Inspirion 1150

I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only 256
MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow. I've got a 5 MB fiber hard-wired
internet connection and common web pages (Yahoo, Google, etc.) take forever
to load. I deleted the existing partition, reformatted the hard drive, and
reinstalled the OS using the Reinstallation CD that came the machine. It's
still VERY slow to boot and load web pages. The machine is just used for
web surfing - nothing heavy.

* I can use another machine and go to the Dell site, search on the Service
Tag and get the drivers - how do I know which ones to load - should I skip
over all those marked optional?
* Is 256 enough RAM on a machine like this? Would adding another 256 stick
make a difference, or should I just go to 1 GB? or 2 GB?
* I would have expected that a fresh install with defaults would have
speeded things up - but it didn't - virtually no change at all - is the
problem the 256 MB of RAM?
* Are there any other tweaks I need to make to get some decent performance
from this machine?

I used MSCONFIG to have chkdsk run after re-booting the machine - no errors
were found on the hard drive.

Open to any suggestions - thanks in advance!

when you reinstalled windows, did you boot from the CD?
if not, no good.
if you did, then did you totally wipe the partition, delete it and
have it do a FULL format, (not a quick)?
if you did a quick, it could leave stuff behind, and you could have a
rootkit or something of a viral nature in the boot loader that takes
over before your windows does.

256 is small for XP, but shouldnt be as bad as yo usay.
what is the processor?
please dont tell me celeron!
if so, then sell it pronto and dont waste any more time.

1gb of ram should be fine, just get one chip.
jay

Casual observer wrote:
I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only 256
MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow. I've got a 5 MB fiber hard-wired
internet connection and common web pages (Yahoo, Google, etc.) take forever
to load. I deleted the existing partition, reformatted the hard drive, and
reinstalled the OS using the Reinstallation CD that came the machine. It's
still VERY slow to boot and load web pages. The machine is just used for
web surfing - nothing heavy.

* I can use another machine and go to the Dell site, search on the Service
Tag and get the drivers - how do I know which ones to load - should I skip
over all those marked optional?
* Is 256 enough RAM on a machine like this? Would adding another 256 stick
make a difference, or should I just go to 1 GB? or 2 GB?
* I would have expected that a fresh install with defaults would have
speeded things up - but it didn't - virtually no change at all - is the
problem the 256 MB of RAM?
* Are there any other tweaks I need to make to get some decent performance
from this machine?

I used MSCONFIG to have chkdsk run after re-booting the machine - no errors
were found on the hard drive.

Open to any suggestions - thanks in advance!

Casual observer wrote:
I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only 256
MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow. I've got a 5 MB fiber hard-wired
internet connection and common web pages (Yahoo, Google, etc.) take forever
to load. I deleted the existing partition, reformatted the hard drive, and
reinstalled the OS using the Reinstallation CD that came the machine. It's
still VERY slow to boot and load web pages. The machine is just used for
web surfing - nothing heavy.

* I can use another machine and go to the Dell site, search on the Service
Tag and get the drivers - how do I know which ones to load - should I skip
over all those marked optional?
* Is 256 enough RAM on a machine like this? Would adding another 256 stick
make a difference, or should I just go to 1 GB? or 2 GB?
* I would have expected that a fresh install with defaults would have
speeded things up - but it didn't - virtually no change at all - is the
problem the 256 MB of RAM?
* Are there any other tweaks I need to make to get some decent performance
from this machine?

I used MSCONFIG to have chkdsk run after re-booting the machine - no errors
were found on the hard drive.

Open to any suggestions - thanks in advance!


Your machine only supports 512MB Sodimms for 1 MB maximum. If your
running XP 512 MB should be enough.

Hi!

I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only
256 MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow.

Ouch! I'd bet it does. Get some RAM, the difference will be astounding.
512MB would be nice, 1GB will be excellent, although the purchase price
might be getting close to the machine's actual value in this day and age.
The Inspiron 1150 is also somewhat prone to overheating.

William

Thanks for the feedback - I wiped out the partition, deleted it, and did a
full format.

Yes, it is a celeron CPU.
"Jay B" wrote in message
...
when you reinstalled windows, did you boot from the CD?
if not, no good.
if you did, then did you totally wipe the partition, delete it and
have it do a FULL format, (not a quick)?
if you did a quick, it could leave stuff behind, and you could have a
rootkit or something of a viral nature in the boot loader that takes over
before your windows does.

256 is small for XP, but shouldnt be as bad as yo usay.
what is the processor?
please dont tell me celeron!
if so, then sell it pronto and dont waste any more time.

1gb of ram should be fine, just get one chip.
jay

Casual observer wrote:
I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only
256 MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow. I've got a 5 MB fiber
hard-wired internet connection and common web pages (Yahoo, Google, etc.)
take forever to load. I deleted the existing partition, reformatted the
hard drive, and reinstalled the OS using the Reinstallation CD that came
the machine. It's still VERY slow to boot and load web pages. The
machine is just used for web surfing - nothing heavy.

