Expert Advice Needed , please .

O

OmegaWon

New Member
I have a DELL Latitude D600 laptop .
It's windows XP Professional ,
and I will relay the hardware in My Computer Properties :

System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 2002
Service Pack 2

Computer:
Intel(R) Pentium(R) M
processor 1600 MHz
221 MHz, 256 MB of RAM

the 221 MHz , i think , is a display of the current amount of RAM being used - because upon checking these properties once more , it said 598 MHz , instead .

My question is -
How do I get my laptop to run at peak performance ?

I use all kinds of desktop cleaners such as McAfee Quick Clean & CCleaner (crap cleaner) as well as the windows defrag program . .
however , every week I do it , it does not seem to help ;
in fact , the problem seems to get worse & worse .

Ive searched all over the internet for "Make Windows XP faster" but its mostly all the same advice .

Please help . I'm sure everyone else is interested to know , as well .

Thank you for your time .

Best regards ,
Emanuel .
 
The mhz number are probably the front side bus. As for making it faster, I'd throw in some more RAM. 256mb is about minimum now a days.
 
given the information I gave in ,
would anyone be able to specify the type of RAM I need ?
I have more specific info about it at home (im currently at work)
& Ill type it up here for someone knowledgable to see ;
as far as that goes , I am looking for a good deal on RAM .

just as well ,
are there any other ways ?
 
I'll check those links out , but before I do that -
I'll put down my RAM information here :

System Type : Laptop / Notebook
CPU : 1.6 GHz Pentium M
Standard Memory : 128 MB (removable)
Maximum Memory : 2 GB
Slots : 2
Memory Speed : 266 MHz
USB Port : Yes

I bought a 1 GB chip before for about 160 dollars ,
put it in one of the slots to replace a single 128 MB RAM chip
so my total was then 1 GB + 128 MB RAM .
but for some reason there were errors , memory dumps & such . .
my friend who had helped me with the RAM claimed it was because there was a need for both slots to contain EQUAL RAM chips .
Does anybody know about this ?

Thanks .
 
also , a member on CNet posted this about memory & GPU upgrades
0wnz (see profile) - 01/12/2006 1:09 PM In reply to: And for the GPU ? by Ghost26 said:
bad news
unfortunately, the processor and memory bus speeds are set by the motherboard, so putting in a different model proccessor (faster front side bus)and faster memory would be a waste of money (if it even works at all). The GPU is a bit of a different point. In some instances (such as the latest xps gaming book), the GPU can be swapped out, but only for gpu models originally available to that notebook or made specifically to work with it. More often, the GPU is sodered onto the board and is not replaceable. Sorry.
Click to expand...

Is there anything I can do about this ?
 
#1 using mcafee desktop cleaner (or any desktop cleaner) will use up ram for no reason. clean up the desktop yourself. i use ccleaner myself, it works nicely. also... try spywareblaster and ad-aware SE (personal or professional will do just fine, personal is the freeware). they'll get rid of any spyware that you have. also, try getting a nice antivirus program such as symantec or something..

to get the ULTIMATE performance out of your laptop a reformat would be best though.
 
Yea and also run MSconfig and get rid of all the start up apps that you dont want. Also a good anitvirus that doesnt use a lot of resources also helps. I use AntiVir and it works great. Also upgrade your ram to at least 512mb.
 
#1 using mcafee desktop cleaner (or any desktop cleaner) will use up ram for no reason. clean up the desktop yourself. i use ccleaner myself, it works nicely. also...
Click to expand...
it's not mcafee desktop cleaner ,
it's mcafee quick clean -
it's similar to ccleaner & has tons of features .
are you suggesting I should remove McAfee quick clean & use CCleaner as an alternative , instead ?

try spywareblaster and ad-aware SE (personal or professional will do just fine, personal is the freeware). they'll get rid of any spyware that you have. also, try getting a nice antivirus program such as symantec or something..
Click to expand...
I have AOL Safety & Security Center, an AOL & McAfee partnership that protects the computer from viruses & spyware .

to get the ULTIMATE performance out of your laptop a reformat would be best though.
Click to expand...
What would this entitle ?
What would I gain ?
& What do I have to lose ?
 
