Computer Advice Needed

[Former Fetus]

I need some computer advice, and I don't know of a better place than FR.

My desktop pc is warning me that it is ready for retirement: sound is off, sometimes does not allow me to type, keeps freezing... My problem is that I love Windows XP and both my husband and son have Vista and they do nothing but complain about it. Can anybody give me an objective opinion of Windows 7? What do you like/dislike about it? If you had a choice between Windows XP and Windows 7, which one would you choose? Thanks to everybody!

[MAAG]

Go to Craigslist and buy a Dell Optiplex Pentium4 w/XP Pro and at least 1 gig ram for 50 or 60 bucks and save the cash for something more important.

[antiRepublicrat]

I ditched Windows in favor of Mac because XP was old and outdated, and Vista just sucked, not a contender for the upgrade I was doing. If Windows 7 had been out at that time, I probably would not have switched. It is far better than XP or Vista, not just on the usability and performance front, but a lot of stuff under the hood has been overhauled or rewritten to make it more stable and secure.

But it’s still not good enough to make me switch back from Mac as my main machine. :)

[stansblugrassgrl]

That’s what my laptop has been doing for the past two weeks. I go in and dump the cache and it’s better for a while. I’ve got Vista and it was doing fine until I downloaded Firefox 4.

I left our desk top Dell on the other night and a Windows security upgrade went through (I thought I’d turned them off) now, it’s hanging. Our Apple is also having some weird problems, so I’m wondering if it’s not some kind of conflict going on somewhere.

[Bikkuri]

Vista was the pre-released Win 7... A beta version, if you will..

I have been through both the beta of “Longhorn” (Vista) and the RC of Win 7... Even the beta of Win 7 beats any pre or pro release of any Windows Operating System.. OR Linux..

Even within the preWin7 instal, the drivers are already there. IF there is a driver problem, as soon as you can get online(which took me about 15 minutes to install Win7.. and another 3 minutes to get connected to the net (fiber optic)), after about 2 reboots.. you system is it functioning.

Any Linux/Unix/Macfanbois that plan to say something... don’t bother.. I won’t reply (tried all, except for Mac)..

I have been using Win7 since the official version was released. I have had NO problems (I usually had many driver problems since I don’t but brand name PCs... I build my own)..

Bikk

[ex-snook]

I get Windows not loading. Screen shows ‘loading Windows’ but it doesn’t. Have to shut off and restart.

[American Constitutionalist]

Windows 7 ...

[American Constitutionalist]

" My desktop pc is warning me that it is ready for retirement: sound is off, sometimes does not allow me to type, keeps freezing. "

It sounds like either the hard drive is going bad, or the drivers for those devices have been corrupted.
Are you able to do a reinstall of the operating system ?

[American Constitutionalist]

Depending on what version of Windows XP, you can upgrade it to Windows 7 .

[jaydee770]

First things first: If you haven’t already, immediately go get an external USB hard-drive (not a thumb-drive) and copy off anything that you do not want to lose (pictures, photos, videos, etc).

Second: PC’s are stinking cheap these days. Go get you one you like with Windows-7 and then copy back all that stuff you put on the external hard-drive. After the initial learning phase, you’ll like Win-7.

Third: Google, “What can I do with my old PC?”. You will get a *ton* of ideas.

[American Constitutionalist]

" heat issues ? have you ever taken the panels off and cleaned out the dust bunnies ? "

Yes, especially around the CPU heat sink... I have had computers that were clogged with dust lock up on me and shut down....

[catnipman]

Windows 7 is just Vista that works and has yet another set of useless, gratuitous GUI changes to make people think they’re getting something new.

While you won’t hate 7 as bad as Vista, if you love XP, you’re not really going to like 7.

7 also runs like a pig out of the box, and like Vista, boots very slowly and shuts down slowly.

If you buy a consumer model, it will be loaded with massive amounts of useless and counterproductive crapware and horrible antivirus programs that are useless and which will bog down your computer. All of that needs to be removed.

When I tune a W7 system, after removing or disabling the crapware and crapola antivirus programs, I disable 56 useless tasks, and disable a minimum of 36 useless services. I’ve written a couple of scripts that do the basic disabling, though manual inspection is required to disable vendor one-offs. I use autoruns to disable unnecessary startup programs.

