XP laptop recommendations please

[Patch]

Hi, I`m looking for recommendations please for an XP laptop [ no Vista, no Win7, dont like `em, dont want `em, wont use `em, so please dont try persuading me as I will just get the glazed eye`s jobby ].

My current lappy is a prehistoric ASUS which has bare minimum software on it as the thing is full, often showing less than 200mb of space no matter what I delete from the wretched thing and I have no idea how to repartition it to use the near empty D drive space and software refuses to load or work on D Drive so thats an utter waste [ just who designs these things to be so un-user friendly for non-techie clueless people like me ]

Primary use for a new one is for photo processing and occasional gaming of fairly low spec disc games. I will probably keep using current lappy mainly for internet and printing as I`m a technophobe and can`t be doing with messing about re-loading any more software than absolutely necessary [ ok, ok, I don`t know where on earth I put most of my software discs ], so basically I need current one for lower spec usage and new one for decent speed higher spec stuff.

This one I found is not a lappy but wondered if anyone has it or could tell me if it could handle what I need it to do ?

EMACHINES EZ1601-01 buy online | Currys

I`m confused about the ram side of things, I upped current lappy from a paltry 512 by adding a gig [?] to one of the slots as it doesnt have to have the same in both and I did`nt have money to waste on both slots if better speed was`nt going to be noticeable [ it was a bit better as it happened ], so in theory I have more than the 1g lappys for sale so would they be slower than my prehistoric lappy ??


Current spec is
Screen size 15.4 inch [ would`nt want to go smaller ]
A6U
Mobile AMD Sempron
Processor 3000+
197 MHz, 1.12GB of RAM

Local Disc C
File system FAT32
Free space 326mb [ which will drop to under 200 if I breath too hard near it ]
Total size 32.4GB

Local Disc D
File system FAT32
Free Space 21.0GB
Total size 21.5GB [ flippin` frustrating not to be able to blimmin` use it on C instead ]


Current `bits` running from it are a printer, external re-writer, 2 x eternal hard drives, multi card reader via usb, mouse and keyboard [ can`t stand built in keyboard and annoying little pad thing ]

New one will just need to cope with my photo editing programs, a few games [ all which did run on current lappy til I ran out of space so had to delete them darn it ! ], keyboard and mouse, external re-writer unless a built in one actually works properly and / or external HD for photo storage plus usb card reader if new lappy does`nt have SD slot or cant cope with sdhc cards [ current lappy can`t deal with them anyway but can cope with basic sd card ].
New one does`nt need to look sleek and swish [ just need it to work properly, not to pose with ] nor be lightweight as it will be a permanent fixture like a normal computer would be.

I know I could ask in shops but so far have always found salesmen pefer talking about stuff that goes right over my head like its a sport to them, or going on about systems I have to repeatedly tell them I definitely DONT want but they still try to sell me what they want to use themselves instead of what I actually need


Well dont if you`ve stayed awake so far, hopefully my lack of technical knowledge shines through to explain why I would appreciate recommendations on specific models which would suit.

 

[ducattigezzer]

any new laptop will run xp as long as it has service pack 3 (this will less hassle as it's got sata drivers integrated as new laptop have sata hard drives)

but you will be hard pushed to find any new ones with xp installed maybe one or 2 netbooks

all depends on what you want to spend hotdeals website throws up good laptop deals at least once a week

also read through the forum to give you a better idea or totally confuse you

 

[Patch]

I started off by going through the forum but started going bogeyed so I joined the forum in order to try the asking route instead

I did google for xp v 7 info and found a lot of stuff saying xp software wont run on 7 despite the claims that its supposed to.
I`m not touching 7 [ nor vista ] with a bargepole no matter what, I only use xp as it is because I was given my current lappy after my good ol` tower pc died when a powercut burned its insides, rip my dear old faithful 98SE `puter ].

I have found a few xp lappys for sale but they are mostly screens requiring the user to get binoculars to see the tiny display or are 1gig ram which is less than my ASUS hence the query on that in my first post and why I`m considering the non lappy but also non tower jobby that I posted a link to

I just wish developers would stick to one system doing everything instead of bailing to bring out a new system which is`nt compatible with the software we all spend out on so cant use and often cant replace with an equivalent or of course spend even more for this or that system while the same stuff for other systems gathers dust in a corner

 

[spyder viewer]

Wouldn't your time and money be better spent on understanding computers rather than trying to stop the tides?

If you understood better how to use your current pc then you would get more out of any new one. Buy a book on xp from a charity shop (no insult intended): if you could learn how to move your documents folder to your D: drive then you could free up some space on your c: and your trusty machine (that seems to be capable) would run much better. If you can see a D: drive then it doesn't need partitioning. Click on the d: in explorer and try dragging or copy/pasting some files into it.

 

[Patch]

Wouldn't your time and money be better spent on understanding computers rather than trying to stop the tides?

No one that I`ve spoken to yet has been able to help as to why the C drive which used to be fine with about four games on it, all my artwork software, stacks of files etc, is now full despite me deleting everything except essentials. If I delete any more I`ll be down to the system folders needed to even boot it up. No matter what I do it wont now go above showing 300mb of free space on C drive. So no, I`ve given up trying to stem that tide

If you understood better how to use your current pc then you would get more out of any new one.

