Can anyone help me out with my lap top?

Question

OK, first things first, I know nothing about computers so please keep it simple!

Basically I have a laptop, about 2/3 years old now, a fairy basic Packard Bell model bought from PC World. The only thing I know about it is that is has 'Easy Note' written down near the mouse pad.

I'm about to start my University dissertation and could do with giving the ol' thing a little more punch- basically so a 10,000 word essay with lots of pictures isn't going to clog things up, what with all my music and videos on there too. Also I am toying with the idea of doing something about the graphics as there are a couple of old games I want to get to while away those long periods of boredom! (Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine!)

So, in laymans terms, what can I do on a shoestring budget, and who are the best people to see?

Thanks a load!

Answer 1

I would go to best buy or a pc world computer store and they might be able to help you further.

I only know from experience which websites to go for and what you might need.

For writing essays, you dont need that big of a kick except a nice size hard drive. Sometimes a document with a lot of pictures and graphics can take up a lot of space....so if you are thinking about doing A LOT of writing and creating big projects, then I would suggest you look into getting a bigger hard drive or at least an external hard drive to keep those documents safe.

If you want to start playing games on your laptop, the two important things you need are 1) memory and 2) graphics card

Memory I would go to http://www.4allmemory.com and you can enter the brand and model of your PC and it will basically tell you what RAM to get for your computer. Its very easy to install as well.

Next you will need a good graphics card so that you can play these games with good graphics. If you dont have a good graphics card, then the game might not even start or it can freeze you up and stall on you. Try going to http://www.newegg.com or http://www.amazon.com and look up 64MB or 128MB graphics card that is compatible with your system. I recommend NVIDEA or ATI RADEON cards that are usually really good when it comes to playing graphical games.

In total, you might have to spend at least $200-$300 for all the hardware you need to support what you want to do with your laptop. If thats the case, I would just get a new laptop, but if you really like the computer you have, then you might want to try and get the hardware and the MINIMUM requirements to play games. If you can comfortably play games, then I wouldnt worry about creating essays and documents on your system.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

1. Start storing your music on cds and delete them on your computer to add more space.

2. Do step 1 for pictures also.

3. Keep your files on discs and backup discs and delete them from your computer.

4. Don't download any free software. I don't care where it's from. It'll slow down your computer and then you can say goodbye to the boredom games b/c they'll be to slow for you to play.

5. Invest in good anti-virus software, which will allow your computer to work as quickly as it can.

6. Get your computer fixed by a computer tech from Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. They'll get rid of the basic problems. A better tech will cost a lot of money because they're more of specialists. Only go to the bigger guys if the little guys at Best Buy don't know what to do.

Answer 4

After you take everything off the hard drive possible do a disk defrag (Under Windows Explorer, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defrag). Also, much cheaper to buy flash drives to get rid of all the files on your computer and to back up your dissertation.

Answer 5

Alright me being a computer genius i'll answer this one.
You need a active AX card that yo can get in PC world for 25 pounds.
Then you need a rambust diver insertible also from PC world which is 40 pounds.
Then get a memory CD thatyou can save all your college work on.
Thats it, glad to help.

Answer 6

Local Pc shop

Check Yellow Pages!

Answer 7

laptops are very limited in their upgradeability ... you can put a faster and larger harddrive in it and probably add more ram if theres a spot for it ... aim for about 768mb of ram or 1 gig ... the graphics ... if the games dont work now then they probably wont do better with more ram and a faster drive .. graphics cant be upgraded on 99% of laptops ... indiana jones is a cool game btw :)

Answer 8

table maximum appropriate because of the fact lap tops cant carry as lots stuff and that they get contaminated extra ordinary and computers final longer my mom had a lap maximum appropriate for 3 years and ive had my table maximum appropriate for 11 years nevertheless works acceptable desire i helped!

Answer 9

buy a cheap external hard drive or a usb storage stick to keep your music/pics on that way saving space on your laptop!

you can buy memory to make your computer move faster

www.misco.co.uk if you phone these people they'll be able to tell you what kind of memory you need to buy there very reasonably priced as well !!

hope this helps!!

Answer 10

try an external hd for more storage ,upgrade your ram and old games work on windows xp using comaptability mode in properties of the games . upgrade the windows also if it dosent have xp .