advice needed

free2blaze · April 10, 2010, 04:56:28 AM

I got a used laptop Dell Inspiron 2500, it came with windows ME and I would like to install xp on it, I paid $10.00 for it, battery holds a good charge, I read that in order to install a different os I would need to completely clear the hard drive, anyone have any advice?

Disturban · April 10, 2010, 03:21:57 PM

Bring it over to my house and I will install XP and back up any documents you have so you dont lose anything $25.

If you already have an XP disk you do not need to clear the hard drive, just pop in your disk, select boot order to boot from disk, window will popup asking you if you want to install xp. When you start to install xp it will reformat the hard drive automatically hence if you have anything on the computer you want saved make back ups so you can reinstall after xp is loaded.

Being a Dell you are going to run into issues with drivers after installing xp, I will load all dell drivers for you included in the $25.

Plan on it taking anywhere from 2 hours to 4 hours!

PS: Come over at 4:20

free2blaze · April 10, 2010, 03:56:13 PM

thanks for the reply and the offer Disturban, hell of a deal but not up to the drive, it's always 4:20,

dsJeep · April 11, 2010, 11:02:59 AM

its not hard to do, just make sure you have enough RAM to run XP properly, how big is the hard drive and how much RAM does it have? what all are you planing to do with it?

another option would be to install Linux on it, most distros are free, the ones I use from time to time are Mandrake and SuSE some times on a low end system I'll use DSL Linux, its not that hard to use as long as you don't try to install a bunch of stuff to it, most distros don't auto compile and you have to manually compile them, which can be a byTch if you don't know how...

free2blaze · April 11, 2010, 08:08:55 PM

64 MB ram 10 GB hard drive, there is one on ebay with 8 GB hard drive running XP, I was told windows ME is a bigger OS than XP but personally I dont know if that is true,
I am really not planning to do much with it, some pictures from the camera for the most part, I do have some basic knowledge of computers, maybe a bit more, upgrading a OS is something I have never done though, but im confident I can do it, thank you for the response.

dsJeep · April 11, 2010, 08:37:23 PM

I've run ME on a 5 gig hard drive before, its not that big...

your RAM on the other hand is not very much, you could get away with the hard drive, but with as little RAM as that has you'd be better off sticking with ME, personally I wouldn't run XP on anything with less than 512mb, I believe the minimum is 256mb and I've seen it run with 128, but it was so slow running 128 that the computer was damn near useless, your laptop should handle at least 256mb, if you post your model number and service code I or Disturban can find out what you max out at and what kind of RAM it needs...

free2blaze · April 11, 2010, 08:45:43 PM

the model # is pp02l, the service tag # is 3db9n01, express service code 7335332785 .

free2blaze · April 11, 2010, 08:53:22 PM

I found this on windows website but am in no way disregarding your help and appreciate it very much, just letting you know what I am reading, it is a copy and paste from there website.

In general, adding memory is the easiest and most effective way to improve a computer's performance. Although it is recommended, Windows XP does not require 128 MB of RAM. The operating system can run with 64 MB of RAM. For many workloads that involve Web browsing, e-mail, and other activities, 64 MB of RAM will provide you with a user experience equivalent or superior to that of Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me) running on the same hardware. If you're satisfied with using Windows Me on lower-end computers, you should find Windows XP a satisfactory upgrade

free2blaze · April 11, 2010, 08:58:34 PM

and I cant install the program for my camera on it with windows ME , that is really my main reason for wanting XP, I also have a usb 2.0 note book card that it dont support.

Disturban · April 11, 2010, 11:05:34 PM

Quote from: free2blaze on April 11, 2010, 08:58:34 PM
and I cant install the program for my camera on it with windows ME , that is really my main reason for wanting XP, I also have a usb 2.0 note book card that it dont support.

XP will not turn your USB 1.1 into 2.0...The reason your notebook card will not work is because it is not backwards compatible.
USB 1.1 to 2.0 is a hardware upgrade not a software upgrade.

XP will run on a system with as little as 32mb of ram, I have seen it but it was not pretty

128mb is the recommended minimum 512 and up is preferred.

free2blaze · April 12, 2010, 12:52:54 AM

Quote from: Disturban on April 11, 2010, 11:05:34 PM
Quote from: free2blaze on April 11, 2010, 08:58:34 PM
and I cant install the program for my camera on it with windows ME , that is really my main reason for wanting XP, I also have a usb 2.0 note book card that it dont support.
XP will not turn your USB 1.1 into 2.0...The reason your notebook card will not work is because it is not backwards compatible.
USB 1.1 to 2.0 is a hardware upgrade not a software upgrade.

thank you for clearing that up for me , I got the note book card free so I am not out anything, when I put it in it just said not supported so I was figuring it was a software issue, I dont have a need for it anyway it was just a part I had and tried, if it were not for wanting to upload pictures from my camera though I would just stick with the ME, I will look into upgrading the ram, thank you.

free2blaze · April 12, 2010, 01:05:50 AM

well, when I said there was 64 MB ram I was going by manufacturer specs, after checking my computer/properties it says in there it has 126.0 MB ram, so im guessing it was already upgraded, ??

free2blaze · April 12, 2010, 01:11:49 AM

and just to add I really appreciate the help, thank you.

dsJeep · April 12, 2010, 11:12:56 AM

yeah, someone added another 64mb to it, the reason it only shows 126mb is because of the onboard video, you can get a USB 2.0 adapter that will work in one of the PCMCIA slots...

from what Dells website says you are maxed at 512mb of RAM, which isn't bad..

http://www.pcprogress.com/product.asp?m1=pw&pid=MSOD-100-32X64

I'd order 2 of those and max your system out, and this is what you need if you want to use any USB 2.0 devices...

http://3btech.net/sasb2usb20to.html

Disturban · April 12, 2010, 01:25:44 PM

I would stuff 512mb of ram in it, usb 2.0 card and a much bigger hard drive then load XP on it. My camera would fill your hard drive with 20 pictures...lol

free2blaze · April 12, 2010, 03:45:27 PM

that usb 2.0 card in your second link is what I have and tried, it said not supported? but I see in the requirements that it should work with ME, hmmm, try it again.

free2blaze · April 12, 2010, 03:50:31 PM

and on your first link that is the price for the 256 MB $15.99 ? if yes that is alot less than I expected

, thank you.

dsJeep · April 12, 2010, 08:43:22 PM

no problem, I build and repair computers for friends and family, I've learned where to look for good deals...

and if you go for a bigger hard drive you probibly wouldn't need too big of a hard drive, my old laptop had a 40 gig for a while, let me know what size you'd like and I'll find one for you...