Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware (
More info?)
Clark wrote:
> What is the real world experience with minimum system requirements for
> running XP? I have a Dell with Pentium III 450 mHz processor and 256 RAM.
> Will This run XP somewhat efficiently? I'm a Mac user and have very little
> experience with Windows. Please advise. Thanks in advance.
>
> Clark
"Sluggish" is the term that comes to my mind, I'm afraid. If you
turn off all of WinXP GUI eye-candy, it will still be quite slow, but it
should be usable for simple word processing, email, web-browsing, etc.
It won't be any good for graphics-intensive applications, and most newer
games. (During the public preview period, I tested WinXP on a 500 MHz
machine with 256 Mb of RAM, and it was slower than I like.)
1) Right-click the Task Bar > Properties > Start Menu, ensure "Classic
Start menu" is selected.
2) Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop > Properties > Themes >
select "Windows Classic."
3) Right-click My Computer > Properties > Performance > Settings >
Visual Effects, ensure "Adjust for best performance" is selected.
However, with a PC this old, it's essential to make sure it's
components are WinXP-compatible _before_ proceeding. Have you ensured
that all the PC's components are capable of supporting WinXP? This
information will be found at each of the PC's component's manufacturer's
web sites, and on Microsoft's Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx). Computer components
designed for use with Win9x/Me very often fail to meet WinXP's much more
stringent hardware quality requirements.
Can you obtain OS-specific device drivers for your PC's components,
and any necessary motherboard BIOS updates? Additionally, you can
download and run Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any
incompatible hardware components.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp
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