Question about an old machine
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Our old computer is incredibly slow. It did not used to be but over the past year or so it has gotten worse. The machine is about 12 years old so yes, I recognize it is not going to win any competitions with the new machine but it seems to me it should at least perform better than it is now. Sometimes it takes over a min. just to open Firefox or IE. It hangs up often and has been called a variety of things
It is a Dell Dimension 4100.
996 MHz
512 MB Ram
Windows XP SP3
200 GB hard drive with 162 GB free space (I moved all my files off a while back).It is running Microsoft Defender and AVG. We did have Spybot and Adaware but I removed them as they were a nuisance. My wife uses it for her Master's degree and for general websurfing. Quite a bit of Powerpoint but nothing taxing.
So, on to my question:
Is there any hope for this machine running faster? Are there some settings I could check or any cleanup software I could run?All that said, we plan on buying a new machine soon so this would go to my daughter for games and light (very light) web browsing.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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@unknownuser said:
So, on to my question:
Is there any hope for this machine running faster? Are there some settings I could check or any cleanup software I could run?complete reinstall of the OS?
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I've used CCleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/ for quite awhile to keep my HD and registry in order. I highly recommend it, it's free and I've never had it mess up any of the computers I've run it on. You might give it a shot.
Otherwise, it's probably time to format your HD and re-install the OS...
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In addition, if your mother board supports it, install 2 GB of ram (1 GB is not enough), and your pc will feel like its on afterburners. Because of the age of your machine, the ram will be very inexpensive. Get the fastest your mother board will support, on-line from a company that will money back guarantee that it will work in your machine (let them spec. it).
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Jeff, I don't know if I can. I have an upgrade disc to XP from ME (yes ME). That is if I can even find it
I could always buy a new copy but I don't think it is worth it. Dunno...IdahoJ, thanks for that. When I get the time I will try it out. Probably Wednesday I hope.
honoluludesktop, I am maxed out on RAM. I upgraded from 256 to 512 a couple years ago and that is the max this Mother will hold.
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After 12 years, you've probably got a whole lot of stuff that starts up automatically, and 512k is just not enough room.
The first thing I would do is download the Autoruns program from here. It will show you everything that starts up when you turn the machine on, and it will let you block whatever you don't need.
As for Firefox, purge the cache (Tools, Options, Privacy, Private Data, Clear Now, Cache). It accumulates history as it goes, and it loads all that (and resolves network addresses) when it starts.
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I once ran xp on 512 mb of ram with a 3 gh processor, and thought that was slow. Especially after I went on line, and software was constantly updated. I wounder if its possible to strip out everything except the OS, and install early versions of the software required, refusing automatic software upgrades. This should at least take you back to the original condition. I guess one problem is that there is no such thing as a static setup, and stuff will creep in quickly over time.
You know its time to get a new pc when the non-profits refuse your contribution
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Hello,
you could tweak the window services, check out this website, http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm, im not sure if this will affect loading time of apps, but pretty sure it will make booting up faster.
another way is to defrag, i use jkdefrag gui here http://www.emro.nl/freeware/
i found an alternative os for you, i havent actually tried it yet so be cautious, its beta at the moment.
http://lifehacker.com/5175680/presto-loads-a-streamlined-desktop-in-15-seconds -
First thing, don't give up!
I have become an old hand at keeping old machines alive.
If you can't reinstall, you need to do a major cleanup. Be prepared to spend some time.
Get rid of Windows Bloat:
http://articles.networktechs.com/printer-69.htmlGet good antivirus software. I strongly recommend Comodo Internet Security (free AV and firewall) Do a scan.
Get the latest version of CCleaner and run it a few times
Scan with Spybot or whatever anti-malware package you want.
Defrag the hard drive. Check out Defraggler.
With CCleaner you can get rid of most of the programs that start with windows. And you can uninstall all those unnecessary apps. And you can clean up the registry.
OK that's for starters
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Me personally, I would go straight with a full format and reinstall windows.
That way, afterwards you know exactly how the machine should run and what it is capable of.Not sure what the cost of an oem xp disk is though!
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True, that would be ideal. You could probably pick up XPPro on ebay for under US$50
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This seems like a great time to bust out a linux install. im sure you could find a ligtweight distro out there which would run a lot faster than xp on your old machine.
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Thanks again for all the suggestions. I have not forgotten, nor have I been able to touch this issue yet. My wife is using it for her Master's Degree and she is either up as late or later than I am. Hopefully this weekend I can focus on it. I will let you know how it goes.
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I am happy to report some success. I ran the ccleaner a number of times and defraggler today and my wife says her machine is running faster. It could be better and for that I think an OS re-install is in order as suggested. However I won't try that until my wife has finished her schooling in July.
Thanks again for the help.
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OK may it go smoothly!
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