Old computer dying, trying to figure out what the problem is

Hey everyone ! I have 2 computers, one good, new one :-D and one shitty, old one:cry. With the old one, I have been keeping it going for about a year since it first started going badly. I have been expecting it to fail soon, and so have backed up my stuff, so I don't mind reformatting if I have to. It is made by Compaq, and it is about 6 years old. It has a 2 GHz single proccessor, and 500mb of RAM memory, plus another 500 from a add-on of RAM that came with the computer. It has a 128mb ATI Raedon Xpress 200 series video card ( I had to look up drivers for that one a lot ) and I finally got it working after reformatting it, when about a month later it has suddenly started going really slow. It is a laptop, so I can't replace the parts, and I have a $800 dell inspiron that I will buy instead, so I don't mind if it is broken. All I want to know, is it a hardware or is it a software fault ? If it's just software I can re-formatt and install windows XP again. It takes so long to turn on, and it can't open the internet anymore. What programs are there to check if it is a hardware fault ?


P.S. It is called an ACPI uniproccessor, but I had never heard of that 0_0.

Thanks in advance !

Arcaian.

 

Hi

What is the laptop model number (can be found on the sticker on the bottom of the computer)?

If that information isn't readable, the second easiest way to get your hardware information is to use Everest (must be installed on the computer you are asking about, as it reads the information FROM the computer).

Have you tried running chkdsk? (Start, Run..., type "chkdsk" without the quotes, hit the enter button)

 

Thx, I'll try running Everest. I've forgotten the model, and the sticker has gone. I have run Disk Check, Defragmenter and disk cleanup just to see if that does anything.

 

OK, thanks. I decided the best thing to do would be to upload a report file from Everest. The funny thing is, I don't know how to do that, and I need to go to bed now. When I wake up, will someone be able to tell me how to upload ? I'm really tired, and can't concentrate well.

 

Hi

Click the "Go Advanced" button below the quick reply window at the bottom of this page, and there, you will find a "Manage Attachments" button, which will open up a new, smaller window that will allow you to Browse for files to upload from your computer. Simply click the Browse... button, find the Everest report file, click OK, and once it is loaded in the Attachments window, click Upload Attachments in that window, and it will attach the file to your post.

 

Thanks ! It's attached now.

 

That was probably a stupid spammer. Since you said 'suddenly got slower' makes me think of malware. I'd say reformat it since there's nothing there, easier than going through the cleaning procedure but keep it off the 'net until you install at least an A/V.

Oh, do have any warnings in device manager?

 

No warnings in the device manager , I've updated all the drivers manually and then checked with Driver Max. I'll try reformatting now.

 

Oh, sorry to double post, but I already checked with Malware Bytes - Anti Malware and Avast! Antivirus and they turned up nothing, but I'll still re-format.

 

OK, I turns out that I can't re-install windows - I have to press the F8 key, and that doesn't work on the keyboard or the usb keyboard, or the wireless - I tried about 10. I don't care anymore, I just ordered the new computer.

Thanks for your help !