New laptop/tablet or update software?

[boredandrestless]

I have a laptop I bought 3 or 4 years ago and which I got a copyof Windows/explorer/office put onto.

My computer keeps crashing and is running very slowly most of the time. The shopper in me wants to go out and buy a new laptop/tablet but the budgeter in me says "wouldn't it be more economical to just update the software?".

I need advice as aside from turning a computer on to surf the internet/ type a letter/put photos on from camera I no nothing!

• Laptop is a Packard Bell.

tsk. Sorry about typos, am trying to keep an eye on DS whilst typing.

Well, a reinstall of the operating system should help some. If the Windows copy was a legit one, you shouldn't have to buy it, just reinstall it - back up all your data first as it will involve wiping the HD in the process.

However, a 4 year old laptop, especially if it wasn't particularly high-spec when bought, may well be ambling towards the end of its natural lifespan at this point. I'd reinstall the OS first, as it'll take you an hour or two at most if you have all the required disks and somewhere to back up to, and it doesn't cost anything. It ought to improve matters some, especially if it's never been reinstalled before in the time you've had it. You can then take some time to decide what you want to do, hopefully with the crashing problem resolved at least. Which version of Windows is it running? If it's 3 or 4 years old, I suspect Windows Vista. Vista was a pile of shite, so as a compromise between update and buy a new one, you could consider buying a copy of Windows 7, which is much better.

4 years is not that young for a laptop, though, so I certainly wouldn't consider a new one wasteful either, especially if you reinstall the OS anyway and find a good home for it with someone who doesn't need a powerful machine, like a child doing homework or an elderly person learning to use the internet.

Thank you so much for replying!

There is a little icon on the front of the laptop that says windows vista but my BIL (ex bil) installed the windows software for me as a copy at his house, I don't know if his was an original or not if you get what I mean. So I don't have the software disk, and this "somewhere to back up to" - I don't know what that means but I suspect not. This is the most advanced piece of technology in the house - no other pcs/laptops/consoles/hard drives.

How can I check which version of windows is installed on it?

Laptop was just a bog standard one bought from pc world as a package with laptop bag and printer. I don't know much at all TBH!

I will go see if I can find any software discs but I suspect ex-bil just used his own disc......

Given your laptop is 4 years old and the fact you have been lumbered with Vista, I'd recommend getting a new laptop.

Windows Vista was the biggest steaming pile of turd Microsoft wer released and not one of my IT friends/colleagues, myself included would touch it with a big fat shitty stick.

Do I have vista on it though? How can I check?

Will it already have been on the laptop hence it saying vista on it? If it's already on it when you buy then why do you need to buy software. Sorry if these are really silly questions!

To check which version of windows you're running, go into 'My computer' (if it is Vista, like I suspect, if I remember right go to start menu and click 'computer'). In the window that opens, right click somewhere in the white space and select 'properties'. That'll open a window with information about your computer, including which Windows version it's using. If you can't work out how to get there, there's usually also a screen displaying the logo of the Windows version it's running while the computer is starting up - watch it while it does it.

Computers are sold with or without Windows on it. Without it already on it, they're cheaper, but it means you have to buy it (or something equivalent) yourself. It's possible your laptop had Windows on it when you bought it, in fact, if it came from a PC World type store, it's quite likely. There is a difference between the operating system (Windows itself) and the programs you put on the computer (such as Office or Explorer). Without the operating system, the computer cannot run. Without the programs, the computer works but you cannot do specific tasks, like typing a letter. Think of Windows as the framework used to hang all the other stuff on. Is it possible that the laptop came with Windows, but your exBIL put all your other programs on it and set it up for you, rather than put Windows on it?

I am inclined to agree with Niceguy here after your later posts, a new laptop would probably be a good idea. The one you have is likely salvageable to the point where it will at least work, but it will need a full reinstall and I hope you don't mind but it doesn't sound like you'd be confident doing that :) - and even if someone did it for you, it'll still be 4 years old, which is old for a laptop. It doesn't sound like you need an extremely high spec laptop either, so you should be able to get one that's much nicer, shinier and faster than the one you have for a fairly reasonable amount of money.

Your questions are not silly, how would you know these things if you'd never asked and no one explained them!

Okay here's what I found following Naoko's instructions.....

Windows Vista Home Premium copyright 2007 at the year, it's older than I thought!
Processor: Intel (R) Pentium (R) Dual CPU T2330 @1.60 GHz
Memory (RAM) 1.00GB
System Type: 32 - bit operating system.

Thank you for your explanation of the difference between the operating system and the programs such as Office. This makes sense.

Thanks everyone for your patient advice.

