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martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
I'm guessing from the age that the OP may not have a Windows CD as the manufacturers stopped including them quite a while ago. Could go for Linux, Kubuntu or Linux Mint would be good and fairly easy to pick up for a Windows user.

If you really want a new laptop Asus are pretty good and cheaper than models like Lenovo or look in the sale/refurbished bits of Dabs.com . Refurbished often means removed from box by buyer and then returned.
 

Risex4

Dropped by the autobus
Your ideas are intriguing to me and i wish to subscribe to your newsletters.
I could wipe it. I have XP and that is gonna be a bit obsolete. When you have a wiped PC how do ya get an OS installed? How do ya start from nothing?

+1 for the Homer Simpson quote.

Re the reinstall, don't worry about 'getting hold of a copy of XP', your PC should have a recovery partition built into the HDD with a copy of XP squirrelled away on it; you initiate the recovery and the PC wipes the "used" partition of the hard disk and re-installs windows from the recovery partition. Result; the PC is software is as it was fresh from the factory software wise. Clears up all the digital guff which accumulates naturally over the years.
I think, but don't quote me, if you boot the PC and start tapping F8* straight away, you should get a black screen with a load of options on it, you are looking for things like "repair my PC", "fully recover my PC", or "destructive recovery". Don't fret the use of the term "destructive"; this simply means remove and destroy all user created (non-factory) data, which is the best way to go as 'soft' recoveries which purport to maintain user data end of creating more hassle then they solve.

* It may be F2, I can't remember for Dells.

Or, you may want to hunt through your start menu and create a "recovery" CD. Same trick, it just copies the XP installation files onto CD (plural, you'll need a few handy) and does it from there. This is actually a good move to make regardless of whether you chose the CD or HDD recovery.

Unplug all USB devices other than the mouse/keyboard (printers, wireless adapters etc) else you may have problems with the USB drivers post-re-install.

Back up everything you want to keep first onto an external USB key or HDD.

Make sure you have all the drivers for non-factory hardware handy for post-recovery install. Things like printers and network cards and guff. Especially internet related stuff. Recovering your PC to find that you no longer have the the driver CD for your wireless adapter and no means of getting onto the internet to download it from the manufacturers website is a real chicken-and-egg bawlache.

Above all else, DO NOT INTERRUPT during the recovery. During recovery your PC has wiped all of its instructions on how to operate. It'll be fine if left to its own devices, but if you power if off during, best case scenario - you have the recovery CDs and have to go through the process again. Worst case scenario, you don't have the CD's, cant re initiate the recovery process because your computer has deleted the part of its programming that tells it how to, and you have to throw it in the bin.

If your PC is crashing alot or simply slow, this will in all likelihood sort it.
 
OP
OP
PedalCat

PedalCat

I like sandwiches
Rereading your post and a couple of the responses makes me think...why exactly do you think your computer's dying? Eight years needn't be that old. Both my desktops are that and more, and they work fine. It could be just that you're clogged up with crap accumulated over the years. First thing I'd do is download and install (if you don't have them) Advanced SystemCare, Defraggler and Spybot Search & Destroy (all free), run them, then see if anything's changed. If not, as others have said, the best way to get a 'new' computer is to reinstall Windows from CD. That really will make a difference. If that doesn't work, then start thinking new.
It has recently become very slow when opening multiple tabs, it can rarely play a YouTube clip without bad stuttering, the screen has gone black/blank for maybe a minute on about 3 occasions in the last week or so. I don't use it to store or play films; i only do the usual email/sufing etc. Just opening Ebay (when the PC has been on for a while anyway) can take a minute to load before i can log in to it. Malwarebytes hasn't found anything and i use CCleaner. I'll try those free things, thanks much.
I'm off to bed.
 

the_mikey

Legendary Member
I'm trying to get a family member to abandon a PC with a k7 AMD Athlon, purchased in 2002, it's still surpringly quick and only really shows it's age when watching HD video. But no modern OS can be installed on it due to the lack of SSE2 support on the old AMD processor.
 
OP
OP
PedalCat

PedalCat

I like sandwiches
+1 for the Homer Simpson quote.

