15 pts.
 Old analog system
My partner's computer briefly says and shows an analog icon in upper left of screen upon opening. Having never encountered this before, I assume that it explains the retarded speed of all computer operations we experience. And that there is a digital preference that can be instead utilized. Is there a free "upgrade" or any way to easily and, preferably quickly, achieve this move to digital functionality? I am not especially computer savvy, and my partner is even less so. He recently purchased a new business, in a field with no previous involvement by either of us, and I know this improvement will be beneficial in all aspects of computer usage. I appreciate any expeditious assistance, L. Therk

Software/Hardware used:
ACPI Uniprocessor PC, Windows XP professional version 2002 service pak 2
ASKED: March 11, 2013  5:54 PM

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The question needs a lot more detail. There is no meaning in discussing “an analog icon” without explaining what it is. What “analog” is it referring to? What does the icon control?
 
It’s probably certain that it doesn’t refer to any “analog” process within the computer itself, since there probably aren’t any. But it could refer to some external sensor that performs an analog measurement that gets converted into a digital value inside the computer.
 
In that case, you’d need to obtain a replacement for whatever equipment is being monitored or controlled by the computer.
 
One minor item… analog measurements are often actually much faster than digital. That’s because they are usually completely direct, with no need to perform any conversion into a digital format. Even analog arithmetic can be faster than digital. E.g., adding two numbers can require nothing more than applying two voltages, e.g., 5 volts and 7 volts, in series and retrieving the immediate result, 12 volts. The sum can be read directly.
 
But to make it useful, it does need to be converted to digital form. We don’t have good ways to manufacture general purpose analog computing systems that are small, require minimal energy, can store results and do other things that can be done digitally.
 
Regardless, a minimum first step has to be applying service pack 3 (or every applicable item within SP3), and then each applicable fix after that. The fact that this system is still at SP 2 indicates a possible older system that simply is incapable of doing things any faster. This could be especially true if speed is related to any networking at all. Browser activity, for example, could be much slower than other newer systems.
 
The “ACPI Uniprocessor PC” technically doesn’t tell us much. It refers to drivers used by Windows that determine which hardware abstraction layer to use. Technically, I think it’s the type that indicates an ACPI multiple-processor board that only has a single processor installed. I can’t say if it’s correct or not. We’d need to know the motherboard specs (and what processors you have). If the setting doesn’t fit the system, it could be helping things to slow down. (We’d probably also need a WinXP SP 2 setup, and I’m not sure where to find one.)
 
Tom
 
If it is a multi-processor board, then WinXP SP 2 is almost certainly not an appropriate match. I suppose it could even be the other way around, that you’re not using the appropriate hardware and WinXP SP 2 is more than sufficient; but we have no clue why you have the system. What do you need it for? What do you do with it?
 
Tom

 108,215 pts.