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    Just installed Windows 7 on a old machine....

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by xxbadboys93, Apr 8, 2011.

  1. xxbadboys93

    xxbadboys93 Notebook Deity

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    I thought Windows 7 was like windows xp managing my ram because Windows 7 uses more ram than xp with everything disabled. (aero)

    So i can i make windows 7 use less ram.

    System
    INtel pentium 4 2.65 ghz
    512mb of ram
    Ati 2400 pro
     
    xxbadboys93, Apr 8, 2011
    #1
  2. Gracy123

    Gracy123 Agrees to disagree

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    So.....?

    What's the conclusion/question/problem/result?

    Or did you just want to inform us you did it? :D
     
    Gracy123, Apr 8, 2011
    #2
  3. Rykoshet

    Rykoshet Notebook Deity

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    Uninstall it?

    Some machines are better off running XP. You might be able to get Win7 to run fine, but you won't have any resources left over for programs...
     
    Rykoshet, Apr 8, 2011
    #2
  4. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    Windows 7 + 512MB of RAM = Massive Pagefile.

    And on older hardware, excessive pagefile usage will make you want to rip your hair out. True story.

    There's a reason it says 1GB of RAM minimum on the Win7 box.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Apr 8, 2011
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  5. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    define 'bloated' please........
     
    newsposter, Apr 8, 2011
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  6. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    3 Service Packs and an untold number of thousands upon thousands of security fixes... There were 1,174 in SP3 alone. That's ridiculous.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Apr 9, 2011
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  7. hakira

    hakira <3 xkcd

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    If your comp is that old and you really can't afford another one (win7 capable laptops are less than $400 now), stick Ubuntu on the old machine. It'll look sleeker than XP, is more secure, it's faster than anything else you'll find that will even install on that comp and it's as easy to use as a mac for daily usage. You won't be doing mainstream gaming on that rig anyways so there goes a huge reason to prefer windows.
     
    hakira, Apr 9, 2011
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  8. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    You haven't defined anything.
     
    newsposter, Apr 9, 2011
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  9. H.A.L. 9000

    H.A.L. 9000 Occam's Chainsaw

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    Obviously my definition and yours differ. :rolleyes:

    But yes. That is my definition of bloated.
     
    H.A.L. 9000, Apr 9, 2011
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  10. booboo12

    booboo12 Notebook Prophet

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    I will say that on 1 GB of RAM, Windows 7 runs impressively well. My family's desktop (XPS 400) came out in the XP to Vista transition era and as such came with 1GB of RAM and XP MCE 05...anyway..Windows 7 Pro runs great, even with multiple users logged on simultaneously, and the thing boots fast too. I'm impressed considering the fact that I worked on a friend's Vista Home Premium laptop with 1 GB of RAM and a Celeron and it was like pulling teeth responsiveness wise.
     
    booboo12, Apr 10, 2011
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  11. metril

    metril Notebook Deity

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    On every low end hardware, for example a 1 GHz Celeron with 512 MB RAM and an Xpert 128 MB video card, I found Windows 7 much much smoother and faster than XP. You need to make sure that Aero is disabled and you need to make sure that Windows 7 is set for best performance under the Advanced System Settings menu.

    Thread scheduling, memory management, error handling, etc. are much better in Windows 7 than in XP.

    If you want something faster, install Linux and configure it from the ground up for exactly what you want to use your old hardware for.
     
    metril, Apr 10, 2011
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  12. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    I was able to install Windows 7 Starter on my father's 7 year old Dell Inspiron 510m with 1.5GHz Pentium M and 768MB RAM at the time. It worked a treat and actually felt nippy compared to XP SP3 on the system. My father only use it to browse the news online, he doesn't do other stuff on it so Starter was perfect for him.
     
    PatchySan, Apr 10, 2011
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  13. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Notebook Virtuoso

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    I wouldn't bother putting Win7 on a computer with less than 2GB of RAM. I've had it on my old toshiba satellite and it just made more sense to put XP back on.
     
    Hungry Man, Apr 10, 2011
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  14. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    Either your machine doesn't have the specs to run Windows 7 (specifically, not enough RAM) or Windows 7 is too "bloated" to run on that computer. You must either install more RAM or install a different OS.
     
    Bog, Apr 11, 2011
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  15. FredFlint_

    FredFlint_ Notebook Consultant

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    Use a flash drive for ReadyBoost, it helps the most when there is a low amount of RAM.
     
    FredFlint_, Apr 11, 2011
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