Poor man really needs help reconfiguring this very old office computer to a FAST personal use computer.

[frustrated!]

First this is an OLD computer tower I'm working from (Intel Celeron1300 MHz 1.3GHz; 120 MB of RAM. running the MS XP Home Edition 2002 Service Pack 3). V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-W-W!!!!!! Takes 3-5 min to come up from startup of comp. Another 5-8 min. for internet page to appear - if it doesn't crash or "error". Been this way for long time-years. Was used originally as business comp. for a home for displaced veterans which I am one of. I came to this house a month ago and told can use comp., but warned slow and could try to update if can to speed up---been trying ever since with not much results except FRUSTRATIONS!

 

Presently I am have run the CCleaner in Registry and NUMEROUS issues have come up for missing DLL's, unused file extensions, Invalid or empty file, ActiveX/COM Issue, Missing TypeLib Re..., Open with Aplication, Installer reference..., MANY - Unistaller Reference...,Obsolete Software, Missing Startup Software, Old Start Menu Key-(for McAfee)--Deleted as I have Avast and not want to use space.

 

I am an amatuer at this and learning. I am broke and not able to buy downloads so I have gone thru at least 6 what they list as "free" only to find out after scan want $ to fix--a scam of a scan. I have defragged at least 4x. Ran the free AVG cleaner 2011 that was a one time offer. Been on hints and help sites. Adjusted my virtual memory from 340 to 640 (computer only has 120 MB of RAM). Checked Secondary IDE and put on "dma when available" from PIO. Tried download of startup software. Read all I can of fix this and that....Have reset back to old settings at times it just want to crash or not even want to connect....Been in connection with AT&t Tech who had me delete some files and seemed to work a little better for about a day then crashed back to old ways.

 

I am curious if I can absolutely wipe the comp. clear of ALL software ever been in on drives and RAM to "like a virgin" and start all over again with a free XP version or better (Whatever this old computer can handle at 120 MB RAM). Sure it ran better than this when fresh out of the store. Anyone know a website get free download for starting software of XP or better and how to wipe this old stuff to oblivion.----START FRESH ya know...

 

Frightened I have ruined any chance of fix myself with all the deleting and downloads and scans and cleaning...wanted to take online comp. classes (join today and start 1/4/11) just couldn't with computer in this fix and no money. Education a BIG priority for me and stuck because this old computer SOOO slow. A3 hr session with test would take me 8 hrs on this comp!!!!AAARRRRGGGG!!!!!

 

Anyone out there read this and can suggest or "KNOW" how to fix please reply to my posting---My first time on forum.

[kroozer]

Welcome to the forum.

 

I suggest you quickly edit and remove your email address to prevent spamming.

 

Many knowledgeable members will eventually help you. We are a friendly crowd.

[Andavari]

Welcome to the forums!

 

AVG:

When you state "AVG Cleaner 2011" I don't know if you mean their free antivirus or not, if so please do yourself a favour and read this info about AVG Antivirus Free Edition 2011 breaking computers - not something to scare you but something worth knowing:

http://forums.majorg...d.php?p=1571502

 

CCleaner:

CCleaner's registry cleaner finding a ton of invalids the first time you run it in my opinion would be normal, especially on a old computer that has seen tons of software installs and uninstalls over the years.

 

Virtual Memory:

While some people truly believe in manually adjusting the virtual memory ("Page File") in Windows, I don't. I've never once seen any benefits whatsoever in over a decade playing around with it. However; I have seen some negative's such as programs not having enough memory to function correctly after manually changing it, etc., so I leave it at the Microsoft default setting as System Managed.

 

Wiping Computer & Installing Windows XP:

You can wipe the computer clean if you have the original Windows XP setup disc either OEM build or purchased, or if it's on an OEM recovery partition. That would remove everything off of drive C: and start out fresh from scratch, which in most cases is ages faster than removing a horde of software that leaves tons of stuff behind.

 

RAM:

Regardless of whatever you do the biggest issue is only having 120 MB of RAM! Ideally Windows XP needs/benefits from a minimum of 512 MB RAM, however I'd recommend at the very least 1 GB (or more) if that computer can hold that amount. When you have some money buying and installing some extra RAM from an reputable online retailer such as Crucial.com which can match your system to the correct RAM it requires would benefit your system more than any amount of cleaning, defragmenting, or tweaking.

 

Backup:

Whatever you do don't forget to backup the system if it's feasible, i.e.; if you have another drive ("hard disk, hard disk partition, large capacity USB Thumb Drive, CD/DVD burner, etc.") with something like Macrium Reflect Free Edition or another suitable disk imaging backup software. Once you get that system the way you want it software-wise and clean-wise making a backup will mean you'll never again have to fully reinstall Windows.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Andavari

[Augeas]

Mr F, my spouse has an old laptop with an Intel 900 MHz chip, 15 gb disk, and originally 64 mb of ram and XP Home SP1. It was rather slow. The main things we (I) did were:

 

Increase ram to a max of 512 mb - this is the most important speeder-upper

 

Migrate to SP3

 

Increase pagefile to 1 gb min/max

 

Use pagedfrg to defrag pagefile and other sys files (free)

 

Removed AVG and installed Avast - noticable imporovement

 

Removed every last thing (almost) from Startup

 

Removed as much junk as possible

 

Defrag using Win defragger

 

There is still a lot in the registry, but I have not really dared to look at it apart from some obvious twiddling. But it now boots in around 1 min and is quite livable with. All free except for the ram.

