I have an old computer

[DWiggy]

Try ebuyer they do bundles, mother board, cpu, ram etc takes some of the guess work out of choosing compatible parts, also give Ubuntu a try will save you money on your operating system as its free.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Replacing all of those components (after the motherboard) will actually invalidate the original windows licence btw. The OEM (original equipment manufacturer's) licence only allowed for a maximum number of components to be changed before it became a new computer requiring a totally new licence, so your options will be restricted to the free o/s after such a major overhaul. And to be honest at that point you might be better off buying a low end spec desktop machine that is end of production and ex display from one of the major retailers for around £200 and upgrading that as a project....
(Also used to a hardware engineer (laptops, desktops, printers & servers) as well as a software engineer)

 

[JoeyB]

Replacing all of those components (after the motherboard) will actually invalidate the original windows licence btw. The OEM (original equipment manufacturer's) licence only allowed for a maximum number of components to be changed before it became a new computer requiring a totally new licence, so your options will be restricted to the free o/s after such a major overhaul. And to be honest at that point you might be better off buying a low end spec desktop machine that is end of production and ex display from one of the major retailers for around £200 and upgrading that as a project....
(Also used to a hardware engineer (laptops, desktops, printers & servers) as well as a software engineer)

With XP going EOL a new OS is a given in my opinion. No point upgrading and then being restricted by a 32bit OS....

 

[MontyVeda]

just reinstall/reset XP... the PC should speed up a bit just by doing that.

And don't worry that XP is no longer supported by M$... it's still covered by 3rd party AV and firewall software.

 

[JoeyB]

Some useful supplier links for you:

http://www.scan.co.uk
http://www.ebuyer.com
http://www.aria.co.uk
http://www.tekheads.co.uk
http://www.eclipsecomputers.com
http://www.misco.co.uk
http://www.novatech.co.uk (not the cheapest but local to me so handy for stuff I need now)

In my experience eBuyer more often than not comes out cheaper overall (taking into account delivery costs etc). The last PC I built was for my Father in Law on a £500 budget and I think pretty much everything came from eBuyer in the end.

 

[Kies]

Be very careful when removing RAM, Motherboard or CPU.... ALWAYS.... wear an earthing strap that has been tested as static will destroy these components! These wrist straps are not expensive and work by having a capacitor in contact with your skin that takes a few seconds to equalise the charge between you and the machine, so a bit of wire is of no use, as its the gradual discharge that is the key factor. Also ensure that any new components are in their correct metallised packaging and are kept in it until fitting I.e. DON'T take em out for a quick gander/drool before fitting and then handle them by the edges only. This was dinned into us on the "City and Guilds" Computer Technicians course I passed a few years ago,
I only got onto this course by "accident" in that I wanted to learn how to operate a computer but instead learnt how to be a computer mechanic, good fun though.

I use ESD straps on a daily basis - and they must be grounded to have any real affect. If you are at the same potential as the chassis, then both of you can still cause electrostatic discharge to a component once it leaves the ESD bag. Note: only the INSIDE of a ESD bag is safe - I see lots of customers place the board on the outside of a bag OH

 

[raleighnut]

I use ESD straps on a daily basis - and they must be grounded to have any real affect. If you are at the same potential as the chassis, then both of you can still cause electrostatic discharge to a component once it leaves the ESD bag. Note: only the INSIDE of a ESD bag is safe - I see lots of customers place the board on the outside of a bag OH

Holding the bag in one hand whilst removing the component with the other is deemed to be safe/safest providing the capacitor is within tolerance

 

[Archie_tect]

There is a site that is trustworthy (cannot remember the name but know it when I see it) that sells components and via internet will check your computer and see what can be upgraded.

Curial, we get memory upgrades for macs from them... work well.

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en?gclid=..._id=Sw008ENIYWYAAFzyq40AAAOA:20140513161217:s

[Edit: jeffmcg has beaten me to it, but 2 recommendations are better than none!]

 

[jugglingphil]

I'm another one in the install linux camp.

 

[cyberknight]

Curial, we get memory upgrades for macs from them... work well.

http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en?gclid=..._id=Sw008ENIYWYAAFzyq40AAAOA:20140513161217:s

[Edit: jeffmcg has beaten me to it, but 2 recommendations are better than none!]

Pity it does not have a linux scanner , i have an older system ( 2 gig ram, 3800 dual core , 80 gig HDD ) that i would like to add ram too but i am not sure if thats the max the mobo will take but as the scanner does not run even under wine and i cant find anything on the mobo to say what model it is .

 

[midliferider]

I was in a similar situation, an old computer going slow, nearly 7 years ago. This was my approach.
This PC is not going to be useful any more. You can't do any more damage to this PC. At the same time, I can make use of this for me and my son, who was just 12 at the time to learn how to repair/ build computers.
We approached it as a summer school holiday project.
Burrowed an Idiot Guide or For Dummies kind of book from the local library on upgrade on computers. We took the PC apart and rebuilt it. Along the process, we learned all about building and upgrading computers. We bought RAM, hard disc etc from gum tree and e bay.
We learned Linux systems. At one point, we were running this system with 3 operating systems. It was good fun.
Since then I had not brought a new computer till I bought a laptop last year. Now I don't get worried when my computer breaks down. I just repair them myself.