Manic_Skafe

I did a few searches before making this thread and although many were helpful they raised almost as many as they solved. So here it is:

I just got a refurbished EMachines M3505 laptop from a friend a few months ago at a really good price and since I don't run many intense programs or play video games I don't need it to do to much. I noticed a short while into using the computer that it really doesn't like me to surf the web and play music or videos and every now and then will freeze.

I defrag as often as needed, rarely use more than ten gigs of drive space at any time and I really don't install large programs.

System specs:

Athlon XP-M 2200+
15.4" LCD
40GB HDD
512MB DDR RAM
DVD/CD-RW
integrated ATI video
Full System Specs

Any suggestions for making it run smoother and a bit quicker? I've seen that the computer can support up to one gig of ram and so I was considering upgrading it but I wouldn't even know how to go about doing so.

I'm open to all sorts of suggestions and will greatly appreciate any input.

__________________
"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

KrazyKracka

You could try disabling some of your starting up programs, if you have a lot that is. A lot of progs out there (yahoo, AIM, etc.) and not just limited to messengers, will automatically start upon booting of your system, and if you have a few of them, they can chew on your resources and cause poor performance. You can go in to MSCONFIG and disable them on startup, so they only start when YOU want them to.

Also, virii and spyware, adware, etc. will cause poor performance as well. Do you have good spyware/virus software? If so, run a complete system scan. You can also disable some of your active X controls in the "manage add-ons" menu in the toolbar for IE. If you try some of these things and no luck, then it's probably time to back up your hard drive and reformat and re update the Operating system.

Hope that helps you some

ratbastid

Bumping ram can help with performance, but IMO your returns start to diminish above half a gig.

Is the Windows installation fresh? If not, format and reinstall windows. You'll be amazed how much faster you boot and run with a fresh, clean install.

(Or install Linux. You'll be amazed at how much longer your install will remain fresh, clean, and fast-running.)

Loup

Semi Follow-up Question on Latptop Upgrade
Where would you recommend me to look for new memory?

__________________
"If you cannot lift the load off another's back, do not walk away. Try to lighten it."
~ Frank Tyger

shakran

crucial.com

best memory out there.

Manic_Skafe

Thanks guys.

Windows was reinstalled when I got the computer and that was about 2 months ago so I doubt that's the culprit. After having used Msconfig and running a few different spyware checks everything seems to be going a lot better. Haven't had any freezing so I'm thinking the main problem is solved.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

__________________
"Porn is a zoo of exotic animals that becomes boring upon ownership." -Nersesian

KrazyKracka

He's saying that you'll get more performance out of 512MB vs. 256MB, but after you go above 512, you won't notice as drastic of a performance gain.