Cpu & ram

virgin_moneysaver

my sister has asked me to help me with her computer as its really slow - now shes even more of a numpty than me where PCs are concerned & I've found a lot of help on here in the past - basically I've run all the necessary anti-spyware programmes etc, done the basic housekeeping, deleted programmes that her ex had downloaded - I've got it to 6% space free (it was showing less than 200mb) - when checking her spec it says she only has 512mb & I know I can upgrade this as I've bought extra memory myself but cant think where online I bought it, but the speed of the processor seems really low hers says 1.70ghz mine is 3.00 ghz - what can be done about that?

thanx

macman

What OS? You can run XP on 512MB,but 1GB would be better.
A 1.7ghz processor should be fine for basic tasks.
However your real problem is lack of disk space-6% is completely inadequate, you need something like a minimum of 15% in order for the system to run smoothly, it won't even defrag unless you get about 10% free space. You either need to offload some of the files to other storage, or upgrade the hard drive (or fit a second drive).
Have you used CCleaner to remove some of the junk files? Might help a bit in the meantime.

aliEnRIK

Theres nothing you can do about the processor speed (unless you want to look at maximums on the motherboard or a complete change of motherboard which I doubt)

1Gb of ram will make a world of difference

Download CCLEANER
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/slim
Run the CLEANER scan (UNTICK 'cookies')
Then run the REGISTRY scan (Backup the registry when it asks)

Download HIJACK THIS (Make sure you click 'DOWNLOAD LATEST VERSION')
http://www.filehippo.com/download_hijackthis/
Click MAIN MENU then DO A SYSTEM SCAN AND SAVE A LOGFILE(Takes seconds) then post the log so we can see whats running
(do NOT do anything else with Hijack but scan and post the FULL log)
If you get a message that you cant write to the hosts file then Press the SHIFT key, and whilst holding it RIGHT CLICK and select RUN AS (admin)

virgin_moneysaver

macman wrote: »

What OS? You can run XP on 512MB,but 1GB would be better.
A 1.7ghz processor should be fine for basic tasks.
However your real problem is lack of disk space-6% is completely inadequate, you need something like a minimum of 15% in order for the system to run smoothly, it won't even defrag unless you get about 10% free space. You either need to offload some of the files to other storage, or upgrade the hard drive (or fit a second drive).
Have you used CCleaner to remove some of the junk files? Might help a bit in the meantime.

will try that nxt time I'm there thnx

virgin_moneysaver

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Theres nothing you can do about the processor speed (unless you want to look at maximums on the motherboard or a complete change of motherboard which I doubt)

1Gb of ram will make a world of difference

Download CCLEANER
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/slim
Run the CLEANER scan (UNTICK 'cookies')
Then run the REGISTRY scan (Backup the registry when it asks)

Download HIJACK THIS (Make sure you click 'DOWNLOAD LATEST VERSION')
http://www.filehippo.com/download_hijackthis/
Click MAIN MENU then DO A SYSTEM SCAN AND SAVE A LOGFILE(Takes seconds) then post the log so we can see whats running
(do NOT do anything else with Hijack but scan and post the FULL log)
If you get a message that you cant write to the hosts file then Press the SHIFT key, and whilst holding it RIGHT CLICK and select RUN AS (admin)

will do & get back to you - thanx

macman

Both CCleaner and HJT are well worth running, but with no free disk space your machine will still be at a crawl.

espresso

Try removing old system restore points:

How to remove all System Restore points except the most recent one

To do this:-
Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Click Disc Cleanup
Now launch this utility and click More Options tab. Under which click System Restore and followed by that click Clean Up tab a message will popup -Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point?Click Yes then OK. Finally another message will popup-Are you sure you want to perform these actions?Click Yes.
Now, all the System Restore points except the most recent one are cleaned. As a result there will be more free space in hard disk.

Hammyman

The speed which the CPU runs at means absolutely diddly squat and hasn't done for about half a decade. I have a Core 2 Duo T7100 CPU in my laptop that runs at 1.8GHz. I challenge you to find a benchmark where a 3GHz Pentium 4 runs faster.

The CPU architecture is far more important than the clock speed unless comparing identical architecture processors.

TwistedPsycho

I was just thinking something like what Hammyman said then lo and behold!

I run a rather ancient (in computer terms) Core2Duo E6300 @1.86Ghz (okay with 4GB ram running at 3Ghz on a 32bit system - different story) on Windows 7 64 Bit with No problems. So a 1.7Ghz CPU is definately not an issue unless it is starting to die.

512Mb RAM... certainly an easy one to upgrade relatively cheaply
200MB HDD Space... certainly an easy one to upgrade, cost will be more if the motherboard is much older and does not support SATA, but still relativeely inexpensive (1TB HDD's can be had for £50 in some places at the moment)
1.7GHz CPU... unless the computer will be used for high-end games (and no... I am not talking World of Warcraft - I can run that with ease) I really wouldn't race to upgrade it.