What would this entitle ?
What would I gain ?
& What do I have to lose ?
Click to expand...
1. This would entail you completely wiping the hard disk, there would be absolutely nothing on it at all, not even windows.
2. You would gain the undeniable pleasure of having an empty system, meaning you start from scaratch and build it up again. thus increasing system efficiency and eliminating any spyware/visruses you have.
3. There sint really that much to loose, except all fo your data (documents), but that wont ahppen, cos your going to take our advice and backup to CD-R's etc first.... arent you....


dragon2309
 
I think I might buy an external HDD enclosure and a 100GB HDD, then use it for when Im doing this sorta thing.....
 
^ Yeah , I was planning on doing this near the time my warranty expired on the laptop (April 2007)
where I'll transfer all my data to an external HDD & send it in saying its broken to get a brand new latitude d600 .

But this will be much later .
for one , i cant afford an external HDD now ,
and I dont have a CD burner for data back up .

The following questions remain :

1)
I'll check those links out , but before I do that -
I'll put down my RAM information here :

System Type : Laptop / Notebook
CPU : 1.6 GHz Pentium M
Standard Memory : 128 MB (removable)
Maximum Memory : 2 GB
Slots : 2
Memory Speed : 266 MHz
USB Port : Yes

I bought a 1 GB chip before for about 160 dollars ,
put it in one of the slots to replace a single 128 MB RAM chip
so my total was then 1 GB + 128 MB RAM .
but for some reason there were errors , memory dumps & such . .
my friend who had helped me with the RAM claimed it was because there was a need for both slots to contain EQUAL RAM chips .
Does anybody know about this ?

Thanks .
Click to expand...

2)
also , a member on CNet posted this about memory & GPU upgrades

Quote:
Originally Posted by 0wnz (see profile) - 01/12/2006 1:09 PM
In reply to: And for the GPU ? by Ghost26
bad news
unfortunately, the processor and memory bus speeds are set by the motherboard, so putting in a different model proccessor (faster front side bus)and faster memory would be a waste of money (if it even works at all). The GPU is a bit of a different point. In some instances (such as the latest xps gaming book), the GPU can be swapped out, but only for gpu models originally available to that notebook or made specifically to work with it. More often, the GPU is sodered onto the board and is not replaceable. Sorry.


Is there anything I can do about this ?
Click to expand...

3)
Quote:
#1 using mcafee desktop cleaner (or any desktop cleaner) will use up ram for no reason. clean up the desktop yourself. i use ccleaner myself, it works nicely. also...

it's not mcafee desktop cleaner ,
it's mcafee quick clean -
it's similar to ccleaner & has tons of features .
are you suggesting I should remove McAfee quick clean & use CCleaner as an alternative , instead ?
Click to expand...


Thank you for your time & help .
 
Some other options for programs that I use are Spybot for the Adware and Spyware (with Ad-aware SE Personal - haven't had a problem yet...) And for my anti-virus, I use Anti-Vir it's a British company that allows use of their anti-virus on home computers for free, their retail version includes a firewall and some other stuff. One other recommendation would be to get a registry cleaner like EZCleaner (what I use) which will help to cut down on those left over and unwanted registry entries. Oh, and Spybot has a real-time registry protection feature called "Tea-Timer" that will prompt you for action on any changes to the registry - very handy, but the default's not set to install/activate, you have to choose that option on install yourself. Hope that I didn't confuse you more! :)
 
1. try using either stick alone and see which is the culprit. I'm sure you can use only one.
2. if the gpu is soldered on the board, you cant change it. Next option is to buy a barebone laptop or a new system all together.
3. you can use ccleaner by itself, but it's not a virus checker.
 
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