Connect with us

Software

Testing Out The Vista Performance and Compatibility Packs

Published

on

I’ve installed the Performance and Reliability Pack and the Compatibility and Reliability Pack on three different machines: The Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC, The Samsung Q1P UMPC, and the Asus R2H UMPC. Note that many of the issues addressed by the two updates where never problems for me. In very early testing, in a wackily busy week, I’ve seen improvements in all three cases. Here are some early observations:

Returning from sleep and hibernate

I rarely use hibernate on the X61 instead preferring to use sleep. I’ve seen a noticeable improvement when returning from sleep on that device. I do use hibernate on both UMPCs more frequently, simply because I don’t pick them up for a day or so, depending on my workflow. In the case of both UMPCs I noticed significant improvement in returning from sleep and hibernation states. I’ve noticed a more significant improvement on the Samsung Q1P.

Memory Management

Still way too early to tell for sure, but I’m seeing what I believe is an improvement in memory management on the X61. There appears to be less of an improvement on the two UMPCs. The X61 is running 2GB of memory, the Samsung 1GB, and the R2H, 1.25GB. After a cold boot, all three systems seem to settle in quicker from the various processes (SuperFetch?) that are running in the background.

Performance

I’ve seen reports of those claiming to see vast performance improvements. I won’t say I’ve seen ““vast” improvements, but I do notice an improvement on the Samsung Q1P and the Asus R2H, less so on the X61. Where I’m seeing the most improvement is what I perceive (remember it is early) to be less hangs and slow downs on the UMPC systems.

Printer Drivers

This is a real puzzler. I had previously had no luck whatsoever getting any of the Vista devices to work with printers on my home or office network. I had bought into ““the blame the manufacturer” mantra. I had tried various workarounds and updated drivers. No luck. The Compatibility Pack seems to have rectified this. So, I’m not sure if the manufacturers or Microsoft is really at fault. The real puzzler? On every printer I’ve tried, both on the network and a direct connection, the XP drivers perform flawlessly. Go figure.

File Sharing

Sharing files over the networks on all three devices now seems to work flawlessly. It was hit and miss before on all three devices.

Copying and Moving Files

A noticeable improvement on all devices (best improvement on the Samsung Q1P) but I still think this process is way too slow even with the boost in speed.

 

 

Tags:
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.