* I can use another machine and go to the Dell site, search on the
Service Tag and get the drivers - how do I know which ones to load -
should I skip over all those marked optional?
* Is 256 enough RAM on a machine like this? Would adding another 256
stick make a difference, or should I just go to 1 GB? or 2 GB?
* I would have expected that a fresh install with defaults would have
speeded things up - but it didn't - virtually no change at all - is the
problem the 256 MB of RAM?
* Are there any other tweaks I need to make to get some decent
performance from this machine?

I used MSCONFIG to have chkdsk run after re-booting the machine - no
errors were found on the hard drive.

Open to any suggestions - thanks in advance!

I opened the back cover and there's one memory stick (two slots) - My
Computer shows 256 MB of RAM.

"Pen" wrote in message
. ..
Casual observer wrote:
I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only
256 MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow. I've got a 5 MB fiber
hard-wired internet connection and common web pages (Yahoo, Google, etc.)
take forever to load. I deleted the existing partition, reformatted the
hard drive, and reinstalled the OS using the Reinstallation CD that came
the machine. It's still VERY slow to boot and load web pages. The
machine is just used for web surfing - nothing heavy.

* I can use another machine and go to the Dell site, search on the
Service Tag and get the drivers - how do I know which ones to load -
should I skip over all those marked optional?
* Is 256 enough RAM on a machine like this? Would adding another 256
stick make a difference, or should I just go to 1 GB? or 2 GB?
* I would have expected that a fresh install with defaults would have
speeded things up - but it didn't - virtually no change at all - is the
problem the 256 MB of RAM?
* Are there any other tweaks I need to make to get some decent
performance from this machine?

I used MSCONFIG to have chkdsk run after re-booting the machine - no
errors were found on the hard drive.

Open to any suggestions - thanks in advance!
Your machine only supports 512MB Sodimms for 1 MB maximum. If your running
XP 512 MB should be enough.

Think I'll try adding another 256 MB stick - they're pretty cheap.

Thanks!

"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in message news:tnD3k.203019$yE1.3156@attbi_s21...
Hi!

I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only
256 MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow.

Ouch! I'd bet it does. Get some RAM, the difference will be astounding.
512MB would be nice, 1GB will be excellent, although the purchase price
might be getting close to the machine's actual value in this day and age.
The Inspiron 1150 is also somewhat prone to overheating.

William

Running with 512MB will make a world of difference. The 1150 is not a bad
laptop.

Also, to deal with potential overheating, install i8kfangui to monitor
temperatures and control internal fans.

Finally, as with all laptops, keep the fans, heat sinks and ventilation ducts
free of dust and dirt... Ben Myers

On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:42:58 GMT, "Casual observer"
wrote:

Think I'll try adding another 256 MB stick - they're pretty cheap.

Thanks!

"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in message news:tnD3k.203019$yE1.3156@attbi_s21...
Hi!

I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only
256 MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow.

Ouch! I'd bet it does. Get some RAM, the difference will be astounding.
512MB would be nice, 1GB will be excellent, although the purchase price
might be getting close to the machine's actual value in this day and age.
The Inspiron 1150 is also somewhat prone to overheating.

William

Casual observer,
As an owner of an Inspiron 1100, I double what Ben has recommended, make
sure that the bottom of the notebook is well ventilated. Consider purchasing
a Cooling Pad, that can be powered through an open USB port on your
notebook, or external power adaptor.

I have added RAM to in the following combinations with the following
results:
Nothing + 256MB=256MB Notebook crawl
256MB + 256MB=512MB Notebook Works Well
512MB + 256MB=756MB Notebook Works Better
512MB + 512MB=1GB Notebook Works Much Better


--

Rich/rerat (RRR News) message rule
Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate


"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
Running with 512MB will make a world of difference. The 1150 is not a bad
laptop.

Also, to deal with potential overheating, install i8kfangui to monitor
temperatures and control internal fans.

Finally, as with all laptops, keep the fans, heat sinks and ventilation
ducts
free of dust and dirt... Ben Myers

On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:42:58 GMT, "Casual observer"

wrote:

Think I'll try adding another 256 MB stick - they're pretty cheap.

Thanks!

"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in message news:tnD3k.203019$yE1.3156@attbi_s21...
Hi!

I'm trying to refresh an Inspirion 1150 - it has a 2.6 ghz CPU and only
256 MB of RAM - it boots and runs VERY slow.

Ouch! I'd bet it does. Get some RAM, the difference will be astounding.
512MB would be nice, 1GB will be excellent, although the purchase price
might be getting close to the machine's actual value in this day and age.
The Inspiron 1150 is also somewhat prone to overheating.

William

1gb should not always work better than 512 unless you have programs
loaded in memory that are using more than 512...
same with the other amounts.

i assumed that when the OP installed windows fresh from the CD,
XP uses only 128mb of ram. which should work well under his 256mb.
jay

Rich/rerat wrote:
Casual observer,
As an owner of an Inspiron 1100, I double what Ben has recommended, make
sure that the bottom of the notebook is well ventilated. Consider purchasing
a Cooling Pad, that can be powered through an open USB port on your
notebook, or external power adaptor.

I have added RAM to in the following combinations with the following
results:
Nothing + 256MB=256MB Notebook crawl
256MB + 256MB=512MB Notebook Works Well
512MB + 256MB=756MB Notebook Works Better
512MB + 512MB=1GB Notebook Works Much Better