Told I need 1Ghz for XP+Bband

andy88_2

ok, I hadn't looked for a while; but it was creeping up in price - sdram costs more than ddr

B4UgoZzz

Hello and a huge thanks to all those who've helped out here. I'm blown away with the support. Cheers!

The PC is:
Time, (manufacturer)
500MHz AMD
320MB RAM
40 GIG

It's broken due to virus attack and the repairer tells me it's a huge task to put right.
He's said my options are to:
a) Leave Win98 on it - but expect it to need future repair.
b) Scrap it and get a 1Gig machine.

He advises (b) because I wish to run XP, for which I have a disc but never installed it, and I want AOL broadband, which I previously tried unsuccessfully to use on this PC.

My big dilemma is financial, as I'm not working due to illness.

John, the repairer has been extremely helpful in the past and I'm sure he's not exploiting me in the least.

Thanks once more for taking the time everyone,
Keep smiling, Wilf.

robnye

i have a 600 mhz pc, running windows xp....... and using broadband access..... but not aol, also only have 372mb ram

Absorbed_2

We used to have a 166mhz computer with WindowsXP that we used to browse the Internet. It was slow, but it did the job. I cannot see any reason why a 500mhz computer couldn't do it. Maybe the breakdowns have more to do with software rather than hardware.

wolfman

Hmmm, I can see his point.

If you're restrained financially though I'd try running XP on you're current system. I'm sure it would cope, and 320mb would be enough ram if you don't run too many applications.

Find out what prices he thinks it will cost to upgrade too. As an idea, you could get an:
- Asus Pundit-S (£60) - which is a case that includes power supply, sound, graphics etc...
- Celeron 2.4Ghz (£50)
- 512mb ram (£40)

so £150, and use your current hard drive, cd-rom and monitor and you'd have a very nice system. That's purely to give you an idea so you have something to compare against if oyu get quoted.

shrek101

I sold a pc P3 500@515mhz with 512mb ram couple years back and that was using 512 broadband. Admittedly broadband can slow the pc down a little but it should still be managable.

I personnel would upgrade but that's me, if you short of brass, then the pc should still run adequately.

puno

I agree with the comments about ram, xp is better with the more ram you have, The only advantage I can see to putting xp on is the built in firewall but other than that its not going to be any more capable of stopping a virus attack than windows 98.

If it were me, I'd stick to windows 98, (stick with what you know works and will run well on your spec machine) and save up for one of the fantasticly cheap base unit deals that come up on dells website every now and again.

p.
p.s. also look into anti virus options such as AVG (free) or norton to keep you safe

Welsh_John

wolfman wrote:

You'll be able to find 256mb ram for under £20 easily. It's probably slightly older ram you have so maybe even £10 for a 256mb module.

Just a thought, if you are adding or replacing RAM to your system,pay a little extra and use Kingston. They give a lifetime guarantee and work well on older Motherboards especially when loading software after Reformatting etc.

blinky

Older memory actually costs more (it's to do with the brokering system which controls memory prices).

Buy direct from Crucial. Guaranteed to work, excellent quality. They produce their own chips (brand name of Micron).

I agree with the others, it depends on how much it costs to upgrade the RAM versus upgrade motherboard, memory and graphics card (+ probably PSU).

XP and 2000 are much more stable and reliable than 98,ME and 95. I've yet to find someone who one they've done the move they'd want to go near 98 again.

JohalaReewi

B4UgoZzz wrote:

Hello and a huge thanks to all those who've helped out here. I'm blown away with the support. Cheers!

The PC is:
Time, (manufacturer)
500MHz AMD
320MB RAM
40 GIG

It's broken due to virus attack and the repairer tells me it's a huge task to put right.
He's said my options are to:
a) Leave Win98 on it - but expect it to need future repair.
b) Scrap it and get a 1Gig machine.

He advises (b) because I wish to run XP, for which I have a disc but never installed it, and I want AOL broadband, which I previously tried unsuccessfully to use on this PC.

My big dilemma is financial, as I'm not working due to illness.

John, the repairer has been extremely helpful in the past and I'm sure he's not exploiting me in the least.

Thanks once more for taking the time everyone,
Keep smiling, Wilf.

If you have an XP installation CD and the current PC has problems due to viruses and was running Win 98 and you are strapped financially, why not just wipe the hard disk (ie erase everything and reformat) so you have a completely blank system, then install XP? Costs nothing in money, just some of your time (well probably a fair bit of your time LOL) and you will get a lot of experience. NB: Before wiping the hard disk, copy any data files you need to floppy or CD !!

Also install one of the very good free anti virus packages (eg AVG, FreeAV) and a firewall (Zonealarm - the free version) and don't forget spyware checkers (spybot, adaware), and Windows updates. Should keep your machine free from future nasties.