There is nothing wrong with how I`ve been using it, it used to be fne, now its not

Buy a book on xp from a charity shop (no insult intended): if you could learn how to move your documents folder to your D: drive then you could free up some space on your c: and your trusty machine (that seems to be capable) would run much better. If you can see a D: drive then it doesn't need partitioning. Click on the d: in explorer and try dragging or copy/pasting some files into it.

If it were `capable` I would`nt have been spending ridiculous amounts of time waiting....and waiting....and waiting.... for it to respond to each and every command, and not being able to do a thing on it except play solitaire when anti virus updates or scans are sunning because at those times it runs like a complete slug.
Anything which can be moved I have been doing over the last couple of weeks, there is nothing left that can be moved without rendering the lappy or individual programs unusable.
With respect, I tried everything I did know to try, then I asked people who are considerably more technically able than me who said it just is`nt up to what I need it to do, [ like letting me process more than one photo over a 20 minute span which was how bad it was at one point... ] and were not able to offer any help re the D Drive other than ` shame you can`t use that space really, oh well`.

Hence the decision to get a new machine for doing all my photo work on and using the lappy just for going online, a decision which I don`t feel I need to justify to anyone, I was simply looking for recommendations for a new one

The one on the link is now on its way, I could`nt wait any longer as I would like to process my backlog of photos some time in this century which I don`t stand a cat in hells chance of doing on The Slug

 

[spyder viewer]

Just here to help! That's an interesting choice for that application: come back and tell us how you're getting on in a few weeks.

As an addition: when you've got your new pc up and running, come back and we'll help you to sort out your old machine. It's probably just full of bloatware, backups and downloads etc which can be deleted. The reason why you can't do anything is probably because there's no room on the c: drive for the swap file. That would also affect moving data across to the d: drive.

 

[MarkE19]

I would say that if you have enough room to install CCleaner (only takes a few Mb of HDD space to install) then that will almost certainly find what is using up all your HDD space - and will delete it for you if required. Things like MS security updates, internet coookies, temp files etc can all add up if not deleted regularly.
You could then combine your C: & D: partitions into 1 bigger HDD with a program such as Paragon Partition Manager to give you more space in the future.

Mark.

 

[Patch]

Deepest apologies if my previous post read like I was being a snotty bag, that was`nt my intent, reading it back now looks very rude when you were trying to help

The reason for choosing the all in one was down to not wanting a tower jobby and not being able to find an XP lappy with a decent screen size, all the ones I found [ at a reasonable price at least ] seem to be screens of 10inch or less The all-in-one is an 18 1/2inch screen and the dimensions of it mean I can stand it where my old monitor sits [ must get around to moving that ], so I can keep my lappy set up as it is as well as using the new one without loss of space so that`s a bonus

I do frequently run the lappys doobry for getting rid of temp file stuff, sometimes three times in an evening when it shouts at
me that free space is dangerously low and even when it says it can clear however much space its never reflected after a clean up when I check how much has been freed up

When the new one is up and running so that I can delete my photo programs from the lappy I will definitely come back to take up the offer of help on how to clean up the lappy properly, thank you both

Meanwhile I have bookmarked the links you posted for ccleaner and paragon so I can bring those up ready, I MIGHT get the new one online afterall as a back-up in case I mess up the lappy so I can come crying for help to ut right anything I get wrong on the lappy

Now where the heck did I put all my software discs and why don`t I use my noggin to put them all in one place like sensible people do

 

[spyder viewer]

Well it's always harder to be diplomatic on a forum because one doesn't have the benifit of eye contact! However when I read that your laptop had done all you wanted it to do and that you hadn't changed what you were doing, then something else had to be responsible for your change in fortunes. Also, to have 40% of your hard drive doing nothing, there had to be something very basic wrong.

Your new purchase does not have a powerhouse processor so if you are running something like Photoshop you will need to keep the number of concurrent applications that you have running to a minimum.

Although you are happy to continue running with XP, the personal knowledge of it you started out with no longer stands you in good stead (although this is personal, it's not an attack!). From my personal viewpoint, my current office machine has xp on it and as a result, my 10 years worth of knowledge is still accessible to me and by extension to you. However, in the next 6 months that machine is being retired and replaced by a Vista based machine and all my stored knowledge, within 6 to 12 months, won't even be a distant memory! It will be in the same location as my memories of DR-DOS and Windows 3.1!

Shame because I thought XP was great! Oh well see you in the retirement home.

 

[Patch]

So far so good
Its mainly Paint Shop Pro that I use, its wonderful having a pc now that opens the program first time and lets me process everything so fast compared to my poor old lappy
I have set things up so they sit side by side, so I can be online on the lappy while processing pics or playing a game on the other if I want to, and have loaded my printer software to the new one but can swap the lead over to print on either [ ie text stuff from the lappy but photos from the new one ], and have got another external HD specifically to save onto from the new one then to plug into the lappy when photos are ready to upload or email [ I don`t really want the new one to go online unless the lappy packs in altogether ].

So I`m very pleased with the new one so far, its certainly up to what I needed it for