I had hoped to buy a new PC to replace my 10 year old system by now, since Windows XP was phased out but have not been able to, yet. Things have reached a point where I just can't bear it anymore. The problems are many -
Extremely slow, to turn on or off
Freeze-ups
Crashes
Plugin issues
Not responding messages every 5 minutes
Unresponsive scripts
Virtual memory too low
Stop and go every few minutes when watching videos
I understand replacing XP with Windows 7 or 8 is all I need to do and I am here to get some advise on this and to find out which one is better. My system is Home Edition, Service Pack 3, Pentium 4CPU 2.666Hz 513 MB of RAM.
Is replacing this too technical for someone who is not technically inclined to do, and if so can I get it done cheaply here? If not in this forum then I will appreciate some advice, please.
You can spend some money and upgrade your system to make if run faster with XP or Windows 7. But your money would be better spent getting a New computer or a Used computer from Craigslist or Ebay that is only a few years old. That would cost just about the same amount as upgrading your 10 year old computer.
Try reformatting and reinstalling XP (after backing up important data). The problems you're describing are fixable and don't need a new OS, you just need to get XP and your software working in the same way as it used to. It wouldn't do any harm to add another gig of memory and make sure the inside of the computer case is free of dust.
If you get a used PC, you can get one with a working Windows 7 key for a very good price, with or without a hard drive. If you buy on ebay, the listing should say if the key is working, and you should easily be able to see if the drive is present. For $100-150, you can actually narrow searches at ebay to i series processors, and you should be able to find a really great deal on one that doesn't have the drive. There are plenty for a little more with the drive, also, but I feel it's good to start off with a new drive is the reason I bring this up...
For a PC without a drive, and to create an .iso you can burn to a dvd to make an installation disk for Windows 7, you can go here, once you have the PC and key in hand:
I feel your pain Dorcas. I have 6 PC's--running XP; 7,32; 7,64, 8.1 (many of them multi-boot so 3 of those OS may well be on the same hardware... AND I have a Bunch of "i" thingamabobs now---iPhone, iPod, iPad--a Mac'Air is surely in the works. BUT XP is without doubt my Workhorse sill. 7 is better, especially where streaming and networking is concerned but there will forever be an issue with Apps that won't port---Apps I've collected for years.
Operating Systems are SUPPOSE to run Applications. Redmond has NEVER understood that the OS should NEVER dictate to the USER & his Apps. They've gotten that part back-assward from Window 95 on.
I think you got some good advise here. XP can still run like a champ--but it can get sluggish over time---that's pretty much a given actually. I still endeavor to keep my running XP's CLEAN rather than give in to the "Nuke from Orbit and Clean Install). XP's fate will be exactly he same as the fate that befell Windows 2000. It was NEVER the case that XP was just SO much better that everyone had to transition. Everyone transitioned because the Drivers and other 3rd party apps stopped being written for 2K. That gap, as we got newer hardware just got too wide. Never MIND that the monthly BUG-FIXES (Ooops I mean Hot fixes) that MS used to spawn out are NO MORE for XP. That's a LOT of bugs! and I guess they could have gone another 12 years and still be genning them out without ever getting XP 'fixed'.
Win 7 probably takes a bit more horsepower to run well than XP but Surface, on the other hand, can actually breathe new life into older systems--especially if you pair it with an SDD drive to boot. Winds up being LESS demanding on CPU Horsepower and BUS throughput to overcome lousy OS programming. 'Course you have to embrace MS's version of MacOS. I'm sorta getting there. But then, I run Ubuntu and Debian for when the going really gets rough.
UNIX SHOULD have been the De facto PC OS From the Beginning. Microsoft arguably has set us back 15 or 20 years from a straight-up "IT Technology" perspective. That's what happens when you business-model Technology on the Auto Industry---new model every few years driven by a Madison Ave "perceived" need for a updated version. Apple just as guilty but it WAS MS, until recent times, which had the strangle hold on the PC industry and determined it evolution. Some of us are actually old enough to have been part of the PC "revolution" before Microsoft entered the arena--and we're perhaps less inclined to "Credit" MS with creating the concept of PC's.
ALSO:--VMWARE and VirtualBOX are XP's best friend. You can run different OS's in virtual environments--including XP hosted by XP. I find that can be a real "Sanity Check' when I'm trying to determine if I have hardware issues or just slow performance issues. Running the same OS on the SAME hardware zeros you in pretty quickly on where the problem lies. IMexperience--hardware- glitches--maybe 12% of the time. Corrupted OS--espeically that gdForesaken REGISTRY** 82% of the time. Pilot error--yeah I'll admit to the other 6%
**Just as a point of interest--a stable OS kernel Incorruptible by any application is a Computer 101 concept. With NT MS adopted the VM stable kernel for all their Windows OS's but the Registry has ALWAYS been a HUGE Open Portal to systemic corruption. NO MS Windows has ever qualified as "stable". In hindsight Microsoft might have been just about the worst possible entity to take over PC OS's these last 3 decades and more. MS-DOS might have been the last good one they conjured up for us.
Thanks so much for this in-depth and informative response. I am happy to report that I got myself a new hard drive with Windows 8 this Easter weekend and getting used to all these advanced features. I feel like I am now in the 21st century. It was set up at the store by the geek squad and told to just plug it in and that's it. I removed it from the box and was surprised to realize there was no manual with it.
For a non geek like me that is a problem. What is the use of such an advanced equipment if one cannot or does not know how to use them.
Anyway, I downloaded a manual called "The Missing Manual" by David Pogue which is helping a lot as it is written in simple language for non techies to understand. Trouble is it is over 900 pages and who wants to sit in front of the computer all day to read. A hard copy next to me would be much preferred so that is my next must have.
They have stopped putting manuals and recovery CD's in new computer boxes for many, many years now, as most people don't read them anyways.
You do not read the manual cover to cover. If you are doing something and get stuck, you go to the index or the table of contents in the manual and look up what you are trying to do for instructions.
You may want to try installing Classic Shell, this small program makes Windows 8.1 Look like XP or Windows 7. Many people find it easier to navigate.
You can install ClassicShell and it will give you the Start button, and the All Programs list which are missing in Windows 8.1. If you prefer the Windows 8.1 Metro screen, it is still there and you can toggle between one or the other.
I had indicated at the store that I prefer to use the keyboard and mouse
instead of touchscreen, so the geek squad set it up for me with a Start button and All Programs.
I just noticed that I also have the Classic Shell in All Programs already, so I am all set.
Thanks very much
dorcas22
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