rolanaj Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 My dad has a Acer Aspire T180AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3500+ 3.20 Ghz Computerwith nVidia GeForce 6100 nforce 405with 512 MB of DDR2 RamIt has Windows Vista Home Basic 32 bit OS with service pack 1He has an HP all in one printer hooked to it to. I found shutting off the HP Monitoring tool seemed to speed it up somewhat but this still runs really slow. I am wondering if 512 MB of ram is enough for Vista? Also are there some programs that I can disable from starting up when he boots? One program looks really sketchy to me its title is ????????? with the command ??????????????e the only information i could get about it in WinPatrol is HKCU\software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run seems to be where it is located. I don't have any real experience with Vista so any tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b2cm Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 1. Upgrade to 2GB memory.2. Disable startup items (except the antivirus programs ---try Microsoft Security Essentials) using CCleaner.3. Try a diagnostic/benchmark on the HD (i.. MHDD at http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/) to see if you need to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 512MB is too little memory for Vista so, yes, at least 2GB would be perfect. You can get away with 1GB but, 2 will make Vista happy.The other thing that would give a great boost is to switch to a SSD drive. I've done that to all my home computers and the experience is like doubling the performance of your computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 2GB RAM (two 1GB chips) from NewEgg for $62. NewEgg webpage.Not very expensive, and it'll definitely make a difference in performance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Thanks for the responses, I definitely thought the ram might be an issue when I noticed that the available ram dropped off to 38 mb when MSE was updating. The other thing that would give a great boost is to switch to a SSD drive. I've done that to all my home computers and the experience is like doubling the performance of your computer.I didn't realize SATA drives affected performance like that.Mac have you had experience dealing with NewEgg? I've never dealt with them before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Thanks for the responses, I definitely thought the ram might be an issue when I noticed that the available ram dropped off to 38 mb when MSE was updating.I didn't realize SATA drives affected performance like that.Mac have you had experience dealing with NewEgg? I've never dealt with them before.Yes, I've bought from them regularly since 2005. Normally, I'll get the components I ordered in 2 days. I've only had one experience with a DOA component, and they handled the replacement quickly.However, I just noticed that you're from Canada, so you'll need to see if the RAM is available from NewEgg Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Also, try NCIX, a good Canadian online/retail shop. Very competitive pricing. Kingston ValueRAM is a good product (2GB in a 2x1GB dual channel kit for $33 Canadian): http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=15016&am...acture=Kingston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) No one has mentioned this thus far but service pack 2 for Vista has been out for a while now. I would suggest that he download it from Microsoft's website here and install it without delay. (Running Windows Update would accomplish the same - I prefer downloading the full installer package for large installations like that). I didn't realize SATA drives affected performance like that. Your Dad's system already has a SATA drive installed. You quoted Peachy above when he told you SSD hard drives.... he was referring to a solid state drive.Mac have you had experience dealing with NewEgg? I've never dealt with them before.New Egg is a top notch online retailer. Their customer service is better than most companies and I've never been disappointed. Like Mac I have been buying computer parts from them for several years.Also are there some programs that I can disable from starting up when he boots? One program looks really sketchy to me its title is ????????? with the command ??????????????e the only information i could get about it in WinPatrol is HKCU\software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run seems to be where it is located. I don't have any real experience with Vista so any tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.That does seem very suspicious but I don't think you have much to worry about. It doesn't point to a valid path/directory and there's no recognizable file extension like *.exe. The registry wouldn't even know what to do with that. If it was my system, I wouldn't have any hesitations about deleting it. But if you're in doubt, just rename the key to whatever....like [name_of_key_backup]. Edited March 26, 2011 by Tushman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolanaj Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) No one has mentioned this thus far but service pack 2 for Vista has been out for a while now. I would suggest that he download it from Microsoft's website here and install it without delay. Done. My dad had dialup and as slow as his computer is I'm not surprised it wasn't up to date. I have fixed wireless and am trying to convince my dad to upgrade to it. I seriously do not know how he even checked email with a computer this slow and dialup. I've been updating his system all night. Edited March 25, 2011 by rolanaj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxdude32 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 As has been already mentioned, 512 MB is way too little for Vista. It doesn't like only 1 GB either (especially since you don't have a separate graphics card) but it'd be loads better than 512 MB.You should probably do SP 2 after you get the RAM upgraded as Service Packs are known sometimes to make a slow computer slower. If you have a fast connection elsewhere, i'd recommend you download the SP manually (don't use Windows Update). Use Method 3 listed here on a computer with a broadband connection:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935791Burn the file to a CD/DVD (not sure how big it is). Then take it to your dad's computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 (edited) You should probably do SP 2 after you get the RAM upgraded as Service Packs are known sometimes to make a slow computer slower.I'm not so sure I agree with that. I don't know what Windows version you're using but specifically in regards to SP 2 for Vista there were several enhancements that improved both overall security and performance. One notable improvement was made in terms of file copy/transfer operations.If you have a fast connection elsewhere, i'd recommend you download the SP manually (don't use Windows Update). Use Method 3 listed here on a computer with a broadband connection:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935791Burn the file to a CD/DVD (not sure how big it is). Then take it to your dad's computer.See post # 8. Edited May 28, 2011 by Tushman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxdude32 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I'm not so sure I agree with that. I don't know what Windows version you're using but specifically in regards to SP 2 for Vista there were several enhancements that improved both overall security and performance. One notable improvement was made in terms of file copy/transfer operations.Good to know. I'm using Windows 7.See post # 8.Doh! Sorry. i didn't see that link. He's on dial-up though. Still probably better to download it on a computer with a fast connection and burn it to a CD/DVD. Does Microsoft still let you buy one for $5-10? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.