xp sp1 question, urgent.

[N]

i've win xp home edition running on p4 1.5 ghz and 128mb ram. i've the back
up of the set up files of sp1 and updates following sp1. last time i
reinstalled windows and then installed all the updates and then defragmented
my volumes. but it slowed down my pc.
so, i wanted to know if installing sp1 or other updates is necessary? i'm a
home user and use internet for instant messaging and email and other basic
information search only. i also run a fully updated version of norton
antivirus 2002. please advice. speed is essential from my pc!

N

[Lee]

If I were you, I would install SP1 and the updates, if only for the added
security of Windows. There are a couple of other things you can do to give
you back some speed. Install & run AdAware and/or Spybot. These will remove
any spyware that creeps into your PC and slows your system down. Also, (and
technical people may differ here) I would look at increasing the amount of
RAM.
You can download Spybot from http://www.safer-networking.org/
and AdAware from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

Both have free versions and regular updates

Cheers, Lee


"N" <NA> wrote in message ...
> i've win xp home edition running on p4 1.5 ghz and 128mb ram. i've the
back
> up of the set up files of sp1 and updates following sp1. last time i
> reinstalled windows and then installed all the updates and then
defragmented
> my volumes. but it slowed down my pc.
> so, i wanted to know if installing sp1 or other updates is necessary? i'm
a
> home user and use internet for instant messaging and email and other basic
> information search only. i also run a fully updated version of norton
> antivirus 2002. please advice. speed is essential from my pc!
>
> N
>
>

[Tom Porterfield]

In article >, "N" <NA> says...
> i've win xp home edition running on p4 1.5 ghz and 128mb ram. i've the back
> up of the set up files of sp1 and updates following sp1. last time i
> reinstalled windows and then installed all the updates and then defragmented
> my volumes. but it slowed down my pc.
> so, i wanted to know if installing sp1 or other updates is necessary? i'm a
> home user and use internet for instant messaging and email and other basic
> information search only. i also run a fully updated version of norton
> antivirus 2002. please advice. speed is essential from my pc!

If speed is essential then I would take a hard look at your usage patterns.
You'll probably find that adding more RAM will do much to boost
performance. If you can increase that to 256 MB, or even 384 depending
again on your usage, you should see a nice increase in overall performance.

A number of the updates that have come out are critical security fixes that
should be applied. You can read the details on the updates at the
windowsupdate site and determine if you should apply the update.

Along with keeping your antivirus software up-to-date, make sure you have
your firewall enabled to block unwanted incoming traffic to your PC.
--
Tom Porterfield
MS-MVP Smart Display
http://home.comcast.net/~tp.porterfield

Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup only.

[Bastet]

N wrote:
> i've win xp home edition running on p4 1.5 ghz and 128mb ram. i've
> the back up of the set up files of sp1 and updates following sp1.
> last time i reinstalled windows and then installed all the updates
> and then defragmented my volumes. but it slowed down my pc.
> so, i wanted to know if installing sp1 or other updates is necessary?
> i'm a home user and use internet for instant messaging and email and
> other basic information search only. i also run a fully updated
> version of norton antivirus 2002. please advice. speed is essential
> from my pc!
>
> N

If speed is essential, then why haven't you increased your RAM? 128MB?! I've
got twice that on my graphics card!