How To Speed Up Windows On An Old Computer

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Yes but since he's got windows xp, well it runs OK on 512MB but when you start using MS office products and media products it would be better to have 2 x 512 SDram rather than 2 lots of 256Mb. It's just a shame I can't find 512MB PC100. Then again, you could install PC133 ram?

It would just run at 100MHZ instead of 133MHZ? then PF could upgrade to 1GB of ram?

 

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PF has not said that the pc has 512mb of RAM...
He has added "PC 100 memory to it", so it could be another 128mb stick making it 256, which is still less.

 

I thought the question asked was how to speed up windows on an old Computer?

:hhhmmm sounds like a job for the Frenchmaids LOL!

 

UCM *cough* as YOU linked to the spec in your post.. the PC in question supports a maximum of 512MB RAM ie 2 x 256 the MOBO will not support any more. period.

 

You know Pete you really should take something for that cough (maybe a cold beer )

I know where coming from tho...but looking at that document, it looks to be written ages ago:-

"Supported operating systems (OS/NOS)
Microsoft (R) Windows Millennium
NOTE: The only operating system supported on this HP Pavilion PC is Microsoft Windows Millennium."

if it shows ME the only supported OS then why install XP? or maybe it's because the document is so old that 1GB wasn't around at the time of writing it?

 

maybe, like so many other people wanting to jump on the bandwagon and wanting XP aswell

 

Maybe, but the one thing you learn building computers is not to waste money on old relics design to support old OS when you can spend that money on something that is high spec!

The way i see it if you want to make windows run fast on an old spec Machine like the HP then uninstall winxp and install win2k and watch it fly!

But if you want to use a more upto date OS like winxp then surely it would be better to invest in a more upto date PC something that supports DDR ram?

 

I agree with you, however, again, there is no reference as to when XP was installed, the recommended RAM i believe was 128mb and most of the applications, then, were not soo RAM hungry. Obviously, in today's world, we'd be laughing if we done an install on 128mb of RAM.

 

:hhhmmm Just re-reading that post again...:hhhmmm I guess you've got a point ther MrC!

 

UCM.. *suppresses a cough* forget the OS (in fact ME was released 1year before XP, so not much difference really) it is the hardware *chipsets/MOBO design* that can't address more than 512MB of RAM.

 

Not much difference between ME and XP?? You got to be joking mate, ME's a fancy GUI of win98 that's slow and doesn't have half the cabilities of winxp!

I know...I know - old thread - but did PF manage to resolve the problem?

 

I meant in the *time of release*, not the code eeek

 

One way of speeding up XP on old hardware is to use a custom modified version of XP called TinyXP. It's totally unofficial but it makes older hardware really fly. It's a cut down version of XP with settings tweaked heavily to maximise memory usage, disable unnecessary services etc.. Obviously (anti-piracy hat on) this isn't an official release and you should own an XP licence to use it. I stuck it on an old laptop that was running very slowly and was pretty amazed with the results. Like a good build of Linux but without the pain of it being Linux. Oh and it comes with a tiny bootable live cd version of Linux on the disc also, if you are so inclined.

 

INCREASING THE RAM SHOULD BE THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO BECAUSE YOUR RAM IS WAY TOO SMALL. ABOUT THE DEFRAG, TRY THESE STEPS WHEN NEXT YOU WANT TO DEFRAG;

DEFRAGGING Windows XP/Vista

To turn off the screen saver follow these steps.

Right-click on the desktop
Click on Properties
Click on the Screen Saver tab
Set the Screen Saver to None
Click Ok
Close All Running Programs

With no other programs open, Right-click on a blank area on the Start Bar (the area reaching from the Start button to the Time), click on Task Manager.
Click on the Process tab, then click on the User Name heading to group all running processes
Look under the User Name heading for the logged in user
Examine the list of programs running under the user. You should only keep explorer.exe running. To close the other programs, click on a program in the list and choose End Process.
Repeat step 4 until only explorer.exe is left running under the current user.
Now run the defrag program. It should complete.

Extra steps before Defragmenting your Hard Drive

Empty Temp Files and the Recycle Bin

Its always a good idea to empty your recycle bin and delete any temp files before running defrag. Although you can do this manually, try using CCleaner to do this. You can download CCleaner http://www.ccleaner.com

Turning off Task Scheduler

If you have any scheduled tasks and they start while defrag is running, defrag will have to restart. For this reason, its a good idea to pause the task scheduler while running a defrag. To do this follow these steps.

Click on Start, All Programs
Click on Accessories
Click on System Tools
Click on Scheduled Tasks
On the menu at the top of the screen, click on Advanced
Click on Pause Task Scheduler
Close all open windows
To restart the Task Scheduler, follow steps 1 - 5 above, then click Continue Task Scheduler
Turn off Power Management

Because a defrag of your hard drive may take some time, power management features such as turning off your monitor or hard drives after so many minutes of inactivity might affect the defrag. To turn off power management, follow these steps.

Click on Start, Run
Type powercfg.cpl and press Enter
Under Power Schemes set everything to Never and click ok