Re the reinstall, don't worry about 'getting hold of a copy of XP', your PC should have a recovery partition built into the HDD with a copy of XP squirrelled away on it; you initiate the recovery and the PC wipes the "used" partition of the hard disk and re-installs windows from the recovery partition. Result; the PC is software is as it was fresh from the factory software wise. Clears up all the digital guff which accumulates naturally over the years.
I think, but don't quote me, if you boot the PC and start tapping F8* straight away, you should get a black screen with a load of options on it, you are looking for things like "repair my PC", "fully recover my PC", or "destructive recovery". Don't fret the use of the term "destructive"; this simply means remove and destroy all user created (non-factory) data, which is the best way to go as 'soft' recoveries which purport to maintain user data end of creating more hassle then they solve.

* It may be F2, I can't remember for Dells.

Or, you may want to hunt through your start menu and create a "recovery" CD. Same trick, it just copies the XP installation files onto CD (plural, you'll need a few handy) and does it from there. This is actually a good move to make regardless of whether you chose the CD or HDD recovery.

Unplug all USB devices other than the mouse/keyboard (printers, wireless adapters etc) else you may have problems with the USB drivers post-re-install.

Back up everything you want to keep first onto an external USB key or HDD.

Above all else, DO NOT INTERRUPT during the recovery. During recovery your PC has wiped all of its instructions on how to operate. It'll be fine if left to its own devices, but if you power if off during, best case scenario - you have the recovery CDs and have to go through the process again. Worst case scenario, you don't have the CD's, cant re initiate the recovery process because your computer has deleted the part of its programming that tells it how to, and you have to throw it in the bin.

If your PC is crashing alot or simply slow, this will in all likelihood sort it.
Maybe i need to find out if i have a a recovery partition built in. Little problem; i've been trying to back stuff up to CDs but it simply hasn't been working. However, i think a micro SD card will do. Just photos and text docs really.
Goodnight and thank you
 

mr_cellophane

Legendary Member
Location
Essex
I've had the same PC for over 20 years now.

Changed the motherboard, memory and PSU over Christmas, but it's still the same PC.
 

Risex4

Dropped by the autobus
Maybe i need to find out if i have a a recovery partition built in. Little problem; i've been trying to back stuff up to CDs but it simply hasn't been working. However, i think a micro SD card will do. Just photos and text docs really.
Goodnight and thank you

Use a USB stick. Quicker and much, much simpler. Just plug in and drag and drop.

I'm 90% sure that if its XP and was bought off the shelf (i.e not built from scratch to order) it will. They've been fairly common place since Windows ME. Try the F2/8 trick and you'll know. Worst case scenario, nothing will happen or it'll say boot windows in safe mode. If in doubt, leave it for a minute or so and it'll boot up normally anyway.

If you still have the instructions (paper or buried under the "MyDell" programs list), it'll tell you for sure.
 

swee'pea99

Squire
If the recovery partition thing doesn't work, it's not that hard to get xp cds off ebay, for a tenner without a COA (but you'll almost certainly have one of those on a sticker on the pc anyway) or £20 with. Remember to do a files and settings transfer run before you start, as well as - as someone's noted up-thread - drivers for things like wireless adaptors. Oh, one other thing - take the opportunity (if you're not in the habit) to remove the case and clear out the dust. If you haven't done it for awhile, there'll probably be a lot of dust, and computers don't like dust one bit.
 

400bhp

Guru
Rereading your post and a couple of the responses makes me think...why exactly do you think your computer's dying? Eight years needn't be that old. Both my desktops are that and more, and they work fine. It could be just that you're clogged up with crap accumulated over the years. First thing I'd do is download and install (if you don't have them) Advanced SystemCare, Defraggler and Spybot Search & Destroy (all free), run them, then see if anything's changed. If not, as others have said, the best way to get a 'new' computer is to reinstall Windows from CD. That really will make a difference. If that doesn't work, then start thinking new.

Thanks for this. It has speeded up my laptop a lot. The defraggler seems very good.

However a word of warning. The Advanced SystemCare stuck a load of rubbish in google chrome so had to spend a bit of time removing it.
 

swee'pea99

Squire
Thanks for this. It has speeded up my laptop a lot. The defraggler seems very good.

However a word of warning. The Advanced SystemCare stuck a load of rubbish in google chrome so had to spend a bit of time removing it.
Sorry...should've warned you. You have to be really careful when you're installing any of this free software - they're set up by default to dump you with all sorts of crap you don't want. Before you click on 'next' or 'ok' on any screen during the install process, look for a button that says 'decline' or somesuch. The program you want will install just the same, just without the crap.
 
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