I also install a theme that makes the GUI have the look and feel of XP, install a program that puts the “Show Desktop” on the left of the taskbar, and have started work on a little script that will convert the “Favorites” menu item to an “All Programs” folder foldout view like XP.

[American Constitutionalist]

" Do you regularly update programs and drivers? Do you regularly run av scans, along with malware/spyware scans? Check for hardware issues? Computers are like cars - basic maintenance is important. "

Don't forget to run the de-fragmentation program.

[Windflier]

Depending on what version of Windows XP, you can upgrade it to Windows 7.

I've got the home version of XP on both computers. I have the Win XP authentication code for one computer, but not the other.

Any idea of what it costs to do the upgrade? Perhaps I could at least upgrade one.

[Windflier]

There have been numerous sales in recent weeks for a 3 pack of Windows 7 Home Premium licenses with a physical disc for under $100 delivered.

Out west Fry’s has had it the sale at least 3 times in the last three months.

Good googly woogly. I had no idea, and I've got a Fry's within easy reach. Thanks for the data, friend. Much appreciated.

[freepguy]

Hi. I know exactly how you feel.

Your PC has infections that all PC will get and need to be dealt with. BUT get a Mac and all that will go away.

I dont have a Mac. Here’s what I do to keep XP stable.

Get Advanced System Optimizer ($40). Run it.
Get Spy Bot Search and Destroy (Free). Run it.
Defrag your hard drive.
Get Process Explorer (Free) use to see whats running in the background.
Use Revo Uninstaller (Free) when you uninstall programs.
Get a router installed beween your moden and PC. **Makes a very important firewall to keep bugs out.

Like I said....thats how I do it. It sucks, I know. If I could do it over, I’d get a Mac and be through with it.

HTH

[Jonty30]

I like Vista. I’ve had my laptop for 4 years and I’ve had zero problems.

[American Constitutionalist]

I should have clarified what I meant, what I meant by what version of Windows XP, the latest, or later versions.
I was told by some computer tech guy that the last or latest version can only be upgraded to Windows 7.

[American Constitutionalist]

You would have to go to Microsoft website and download the compatibility software and see if that version of Windows XP is compatible with Windows 7.
You might still need at least 2 gigs of Ram for that.

[CaliforniaCon]

Re: “Windows 7 is just Vista that works and has yet another set of useless, gratuitous GUI changes to make people think they’re getting something new.

While you won’t hate 7 as bad as Vista, if you love XP, you’re not really going to like 7.

7 also runs like a pig out of the box, and like Vista, boots very slowly and shuts down slowly..............”

***********

I am not tech-savvy, for starters, but liked Windows 7 initially when I got it in late ‘09. My main complaint is that I am constantly told I must download/install ‘updates’ and that’s fine when it goes easily and quickly but once in awhile the updates ‘fail’ over and over again. Their instructions make no sense to me and one time I called and was finally told how to dump a specific update because I ‘didn’t need it.’

The last time I tried using the e-mail contact system and their response was unintelligible (from some nice guy who is obviously in India). I can’t follow the instructions and wouldn’t dream of it anyway.

Question is this: how important is it to worry about all these updates? Can I just ignore them if they ‘fail?’ I can make no sense of this on my own. Thx.

[American Constitutionalist]

Before you spend any money...
You can do a nondestructive restore of your operating system that will not delete your data i.e photos, music, videos.... but, you would have to reinstall any applications that you have installed when you got the computer.
Or ? you can do a total destructive restore of your operating system, this option will reformat your hard drive and delete anything on your hard drive and reinstall your operating system as it was at the factory....
Do you still have to restore disks ? or is there a Recovery D: partition ? if not, then you will have to get the serial numbers off the side of your computer and call the manufacture of that computer for the restore disks for that computer model.
Have you checked inside ? lose wires ? lose memory ? does the power supply unit smell like it's burnt ? how about the metal heat sink on top of the CPU ? is it clogged up with dust ? like the other poster said, check the heat thermal paste and see if it's dried up and get new heat thermal paste and reset the heat sink on the CPU.

Have you run virus scan ? malware scan ? Disk defrag scan ? have you updated Windows XP ? the drivers ?
How about the Keyboard ? how old is it ? did coffee ? water get on it ? a new one you can get for about $ 15-30 ....
If Firefox caused it to freeze up, un-install Firefox to a older version.
What wattage if your power supply unit ? check the back of it, PSU ( power supply units ) are actually cheap, get one over $ 30.