Re: Upgrading to Windows XP
- From: "R. McCarty" <PcEngWork-NoSpam_@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 18:06:16 -0500
When you install XP, it (installer) communicates with the BIOS and will
determine which HAL (PC Driver) to install. Sometimes BIOS will tell
XP it is ACPI compliant when in reality it may not be. Usually, a BIOS
firmware flash update will resolve these potential issues.
On the "Tuning" items, one is to disable Fast User Switching and just use
Logoff, instead of Switch Users. It may also help to run the Video card
in a mid-level color depth instead of True color.
Before you start the Upgrade be sure to run the Advisor to get a listing
of possible conflicts with hardware & software. XP is especially "Touchy"
about older AntiVirus products and some flavors of "Easy CD Creator"
and it's Direct-to-Disk feature.
"stuart" <stuart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:544AE0A2-9078-4459-B10F-ED354B17858A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Can you please explain how to check the BIOS's ACPI compliancy and the
other
tuning features. I've no idea what the former is. Thanks.
"R. McCarty" wrote:
The "Key" to acceptable or usable performance on a low-end system
is to trim back some of the GUI affects. With proper adjustment you
can get a 633Mhz CPU and 192 Megabytes to run XP OK. (Most
Games will not). Use Classic Theme and set the Advanced operating
mode of the PC for Performance, not Appearance. The one thing to
check before upgrading is the BIOS's ACPI compliancy. This can
cause power issues if not fully supported at upgrade time. There are
a few other system tunings that will help an older PC carry XP.
"stuart" <stuart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:CD388E3D-008D-47A0-AFE9-20F5FB414527@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks for the response. I see that the link you posted takes me to the
XP
Pro Upgrade Advisor. Do you know if this is the same of the Home
Edition?
An upgrade now is the cheapest option as it'll only be about £80, I'm
very
unlikely to find a PC with XP for about the same.
Regards.
"pabnu2" wrote:
Hi Stuart,
I think the first question you should ask yourself is do you really
want
to do an upgrade on your old system. You only have 192 MB of RAM
running
on a
633Mhz PC. I usually will not recommend a user upgrade an older PC
unless
they are running at least 512MB of RAM and an 800Mhz processor. The
more
RAM
helps offset the slow Front Side Bus and Processor in the older PC's.
You
might check out one of the online auction sites and see if you can
purchase a
PC with Windows XP already installed. The older 1.0Ghz PC's are really
starting to come down in price now. Something else to think about is
once
you
buy and put Windows XP on your older PC you will then need to activate
it
and
then if you do get the money to get a nicer PC you will then have to
call
Microsoft to be able to install your copy of XP onto your newer PC.
Here
is a
link to Microsoft's upgrade advisor, you may be able to get more
information
on your original question.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/upgrading/advisor.mspx
"stuart" wrote:
My old PC has the following specs:
Windows ME
192MB ram
15GB
633MHz
I cannot afford a new PC but would like XP. Will I be okay if I just
buy the
XP Home Edition Upgrade for approximately £80 rather than the
non-upgrade
version which is more expensive.
Thanks.
.
- References:
- Re: Upgrading to Windows XP
- From: R. McCarty
- Re: Upgrading to Windows XP
- From: stuart
- Re: Upgrading to Windows XP
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