[frustrated!]

Welcome to the forum.

 

I suggest you quickly edit and remove your email address to prevent spamming.

 

Many knowledgeable members will eventually help you. We are a friendly crowd.

 

Thank you for intro and helpful suggestion. Deleted and edited for better results

[frustrated!]

Welcome to the forums!

 

AVG:

When you state "AVG Cleaner 2011" I don't know if you mean their free antivirus or not, if so please do yourself a favour and read this info about AVG Antivirus Free Edition 2011 breaking computers - not something to scare you but something worth knowing:

http://forums.majorg...d.php?p=1571502

 

CCleaner:

CCleaner's registry cleaner finding a ton of invalids the first time you run it in my opinion would be normal, especially on a old computer that has seen tons of software installs and uninstalls over the years.

 

Virtual Memory:

While some people truly believe in manually adjusting the virtual memory ("Page File") in Windows, I don't. I've never once seen any benefits whatsoever in over a decade playing around with it. However; I have seen some negative's such as programs not having enough memory to function correctly after manually changing it, etc., so I leave it at the Microsoft default setting as System Managed.

 

Wiping Computer & Installing Windows XP:

You can wipe the computer clean if you have the original Windows XP setup disc either OEM build or purchased, or if it's on an OEM recovery partition. That would remove everything off of drive C: and start out fresh from scratch, which in most cases is ages faster than removing a horde of software that leaves tons of stuff behind.

 

RAM:

Regardless of whatever you do the biggest issue is only having 120 MB of RAM! Ideally Windows XP needs/benefits from a minimum of 512 MB RAM, however I'd recommend at the very least 1 GB (or more) if that computer can hold that amount. When you have some money buying and installing some extra RAM from an reputable online retailer such as Crucial.com which can match your system to the correct RAM it requires would benefit your system more than any amount of cleaning, defragmenting, or tweaking.

 

Backup:

Whatever you do don't forget to backup the system if it's feasible, i.e.; if you have another drive ("hard disk, hard disk partition, large capacity USB Thumb Drive, CD/DVD burner, etc.") with something like Macrium Reflect Free Edition or another suitable disk imaging backup software. Once you get that system the way you want it software-wise and clean-wise making a backup will mean you'll never again have to fully reinstall Windows.

 

Thank you for your help and suggestions. I don't have a back up disk for XP. Computer here before I moved into house. This comp. is so old no place to plug in a "scandisc" to download anything for saving or uploading into the comp. Only floppys I have got magnitized and it won't open them to read or copy onto. Been looking for work online at job servers and big hassle as have to go to pub. lib. to download resume. Going to put it on "skyline" today at live.com so I can pull up and download to sites that way. Really appreciate your help and I agree BIGGEST thing is enlarging RAM for better speed. ican spend 20 min. just looking up email, then pull up mail listings and try to turn pgs. there end up being lengthy process for something that should be a 10 min. deal.

[frustrated!]

Mr F, my spouse has an old laptop with an Intel 900 MHz chip, 15 gb disk, and originally 64 mb of ram and XP Home SP1. It was rather slow. The main things we (I) did were:

 

Increase ram to a max of 512 mb - this is the most important speeder-upper

 

Migrate to SP3

 

Increase pagefile to 1 gb min/max

 

Use pagedfrg to defrag pagefile and other sys files (free)

 

Removed AVG and installed Avast - noticable imporovement

 

Removed every last thing (almost) from Startup

 

Removed as much junk as possible

 

Defrag using Win defragger

 

There is still a lot in the registry, but I have not really dared to look at it apart from some obvious twiddling. But it now boots in around 1 min and is quite livable with. All free except for the ram.

 

This is all very useful and really appreciate it. The remove junk is a scary part to me as I not sure what needs go and what needs stay. Not a comp. internal files knowledgable fellow. And yes increase RAM a big part of the problem---can't afford ANYTHING right now, gas in truck, food, rent, Xmas, etc. more important. Thank you again.

[ishan_rulz]

Someone here who is more tech savvy can help you with the process of installing a light Linux distro. It will definitely run much faster than Windows! and lighter on resources.

 

You might want to consider Linux Mint, Ubuntu

EDIT: Even Jolicloud

 

Okay, after a bit of digging for a Linux distro that will work with a 120 MB RAM computer, I found Lubuntu and Linux Mint 9 LXDE. It might just be the thing for you!

 

I'd go for Linux Mint 9 with LXDE if I were you.

[mjp28]

Welcome to the forums!