I think I will look at a new cheap laptop or tablet! Any recommendations?

The copyright date is the year Microsoft registered their product, not the year you bought the laptop, so it's probably not actually 5 years old :)

Right, so it is actually Vista. Looking at the rest of the specification, that's quite a low powered laptop anyway, with only 1GB of Ram.

If I were you, I would treat myself to a nice new laptop. :) What sort of budget are you looking at? I'll see if I can find a decent deal.

Duh! Of course it's the copyright year - feel even dafter now!

I only really use it as I mentioned above for browsing internet, checking emails, putting photos on off the camera, and writing the odd letter (or bit of coursework if I'm on a course).

Do you think for these uses a tablet or a laptop would be better? I'm veering more towards tablet simply due to living in a tiny house, but if it won't be up to the job then I'll stick with a laptop.

I'm not sure on budget really - as I have no idea on what would be realistic! It would be the lower end of the scale though I suspect. I have some savings I could use but am not frivolous, as long as it does the job I'll be happy - it doesn't have to a super expensive state of the art model.

If you do educational courses, I would buy a laptop, not a tablet. Tablets are pretty and shiny and I'd quite like one but I see them as toys, not serious work tools. They are not suitable for writing and editing documents of any substantial length in my opinion. Also, for a good one you're looking at several hundred quid anyway, and for that kind of money you could buy a perfectly good laptop so you wouldn't save any cash.

I agree you don't need a state of the art model for what you want to do. Let me have a look, I'll report back :o

Yes, I'm not on a course right now but do usually do things here and there and I'm a fast typist despite my lack of technological knowledge so as much as a tablet is appealing, I do reckon a laptop would be more sensible.

Right, have had a quick look and found you some links:

This is pretty cheap and would do the job. However, the processor is a little underpowered. It also does not come with an Office license, so you'd have to pay out a bit extra on top for that, or start using OpenOffice instead, which looks very much like Microsoft Office, but is free.

This one is a bit more expensive and has a more powerful processor, as well as more RAM. As a result, it'll be faster. Again, no MS Office though.

If you would prefer a physical store, much as I personally dislike PC World, I quite like the look of this offer on their website. That has a decent processor and 4GB RAM, which will easily be sufficient for your needs, and a good size of hard drive for all your stuff. Again with the Office issue - it comes with Office Starter, which is limited-functionality Word and Excel, with advertising, and you can pay to upgrade it to a full Office copy. This is fairly standard so you'll probably run into that wherever you buy.

I hope that helps a little - I know that's only three links and there are many, many suitable laptops out there, but in your shoes I'd be looking at the kind of specifications you'll see on those links, so that might help you know what to look for. dabs.com (which I linked to above) and Ebuyer are two websites I've bought pc-related stuff from in the past and they delivered quickly and with good service. You could also look online at Dell, they tend to be quite cheap. For physical stores, just go to whichever of the big chains has the best offer on, the service is generally terrible wherever you go so you can't lose there :o I tend to find PC World and the like horribly overpriced though so it even if you spot something there you like, do look it up online to see if it's cheaper elsewhere.

This looks good for £300. I'm not sure how the AMD processor stacks up, but it will be a big improvement on what you have now.

Thanks for these links looks like there is plenty of choice out there!

I don't mind where I buy from, the only reason we went to pc world last time was that there is one around the corner and I needed to get it on credit and get one that weekend as I had some urgent paperwork I needed to get done. I won't be doing that this time around, will be paying cash so can go where the best offer is basically.

While you might prefer to avoid s/h as the guarantee will be limited, I just (today) bought a Samsung NC-10 Notebook in a Cashxxxxxxxx shop (CEX, CashGenerator, CashConverter, must be others around) for 95 quid.

OK, mine is running Windows XP (my preference) while there were three Compaq (aka HP) laptops running Windows 7, each at 200 quid. Using it right now.

Reasonable keyboard (I usually plug in a full size USB keyboard [so can move from one machine to another and not be finding keys in different places!], will have to dig one out of the shed [recently moved, still dozens of boxes unopened] one day soon).

I only mention the keyboard because I always advise clients to go and play with a laptop before purchase to be sure they are happy - personally as mentioned I don't generally bother with the supplied keyboard - means mine never get crumbs etc inside - because the keyboard is one of the "must be OK" features that would otherwise make life hell if you have to do a lot of WP, e-mail, spreadsheet work, or data entry... most other things can be worked around, and if you don't mind a separate keyboard, then that might be an option, but in my view, if you will be using the supplied keyboard, best be sure you like the feel and noise from it (clicks etc, as can be heard on Radio FiveLive!)...