Chinese windows XP

Ok, this is a long story.

A friend of my family's has a computer that had a chinese version of windows Xp service pack 2 installed. Well she thinks that her comp is running slow and she goes and downloads these two chinese "anti-virus" programs that mess her computer all up. It's a pretty fast machine 2 1.6 gig processors, almost a megabyte of ram. (all I could figure out). But now it is running really, really slowely.

So here I am, she decides that I am going t be the person to fix her computer, she seems VERY adverse to spending the money on a repair person. I try to go and get rid of the stuff, but it's so slow it's very anoying. I try to get to system restore, but it takes so long I about give up. She keeps encouraging me to reformat the system, but she knows even less about computers than I do. I figured she had all of the drivers, and I couldn't figure other wise, because my brother and I have built all of our family's PCs. But she didn't. I realized this right after I had deleted all of the partitions.

I boot up the PC, and I realize there is no way I can change the language....so I can't read which parts she has; so I can't choose the right drivers. I know she needs to get on the internet, so I get all of them and try them all. Well turns out the right one needs service pack two (which I don't have now). I should know better--I should have been patient and have done a system restore. I feel completely wretched now.

Do computer repair people have a systems they can plug in and find out which parts are in there, so they can get the drivers? I am pretty sure they could change the language; but that is one hell of a complicated proccess.

I have spent all day on this Notebook, if you have anything--just anything, to say; please do so.

Sorry about any spelling, it's always been a weakness.

 

Everest Home Edition is what I usually use to identify hardware. I couldn't swear to it but I think it's available for download here on MG.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the help.

The computer is no longer in my house, so I can’t work on it. I was pretty worried about it because it was this lady’s only connection to China, but I really can’t help it right now. I don’t know that the copy of XP she had was even legitimate, because it was a burned disk (big warning right there), and the generic drivers weren’t seeming to work.

Yes I went the language tab, but I couldn’t tell what was going on; it was all in Chinese, and she is not a very good translator. I don’t at the moment have access to any high speed internet, so I can’t download drivers. She is just going to have to pay for a pro. (who will probably observe that a total amateur was trying to fix the machine).

Ha ha, at least it’s all over.

Thanks.