Computer Annoyance

[Bullhorn7]

I bought this laptop off ebay a couple years back and it just collected dust until i started actually building it..

It had a bunch of shit wrong with it like a bad battery and a busted screen but the majority of it was still in good condition. However ancient it might be.

Specs stock:
Dell Latitude C840
Windows XP Service Pack 1
RAM:256mb
ROM:20Gig
Pentium 4 1.6GHz Processor

Upgraded so far:
Windows XP Service pack 3
RAM:1gig(but only recognizes 512)
Pentium 4 mobile 2.4GHz Processor

My problem is it runs so SLOWWWWWWW still after upgrading and only recognizes half of its installed RAM.. It acts like its underpowered and scrolling is slow and jerky... It SHOULD be alotttt faster then it is and idk what to do with it anymore im out of ideas..

It has nothing on it at all just like its from the factory. Any ideas?

[Extacee]

Dude you have a pentium 4 proscessor for one. Two your computer can only handle 512 since it only recognizes 512. Hmm Check the how much ram your computer can actually handle. To me personally pentium 4 proscessors are okay but not as good as the core 2.

That is funny though you'd expect it to run at pretty fast if it is on its factory settings!

[Bullhorn7]

Dude you have a pentium 4 proscessor for one. Two your computer can only handle 512 since it only recognizes 512. Hmm Check the how much ram your computer can actually handle. To me personally pentium 4 proscessors are okay but not as good as the core 2.

That is funny though you'd expect it to run at pretty fast if it is on its factory settings!

I think the OS I chose has something to do with it. When I got it the OS was corrupted so I got a copy of Windows and slapped it on there.. Its never ran at a even reasonable speed since.

[wed3k]

video driver updated?

i have a slow scrolling issue when my vid driver isnt updated

[Extacee]

wait a minute is it 16 bit or 32 bit OS? i am not sure XP offered 64 bit.

[Bullhorn7]

video driver updated?

i have a slow scrolling issue when my vid driver isnt updated

Hmmm... Lemme look into it

wait a minute is it 16 bit or 32 bit OS? i am not sure XP offered 64 bit.

32 bit

[wed3k]

wait a minute is it 16 bit or 32 bit OS? i am not sure XP offered 64 bit.

wow. you should just stop helping.

[Bullhorn7]

video driver updated?

i have a slow scrolling issue when my vid driver isnt updated

Dude.. I love you. Updated drivers IT WORKED the computer is 10X FASTER! I never would have guessed it was the video drivers! lol Thanks soooo muich

[mj213]

First off, you need to install these in this order:

Notebook System Software
Intel Chipset driver
Video driver

Then after that, you can install these in any order:

Network interface controller driver
audio driver
wireless driver - if it has one integrated.

The drivers not being installed is the reason everything is running crappy and jerky.

The next thing you need to do is upgrade the ram. Good luck finding first gen ddr for it. It will hold 1gb of ram (512 per slot) max. This should get you going. Just don't load up the hard drive as you'll need a gig or so for your paging file.

[wed3k]

there's actually a really good program that scans all your drivers and updates them with actual oem drivers and not aftermarket third party.

uniblue driverscanner. you can get for free if you look in the right places

[choogee3]

wow. you should just stop helping.

Windows 3.1 ftmfw

[Accrdwgnguy]

SP2 man what you waiting for?

Also check your bois, this comp is older and you many have to manually enable to comp to recognize the new ram. Or one of the sticks is dead

[Masamune]

He's already had his question answered, video drivers to the rescue!

Your computer is incapable of recognizing more than 512MB of RAM. Chalk it up to old age

[Extacee]

wow. you should just stop helping.

Wow man relax, I was only wondering ass.

[mj213]

Wow man relax, I was only wondering ass.

You asked if he had 16-bit XP. That doesn't exist.

Don't offer help if you don't know what you're talking about, that's his point.