What do these two cpu's need before I give them away?

I have a couple of computers that I don't need but I don't want to give them away in their current conditions.

One has a Pent. 4 CPU 2.00GHz 2.02GHz, and only 224MB of RAM. {Why would there be two 2GHz numbers with the system information?} I know the RAM should be updated but to what? A Gig? BTW I pulled the info from the "System" in the control Panel and both have Windows XP with service pack 3.

The second one has a Pent. 4 CPU, 2.93G and only 504MB of RAM

Other than that the computers will be going to a 13 and 15 year old.

Also one of the computers seems to pause before opening the browser or other function that takes some cpu HP, is there anyway to diagnose that from this description or is that computer just slow? Perhaps a virus or spyware slowing it down? I've defraged the drives and updated the virus databases, is there anything else that needs doing?

Thanks for the help.

 

I'd say go to a gig of ram for each...rams cheap now and at 13 and 15 they'll want to do stuff that will need the power imho.....


is the one that's slow to start apps the low memory one?

 

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking a Gig each. Also the computer that seems to be stumbling is the one with just 224MB of RAM but it is also older and was used more often. Could the low RAM be what's causing the slow start up for the applications?

 

If you are not worried about saving any data, I would re-install windows (choose complete install) and then the other software from the original CD's. Once this is done apply all the updates (this is a very lengthy process). This will "clean-up" everything from a software prospective and make the PC run much faster. 1 gig is the the way to go. You PC will feel like a new one

 

Yes. 224 MB is.... not much. Be sure to find out which type of ram you need (SD-Ram I guess), as it might be hard to find nowadays, and how much the computer can take at all.


Edit: flash32 mentions that you should reinstall Windows - I second that, and you should format your hard drives before doing so.

 

Thanks for the quick replies gents. I was going to save a few programs that I had installed but I think I should just wipe everything down. How do I go about formatting the hard drives?

 

step 1: Ensure everything you want off them is backed up
2: boot from your windows install cd
3: when windows asks you which partition you want to install windows in delete all partitions on the destination drive
4: create a new partition
5: continue windows install
6: ???????
7: PROFIT!


DELETING PARTITIONS IS FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES IRREVERSIBLE.........IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT ANYTHING RECRUIT HELP

Your local geek/friend will be more then willing to help you, it's a very simple matter if you're simply blowing everything away

 

I agree with others, up to a gig of ram and reformat the drive(s) and reinstall windows. That will fix your pause before the browser opens which is most likely caused by some spyware that was picked up somehow and also give the new owner a "fresh" slate to start on.

And perhaps a porn filtering software for the 15 year old if he is a male

 

Hey guys, why would the system information give two readings for the GHz?
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I thought all the porn was a plus? Everyone seems to be on board with the plan, so formatting will be done soon.

 

try this link

http://www.pcworld.com/article/129977/how_to_reinstall_windows_xp.html

also has a video

 

The upper line ("Pentium 4 CPU 2.00 GHz") is what the processor tells the OS about itself, the second line is what the OS actually measures.

 

Thanks again guys, I'll begin shortly.

 

here is another site you may want to read ( allparts) ..this is for Windows XP home but I beleive most of the steps are the same

 

It doesn't have anything I want, so just point and shoot. Worst a case scenario is I drop it off at a cpu shop.

 

1GB is okay if you're sticking with XP. It's not really enough for Vista.

On the other hand, you already have enough RAM for Linux.
(244M might be a bit thin if you want a Beryl desktop -- depending on what video card it has and how much display memory is on that.)

 

After 20 minutes, I can't get it to boot from the cd. I went into BIOS and made sure the first selection was for the cd drive, but no go. I tried the cd drive and it works... what's next?

 

Yeah I have the discs for XP, so we'll stay with it. As for the rest of your post, "huh?" I thought Linux was used for hackers and computer wizards.

 

hmmm...so you change the BIOS ..

Try hitting pf-12 (or whatever key to enter boot sequence/bios) on boot-up

 

Linux has come a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG way.....

but it's still for power users and those that are familiar with computers.....


If you're interested in trying linux you can download a linux "live cd" that is run the same way you run those xp install discs but doesn't make ANY changes to your computer and allows you to try out the operating system.....feel free to PM me for more information

 

are you pressing the "any key" when it asks you if you want to boot from cd?

My CPU will give me the message "press any key to boot from cd" if I press nothing it will bypass it and boot to the next device.....

 

I'm not a big computer guy, I doubt I would have a use for Linux, the Live cd seems like a good way to get people to try it though.

 

I don't get a prompt at all.

 

Not to question your intelligence (I hope it doesn't come accross that way).

But are you sure you're set to boot fromm cd? Are you exiting the BIOS and "saving changes" if you're not sure, there should be an option to "exit and save changes".....

if you don't do that you may think you're set to boot from cd when you may not be.... :/

 

No worries, I exit and save changes. I'm fairly careful when entering and exiting those kinds of screens. Also when I first went in, it was already setup for the cd drive to boot first. I changed to to floppy, back to cd then saved it. I went back in, everything looked the same and still no booting from the cd.