External hard drive query

Kashkai

My 7 year old DELL Dimension 8300 pc is getting very slow and keeps freezing. I have Kapersky internet security on it which is showing no infection so I believe the pc's problems are down to the hard drive only having 8GB of free space left. If I install an external hard drive and transfer data over to it, will this help the pc operate better? What hard drive would you recommend and where to buy?

tman

The fact that it's a 7 year old PC would have a hell of a lot more to do with it...
Moving some stuff to an external drive might help a little, but to be honest I'd be looking more towards backing everything up and doing a fresh install of Windows.

Try running something like CC cleaner to remove any unnecessary files and registry entries first off

stephendevlin

Reinstalling a fresh copy of windows will speed it up a bit

Kashkai

I run cc cleaner on a regular basis so its not old files clogging it up.

I'd have no idea how to do a fresh install of windows as I'm fairly computer illiterate I'm afraid.

And I can't afford a new pc so that option is out.

bette

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I run cc cleaner on a regular basis so its not old files clogging it up.

I'd have no idea how to do a fresh install of windows as I'm fairly computer illiterate I'm afraid.

And I can't afford a new pc so that option is out.

Store you files on an external disc and that should free up a lot of space. You can also do a disk cleanup, removing *.tmp files etc with CC Cleaner.

To do a fresh install you will need an install disk. You will find a small Microsoft sticker underneath the laptop. I believe that Dell put that sticker inside the panel for the battery.

This will show which operating you are running. Could be XP Home, XP Professional, Vista Home etc. You will need the disk corresponding to your OS.

Anyone here should be able to lend you a copy. Your sticker will show the installation (registration) number which you need to enter when installing and which is legal so don't worry about the disk copy.

Voodu Child

If you're talkin about buying drives or doing clean installs, it'd make much more sense to buy a new internal drive and do a clean install of Windows onto it.

You won't have to worry about space because modern drives are miles bigger than whatever you have from 7 years ago. They're miles faster too.

bette

Voodu Child wrote: »

If you're talkin about buying drives or doing clean installs, it'd make much more sense to buy a new internal drive and do a clean install of Windows onto it.

You won't have to worry about space because modern drives are miles bigger than whatever you have from 7 years ago. They're miles faster too.

Will his seven year old drive be SATA or IDE? It is recommended to have a backup of your work on a separate drive.

johnayo

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

My 7 year old DELL Dimension 8300 pc is getting very slow and keeps freezing. I have Kapersky internet security on it which is showing no infection so I believe the pc's problems are down to the hard drive only having 8GB of free space left. If I install an external hard drive and transfer data over to it, will this help the pc operate better? What hard drive would you recommend and where to buy?

Check if you have dell pc restore by symantec on your computer.
I have a dell dimension thats 5 years old and had to reinstall recently for similar reasons. Now its nice and quick again.
The way it works for me was: 1.switsh off computer. 2.Switch on again and when the dell logo appears on the screen press and hold the F11 button and the Ctrl button. You will then get a dialogue box with the option to do a full restore.

Voodu Child

bette wrote: »

Will his seven year old drive be SATA or IDE? It is recommended to have a backup of your work on a separate drive.

I'd just open it up and have a look, see what's there and what is occupied.

According to the Dell specs there's two SATA-150 ports but I don't know if the Dimension 8300 is just a generic name that could have had various components.

bette

Voodu Child wrote: »

I'd just open it up and have a look, see what's there and what is occupied.

According to the Dell specs there's two SATA-150 ports but I don't know if the Dimension 8300 is just a generic name that could have had various components.

Good man! I was thinking it was a laptop. Now that it's a tower the OP could simply get a SATA disk and transfer his/her stuff to that. Then the fresh install and a nice new speedy system.

OP, any problems, don't hesitate to ask!

Kashkai

Thanks guys. Will look to see if I still have the original windows XP home disk someplace.