System: Intel Celeron 2.40GHz, 760MB RAM, 40GB hard drive, LG GCE-8525B CD writer, Sony DRU-V200A DVD writer, Windows XP Home SP3
Q: I purchased my computer in 2004, therefore now it is classed as being old and slow, which is very true. However, I would like to improve my computer’s performance rather than go out and spend up to AU$3,000 on a new one. Things I would like to improve would be as follows. When I have purchased pc magazines that come with game demos on a disc, the audio and game character are extremely slow in loading and movement. I would also like to be able to play PC games on the computer. What do I need to have? I would like to be able to burn a DVD a lot quicker instead of taking up to 2 to 3 hours. I am using video editing programs Cyberlink and Ulead. Would you suggest installing a secondary hard-drive?
The Sony DVD burner can burn a disc, but cannot erase a DVD through My Computer. Instead I have to go through Nero or Cyberlink to find an erase disc option. The computer keeps re-creating ‘Meghan’s Folder’ in My Documents. I send ‘Meghan’s Folder’ to Recycle Bin, empty recycle bin. Turn computer off for the day, turn on again next day, and the ‘Meghan’s Folder’ has once again re-appeared in My Documents. This has been going on for almost a year. Can’t figure it out. Look forward to some suggestions.
A: By far the most effective way of boosting a PC’s performance is to add some more memory. By today’s standards 760MB of RAM is not a great deal. We’d recommend at least 1GB, preferably 2GB, though you need to check what your motherboard is capable of accepting. Go to www.crucial.com and run the Memory Advisor tool to find out what you can do. Note though that with 32-bit Windows 3GB is the maximum the system can address whatever the hardware is capable of. This will go some way to addressing your games problem, however, the latest releases are probably expecting a dual-core CPU.
You haven’t told us whether you have a separate graphics card, if you haven’t then the onboard graphics will be stealing some of the RAM which will add to the performance problem when playing games. If you need to buy a graphics card go for one with as much onboard memory as you can afford, preferably no less than 256MB. Again you need to check what your system can accept, a machine of this age may have AGP graphics rather than PCI-express so your choice of card could be limited. Some off-the-shelf PCs don’t have a graphics slot at all in which case this upgrade isn’t an option.
Your Sony DVD writer should be capable of producing a single layer DVD in an hour or less, so the problem here is likely to be the time taken to render the movie. This is a function of the processor and memory, so again a RAM upgrade will go some way towards addressing the problem.
The folder in My Documents is a bit of a puzzle. Our educated guess is that it’s being generated by an application that’s running at start up. Check to see what’s running in your Startup folder and also take a look at the things that get launched in the system tray on boot. You can prove that one of these is the culprit by deleting the folder, then rebooting the PC, once you’ve signed in to Windows (or at the logo screen if you don’t have a password set) hold down both Shift keys until the desktop appears – this prevents anything other than Windows itself from loading. If the folder doesn’t come back you know one of your applications is creating it. Alternatively download Quick Startup, this will show you what’s starting with the system and allow you to experiment by disabling entries.
Using Quick Startup will help you see what’s running as Windows boots
Originally featured in PCU121
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