Need some computer help

[Billy.]

Thats good that it came with XP instead of Vista. All you gotta do is turn it on and open the boot menu. I think it was F12 or Delete when you see the prompt (like 2-5 seconds after hitting power). You should get a short list of options like boot from Hard Disk, CD/DVD-ROM, USB Drive, etc. Before selecting CD/DVD-ROM you should open the tray and put in the XP disk, then close the tray, then select the option to boot from the disk drive. It should go through a process where it caches some of the install files. It should start walking you through the install process. At some point it will ask you on which drive you want to install XP. You'll tell it the primary hard drive, which should be lettered "C:". It may also ask you if you want to format it, which yes you do. If it asks you what file system, you want NTFS. It might skip that question though, I don't remember. After it formats the drive it will begin the install of XP. It takes about 1/2 hour but don't walk away because you have to answer a couple questions before it will continue and finish.

Once XP is done installing itself the PC will reboot. Remove the XP disk from the tray. Now pop in the DELL INSPIRON 1525 drivers disk. It should automatically launch the setup. If not, open your "D:" disk drive through My Computer and launch the setup.exe file. This should walk you through installing the hardware drivers.

Next, verify that you have Automatic Updates turned on from the Control Panel (you'll need to be connected to the internet). Tell it to search for updates. Depending on how late that XP disk was, you may need to wait while it downloads Service Pack 3 and all the critical updates. The PC may shut down and boot up several times. Just let it go for a while...

When Automatic Updates have finished you need to install an anti-virus software. If you've already purchased one thats cool. Otherwise I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (from microsoft.com) for a couple reasons. Its free. It is not a memory hog like some other products. It is friendly with all microsoft security updates. It is user friendly. Did I mention it's free? After installing MSE it should update itself. It may prompt you to do a virus scan, which isn't necessary at this moment since you've literally just installed your OS, but won't hurt to let it scan before you power off for the night.

Download and install any other programs that you need.. adobe flash player, java, adobe reader, and an updated web browser are all things you'll want/need.

You may also have an Office Suite disk (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.). You should install that now.

 

[toneekay]

I strongly recommend upgrading to Windows 7, if you have it available (or can find one).

 

[Billy.]

I strongly don't recommend upgrading unless you throw in some extra ram too!

*edit*
on second thought. It won't be bad of an idea. Most pc's will be using 7 in the next year or two so it's logical for the OP to get adjusted to it now. it's way more secure than XP and has much better networking functionality

 

[toneekay]

It's a hell of a lot better than Vista too!

 

[lotz6996]

Whether or not she wants to update hers is up to her. But I will probably update mine this summer. Mine is an hp pavilion d9000 model. What would you recommend for the ram for that before I update to windows 7

 

[toneekay]

Hmm... I'm sure that older model runs SO-DIMM DDR2 memory, however you need to find out what speeds the motherboard is capable of running (whether 533, 667, or 800mhz)

 

[Billy.]

We still need the service tag to know exactly what is inside your laptop. You can find it on the bottom of the case on the sticker, or when you open the BIOS menu after powering on it should list the service tag number. The number you gave is not the service tag, although it did help narrow it down to an inspiron 1525.

From what I've gathered, the motherboard will take 667mhz or 800mhz ddr2 up to 2gb per dimm on 2 dimms. So a max of 4GB 800MHz DDR2, aka PC2-6400. I believe your laptop has 1GB of 800MHz memory. You can either add another stick of the same, or replace it with 2 larger sticks...

I suggest picking up these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148159


Instructions for installing memory:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1525/en/SM/memory.htm#wp1180987

 

[lotz6996]

The number I gave you was the service tag. I'm at work now but I will check again when I get home in the morning.

 

[Billy.]

Sorry, you're right. It didn't take it the first time for some reason so I thought it was the wrong number.

That laptop should have 2 sticks of 1GB 667MHz memory. You can leave it as is, or upgrade it with the previous link I gave you. The processor has a 800MHz bus, so I would recommend getting memory with the same speed.

 

[lotz6996]

and what memory sticks for an hp dv9910us. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01471022. or what speed. i believe that it currently has either 3gb or 4