I bought a second hand laptop running windows 2000. unfortunately I was hacked and had to format the drive. I loaded xp But the computer is very slow and I can't increase the memory(at maximum). I have a legal copy of windows 98, would I be better to revert to that o/s or soldier on with xp?
windows
- Thread starter jaymar
- Start date
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Hi Jaymar
What are the specs. of your laptop?
CPU
Memory
Hardisk etc.
How did it run on Windows 2000 before XP loaded?
Windows 98 not as bloated as XP although possibly more prone to BSD.
It could give some speed improvement. Have you checked the MS details re minimum spec. for XP. If your laptop meets this you should be ok (Just!).
Obviously it could be many other things relating to XP settings e.g. Graphics drivers, screen resolution and bit depth settings.
Will try and help if I can
Cheers
Tony
What are the specs. of your laptop?
CPU
Memory
Hardisk etc.
How did it run on Windows 2000 before XP loaded?
Windows 98 not as bloated as XP although possibly more prone to BSD.
It could give some speed improvement. Have you checked the MS details re minimum spec. for XP. If your laptop meets this you should be ok (Just!).
Obviously it could be many other things relating to XP settings e.g. Graphics drivers, screen resolution and bit depth settings.
Will try and help if I can
Cheers
Tony
martyn2
Established Member
with 128 meg I would go back to win98 or 2000, XP likes 128 to just sit there.Upgrade when you can get more memory/ram, on it I have the same problem with an old IBM laptop .Martyn
Hi Jaymar
I believe.
Minimum spec for XP is 233MHz CPU, 64MB RAM and 1.5GB free Hardisk space.
Minimum spec for Windows 2000 is 133MHz CPU, 64MB RAM and 650MB free Hardisk space.
These are the lowest specifications that MS sees acceptable to run the OS. Obviously more CPU speed, RAM and free disk space makes a huge difference to the way your system will work.
Theoretically your system should work ok with XP (although it will not be too fast!!).
Given the choice between 98 and 2000 I would go for 2000 (remember that very little, if any, MS support is available for these).
It might be worth while for you to look for second hand versions (full originals only) in somewhere like Micro Mart. You should be able to pick them up fairly cheap - look for OEM versions as well
As Martyn2 says upgrade the memory if possible for your laptop.
You might want to look here for a start Crucial
Hope this of some help in deciding
Cheers
Tony
I believe.
Minimum spec for XP is 233MHz CPU, 64MB RAM and 1.5GB free Hardisk space.
Minimum spec for Windows 2000 is 133MHz CPU, 64MB RAM and 650MB free Hardisk space.
These are the lowest specifications that MS sees acceptable to run the OS. Obviously more CPU speed, RAM and free disk space makes a huge difference to the way your system will work.
Theoretically your system should work ok with XP (although it will not be too fast!!).
Given the choice between 98 and 2000 I would go for 2000 (remember that very little, if any, MS support is available for these).
It might be worth while for you to look for second hand versions (full originals only) in somewhere like Micro Mart. You should be able to pick them up fairly cheap - look for OEM versions as well
As Martyn2 says upgrade the memory if possible for your laptop.
You might want to look here for a start Crucial
Hope this of some help in deciding
Cheers
Tony
Jaymar
Just one more thing you may want to look at before ditching XP.
Have a look in the Systems dialogue at Performance settings and if not already selected pick "Adjust for best performance" this will turn off all the fancy settings and may give you a better performance. You could then turn on your preferences one by one to arrive at an acceptable solution.
Just in case you are not aware how to do this:
Click on start
Control Panel
Select System
Advanced
Performance settings
Choose Adjust for best performance.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Tony
Just one more thing you may want to look at before ditching XP.
Have a look in the Systems dialogue at Performance settings and if not already selected pick "Adjust for best performance" this will turn off all the fancy settings and may give you a better performance. You could then turn on your preferences one by one to arrive at an acceptable solution.
Just in case you are not aware how to do this:
Click on start
Control Panel
Select System
Advanced
Performance settings
Choose Adjust for best performance.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Tony
I formatted and loaded Windows 98. What a mistake! I couldn't load anything on as there were no drivers. I daren't go on the net for drivers as I couldn't load a firewall and this all started because of that. So!! I'm busy reloading XP, I'll just have to put up with a slow performance. Thanks for the help and suggestions.
MrJay
Established Member
Windows is not the only fruit.
(seriously, Ubuntu is fast, modern, lollingly easy, everything works out the box, it's secure, stable, almost certainly won't need you to . around with drivers and comes with all the software you need; for free. And there are enough Linux nerds here to help you out when it gets a bit "Wha!!! How do I do that thing I want to do?" - Even my mum uses it.)
(seriously, Ubuntu is fast, modern, lollingly easy, everything works out the box, it's secure, stable, almost certainly won't need you to . around with drivers and comes with all the software you need; for free. And there are enough Linux nerds here to help you out when it gets a bit "Wha!!! How do I do that thing I want to do?" - Even my mum uses it.)
Sorry to hear about your continuing problems jaymar.
I understand your concerns about loading a firewall etc.
Dont forget that a good antivirus program is equally important. In your situation I would have taken the chance on downloading drivers, firewall anti virus, disconnected from the net then loaded and run antivirus etc. There is a chance that you may have inadvertently downloaded a worm, trojan or virus - however it is also likely that if this happened it would be one of the do-nothing varieties. Most can be eradicated easily.
