Hi! My PC is an old HP Compaq D530 CMT made circa 2006, 1GB RAM. I do know it's perfect just for XP, but I've been using it with Win7 and accepting the speed penalty. But lately it's getting slower and slower, Chrome or Firefox take 1 or 2 minutes to open a .HTM saved in local HD! Worst: I can no longer install any new program. Avast! Internet Security says it's clean. CCleaner made it even slower after "cleaning" the registry... I am about to format and reinstall it. The install disk has all choices, from Home to Ultimate. Will I get a smoother operation by choosing a lower category? Or uninstalling unneeded services? I do not run any games or hi-speed connections, just Office, web browsing and simple engineering software. Thank you!
go with home. what are your system specs especially the cpu & hard drive? http://www.hp.com/ecomcat/hpcatalog/specs/emeapsg/99/D530SERIES.pdf
Thank you for your reply! Pentium 4 (2.6 or 2.8GHz), using video, audio and net onboard, and (please don't laugh!) 40GB IDE HD. But connected to a 2TB stand-alone HD via Ethernet. Yes, I also thought of the Home, but I had controversial opinions: - The IT specialist where I work told me it has fewer capabilities but even so it uses same resources. - But several years ago the same guy had installed XP on an even older PC that previously ran NT4, became *painfully* slow, then he pulled out some services, and the PC became a Concorde. Once again: I recognize I am pushing this machine too far, but it was satisfactory for me 8 years ago and my computing needs didn't change too much. Ok, I'll try the Home and let you know!
according to this link http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for//d530-series-all-form-factors* you can upgrade to 2 gigs of ram. what do you need "home" to do compared to "pro"?
ddp, you are really taking care of my modest problem! Ok, $60 for 2GB, makes sense. Plus import taxes, in my country are quite high. But let me explain my case: I am planning to purchase a brand new PC for my family, and keep the oldie for less demanding tasks, so I avoid pushing more money into a relic. Putting its Win7 back in its original state, and Ultimate, would be Ok, but since I'm going to reinstall I wanted to learn if a more modest version was a wiser choice. If you feel Home will be lighter, I will install it, but if I end up disappointed by any lack, no problem, I'll retry with a more powerful version. Thank you!
you do not have to buy from crucial for the ram as should be able to get compatible ddr 333 or 400 ram in your country cheaper. what are you using windows for? what is in your startup & is ccleaner monitoring enabled & if so the disable it.
also you might want to tweak the services running with windows that will most certainly slow down your machine. here is a link to a site ive used to tweak older systems services with. http://www.blackviper.com/service-c...dows-7-service-pack-1-service-configurations/
Thank you Aldan, too. Msconfig (Ooops, your link to BlackViper advises against msconfig... too late...) shows: - Windows Startup (my translation of Inicio de Windows) = only Avast Antivirus and NSU_Agent (for Nokia PC Suite). CCleaner unchecked. - Services: mammamia, there are 148 in the list, 13 of them are not from Microsoft. CCleaner not mentioned. Heaven, how I miss DOS days, config.sys and autoexec.bat took care of everything, and it did its job! - What I use the PC for: Office 2003 with FrontPage (for creation of very basic web pages), VisualBasic6, Audacity, some video editing, electronic circuits simulation, printed circuit board design, microcontroller programming. Never watch DVDs or play games. But my OS not only is slow, it also is sick. For example, after pressing Windows+R, if I pressed "m" the box remembered "mspaint", but since some months ago it shows nothing. Installation of new programs end up in an error. Some XP programs never worked Ok even in XP mode. Some programs say "Flash is not installed" but that's not true (both Adobe Flash Player and Shockwave). Can't use VLC, it just fills the screen with error messages.
Ok, I will take it into consideration, after reinstalling the OS, maybe this weekend. I'll try the Home. If I find it too poor, I'll try the following, and once satisfied I'll backup the local disk, just OS and programs. What alternatives to Norton Ghost can you recommend? For example www.drivesnapshot.de/en/ (free to backup for 30 days, unlimited to restore)
I haven't used ghost in well over a decade. who made your hard drive as Seagate & I think western digital have their own cloning programs? could try acronis but is trial version. could also try AOMEI Backupper Standard Edition - v3.2
I've got two free copes of easeus backup,the difference between the two regarding function is minor v4.5 full version-(was part of a giveaway no license required,no time limit) v5.5 free version Ram as mentioned would go a long way to help,then win7 will have benefit of 1gb to itself,which will leave plenty for the ram hogging chrome & ff.Perhaps vivaldi would be a better option or not (devs who used to work for opera made it) other option slimjet browser (portable) "run" in start menu or type directly into cmd then type or copy/paste: services.msc use this to set un-needed start up progs like nokia,print spooler etc to manual start.By right clicking on them & then left clik properties.The column to the left is description,you can also set windows update to manual as well & turn off crap like bluetooth & wifi etc lastly & i can't stress this enough install both classicshell & xdntweaker,you'll know why when you do
