[sweegie]

Hello,
I need help upgrading my system. I know nothing about computers so I really need to know what I am doing. I know that I am running Windows 95 with 1 GB of hard drive space, a 200 MHz processor, and 32 mb of memory. When I first got this computer about 12 years ago it cost me 2,000 dollars. Am I going to have to pay that much for a new system (if I need it)? Plus is there any way I can get this Windows Vista I've heard so much about?

Thanks

[ozrom1e]

Hello, Congrats on the computer with Windows 95 this is a real neat computer, but apparently you will need a slightly better computer if you want VISTA.

I would check with the major manufacturers sites like Dell, Compaq, HP = Hewlett Packard go to their web sites you can Google them and click the link that will take you there and you can read the FAQ's on the different models. Also what can be a big help is going to the different stores and asking the sales reps questions, with a little care in listening you should be able to tell who is BSing and who is knowledgeable.

For on-line check http://www.newegg.com they are usually really good on the prices.

Good luck and oh keep the windows 95 computer it will be good for kids to do homework and such or just a novelty to have around.

[sweegie]

I'm sorry if I'm being stupid, but I don't get this. I mean I am looking at these systems that are between 300 and 1000 dollars (wow, I thought by now they would be at least 5000 dollars). And it says that they have 2.5 GHz of speed(what is dual core?), isn't this like 197.5 MHz slower than mine. Same thing with the 4 gb of memory. I think I understand 800 gb of hard drive space compared to mine. Plus is Vista any harder to use than 95. I recently purchased some kind of memory upgrade recently (I think it was 512) but I just haven't got anyone to install it yet. Will I need more for Vista?

[stantley]

1 GB (Gigabyte) = 1000 MB (Megabyte) So the system you're looking at has 4 GB of memory, which is 4000 MB compared to your current 32 MB. The system you have even with 512 MB memory won't be able to run Vista.

The processor is 2.5 GHz which is 2500 Mhz compared to your 200 Mhz, and dual-core roughly doubles that speed.

Follow ozrom1e's advice to find a new system, you should be able to get a very nice system for between $800 and $1000.

[sweegie]

I still don't quite understand the difference between Windows 95 and Windows Vista. Is Vista harder to use?

[DoubleHelix]

You can't run Windows Vista on your computer. You have to buy an entire computer. Windows Vista is not "harder" or "easier" to use. It's different. You're making a major system change here. Any software you currently have installed may not work on Vista. Same goes for any peripherals you're using.

[flavallee]

Sweegie:

My very first computer in 1997 was a HP Pavilion 8160 desktop with an Intel Pentium 233 MHz processor, 32 MB of EDO RAM, 6 GB hard drive, and Windows 95 OSR2, which cost me $2,300.00. A HP M50 15" CRT monitor cost me an additional $400.00 , and a HP Deskjet 694C printer cost me an additonal $300.00.

Windows went from 95 OSR2(1997) to 98 Second Edition(1999) to Millennium(2000) to XP(2001) to Vista(2007). If you've been using nothing but 95 all this time and have no experience with any of the newer operating systems, you've got a big learning curve ahead of you.

I would highly recommend that you shop around and find a low-end desktop that has XP installed. There are plenty of them out there for less than $500.00, including monitor, and it'll give you all the power and speed that you'll want for basic computing. It's a good operating system and will be much easier for you to learn and use than Vista.

If you still consider yourself computer-illiterate after 12 years, I'm assuming that you've never really learned about how to use and maintain a computer and just want it to work when you turn it on. I have a couple of friends who have remained computer-illiterate, even though they've been using one since the Windows 3.1 days. I've self-taught myself everything I know, and I never stop learning.

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