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Computer newbies: Do I need a new computer?
Do I need a new computer?
by lfitzsimons - 5/3/08 6:48 AMI have a Sony Vaio PCV RZ22G with a Pentium 4 processor that has served us well for about 6 or 7 years (got it on the day Pentium 4 was released.) Recently it has started running extremely slow. We mostly use it for the internet and Itunes, but also have MS Office loaded.
It has two hard drives, or at least there are 2 hard drives in explorer. I've never understood this aspect of the computer. The C drive says it has 10.8 gb used and 3.12 gb free. The D drive has 21.5 gb used and 39 gb free space. When the c drive became too full to defragment, I started moving things (like Itunes library) to the d drive. I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do.
Do I need to give up and get a new computer? If not, how can I make this one faster? Also, 2.39 GHz, 512 mb Ram, Windows XP home.
Thanks in advance!
First off. . .
by Coryphaeus - 5/3/08 7:57 AM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonsSlow downs can be caused by malware, spyware, and viruses. Tell us what AV and Spyware software you are running. Also, programs running in the background will slow down a PC.
It sounds like you have adequate speed, although upping the RAM to a Gig will give noticeable results. Drives. All drives can be partitioned (separated) into two logical drives, C: and D:. You could also have two physical drives in the case. You really need to open it up and look. Moving data to another drive, be it logical or physical will free up space although this does not usually result in increase speed.
New computer? I wouldn't. Cleaning up the drives, stopping running programs that you don't need, and adding RAM will give a marked result.
To find out what is running in the background, do a Google for Codestuff Starter. Great little program that will list what is running and allow you to disable, stop, or remove what is not needed.
Wayne (IBM freak)
Click here to see the CNet faces, learn a little about analog and digital data, Internet connections, Spyware removal, and download free software.
My mini-Schnauzer is smarter than your honor student.
AV/Ram
by lfitzsimons - 5/3/08 8:25 AM In reply to: First off. . . by CoryphaeusI use Mcafee AV.
Anything special I need to know about purchasing or installing RAM? (I did this years ago on a previous computer, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with how it works.)
Go to Crucial.com. . .
by Coryphaeus - 5/3/08 9:25 AM In reply to: AV/Ram by lfitzsimonsand input the PC specs. They will tell you what is available and what will fit.
Does your McAfee scan for Spyware, AdAware, malware, or is it just an AV. These are separate nuisances and you need more than just an AV program.
Go to my site below and click on the Anti-Parasite Suite for a list and the reasons for each one.
Wayne (IBM freak)
Click here to see the CNet faces, learn a little about analog and digital data, Internet connections, Spyware removal, and download free software.
My mini-Schnauzer is smarter than your honor student.
See this
by Dango517 - 5/3/08 3:53 PM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonshttp://129.33.22.12/release/specs/PCVRZ22Gspec.pdf
512MB PC-2700 333MHz DDR <<<this is your RAM
Do the crucial scan and get the specifications.
........................................................
That no manual is present is a bad sign.
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=PCVRZ22G&LOC=3
This could be a second PC or a nice PC starter gift for someone. The Pentium 4s are on there way out and will not be available soon, give or take a year or two.
There are many uses for old PCs like this, put on your thinking cap.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS258US258&q=uses+for+old+PCs
This is not an antique yet but it's on it's way.
new pc
by killz-u - 5/3/08 9:30 PM In reply to: See this by Dango517instead of wasting any $ on memory! would be your best interst to just drop about $400 on a new pc!
even with more memory, that system will crawl! the xp os alone with sp2 will turn it into a snail!
and, now the price of desktops is very low! My friend just bought a hp with 120 gig drive, card reader,p4 2.6 w/ht----etc "new for about $400! look at newegg.com! or tiger direct.com:)
--------------have fun------------
BTW
by Dango517 - 5/3/08 10:31 PM In reply to: What are you asking me for, by Dango517RAM is really cheap for these older computers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000147&Description=PC-2700&name=Desktop+Memory
Along with the rest of the parts for it. This means they will not be around much longer.
Again, this would make a good PC for something or someone for a few years, maybe two or three, maybe.
Consider A new install.
by ishan.sharma001 - 5/3/08 9:39 PM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonsIf you have bootable cd of OS, and no important stuff stored, consider
doing a new install. A new install is always faster. If you have some important documents or music, back them up on a DVD(if you have DVD writer) or a pen drive. It seems that you have a single 80 GB drive with 2 partitions. When you have to create partitions during install, consider this scheme:
c: 7GB. -It is more then enough for any OS before Vista.
d: 10GB. -Install all your software on this drive, never go
for default "C:\Program Files|" path.
e: 10GB. -Assign for games if you play some.
f: 20GB. -Use this partition for storing multimedia.
g: 5GB. -Use this space for all your document work.
h: 10GB. -Store your setup programs here.(They will be handy
when you have to install OS again.
Increase or decrease space as you like.Call someone from local
computer shop to do format if you can't do it. It is best bet when computer is slow. But remember one thing, some guys insist on creating big partitions. DON'T DO THAT. Insist on the above scheme.
But if for some reason, you don't want to format, consider uninstalling some of the software from c: drive and installing them on d:. It has lot of free space left.
Regardless of the way you choose, get following software. They can help you speed up your PC.
Advanced Windows Care V2 Personal iobit.com
This software optimizes registry and deletes junk files.
IOBit Smart Defrag iobit.com
It will auto defrag your disk.
Avast Antivirus Personal Edition. avast.com
It is a fast antivirus program that uses very less memory.
All these programs are free for personal use and come in small packages.
If you are comfortable with registry editing, send me a mail at ishan.sharma001@gamil.com.
