I got an old Compaq Presario 1700 notebook. It's 7 years old, and has no graphics card. The memory is less than or equal to 512 mb, and if you put anything that the installed Windows XP cannot handle, BOOM!!! It crashes. The corner of the screen is chipped, and it has only 1 interchangable CD burner/reader/DVD player drive. It has 2 USB ports, both 1.0. The only stuff installed on it is IE7, Windows Media player 10 or 11, I don't remember, Inter Video WinDVD 6, Windows Defender, Yahoo! Widgets, and one simple game. The only good side is that the hard drive is new. Any tips on how to fix it up, and if it can handle the upcoming Windows Vista?
I'm pretty good with the computer, and my dad's friend is a computer programmer, so I can handle any tips. PLEASE help me!
2006-11-16 10:59:28 · 4 answers · asked by dveltmands 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
512M memory is ok. Regarding the chip in the screen, if you wanna replace it, go to the compaq website and order a new or refurb display from their parts depot.
Forget vista. You dont have a need for...do you?
regarding the crashes, if you recently replaced the drive, you shouldn't have this happening. Backup your personal data and reformat and reinstall everything the right way:
1/ Load Operating System (windows)
2/ Configure firewall and Update OS (implies good internet)
3/ Install Antivirus/Antispam/Antispy (in that order)
4/ Install system utilities like winpatrol
5/ Install additional devices (printers, scanners, etc)
6/ Configure default user, additional users
7/ Set security policies
8/ Verify all above is as expected
THEN...install applications, microsoft update again, restore your data files, then schedule boot time AV scan.
You shouldnt have ANY problems.
2006-11-16 11:15:20 · answer #1 · answered by orlandobillybob 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Considering the age, and the evidence (correct me if I'm wrong) that there has been some bruising (which means that internal components may have been damaged (permanently or not) or loosened), its best not to upgrade to Vista. Best to upgrade to Windows Service Pack 2, probably Windows Media Center. Use the good links you have to check the memory, screen, interchangeable cd burner/reader and other hardware components for corrosion, wear, and any damage possible. Considering that there is no graphics card, you need to plan what you will do with the laptop, if its for gaming or for internet or just simply word processing or graphics development or an entertainment system (watch movies, play music, etc.). Then you can decide what upgrade is necessary. As you noted, "if you put anything that the installed Windows XP cannot handle, BOOM!!!"... So that's exactly what has happened.
2006-11-16 19:14:12 · answer #2 · answered by john_illusies 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately with laptops you're limited in the upgrades you can make, you mentioned the video and that's a big part but there's nothing you can do about it, really the only thing you can do is put as much memory into it as it will take, something that old may be limited to 512meg, you may be able to put a faster CPU in it, try and see if you can look up you model machine and see if they came with faster chips. One other thing you might try is switching to Linux it's much less of a resource hog than Windows. I hope this helps. Good Luck.
2006-11-16 19:15:10 · answer #3 · answered by booboo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It won't handle Vista. I'd be surprised to see 512 mb in that old a computer.
2006-11-16 19:19:40 · answer #4 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