Inspiron 1521 - Startup time

I'm just wondering if there is a general concensus that Vista takes a long time to load on startup, when compared to previous Windows versions? I mean, short of cutting out the startup programs, I feel like the thing takes about 1.5 - 3 minutes to get itself setup and ready to use.

Would using a non-dell AC Adapter affect this possibly? I ask because my cat sunk one of her fangs into the cord of my original Dell adapter, so I went to Staples and found a replacement that works. Upon using it, I first had to consent, during startup, to understanding that using a non-dell cord would affect computer performance, as well as not being able to charge the battery.

Any of this make sense to anyone in terms of actual experience with such things on this specific machine? Or even anyone have any ideas that would help?

I'm really just curious, it's not killing me or anything, I love the darn thing. But just something I thought I would find out more about.

 

Hello,

This is Richard from Dell's Online Community Outreach group. It is a very bad idea to use a non-Dell power adapter with your portable. It is possible for the motherboard or other parts to be damaged if the power regulation is not correct. Contact our spare parts department at 1-800-822-8965 to order the correct one.

Yes, you are correct in that if the power adapter is not supplying the correct power the system may perform slower.

Regards,
Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach

 

Well, Richard above may be right but my suggestion: buy 1 more GB memory and you'll definitely feel the difference.

 

Already ahead of you Richard - and I just received the new AC adapt today and wow, what a difference it makes. This thing is like a speed machine. I figured speed should have been something like this, so everything is looking up.

As far as memory upgrades - I already replaced the 512MB sticks with 1Gb sticks, and I was going to try and get a 2Gb stick from Dell ($200), but not sure that I need to anymore or at least at moment. I got an 8Gb Express Card for Ready Boost, so hopefully that helps, although I'm not running a ton of stuff at any one time, so probably won't see much of a difference with Power Boost.

Thanks for responding and the help.

 

2GB of memory should be fine. Good power is a laptop's best friend.
2GB sticks of memory are a bit expensive right now so I wouldn't advise them to normal consumers. But if it's a work laptop and your company is paying for it : why not?