Hi,  I have searched the forum for similar messages and found a thread wherein Mac 
responded to Jessica W. about something similar, but I have a further question....

I am currently running a Dell Dimension 4100 desktop (5 yrs old this month) with 
Win ME (OEM version 4.90.300, FAT files), 256 mb RAM, Pentium 3 and I  would like 
to upgrade to Win Xp Home version.

My questions are:  a)  will 256 mb ram be enough to make XP work relatively faster 
than ME on the same system?  Would it even be worthwhile to do the o/s upgrade before 
any ram upgrade?  if not, where do I get more ram..and are they easy to install?

b)  How would I completely reformat the harddrive so that XP would go on a fresh 
system?  I would burn all my programs to a cd so I could save them...but I am not 
sure how to go about reformatting the harddrive properly to prepare.  I am not too 
familiar with partitioning and all that...I was more computer literate when I was 
younger..but I would definitely appreciate any help anyone could take the time to 
give.

thanks!!   

alyssa

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

a. 256mb will run XP but you will have better performance with 512mb or more. Memory 
is very easy to install just insert it in slot next to memory already there and thats 
all there is to it. Doesn't matter if you do it before or after installing XP, but 
may as well do it before. Note make sure you buy the right type by consulting your 
computer manual. In fact just take manual to a local computer store and they will 
make sure you get right type

b. You will need a bootdisk/startup disk to start. You can get 1 at www.bootdisk.com 
or make your own with instructions in link posted. After you get a bootdisk follow 
instructions at this link under heading lets begin... Once formatted you can install 
XP
http://www.burzurq.com/forum/format_reinstall.html

Good Luck..Post back if you have questions


Sgt
Back it up Soldier

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Note XP will likely recognise most if not all hardware you have. However still good 
idea to note what hardware you have like sound card, video card, modem etc through 
control panel>system devices in case you need to download XP drivers for that hardware. 



Sgt
Back it up Soldier

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hey thanks for your response, Sgt!   

question - is there a limit to how much ram my computer can hold?  like if I wanted 
to go from 256 mb to 712 - could i just buy (2) 256mb cards and put them in - or 
doesn't it work like that?

also - from the link you posted (thanks for that!)  will it be okay if I only have 
the OEM WinME disc - but not an actual full, entire version.  It came with the computer 
from Dell and it is dark blue and says Windows ME reinstallation disk.

thanks again for replying!  This place rocks!

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hi Alyssa,
Here are two links that you might want to study before you decide to upgrade your operating system:

Windows XP Upgrade Advisor
Dell Upgrades

Regards,
Ron

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Yes there is limit to how much RAM your computer can take. A PIII is likely expandable 
to 1 gig or more. Your computer manual will tell you exactly what the limit is. You 
would also be better off buying a 512 mb stick especially if there is only slot available. 
The WinMe disk doesn't matter in this case. 



Sgt
Back it up Soldier

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

A quick check on the DELL web site shows that a DELL Dimension 4100 only supports 64MB, 128MB and 256MB PC133 memory modules and the maximum memory is 512MB. Pictures only show two memory sockets. (512MB seems to be a limit of the Intel 815E chip set used.)

You need to open the cover and see how many memory modules you have plugged in. One or Two. If two already (two 128MB modules, then you will have to remove one to replace it with a 256MB module. Expensive way to only gain 128MB of memory. If only one, then you can add a second 256MB PC133 module to get to the maximum of 512MB.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I checked the Dell site too but I just couldnt believe that 512 mb was the limit!! 
 ACK!  What was I thinking when I bought this thing!!


Thanks for all your replies....I guess I will have to get used to being slow...

Alyssa

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

XP works pretty good with 512 Mb Ram.To get some more Info on how to install XP have 
a look at this Site.   :)  W.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

When you have been running a system that long, there are things that you can do to recover some of its performance. While adding memory might help a little, Windows ME runs quite well with just 128MB of memory and very well with 256MB. So memory is not your problem on that system (unless you switch to XP).

Sometimes you can buy a faster processor, but they may be hard to find now and a bit expensive. Then there is the question of does the system board support a faster P-III. You might buy a faster disk drive, but to make sure it works with a system that old you need to find one under 60GB, and it might NOT buy you much speed.

If still using a dialup, new updated device drivers for the modem or even a new decent cheap modem might make a difference.

The one thing you can do is give the software a good cleaning out of junk log files and old programs. And cleaning out Internet Explorer's old work files will do wonders for it. Something as simple as running, ScanDisk, Disk CleanUp and Defrag in system tools can also help.

