Hardware from 2 old PCs to another PC?

JME

Hello all,

I have a query about three old computers and whether it is at all possible to use any of the hardware from two of them to improve the third. I appreciate that the answer may simply be "just go and buy a new computer" (!!) but any advice would be great. I've included the details below:

The 3 computers are
1)Dell Dimension 1100 (model DE051)
- x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 1 GenuineIntel ~2794 Mhz
- 521MB RAM
- disk drive space 71.4GB

2) Fujitsu Siemens Scenic Edition X102 (I think this is probably the best of the three)
- Intel Pentium R 4 CPI 2.93GHZ
- 992 MB of RAM
- disk drive space 37.2 GB

3)Dell XPS 233 (about 10 years old)
-Genuine Intel Pentium(r) II Processor
- 64MB RAM
-2 Hard drive 4GB and 1.5 GB

I have been using the first Dell computer regularly since about 2006 (for general browsing, MS Word etc.) and it is now quite slow. I also have 2GB of virtual memerory that is almost all used up.

My question is basically can I take anything (such as RAM) from two of the computers to improve the third before getting rid of the other two? And if so could I do it or should I bring it somewhere to get it done? Or is it time to just scrap the whole lot?!!

Many thanks,


JME

ricman

You could take the 80gig drive put it in the p4 pc as drive e slave mode.The ram from the old pcs wont fit the p4.Go to crucial.com do memory scan, it,ll tell you what memory to buy eg ddr2 1200 . write it all down, go to maplins buy another 2 gig ram.
MOVE the drive jumper to sl slave .
if theres only 2 slots you may have to remove the old p4 ram.
download CC CLEANER PROGRAM,INSTALL run it.
Virtual memory = space use by the windows os on the hardrive , your hardrive is nearly full .Windows needs at least 4gig free hd space to run fast in my opinion ,thatll pc last another 4 years if you get more memory installed.
I, USE a p4 1.5ghz and i find it fast for webrowsing, mp3s etc get it here http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
You could put the p2 pcs on adverts.ie free stuff and give em away ,they are of no financial value .
SEE PEATS maplins 1000 gig drive hd is about 90 euro.IF buying one make sure its
ide standard, NOT sata drive.Your pc is unlikely to have a sata interface ,just ide ,
ccleaner will delete all old temp files ,you should have at least 2gig free on the drive.
to buy 1gig ram plus new hd would cost around 160euro, you could buy a brand new pc
for 400 approx and just plug in to the monitor,keyboard,mouse you have now.http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/minicat/new/upsell/inspiron-570-D005704-deals?c=ie&cs=iedhs = 379 includes vat and delivery.
so i think if you have 400 it would be better to buy a new pc.
do you think you could fit a hd and ram without damaging the old pc.

JME

Thanks for that but by ''P4' which computer do you mean? I was hoping to transfer memory (and perhaps more) from two of the pc's into one of three.

And which of the three is the best to use? I think it might be the Fujitsu Siemens and in that case there would not be any point in tackling the lack of virtual memory in the Dell pc.

Any thoughts?

ricman

The only thing you can do is take the hd 79gig from the p2 old pc and put it in the pentium4 pc 2.93ghz scenic dell pc p4 pc.
500 GIG HD = 60 EURO so its hardly worth doing this ,better to buy a 1000gig or 500gih hardrive new in pcworld,maplins.or peats.MAKE sure its ide ,NOT sata hd drive.

I,D be happy to use a fijitsu Siemens p4 2.93cpu for web browsing ,mp3 music etc will run much faster with another 1gig ram, and a 500gig drive.
your pc has cpu twice as fast as mine, the drive is nearly full which makes it run slow.
you can look at the label on the chips ,if both are ddr2 you might be able to put the 500 meg ram in the siemens p4 pc.IF the 2 ram chips are exactly the same size .
i think they are both ddr 1 184pin chips,pc3200 ram ,so you could transfer the 500meg ram into the siemens 2.93 cpu pc.
you d get around 100 on adverts.ie for the dell p4 1100 if you left in the ram 500 meg in it.
IE sell it and buy new ram ddr1 3200 1gig.
google ram for siemens scenic p4 .
it would be easier to sell the dell p4 ,ie leave the hd and ram in it .Get 100euro.
500gig hd ide costs about 65euro.
the xps233 is worth nothing ,give it away.the siemens pc is faster cos it has 900meg ram,
if the chips are identical, you could put the 900meg ram in the dell 1100,
ie there almost no difference between the dell cpu,and the siemens,
eg 2.90 versus 2.70 ghz.
then the dell1100 would have 1.4ghz ram .