-Ishan
new computer
by medionpc - 5/4/08 12:28 AM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonsyes you should buy a new computer. dont update RAM, That would be silly by the time you update the RAM than you have to update something else and so on.
BUY new computer though DELL
Don't buy more RAM
by 3rdalbum - 5/4/08 2:21 AM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonsWindows XP can run perfectly quickly in 512 megabytes of RAM. Before buying more RAM, check your RAM usage in the Task Manager. Chances are that you're not running enough programs to be slowing down the computer.
While you're in the task manager, check what percent of the CPU is being used. If it's a high amount (20% or more when your computer is "idle"), go into the process list and order it by "CPU %". Whatever is using lots of CPU time will appear at the top of the list. (you can safely ignore "System Idle Process").
A good step to regaining system performance is to run an anti-virus sweep and then remove or disable your anti-virus software.
Here is what Microsoft says about speeding up XP
by Dango517 - 5/4/08 3:02 AM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonshttp://www.microsoft.com/uk/atwork/get_more/speedupyourcomputer.mspx
What has been said about reinstalling the OS is also true and adding RAM.
If your OS is infected with a virus or has malware, if your security programs are good you should be able to remove them and restore the system to normal functioning. Sometimes these programs will effect the systems performance if they have a "real time" scan function. Many freeware programs do not, so they will not slow down your system. "Real time" comes when you spend money.
P4 xp home PC
by TheManInDboX - 5/8/08 8:39 AM In reply to: Do I need a new computer? by lfitzsimonsIn simple reply, No, you do not need a new PC... although this depends on your prefrence and computer experiance as to if it would be cheaper..
1. Make sure you have a good AV, i agree with another posted note here, it is likely you have become infected. especially if out of nowhere you are now noticing delay and slow downs...
2. If you have an expired copy of an av and need to run an av scan (uninstall the expired copy first), i would suggest going to www.majorgeeks.com and clicking the anti-virus link, then locate PC-Tools free antivirus. Install and run a full scan on both drives.
3. You may want to physically open the case of the tower of the PC (after you unplug it from power) and look inside. Look to see if there are two physical hard drives.
4. while it is open, get a vacuume and vac out the inside of the case, dont break any capasitors on the board, but get out any dust bunnys located in it... and also on the fans on the power supply, (it is possible this can be heat related as well, if there is indeed alot of dust in the case...
5. If there are two hard drives, we will say C and E, you will want to, right click on the "my computer" and select properties, then the advanced tab, then settings under performance, Then the advanced tab, Then "change" under the virtual memory settings, In there you will see a list of the two drives C and E, click on c and you will see bellow a bullet that says no page file, select that bullet (click the set button), then click (to highlight) the E drive, and click the custom size, in the blank spaces place 1024 in both blank fields and select the set button. Then OK. and OK on the other box's this will cause your PC to fragment less on your OS drive (assuming windows is installed on your C drive) (you may also want to run a defrag after this takes place) (you may also want to defrag your page file, if you do, go to www.technet.com and look for a program called pagefrag, it is free and will defrag your page file)
6.(optional) Download HI-Jack this, and paste the scanned results here and i will help you find out if you are infected...
Things to take note of...
1. the more you utilize the hard drive space, say you have 100gb of movies and music, the more memory you will use.. 512 may not be enough.. You may want to go out and purchase either 1gb stick or 2gb of memory and place that in your machine... this will make a huge diffrence...
2. If you have two 50gb hard drives and they are slow speed drives, 3600rpm, then the more you have on them the slower your PC will perform...
3. Important--Make sure you have all your windows updates, there are alot of patches that fix issues within windows found on that site, i believe XP is up to 96 of them... To update, go to IE and click on tools, then windows updates, follow on screen instructions to install active x and what not..
4. any further questions on this? I am tracking this thread, so just reply to me...
Microsoft certified
MCSE 2k
CCNA
Rob
woops missed this
by TheManInDboX - 5/8/08 9:05 AM In reply to: P4 xp home PC by TheManInDboXJust to add, Mcafee sux...
You are better off not running an AV...
Want the facts on AV?
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
Also: dont listen to the guy about the dell... or the HP..
If you are going to get another machine.. Get something that has a good rep...
Hp isnt bad, they are getting better, they are known for sub prime parts... and poor designed heat issues.. (now the same as compaq which is cheaper)
Dell?? well you are better off lighting the 400+ dollars on fire... then flush the ashes...
Acer, Emachine, and gateway are all the same now...
Toshiba is ranked the highest for parts... but not Customer service or warrentee..
Sony has great parts as well, but again not the best customer service
If you decide to get a "new PC" and dont want vista, get it before june 30th
if you want vista, be prepared to shell out about 2grand for anything that will be worth while, because at 400 bucks you will get a paperweight.
If you decide to go vista,
Minimal specs you are going to want to get similar performance to what your sony was new, are as follows
1. Processor core 2 duo 1.66ghz or better
2. memory no less then 2gb of ram
3. hard drive 7200Rpm SATA (the smaller the drive the faster the machine)(unless you use super-fetch which will eat memory, at which point i would get 3gb as a minimal)
4. Video card, at least 256mb on a PCI-E or AGP slot
there is no chance a machine like this will cost you 400 dollars...
So i would just get another 512 or a single 1gb or 2- 1gb's
Microsoft Certified
MCSE 2k
CCNA
Rob
Thanks all
by lfitzsimons - 5/8/08 9:41 AM In reply to: woops missed this by TheManInDboXThank you everyone for replying. I've started by downloading some of the AV/antispy programs, and already am seeing increased speed. As I get time I plan to come back here and follow others' suggestions as well. I'm not going to get a new computer as our house needs a bunch of maintenance, and I can't justify it simply for faster browsing speeds.
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