feel sluggish and shutdown took many minutes whereas it had been quick. The Windows Vista version was Home Premium.
Some exploration and looking at running processes led me to find that Windows was trying to be helpful and preparing to sync files from the laptop to the SD card. This entailed periodically (seemingly every few minutes) starting mobsync and wmplayer.exe. The SD card was entirely dedicated to ReadyBoost, so there was no possibility of syncing to the card. I removed the SD card, mobsync and wmplayer stopped running, and the machine was again very responsive and shutdown was quick.
I recommend ReadyBoost when the primary drive is not speedy. Flash memory on a SD card or USB stick, particularly when running through USB 3, will relieve pressure from the hard drive. But be wary about doing this on machines with Windows Vista which may then start other processes and actually degrade performance.
Showing posts with label Microsoft Windows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft Windows. Show all posts
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Microsoft Silverlight Vulnerabilities
Microsoft Silverlight was released in 2007 as a competitor to Adobe's Flash. A couple years ago Microsoft announced Silverlight is deprecated and announced their transition to HTML5. Companies relying on Silverlight, such as Netflix in 2013, also announced their transition to HTML5.
In May 2015, few users will need Silverlight. Running applications when better alternatives exist can unnecessarily exposes users to security concerns. Microsoft has released KB3056819 to patch Silverlight security vulnerabilities. Anyone who still has Silverlight installed should take this opportunity to uninstall Silverlight.
Click here to have Microsoft your Silverlight installation. Then uninstall Silverlight and hide the Silverlight update:
In May 2015, few users will need Silverlight. Running applications when better alternatives exist can unnecessarily exposes users to security concerns. Microsoft has released KB3056819 to patch Silverlight security vulnerabilities. Anyone who still has Silverlight installed should take this opportunity to uninstall Silverlight.
Click here to have Microsoft your Silverlight installation. Then uninstall Silverlight and hide the Silverlight update:
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