No Crashes - What Specs?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Now that I've made the move from dial-up to high speed (DSL) I'm ready
to ditch my five year old Compaq very soon.

The main problem I have with this computer is that it has always crashed
a lot and seems to crash more and more.

It's running Windows ME, 850MHz Pentium III, 128MB ram.

Now that I'm on a modern high speed connection I want a computer that I
can keep on for weeks at a time. I want a computer that will not crash when
I'm listening to steaming audio while surfing three or four different web
pages at the same time, while downloading content.

What do I need in a computer to accomplish this? Is the solution to
just move up to Windows XP? How much ram do I need? Is 500MB enough for my
needs or should I move up to 1GB?

I don't play games on my computer (I have an XBox for that) except for
online chess, poker, and backgammon. So, I don't need a maxed out system.

I do play a lot of music on my computer and store a lot of pictures from
my digi-cam.

So, what would the minimum requirements be for a computer?

The most important thing I want is a stable system.

Thanks

 

[hh]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

The main problem you had was the OS, not the hardware. WinMe was the
absolute worst Win 9X MS ever foisted on the public. I have a 1-year old
Presario SR1000Z, that's on 24/7 and I've not had crash 1 with it. The only
time it is off is during thunderstorms. Yes, it has XP, which, despite its
security issues, is rock stable. I'm on a cable modem. It is an AMD Sempron
2800 with a 256MB ATI Radeon 9200 AGP card and 1GB of RAM.
HH

"Von Fourche" <monaco6178@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:wgKje.655$oT1.199@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> Now that I've made the move from dial-up to high speed (DSL) I'm ready
> to ditch my five year old Compaq very soon.
>
> The main problem I have with this computer is that it has always
> crashed
> a lot and seems to crash more and more.
>
> It's running Windows ME, 850MHz Pentium III, 128MB ram.
>
> Now that I'm on a modern high speed connection I want a computer that I
> can keep on for weeks at a time. I want a computer that will not crash
> when
> I'm listening to steaming audio while surfing three or four different web
> pages at the same time, while downloading content.
>
> What do I need in a computer to accomplish this? Is the solution to
> just move up to Windows XP? How much ram do I need? Is 500MB enough for
> my
> needs or should I move up to 1GB?
>
> I don't play games on my computer (I have an XBox for that) except for
> online chess, poker, and backgammon. So, I don't need a maxed out system.
>
> I do play a lot of music on my computer and store a lot of pictures
> from
> my digi-cam.
>
> So, what would the minimum requirements be for a computer?
>
> The most important thing I want is a stable system.
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

On Sat, 21 May 2005 17:32:12 GMT, "Von Fourche"
<monaco6178@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> Now that I've made the move from dial-up to high speed (DSL) I'm ready
>to ditch my five year old Compaq very soon.
>
> The main problem I have with this computer is that it has always crashed
>a lot and seems to crash more and more.
>
> It's running Windows ME, 850MHz Pentium III, 128MB ram.

Now that you have a broadband connection, get a better firewall
than the weak one that came with Windows. ZoneAlarm is
available in a free version; see www.zonelabs.com. It's also a
good idea to get a gateway router from Linksys or D-Link. I
went with Linksys, a division of Cisco.

Before you trash the hardware, go to www.diswrowatch.com and
download one of the "Live CD" Linux distributions, such as
Ubuntu Live or Knoppix. These versions of Linux boot from the
CD-ROM, without installing anything to your hard disk. If you
don't like it, you just pull the CD and reboot. If you do like
it, there are tools to shove Windows into a corner of your disk
(for the odd must-have application for which no Open Source
replacement yet exists) and build a new partition to install
Linux on. Ubuntu and most other distros include the Grand
Unified Bootloader, which lets you select an OS at boot time.

Modern Linux environments offer a choice of GUIs. The two major
ones, KDE and Gnome, both look enough about as much like Windows
as one Windows version resembles the previous Windows. There is
even one that deliberately mimics Windows XP. There are free
replacements for most Windows applications. The Free Software
Foundation may say "Think 'free speech', not 'free beer'", but
most Linux apps are free both ways.

There are Linux and Unix systems that have run continuously for
*years.* I've had applications crash in Linux (mostly stuff
I've written or tweaked), but I don't think I've ever had a
systemwide crash. Windows XP ($100) is a remedy for most of
ME's bugs, but a better remedy is to defenestrate. Linux can
make that PIII box last another year or two, and it won't cost
anything but some download time. Use the time you gain to save
up for that 3.5GHz 4GB box, then use the old machine for a
backup server.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

"HH" <hahunt42@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:YYGdnZ1HgqSkBRLfRVn-hA@giganews.com...
> The main problem you had was the OS, not the hardware. WinMe was the
> absolute worst Win 9X MS ever foisted on the public. I have a 1-year old
> Presario SR1000Z, that's on 24/7 and I've not had crash 1 with it. The
only
> time it is off is during thunderstorms. Yes, it has XP, which, despite its
> security issues, is rock stable. I'm on a cable modem. It is an AMD
Sempron
> 2800 with a 256MB ATI Radeon 9200 AGP card and 1GB of RAM.
> HH


Are there any good sites that review home computers from the major
companies (Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Sony?)

 

[hh]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Might try http://www.pcworld.com and http://www.pcmag.com

HH


"Von Fourche" <monaco6178@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:NlQje.791$oT1.696@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> "HH" <hahunt42@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:YYGdnZ1HgqSkBRLfRVn-hA@giganews.com...
>> The main problem you had was the OS, not the hardware. WinMe was the
>> absolute worst Win 9X MS ever foisted on the public. I have a 1-year old
>> Presario SR1000Z, that's on 24/7 and I've not had crash 1 with it. The
> only
>> time it is off is during thunderstorms. Yes, it has XP, which, despite
>> its
>> security issues, is rock stable. I'm on a cable modem. It is an AMD
> Sempron
>> 2800 with a 256MB ATI Radeon 9200 AGP card and 1GB of RAM.
>> HH
>
>
> Are there any good sites that review home computers from the major
> companies (Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Sony?)
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

A home computer is generally one of lower quality, i.e. more glitzy plastic,
cheaper electronic parts on the inside. That has been my experience for years
and years. A business-class computer is generally made of better components,
because large corporations and enterprises have a lot more clout than owners of
home computers. If a company is not happy with its computers, the name-brand
company may be asked to pick up a pallet or two of returned computers.

I'm not sure if this trend will continue or not. Microsoft is making a serious
push with XP Media Center to integrate home computing with all sorts of
entertainment. I think this will still mean more and more cheap computer
schlock thrown over the wall into the mass market at Walmart, Best Buy, Target,
Staples, Circuit City, etc... Ben Myers

On Sun, 22 May 2005 00:27:25 GMT, "Von Fourche" <monaco6178@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>"HH" <hahunt42@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:YYGdnZ1HgqSkBRLfRVn-hA@giganews.com...
>> The main problem you had was the OS, not the hardware. WinMe was the
>> absolute worst Win 9X MS ever foisted on the public. I have a 1-year old
>> Presario SR1000Z, that's on 24/7 and I've not had crash 1 with it. The
>only
>> time it is off is during thunderstorms. Yes, it has XP, which, despite its
>> security issues, is rock stable. I'm on a cable modem. It is an AMD
>Sempron
>> 2800 with a 256MB ATI Radeon 9200 AGP card and 1GB of RAM.
>> HH
>
>
> Are there any good sites that review home computers from the major
>companies (Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Sony?)
>
>