optimize my laptop

geek 0001

geek 0001

Member
I have a dell inspiron 4100 that boots very slowly and I would like to optimize xp on this machine and make it faster. I installed the vista transformation pack as a laugh once and can't remove it and as you would expect it made it extremely slow; but now I need it for word processing and stuff and it takes too long to load. here are the specs:

-intel pentium iii
-384 megs of ram
-geforce 2 go
-20 gig hard drive
(yeh I know its ancient!)

upgrading parts is too expensive and not worth it so I was wondering if I could do this by just disabling various features etc.

thanks
 
Basically, the current hardware is too outdated to run Vista at an acceptable level. You need to get at LEAST half a GB, if not a full GB in the machine for it to run properly with Vista. Shutting programs down won't really help that much.
 
Since you are having trouble removing the Vista Transformation Pack, and as a general suggestion, I would recommend starting with a complete system restore. Once you are back to the original factory settings, uninstall all the add-ons you don't need. Then you can start disabling unnecessary services. I would suggest looking here.
 
Yes, a complete re-format and re-install of Windows XP is a good place to start. Then only install apps needed, defrag, and scan for spyware frequently and it should not be a too bad of a laptop. I have a second laptop with almost those specs, and XP runs pretty quickly on it.
 
Check out Defraggler and CCleaner. You may not see huge performance increases, but they are good for keeping your PC tuned up. You can also try nCleaner for system tweaks. If that doesn't help, or if the computer is too slow to run those, go with what is mentioned above. Usually these tweaks are cheaper and easier though.
 
Like it was said before, i would do a system restore. So it could get all of that unessessary junk out of there.

2nd. Get ccleaner, and do that everyday after uses.
3rd. Defragger. I would suggest aslogics drfragg, used it for 2 years and has worked great!
4th. Get rid of un-used programs that are just hogging up space.
5th. Malwarebytes get this for internet viruses n such.

My bid has a computer it took 20 MINUTES to boot up, it was an IBM t60 w/ dualcore1.83ghz intel cpu, so it wasn;t slow, but when i was done with it, i got it back to booting up Xp pro w/i 2 minutes! GL man.
 
I also just remembered, I believe I've posted this around other places of the forum.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2238

I've gone through this whole guide, tweaking my computer. As long as you feel comfortable editing registry values and such, it's quite easy. It comes with step-by-step instructions for everything. You can add this to you list of options to help speed up your computer.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I will try everything. btw the vista tranformation pack only makes it look like vista, it's still xp but the vtp does still make it very slow!
 
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