XP Problems

[Kaelynn]

So I haven't been on my laptop much at all on here because it is giving me fits, it has quite the temper. I am currently looking for help. My laptop is running so slow that I want to pull my hair out and poke my eyes out by the time the screen comes up. I got my laptop off ebay a couple of years ago and the person did not send me a back up of the operating system that was on it. I am trying to erase everything to see if that would help, but I need an operating system to put back on it.

Can anyone help me out with this? Either a place I can purchase cheep XP operating system disk. (As a college student I don't have money for a brand new disk.) Or if I could purchase a copy off of any of you... Any information or help you guys provide is highly appreciated!!!

[Fangtasia]

We got a copy of an acedemic version of XP.....it was around AU$290

Not sure if you have a simliar scheme over there though

[osuche]

Go to the Ohio State bookstore...you should be able to get cheap student versions there. Should be less than $100, if I remember right.

Might alos check with your department. In some departments, students are required to have laptops and the school may be able to install a version of XP or similar for free, based on purchasing a multi-user license designed for precisely this purpose.

[FallenAngel5]

Yeah, there may be a multi-use for your school, it depends on what kind of licenses and deals your school has made. But since it's a large school, I wouldn't be surprised if such a thing exists.

And as for software, I know that our school offers discounts, but we also have a contract with Dell. You can get information at the bookstore, most likely. But I know - because I work there, unfortunately :) - that our bookstore doesn't offer the software directly, you just visit a discount website, or you can order over the phone.

As for buying a copy off of someone else, this is difficult to do with the new securities that Microsuck has put into XP. One can only use a cd key once to register a copy of the software, and key generators are hard to come by - good ones anyway. So I would highly highly recommend that you buy a legit copy of the software, unfortunately. Or switch to Linux! :)

[bare4you]

Sometimes it isn't just about how many programs you have installed. Some programs eat up a lot of memory when they load. Look at what is loaded when your computer first boots and then see what is installed. Cut back on the programs that install automatically - only install them when you really need them. I have one program at work that someone installed on my computer that every time I re-boot I have to go and disable it. It is a multimedia program that I've never used and the IT folks are stumped how it got there.

If you can't figure out what is and is not loading when you boot - hit control/alt/delete at the same time and then look at the Processes tab. If you are DSL chances are there are a lot that are eating up a ton of memory. If you can, find someone that knows something about computers and have them help decipher what you really need. Be cautious to find somene that really knows what the hell they are doing though!

Good luck

[mayhem1978]

i had similar problems myselfg with my laptop and it took me a while to sort out. Im me here or on yahoo and ill do what i can to help you out

[moose]

Kaelynn,
if it is a branded name notebook you can normally go back to the manufacturer and purchase a recovery cd or a hot load cd, the cost of this varies for each manufacturer, these cd's have all the standard software, operating system and device drivers for your notebook so you can reload it back to the way it came if it was brand new.
you can also belive it or not ring up microsoft and tell the you lost your cd and for $25 they will send you another one.
if you are going to get an operating system (xp) cd from someone else then you need to make sure its the same version as the one you have now or the key want work to install it (ie you can not use a xp home cd if your notebook has xp pro installed), you should also check you have a valid key, on most notebooks if you turn them over there should be a sticker on the back that has a key and what version windows the key is for.
there are several things that can make you notebook or pc slow and they could be (1.) lack of ram, ie microsoft state that the min ram for xp is 128mb but trust me it works much better with 512mb. (2.) you could be runingout of hard disk space so you would need to check you plenty left. (3.) you could have spyware or a virus loading at startup that could be using all the resorces and thus making the notebook run slow.
so to check this do the following 1 click start, then run, type msconfig, click ok, a screen wil come up called system configuration utility, change the startup selection to diagnostic, click ok, the computer will now ask you to restart so say yes.
when the computer restarts it should be running faster as nothing is now loaded, so open your web browser and go to this address http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/global/personal.htm
on the right hand side you will see an icon that says "free housecall" click on this icon, click on the icon to the left of "scan my pc", select the countryand click go, click on the red magnifing glass, and select full scan, this will scan for virus's and spyware for free and is excellent, select only you hard drives
and click next, now just follow the prompts and if it finds any thing tell it to delete or fix it.
once this is completed restart the notebook, click start, click run, type msconfig (if its not already there) click ok, select normal startup, click ok and let the notebook restart.
if trend found any thing and removed it the notebook should be running faster now, if not you will need to look at the ram or hard disk.

I hope this help