As a matter of interest you say that you were forced to format your old 2000 system due to being hacked. What were the symptoms that caused you to believe you were hacked? Did you get warning from antivirus or firewall already installed?
MrJay your link looks interesting. I know that there is a growing band of anti MS users (including some IT pros!) out there. Open source and free software looks a great idea - taking me back to my start in computers. I have no experience of these systems but do have one concern - can you run the likes of Autocad, Photoshop and other leading application - or do you have to find clones?
I am also surprised that the Mac brigade have not ventured here for a gloat
Cheers
Tony
I understand your concerns about loading a firewall etc.
Dont forget that a good antivirus program is equally important. In your situation I would have taken the chance on downloading drivers, firewall anti virus, disconnected from the net then loaded and run antivirus etc. There is a chance that you may have inadvertently downloaded a worm, trojan or virus - however it is also likely that if this happened it would be one of the do-nothing varieties. Most can be eradicated easily.
As a matter of interest you say that you were forced to format your old 2000 system due to being hacked. What were the symptoms that caused you to believe you were hacked? Did you get warning from antivirus or firewall already installed?
MrJay your link looks interesting. I know that there is a growing band of anti MS users (including some IT pros!) out there. Open source and free software looks a great idea - taking me back to my start in computers. I have no experience of these systems but do have one concern - can you run the likes of Autocad, Photoshop and other leading application - or do you have to find clones?
I am also surprised that the Mac brigade have not ventured here for a gloat
Cheers
Tony
MrJay
Established Member
WINE provides an implementation of the Windows API on linux - which is to say that WINE lets you run Windows programmes on linux (with various levels of success). Photoshop CS2 works, Autocad R14 can be made to go, but is iffy round the edges. There are of course alternative applications native to Linux that provide workable compatibility with software designed to run on Windows. High end CAD (let's not forget that an AutoCad license is going to cost you £2000 upwards) is one of the few areas where linux can be found lacking. I've used QCAD at home to work on AutoCad files and it works, but it's not pretty. Perhaps most importantly SketchUp 4 works fine, 5 and 6 are currently dicey (though useable for viewing, editing and saving if you've got nerves of steel) with WINE.
Linux also lacks high-end DTP and Illustration ala InDesign and Illustrator (you'll be well sorted for basic DTP and Illustration) and mid-level video editing ala Premiere/AfterEffects (basic and bleeding-edge stuff won't be a problem) and if you're tied to some proprietary music making software you may also find the switch rather jarring. If you need to do those things you'll be better off with OSX or Windows.
However. It's all rather a moot point as neither Photoshop or AutoCad will run satisfactorily on a 700mhz laptop with 128mb of memory regardless of the operating system you choose. Linux can at the very least provide a satisfactory alternative. There's no gloat, Ubuntu is thoroughly excellent at breathing new life into an aging laptop.
It's not about being anti-MS. We have choices, we pick the ones that best suit our needs. Linux is the most common server OS on the planet - you'll find it and its UNIX cousins running the Internet, stock exchanges, banking, space exploration and doing mission critical stuff everywhere. It's no big surprise that even a small handful of IT professionals have started to do 'nix.
Linux also lacks high-end DTP and Illustration ala InDesign and Illustrator (you'll be well sorted for basic DTP and Illustration) and mid-level video editing ala Premiere/AfterEffects (basic and bleeding-edge stuff won't be a problem) and if you're tied to some proprietary music making software you may also find the switch rather jarring. If you need to do those things you'll be better off with OSX or Windows.
However. It's all rather a moot point as neither Photoshop or AutoCad will run satisfactorily on a 700mhz laptop with 128mb of memory regardless of the operating system you choose. Linux can at the very least provide a satisfactory alternative. There's no gloat, Ubuntu is thoroughly excellent at breathing new life into an aging laptop.
It's not about being anti-MS. We have choices, we pick the ones that best suit our needs. Linux is the most common server OS on the planet - you'll find it and its UNIX cousins running the Internet, stock exchanges, banking, space exploration and doing mission critical stuff everywhere. It's no big surprise that even a small handful of IT professionals have started to do 'nix.
Jaymar, hope you are now up and running ok. Sorry for the slight hijack of your thread.
MrJay - Thanks for your comprehensive view on Linux/Ubuntu. I really should have a look at this - perhaps incorporating in new PC build or perhaps trying first as a virtual machine.
Cheers
Tony
MrJay - Thanks for your comprehensive view on Linux/Ubuntu. I really should have a look at this - perhaps incorporating in new PC build or perhaps trying first as a virtual machine.
Cheers
Tony
Dave S
Established Member
TonyW":3i9ef4jh said:I really should have a look at this - perhaps incorporating in new PC build or perhaps trying first as a virtual machine.
Cheers
Tony
Tony - I have no personal experience of Ubuntu, but from what I've heard it's a good choice for someone new to Linux. I think most of the distributions can be booted from a Live CD, so you get the chance to try them out without having to touch your hard disk. I even had Sabayon booted from a Live cd the other day, and had it running the Beryl desktop seen here on youtube without any problems.
I would suggest you avoid the Gentoo distribution, though as you basically compile it yourself from the source code. I'm building a Gentoo box at the moment, and it ain't for the faint hearted!!
Dave