 

Wiping Computer & Installing Windows XP:

You can wipe the computer clean if you have the original Windows XP setup disc either OEM build or purchased, or if it's on an OEM recovery partition. That would remove everything off of drive C: and start out fresh from scratch, which in most cases is ages faster than removing a horde of software that leaves tons of stuff behind.

 

RAM:

Regardless of whatever you do the biggest issue is only having 120 MB of RAM! Ideally Windows XP needs/benefits from a minimum of 512 MB RAM, however I'd recommend at the very least 1 GB (or more) if that computer can hold that amount. When you have some money buying and installing some extra RAM from an reputable online retailer such as Crucial.com which can match your system to the correct RAM it requires would benefit your system more than any amount of cleaning, defragmenting, or tweaking.

I have a 1999 IBM ThinkPad W98SE

2002 IBM ThinkPad XP Pro

Current 2008 Lenovo ThinkPad Vista

 

Just for fun I got my old startup disc and "nuked" the 1999 IBM HD clean plus upped the RAM.

Amazing how it was as good or better than new! That plus a few extra cheapies like CCleaner it is useable....slow but useable in a pinch.

[Andavari]

Just for fun I got my old startup disc and "nuked" the 1999 IBM HD clean plus upped the RAM.

Back in the day I maxed out the RAM capacity of my 1998 Dell Dimension with Win98, that simple RAM upgrade alone reduced the amounts of crashing and other frustrating memory related issues. That old computer is collecting dust right now, however it would still be good as a music only machine and for games that don't run correctly on anything newer OS-wise, driver-wise, and hardware-wise.

[kroozer]

Back in the day I maxed out the RAM capacity of my 1998 Dell Dimension with Win98, that simple RAM upgrade alone reduced the amounts of crashing and other frustrating memory related issues. That old computer is collecting dust right now, however it would still be good as a music only machine and for games that don't run correctly on anything newer OS-wise, driver-wise, and hardware-wise.

My first pc, a crashy Win 98SE, came with only 64MB RAM. Adding another 64 noticeably improved performance. But when I maxed it out at 384MB the improvement was not as remarkable as expected.

I donated mine, less HDD, to a dumpster diver.

[frustrated!]

Thank you for your help and suggestions. I don't have a back up disk for XP. Computer here before I moved into house. This comp. is so old no place to plug in a "scandisc" to download anything for saving or uploading into the comp. Only floppys I have got magnitized and it won't open them to read or copy onto. Been looking for work online at job servers and big hassle as have to go to pub. lib. to download resume. Going to put it on "skyline" today at live.com so I can pull up and download to sites that way. Really appreciate your help and I agree BIGGEST thing is enlarging RAM for better speed. ican spend 20 min. just looking up email, then pull up mail listings and try to turn pgs. there end up being lengthy process for something that should be a 10 min. deal.

 

 

First is Happy Birthday Jesus---This my outlook. REALLY appreciate your input on my quest. Do you have a suggestion on demagnetizing my floppys. Curious if I can fix these and use again. Don't care what is on them anymore as on other resouces. Your a nice fellow interneter to respond to my query. Good evening and happy New Years to us all!!!!

 

 

frustrated!

[frustrated!]

My first pc, a crashy Win 98SE, came with only 64MB RAM. Adding another 64 noticeably improved performance. But when I maxed it out at 384MB the improvement was not as remarkable as expected.

I donated mine, less HDD, to a dumpster diver.

 

Heya (born in ky south not my fault :>,

 

Sorry I can't donate and still have a comp. to cry about :>.

Going back to school in spring-----better times ahead!!!!

[Andavari]

Do you have a suggestion on demagnetizing my floppys. Curious if I can fix these and use again.

 

Just format that floppy disk either in My Computer which is the too time consuming way if you're doing a bunch of them.

 

However; If you need to do allot of them as a batch set the best way in my opinion is via a Command Prompt, then you can full format them one right after another since the Command Prompt format allows you to select Y for Yes to format another, it also tells you if there are any bad sectors:

format a:

[mjp28]

Just format that floppy disk either in My Computer which is the too time consuming way if you're doing a bunch of them.

 

However; If you need to do allot of them as a batch set the best way in my opinion is via a Command Prompt, then you can full format them one right after another since the Command Prompt format allows you to select Y for Yes to format another, it also tells you if there are any bad sectors:

format a:

Just a thought, I wanted a few old classic movies on VHS, yes I still have THREE working VHS machines, went on Amazon and found them from $0.01 to $0.99 plus s&h or less than $3 each.....and I didn't even check ebay.

 

I'm sure some rat-packer like me has boxes of new floppies around. (I have a box or two somewhere.)

[frustrated!]

Thank you for info on demag my floppys. I not sure where to go to do the Command Promt. Have never done this on a computer. Can you explain step by step how. Sorry no geek here

 

Frustrated!

[Andavari]

I not sure where to go to do the Command Promt.

There's nice instructions here, they explain how to use the format utility:

http://www.computerh...es/ch000727.htm

 

Of course to open a Command Prompt in Windows XP click:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt

-or-

Click Start > Run, and type in: CMD.exe