I have a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop that I got in 2003. It has served me well all that time. I have not really done anything in the way of upgrades to it, partly because it’s a laptop and partly because I never felt the need. The original battery stopped holding a charge last year so I replaced it, and I replaced the AC adapter a few weeks ago because it was dying. Those are the only replacements I have made to the laptop or any of its parts. I’m still using the original 30 GB hard drive and 256 MB of memory because I didn’t seem to need much else. My hard drive is still only about half full after four years of use.
I can’t buy a new computer right now since I have a lot of other bills to pay. I can make a few upgrades if they’re not too expensive and if they would help enough. I ran a diagnostic tool which keeps nagging me that I don’t have enough memory, for example. My computer is a bit slow, but I don’t know that I can do that much about that, although I would like to if possible. Should I just muddle along with my current setup until I can get a new computer, or make some upgrades to this computer?
Adding more memory to a laptop is usually pretty straightforward, although I would only do this if you’re having performance problems (e.g. windows taking a long time to open, a lot of hard disk activity when you’re doing non-disk intensive tasks, etc.) Otherwise, I’d say just keep using it until it breaks or you the performance becomes inadequate for what you want to do with it.
RAM is extremely cheap right now. The market fluctuates quite a bit, and right now demand is lower than expected due to Vista basically flopping. Manufacturers made too much RAM anticipating a big rush on upgrades, and didn’t get their wish, so now it’s price-slashing time!
If you can scrounge together $100 or so, you can probably upgrade to 1GB (expect to double that number if you take it to Best Buy or a service place to get the upgrade performed). With 1GB of RAM you’ll notice snappier performance and your system will basically hit a dead end for upgrades. If you use a web browser with tabs or do any gaming, this is a cheap and easy way to freshen up your system.
The other major upgrade you can make is a new CPU, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The risks of a CPU upgrade (increased power draw, possible motherboard/BIOS ugliness, extra heat, much more disassembly required) and the expense of a new chip don’t make it a popular DIY operation.
Your post sounds like consumerism at its worst. If you don’t need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars then don’t. Windows XP was in middle age when you got your computer and was a rather snappy rig at the time. That won’t change much if it does what you need it to do. The performance numbers for hardware have predictably soared over the years but that still has little impact on what most people use their computers for. You won’t be able to type a Word document any faster or probably even surf the web faster. The people that need top performance are gamers and people that do graphics work. I would take a fraction of the money that would be spent and buy a reliable backup solution like an external hard drive (< $100) and be ready for the time when it really does give up the ghost which may be several years.
I’ll second (third?) the suggestion about more RAM. It’s simply the biggest bang for your buck upgrade.
Have you kept up maintenance on it? Sometimes, clearing up some hard drive space and running a defrag works wonders. Are any programs running in the background that you aren’t using?
I do some maintenance on it every week, but I haven’t defragged it in a couple of months, since the last time the system analysis suggested that I should. I run anti-spyware programs twice a week, keep my recycle bin emptied, blow the dust out of the computer itself every so often, and run Disk Cleanup each week.
No, it is natural like me wanting to upgrade my car because it is dirty and has a few scratches. I didn’t get the impression that performance was a major issue although a RAM upgrade would be fine. New computers just aren’t that much faster than ones a few years old for the most common tasks and you don’t need a 200 gb hard drive if your 30 gb one isn’t even full yet. Basic PC technology isn’t moving as fast these days as some would have us believe.
Your computer has two memory slots, either with two 128MB or one 256MB card. I’d get one 512MB and either add it to the empty slot or replace one of the 128MB with it. A very worthwhile improvement.
You hard drive is also slow (4200 RPM). You would see a significant speed difference by upgrading to a 7200 RPM drive, just not quite as much return on the investment as the memory.
All I want is faster performance. It’s a bit draggy right now. I am not interested in the newest shiniest thing just for the sake of the newest shiniest thing. I just wondered if it was worth it to try to tweak this one at all or just muddle through with the current setup till new computer time, which won’t be for another year at least unless I have an unexpected windfall.
More RAM looks like my best bet so far. The user’s manual for my computer has a section in the back about how to replace some things like RAM and keyboards, and it seems a simple enough procedure.
I used to have exactly the same model of computer. Over the years, I maxed out the ram to 1 gb and replaced the hard drive with a bigger 5400rpm model. I gave it to my parents earlier this year, mostly because I wanted something with a better video card (for the occasional lans). Save for gaming, it’s still a pretty snappy computer.
Over time, the Windows Registry accumulates a ton of junk and it all slows down. Stuff like ghosts of every USB thing you’ve ever plugged in, remnants of programs you’ve installed and deleted, things like that. It’s possible, but really time-consuming to try manually trimming it out.
A full re-install will often do wonders. Just be sure to back up all your data, and round up all your application installation CDs, serial numbers, and the specific drivers and software for the laptop. (Your Dell-supplied Windows “recovery” disc probably includes these.)
Once you’ve got Windows back up, give some thought to using AVG or Avast for antivirus instead of Symantec/Norton. Norton gets its fingers into everything and is a well-known resource hog.
I’ve never re-installed Windows, as I was under the impression that that wasn’t necessary unless something really bad happens, and I’ve been using AVG Anti-virus for the past few years. I’m going to order a 512 MB RAM module and see how it helps.
Usually its not but think of it as akin to 100,000 mile service on a car. Even if things are going ok, you will be amazed how much faster things are after a clean reload of windows.
Try Tune Up Utilities which has a fancy free trial and might be able to help you with some of the chaff you haven’t been able to get to yourself (registry, settings, etc)
Or, you could reinstall Windows which isn’t fun while you’re doing it but once it’s done it always makes me happy
Or you could just get more RAM. But unless you keep running bigger and bigger programs, computers don’t really just slow down because they’re 4 years old. It’s most likely a software issue.
I’ve run TuneUp Utilities (I did some searching on here before I started this thread) and it cleaned out some stuff. It’s the utility that keeps suggesting more RAM, as a matter of fact. I’ll give some thought to re-installing Windows, though, as it’s the one thing I can do myself that I haven’t done which apparently will help. Now to gather up all the stuff to do so, though.
Ditto on the re-installing Windows. It can take care of a lot of things in one fell swoop. Plus, it gets rid of any ‘left-overs’ from programs you’ve once installed and then removed later because they were not what you were looking for. It could all be handled manually, but all in all, I think it’s just quicker to re-install Windows and start over.
Just remember to make a list of all the applications you will need to reinstall and back-up all your documents and bookmarks and emailadresses etc., etc…
I’ve partitioned my hard-drive into two virtual drives, and that has been a great help, because I keep all documents and such on the second drive, which is not touched when I do a re-install (usually twice-yearly). I only need to re-install applications.
Ea
PS: I know I could make a ghost, but I haven’t cared enough yet to do so