Farcear

Hi JME,

First, I am assuming you are running Windows XP on all three machines, as Vista and Seven really do want about 2,000MB of RAM. You also haven't said what you are actually doing with these systems. If they are just for web browsing and Word, then you won't need to get a new system.

PC #2 is the one you will want to keep but nothing from the other two will improve its performance much. The only component that you would want to add is the big hard drive from PC #1 and that is more just to give yourself some more storage capacity for movies and such.

The single best way to improve performance is just to do a complete refresh of the operating system and re-install windows. It'll get rid of all the junk that you have accumulated over the years. It sounds very strange that you have 1 gig (fast) physical memory, have allocated 2 gigs for (slow) virtual memory all of it is being used up, especially if you are on XP. If you are on Vista, you really should have had 2 gigs of RAM.

PC #3 is worthless. There's nothing of any value that you can salvage from it. I suggest securely erasing the hard drives and donating it to some local group that would appreciate a computer for basic word processing and such.

ricman wrote: »

Windows needs at least 4gig free hd space to run fast in my opinion

Assuming the OP is running Windows XP, he doesn't need that amount of free space by a long way.

JME

Thanks for that ricman and Farcear.
Just to try to clear up the confusion, I am using windows XP and don't intend messing around with that as I am just using the computer for browsing etc. Also the lack of virtual memory is on the Dell computer with 521MB RAM.

I will probably use the hardrive from the Dell PC as extra storage for the Fugitsu Siemens as ye said. I've heard you can buy a sort of holder to use an internal harddrive as an external one with a USB link. Any info?

I will also take a look at the slots and see if I can fit the 500 RAM from the Dell PC in the Fuijitsu as well. Is there any other tips/sites with info as regards transferring RAM that I should be aware of?

ricman

SEE HERE http://www.ehow.com/how_5019430_add-memory-dell-dimension.html
YOU CAN GO to maplins buy a usb to ide unit around 25 euro.
INSTALLING RAM, 1st knock off power to both pcs, remove power plig from rear of pc,switch off power from esb socket.
Touch water tap metal with your hands ,to earth yourself.MAYBE wear gloves to prevent static damage to pc ,or memory ram simms.
wHEN you switch off a pc theres still power going thru it, so switch off socket,unplug pc power plugs.
i think its better take 900meg from the scenic and install it in the dell pc.
as the dell has the 80gig hd.
both ram chips are 184pin ddr 1 3200 from searchs i did on google.
PUT the ram chip in gently then lock it in to the slots ,finally press down gently ,do not force it.hold ram chip from the ends like a cd disc.
SO USE THE DELL 1100 as your main pc, take the ram from the scenic pc, it,ll save on swapping round the 90gig hardrive .
the dell cpu and scenic are basically the same speed.
see if theres a speed rating on the ram chip label be4 you start.

JME

I see you point about going with the Dell cos of the difference in harddrive size but the Siemens does have a slightly faster processor. Do you think that its so slight that it wouldnt make any difference? I was going to go with the Siemens also as the Dell has been used an awful lot more over the past few years.

ricman

JME wrote: »

I see you point about going with the Dell cos of the difference in harddrive size but the Siemens does have a slightly faster processor. Do you think that its so slight that it wouldnt make any difference? I was going to go with the Siemens also as the Dell has been used an awful lot more over the past few years.

you would not notice the difference in cpu speed, if you get the 900meg ram installed ok,the dell would be fine.its like a car going 90mph, versus 92 ,its easier just using the dell pc.the dell will have 1.4gig ram in it.
the cpu speed difference is slight, i presume the dell is working ok.
my friend is using a p4 1.5ghz cpu winxp for 9 years ,it works fine as good as new, used 4 hours per day.
if you are not an expert its hard to transfer a hd from pc1 to pc2 .
in my experience pcs dont wear out, apart from the hardrives.
the cpu speed difference is tiny.

ricman

see here http://www.webtechgeek.com/How-to-Install-Memory.htm