laptop is too slow!

I've a 4-5 yr old Dell Latitude D800 laptop - OS XP (256 Ram) and my cousin formatted it the other day and re-installed Windows XP, drivers, etc.

Why is it still slow? :cry When I click on more then one browser (forget if additional application) ... it gets twice as slow and freezes on me in most times and I get a message "IE is not responding" in most cases and I get a white screen. Is 256 RAM the only problem? I am afraid to invest money in upgrading it if that is not the only problem? I get white screens a lot and the fan seems like it's always working in the background. When I turn it on sometimes I get a black screen so I turn it off and on again and then it's ok at 2nd turn on. Could be a bad video card. So is it on the way out? Should I invest more money in upgrading it to 1 gig ram? Not sure if to just sell it or to upgrade it for another $100 more? The laptop is probably worth $200 at the most.

Thanks a lot,
Vicki

 

Have you visited Dell Web site and updated your system for your particular Tag# Is windows updated as well.Cheers..

 

Laptops like desk tops cars and so on have, depreciate as soon as you drive it off the floor, or in the case boot it up. You can chase technology and try to keep up or keep what you have as long as it works. Anyone can tell you to upgrade or make a new purchase but it comes down to is it worth it to you. I have several old computers that work fine, so for me no need to upgrade. I also set a limit on what I will put into it before it is no longer cost effective. If you plan on keeping it, the first thing I'd do is a ram upgrade. Check Crucial to see how much it cost to upgrade and set your price limit as to how much you are going to put into it. If your upgrades surpass that amount then new computer is the way to go.
Sorry for the long answer but sometimes a simple yes or no won't do..

 

Yes, 256MB is your problem. Windows XP loves 1GB of RAM. Really cruises with 2GB. Especially if you have Anti-virus, and anti-spyware dragging your system to a crawl. Just a quick question, is this your laptop?

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Latitude_D800/4505-3121_7-30880949.html

If indeed, it can accept up to 2GB of RAM which is PC2100, according to specs. You can actually install 2GB of PC-2700, which is a bit faster. Here's a link to a gent in Florida who sells 512MB "pulls" (used) on the cheap:

http://www.smsassembly.com/product/Laptop-DDR-2700/

Here is a nextag search for 1GB modules:

http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buyer/OutPDir.jsp?search=PC2700+SODIMM+(1GB+x+2)&x=35&y=11

I also have a site which sells processors on the cheap as well, sometimes they are "pulls' however:

http://www.txcesssurplus.com/servlet/StoreFront

Like buggabear said, it depends on what you want to invest. Crucial will provide you with brand new memory, but they are a bit more expensive:

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Latitude D800

 

Don't forget to update the BIOS!

Oh, and if you don't want it anymore, I'd consider adopting it...

 

That's a risky procedure. I would not recommend it at this point. We really have no evidence that a BIOS update will help in any way here.

 

Has that computer ever been cleaned on the inside? An accumulation of dust can inhibit cooling and cause overheating problems.

There's no doubt about the benefit of having more memory for Win XP. But, other posts seem to imply that adding memory is the only/sole solution here, which implies an acceptance that your computer problem is purely due to a lack of memory.

I disagree. My mother's Win XP Home computer only has 256MB of RAM. Since I'm here tech support guy, I know that her computer (approx. 1.3GHz Celeron processor) does not croak from merely opening a second browser window or having a browser window and one or two other programs such as Outlook Express and/or Word 97 open at the same time. And, think about it, would Dell have ever issued a new computer with such severe limitations?

If you cousin did that Windows reinstallation properly, it should be running better than it is. Do you have all the original CD s (Recovery, drivers, etc.) that came with the computer? How do you feel about re-doing this yourself?

Did your cousin or you get all Windows updates after the reinstallation of Windows? What service pack do you have installed now?

This could indicate a failing power supply.

 

What type of security software does your mother run? McAfee, AVG, Norton? Windows XP will run hassle free as you describe, as long as that is ALL that is running. Just the OS. Add anti-virus and anti-spyware, and POOF! Your speed goes up in smoke...

And the BIOS post, just in case she chose to upgrade the memory. Sometimes you need an update to go from PC2100 to PC2700.

 

My mother is using Avast anti-virus. As we know, some versions of McAfee and Norton are resource hogs and will cause some performance degradation. So, this may be an area where some change would help. Before Avast, my mother's computer had AVG 7.5 installed. Neither of them caused severe performance degradation during normal operation; I don't about the impact when a scheduled full scan was running, but that can be done at times when the user does not need the computer.

Well, no need to go from PC2100 to PC2700 in this case. Anyway, PC2700 may work fine with the system as is, even if combined with the present 256MB of PC2100; it will just run at the speed of PC2100 memory. If a BIOS update will, indeed, allow the computer to use PC2700 at the faster speed (which, by the way, we do not know is true, unless you cite authority on this), that won't make as much difference as simply increasing the amount of RAM.

Again, there's some indication here of possible hardware issues, mainly power supply. And, my previous question about cleaning on the inside needs an answer.

 

Don't know about that, Dell Tech support may give you the correct answer on verification. Personal experience, for one. A client's Dell Inspiron 8200 needed a BIOS update to use 1GB of PC2700 RAM. Hums along nicely...

Indeed, we still need more info...

 

Has that computer ever been cleaned on the inside? An accumulation of dust can inhibit cooling and cause overheating problems.

good point - will do!

There's no doubt about the benefit of having more memory for Win XP. But, other posts seem to imply that adding memory is the only/sole solution here, which implies an acceptance that your computer problem is purely due to a lack of memory.

I disagree. My mother's Win XP Home computer only has 256MB of RAM. Since I'm here tech support guy, I know that her computer (approx. 1.3GHz Celeron processor) does not croak from merely opening a second browser window or having a browser window and one or two other programs such as Outlook Express and/or Word 97 open at the same time. And, think about it, would Dell have ever issued a new computer with such severe limitations? Greed is sometimes the answer especially when 4-5 yrs ago chips were pricey - no :confused

If you cousin did that Windows reinstallation properly, it should be running better than it is. Unless it's hardware problem. It gets worst when I leave the pc on for a few hours and come back everything is frozen and won't respond to anything, not even when I click the X to close the browser window. Was told that when the browser is open for a long time it sucks all the memory, is that true?

Do you have all the original CD s (Recovery, drivers, etc.) that came with the computer? How do you feel about re-doing this yourself? He is a tech guy .. so I'll leave it as is

Did your cousin or you get all Windows updates after the reinstallation of Windows? YES

What service pack do you have installed now? SP 3

This could indicate a failing power supply.[/QUOTE]

 

thanks, will try to clean it. no don't think it's power issue, it's plugged in. I think it's a bad video card. it's slow now even after uninstalled AVG. so it's hardware I see.
Thanks a lot
Vicki

 

I think you don't understand what I meant by power supply. I'm not talking about your outside electricity supply. I'm talking the power supply unit inside your computer that supplies/distributes power to the motherboard, hard drive, CD/DVD drives, etc. It's a box inside your computer and they can go bad. They are replaceable. See http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=106&name=

A reference: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-supply.htm

 

Well, you should always keep your PC tidy. I service mine monthly. Might explain why my HP9795c still runs like a top to this day. Just replaced it recently, as I upgraded my "off the grid" PC.