As a guide, take your time and work through page

The tool DELINDEX.BAT can clean out files that slow IE down, and get rid of all those old cookies that clog up the system.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

EMERGENCY BOOT DISK FREEWARE

You get good performance with 512Mb and if there is a problem you can put in a fixed 
paging file.

I misread it the first time and looked at the 4600 on the Crucial (RAM) site ... 
arrg!

System Information for the
Dell Dimension 4600
System Type: Desktop Computer
Maximum memory: 4096MB
Standard memory: 128, 256, or 512MB removable
Slots/banks: 4 (2 banks of 2)

So if you have one slot with 256Mb just add another 256Mb and all will be well.

I paid about $50 for a 256Mb module.
Mac

WINDOWS SUPPORT  RAM

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

EMERGENCY BOOT DISK FREEWARE

I use a PIII 1000MHz (1·0GHz) with 512Mb of PC133 SDRAM no problem.

My MSI Motherboard can use 3 x 512Mb modules, but I don't play games so I don't really 
need that much. If you want to use programs like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro then 
you might have a few problems, but I find that these can often be resolved by using 
a large fixed paging file as long as you have drive space.
Mac

WINDOWS SUPPORT  RAM

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Thanks Jack, I will check it out.  I usually clean up, clean out and get rid of excess 
baggage on the system and have been on dsl for a few years. It has just gotten slower 
and slower and slower over the past few years.  I'll check out your link and try 
some new stuff before actually upgrading the ram.

I might just upgrade ram and forgeo the upgrade to XP....for now.

Thanks for your help!

Alyssa

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

WOW!!  I went through about 85% of the stuff on your Win ME fixes page, Jack and 
the machine has shown marked improvement from just that.  I skipped over the hardware 
diagnostics because I am (well.....lazy). 

I am still going to spend the $60 on a new memory stick though......more is never 
enough  :)

Your help is greatly appreciated!! 

Alyssa

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Good. Sounds like you had a lot of junk files slowing down your system. They build up fast with DSL connections.

When you have done all of the cleanup you can stand. Run the DELINDEX.BAT clean up again, then do the Disable/Enable of System Restore in normal mode to clear out its files one last time, and then boot into Safe Mode and run ScanDisk (normal mode) and then DEFRAG.

Another trick not covered in the Fixes page, is boot with a startup diskette and locate the Win386.SWP file. Rename it to Win386.sav and then boot into Safe Mode and run DEFRAG. When that is done, boot with the diskette again and delete the new WIN386.SWP and then rename the old win386.sav back to Win386.SWP. This allows the windows swap file to be defragged some which helps on smaller memory systems. Of course "MAC" will jump in and provided you with links to defrag programs that will do a better job of this for you.

Humm... DSL. Have you ever been to DSLreports.com and ran their Tweaks test. Then used their DrTCP program to adjust the TCP/IP setting for RWIN to the larger recommended setting for your connection setup. Results in better DSL download speeds, as the Windows ME default value for RWIN is set too low.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Jack,   I did all the clean up I could stand then I booted from a disk and did the 
delindex.bat.  That freed up 700 mB of space.  Then I ran scandisk and defragged. 
 The only thing I am not sure how to do now is to rename a file when I boot up with 
a disk into minimal boot and rename it from there.


The system is much, much faster now, thanks so much!!

alyssa






On Tuesday, February 15, 2005 at 10:14 pm, Jack Gulley wrote:

>
Good. Sounds like you had a lot of junk files slowing down your system. They 
build 

>up fast with DSL connections.

>
When you have done all of the cleanup you can stand. Run the DELINDEX.BAT clean 

>up again, then do the Disable/Enable of System Restore in normal mode to clear out 

>its files one last time, and then boot into Safe Mode and run ScanDisk (normal mode) 

>and then DEFRAG.

>
Another trick not covered in the Fixes page, is boot with a startup diskette 
and 

>locate the Win386.SWP file. Rename it to Win386.sav and then boot into Safe Mode 

>and run DEFRAG. When that is done, boot with the diskette again and delete the new 

>WIN386.SWP and then rename the old win386.sav back to Win386.SWP. This allows the 

>windows swap file to be defragged some which helps on smaller memory systems. Of 

>course "MAC" will jump in and provided you with links to defrag programs that will 

>do a better job of this for you.

>
Humm...  DSL. Have you ever been to DSLreports.com 

> and ran their Tweaks test. Then used their DrTCP program to adjust the TCP/IP 

>setting for RWIN to the larger recommended setting for your connection setup. Results 

>in better DSL download speeds, as the Windows ME default value for RWIN is set too 

>low. 

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