Not a recording question persay but ...
I need to upgrade my girlfriends computer. She only has 2GB hard drive and very little internal memory. My question is, what should I replace first? If I install a new hard drive, will installed applications automatically transfer to the second drive or do I need to replace the internal memory for that? The problem is, everytime she wants to download something (install a program...ie party poker) the system won't let her because of lack of memory. Any thoughts are helpful!
what operating system is she running, what processer does her computer use and how much ram (memory) does she currently have?
Could well be that you'd be better off replacing a computer that shipped with only a 2gb hard drive with an entirely new setup (cheap pcs can be had for well under $300 if you keep an eye out) rather than buying and installing a new hard drive, reinstalling the operating system and programs onto the new hard drive, and finding/installing whatever type of memory this older computer uses.
There is an article in a recent Maximum PC magazine (I think the Feb. 2006 issue which still may be on the newsstand). It's about building the $300 PC. The only downside I saw was that it used Linux (which I don't consider a downside, but if your GF could live with a 2GB HD it might be a bit scary for her). Add another $80-100 and you could get her XP Home.
I can't possibly understand how someone could live with a computer with only 2GB! I think I'm in the slightly over 1TB neighborhood now...and I need a new HD because I'm running out of space!
Even if you just buy her the cheapest pre-built computer, it will be a huge upgrade. I wouldn't bother upgrading a computer that came with a 2GB HD, it's a waste of money.
MIKE B
Thanks fellas...
I just checked out ebay and there are MANY desktops w/o monitors that are 1GHz and 20GB for $100 or less! I'll just download her monitor and printer drivers from my computer and buy her a new desktop..
that'd work. Only issue you may run into is that many older printers aren't windoze xp compatible, you may need to get a new printer too . . . google should easily let you know if that's the case. You'll want to run at least 512mb of ram with xp.