I've had far fewer problems with WinXP (any version) than with any previous MS operating system.
Unless Media Center Edition does something overtly evil to your computer (like copy-protecting all of your media files or something), then I'd definitely get that. With the Vista upgrade, you can't go wrong there (just as long as the PC you get isn't too low-end to run Vista respectfully).
Also, what do you have now? I assume it's pretty old, if you don't have XP. If you wanna hold off on the purchase, extra memory can dramatically improve an old system.
Some people swear by eMachines, but I think they're shady, based on the fact that all three eMachine owners I've known have had hardware failures. Dell all the way.
Well, the system I have now is from eMachines, and it's running under Windows ME. The big problem I'm having right now is that it just seems to hang while it's doing... something in the background, and there are way too many items on the Task Manager list to distinguish which might be the culprit. The final straw came when I tried to defragment/error check my hard drive, and it couldn't get more than about 10% through the process. "Drive contents changed; Restarting." It seems to be constantly writing something to the HDD, but I can't determine why or how to make it stop.
Also, the new computers I'm contemplating will be short about half a Meg of memory to handle the Premium Vistas. I'll have to check on the DIMM I installed in my current PC to see if it's the right kind, and then set to copying all my save-worthy stuff onto CDs.
Hrm. Task Manager should tell you what percentage of the CPU everything is using. If there are no CPU or memory hogs, then I would suspect evil forces, like viruses, malware, or gremlins. You could always try defragmenting in Safe Mode, too.
I would check task manager for CPU/memory usage and any suspicious processes, Start->Run msconfig and make sure there's nothing automatically starting at boot time that you don't want starting, run Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D, some up-to-date virus scanner, then download PerfectDisk (30-day trial I think) and let it loose on the HD.
And then, thus triumphant, buy a new system anyway.
Hmm. I evidently have some compulsion to diagnose computers. Who knew?
Yeah, I can look into it a little further. I was thinking about running the bundled software recovery disk (again) to bring the thing back to square 1, once I'd evacuated all my valuables. Plus, I didn't remember how to get to Safe Mode in ME, and since Adelphia is in its chrysalis stage as it morphs into Comcast, I don't have internet at home. I just checked online here, though, so I know I need to hit F8 during bootup (I knew it was one of those).
I'll probably just do what I can to band-aid and duct tape over the problems with this one for a while, and wait until next year to buy the new compy. With Christmas spending, I want to try to cut back on the personal spending a bit.
Ummm..............i would if i knew anything about computers. however i sympathize with the computer blues....... the screen would randomly turn a bright yellow that made my eyes hurt
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Unless Media Center Edition does something overtly evil to your computer (like copy-protecting all of your media files or something), then I'd definitely get that. With the Vista upgrade, you can't go wrong there (just as long as the PC you get isn't too low-end to run Vista respectfully).
Also, what do you have now? I assume it's pretty old, if you don't have XP. If you wanna hold off on the purchase, extra memory can dramatically improve an old system.
Some people swear by eMachines, but I think they're shady, based on the fact that all three eMachine owners I've known have had hardware failures. Dell all the way.
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Also, the new computers I'm contemplating will be short about half a Meg of memory to handle the Premium Vistas. I'll have to check on the DIMM I installed in my current PC to see if it's the right kind, and then set to copying all my save-worthy stuff onto CDs.
Reply
I would check task manager for CPU/memory usage and any suspicious processes, Start->Run msconfig and make sure there's nothing automatically starting at boot time that you don't want starting, run Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D, some up-to-date virus scanner, then download PerfectDisk (30-day trial I think) and let it loose on the HD.
And then, thus triumphant, buy a new system anyway.
Hmm.
I evidently have some compulsion to diagnose computers. Who knew?
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I'll probably just do what I can to band-aid and duct tape over the problems with this one for a while, and wait until next year to buy the new compy. With Christmas spending, I want to try to cut back on the personal spending a bit.
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