[ckb0118]

Hi, I would like to make this computer run a little faster. I have already cleaned it to the best of my ability.

It is a Windows XP 2002, service pack 3
Gatewy Intel R Pentium R 4 CPU 1.60GHz
1.59ghz, 256 MB of RAM

there is only 3.84 gb left and 18.6 gb full. So not much space to begin with.

Should I just add RAM? If so could someone direct me to a diagram of how to install?

Thanks Geeks to Go!

Edited by ckb0118, 03 May 2009 - 09:47 PM.

[Advertisements]

Welcome to GeeksToGo,

My name is Cbarnard I hope I may be of some assistance to you:

Please keep in mind this is not our job and I'm not here 24\7. It can take a little bit of time for me to reply back to you,
if it has been more than 48hrs since a reply, please PM me and I will be with you as soon as possible.

With that said lets take a look and get this problem taken care of.

I would definitely install more Ram. I will get in to this more in another post.

What is the brand and model number of the computer?





Lets get rid of any junk files you may have missed.

Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune.
This program is for XP and Windows 2000 onlyDouble-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
If you use Firefox browserClick Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
If you use Opera browserClick Opera at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.
For Technical Support, double-click the e-mail address located at the bottom of each menu.




Now that junk is taken care of

Go to Start> Control Panel> Add\Remove Programs

uninstall programs you don't use anymore

Reboot as necessary

Now lets get the Hard drive Defragged

Download Jkdefrag

Double click on the downloaded file:

Unzip it to your desktop when it asks where to save it

Reboot:

Once that is done all you have to do is double click on JkDefrag.exe

The program will start automatically and close when it is complete (this could take sometime)




Now click Start> My Computer> right click on C:\ > scroll down to Properties

On the window that pops up look at the bottom tick the box(if it is not) that says Compress disk drive to save space
Another window will pop up tell it to apply to all folders and subfolders press ok\apply as needed.

It will begin compacting all the files that are there and any future files you create.


Complete these steps and get back to me with the information, and I will get back to you on what the next move will be.


Thank you, and good luck

Cbarnard

Edited by cbarnard, 04 May 2009 - 12:29 AM.

[cbarnard]

Welcome to GeeksToGo,

My name is Cbarnard I hope I may be of some assistance to you:

Please keep in mind this is not our job and I'm not here 24\7. It can take a little bit of time for me to reply back to you,
if it has been more than 48hrs since a reply, please PM me and I will be with you as soon as possible.

With that said lets take a look and get this problem taken care of.

I would definitely install more Ram. I will get in to this more in another post.

What is the brand and model number of the computer?





Lets get rid of any junk files you may have missed.

Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune.
This program is for XP and Windows 2000 onlyDouble-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
If you use Firefox browserClick Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
If you use Opera browserClick Opera at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.
For Technical Support, double-click the e-mail address located at the bottom of each menu.




Now that junk is taken care of

Go to Start> Control Panel> Add\Remove Programs

uninstall programs you don't use anymore

Reboot as necessary

Now lets get the Hard drive Defragged

Download Jkdefrag

Double click on the downloaded file:

Unzip it to your desktop when it asks where to save it

Reboot:

Once that is done all you have to do is double click on JkDefrag.exe

The program will start automatically and close when it is complete (this could take sometime)




Now click Start> My Computer> right click on C:\ > scroll down to Properties

On the window that pops up look at the bottom tick the box(if it is not) that says Compress disk drive to save space
Another window will pop up tell it to apply to all folders and subfolders press ok\apply as needed.

It will begin compacting all the files that are there and any future files you create.


Complete these steps and get back to me with the information, and I will get back to you on what the next move will be.


Thank you, and good luck

Cbarnard

Edited by cbarnard, 04 May 2009 - 12:29 AM.

[nofun]

As Cbarnard said, please post your computer brand and model number so that we may help you better.

The real issue here is that your computer is probably pretty old (at least from the information you've given us here), and newer software (such as Windows XP and Office 2007) is designed with newer, more powerful systems in mind. Thus, while your computer would do fine running software that is older, it just can't quite keep up with some of the new programs being thrown at it (and this is why it appears to run slower now than it did when you first bought it).

That being said, computers tend to accumulate a lot of "crud" over the years that can slow their performance and eat up system resources. Cbarnard gave a good list to clean up a lot of these things and squeeze the most performance out of your aging system.

After you've performed all the system maintenance he gave you, that's probably the best performance you will get without spending any money. Now here's an important decision you need to make. There is a saying that comes to mind now that you should consider: "There's no point in spending good money after bad." You COULD upgrade your RAM and your hard drive for cheap (probably less than $100), and this would result in somewhat better performance and usability; however, you're still stuck with an old processor and motherboard which is going to bottleneck any performance you would see.

On the other hand, even today's cheapest systems will destroy your current rig. Here is a link for an Inspiron Desktop from BestBuy. It has a dual core processor running at 2.6 Ghz, 3 GB of Ram, 320 GB of hard drive space, and it only costs $380. Or you can buy directly from a manufacturer such as Dell, HP, or Gateway.

If you do decide to get a new system, just make sure you get a dual core processor, that's probably the most important thing. Everything else you need should already be standard even on an economy system.


Once again, the choice is yours. You can spend a little bit of money, and get a little bit better performance from your machine, or you can just buy a whole new system and get noticeably better performance. Just something to think about. If you can give us your current system's make and model number we can price out some upgrade options for you.

Edited by nofun, 04 May 2009 - 06:24 AM.
removed malware advice