can laptop ram fit into desktop?

[johnha169]

hi, why not just get an internal or external HDD, then u can move all your files to the new HDD and then your computer will hopefull get faster!
cheers

[Accessless]

If the machine is 6-7 years old then I asume that the OS (operating system (Windows)) has been operating for the same length of time. You may also consider some free maintenance programs to increase the machines performance. I personaly prefer IO BIT but there are many others out there.

Here's a good Disk defragmentor (if the one built into windows no longer funtions or is too slow):

http://www.download.com/Smart-Defrag/3000-2094-10759533.html?part=dl-SmartDefr&subj=uo&tag=button

And This is a registry cleaning program (saving you a £50 trip to the computer shop):

http://www.download.com/Advanced-WindowsCare-Personal/3000-2086-10407614.html?part=dl-AdvancedW&subj=uo&tag=button

[killerb255]

Also consider possibilities of bloatware (useless programs that come with downloaded or installed programs that) or malware (viruses, spyware, adware, etc.).  They can slow your PC down, too.

Not a whole lot will run like a champ on a 900 MHz Athlon processor these days.

The most amount of RAM your computer will run is 1024 MB (1 GB).  You would have to remove the two existing 256 MB RAM sticks and put two 512 MB sticks in its place.

You would need two of these doohickeys:
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT64M64S4D7E

Total cost: $108.99 + shipping.

You're probably better off getting a new computer.  4 GB of RAM for most computers these days is $108.99...

Not to mention, the maximum processor for that computer is 1 GHz (1000 MHz).  The processor in it is 900 MHz.  Modern PCs have processors with 2 cores (like 2 processors in one) or even 4 cores at 2.4 GHz a piece!!!

Given that information, I can honestly say upgrading your existing computer is just throwing money away...

[sjeanine]

Thanks so much for all the advice here.  Ok, I finally am going to admit that it is time to throw out the old computer rather than try and upgrade it.  : (  I do not have the money to buy another new one.  I just got a cheapie dell from Walmart this past summer.  I am a stay at home mom who homeschools my son and I work 4 p/t jobs.  I was trying to find a way to keep that old pc running so he could play some games on it.  But, it sounds like I would be throwing money away that I could save towards another cheap computer...which would actually be better than the old PC.    My older son keeps telling me he can rebuild it and make it a much better PC and that I'm nuts to save to buy another but, it sounds like it's time to just tell him I'm laying it to rest. 

[Calum]

I'd say the same as your son, but I'm one of those that never junks things unless it's absolutely beyond repair, sometimes not even then.
Too many people just throw away perfectly good computers, I have several that are older than yours working perfectly fine.

[soybean]

Per the Disney website, the system requirements for Toontown:

System Requirements
Windows
System RAM    256 MB
Disc Space    200 MB
CPU    800 MHz
OS    Win2K
Video Card    32 MB

I'd bet that computer would run that game well enough if some maintenance were done.  Do you have any spyware removal tools installed, and regularly used, on that computer?  Any virus protection installed?  Ever defragment the hard drive?  Ever run Disk Cleanup, or clear browser history?  You have a firewall enabled, right?

[Accessless]

I'd say the same as your son, but I'm one of those that never junks things unless it's absolutely beyond repair, sometimes not even then.
Too many people just throw away perfectly good computers, I have several that are older than yours working perfectly fine.

I had to throw away some of my oldies a little while back. I almost cried at the loss of my Pentium II and ancient motherboard with the most beautiful copper work that I've ever seen on a PCB. But alas I only have a certain amount of storage space.

[BC_Programmer]

So far, I've scrapped 5 computers:

my 12Mhz 286, 40Mhz 386DX, 120Mhz 486DX2, a pentium whose on-board graphics failed, and a crappy cyrix (do I really need a reason to scrap a cyrix?)

keeping: AMD K6-2, Toshiba 440CDX laptop, IBM thinkpad 755CDV, and my newer machines (laptop and desktop)

[killerb255]

Per the Disney website, the system requirements for Toontown:

System Requirements
Windows
System RAM    256 MB
Disc Space    200 MB
CPU    800 MHz

This is the problem...

Her machine is an Athlon 900 MHz.  Yes, it'll run, but if there's anything else running in the background, forget it...

Thanks so much for all the advice here.  Ok, I finally am going to admit that it is time to throw out the old computer rather than try and upgrade it.  : (  I do not have the money to buy another new one.  I just got a cheapie dell from Walmart this past summer.  I am a stay at home mom who homeschools my son and I work 4 p/t jobs.

Wow!  :bows while saying "We're not worthy!":

I was trying to find a way to keep that old pc running so he could play some games on it.  But, it sounds like I would be throwing money away that I could save towards another cheap computer...which would actually be better than the old PC.   My older son keeps telling me he can rebuild it and make it a much better PC and that I'm nuts to save to buy another but, it sounds like it's time to just tell him I'm laying it to rest. 

I used to think like your older son.  In fact, that's how I got in the computer industry! 

That would have been okay back in the late 90s, early 00s.  However, new PCs have become so cheap (yes, even decent ones, not bottom-of-the-barrel eMachines) and a lot of things have changed since the Athlon 900 MHz days (different RAM, different CPU socket, different power supply requirements, case needs better airflow, PCI-e graphics cards instead of AGP, etc.) that by time your son is done with it, he would have bought enough parts to built a new computer and have used nothing from the existing one! 

I learned that lesson the hard way in 2004 when a client's hard drive in their Windows 98 machine died.  I thought "hey, buy a new hard drive, reinstall Windows 98 and her programs, and all is well."  Oh nooooooo...

The motherboard had a hard time recognizing an 80 GB hard drive, so I had to go back to get a 40 GB.  For some reason, it complained about that, too.  All in all, I spent roughly 12 hours trying to get that thing back to the way it was, and since the company charged by the hour, the amount of labor added up to a new computer!  They weren't happy with me then...we had to eat a lot of the cost of that...

[truenorth]

sjeanine, Given your extremely limited use requirements for the computer your son uses for his games you can try to achieve this by doing some very inexpensive things. While it has been mentioned that you could install another hardrive to transfer the data you wish to save there is a much cheaper way to do that.Purchase a USB flash drive (assuming the computer has USB ports) and remove all the data that you want to save and either retain it on the flash drive or transfer it to another computer. The already suggested notion of getting everything off the computer other than what is necessary for your son to be able to play his games is absolutely the way to go. Increasing the ram will additionally improve performance but that is more costly and might not be cost effective on that old of a computer. Now another option up until now not mentioned is to purchase a used computer for your son's gaming use. They can be extremely cheap depending on where you purchase them. Retail stores selling used computers will be the most expensive. Friends and garage sales can be very cheap. Classified adds in print media or on line can also find cheap used PC's. You should try to find a source for a used one where it can be shown to work--so on line purchases can be more risky in that case. I have purchased many used computers (working and not working) and after a little work and normally very little money have fine working computers. That route is not for everyone but it is an option worth considering given your stated limited funds. goodluck,truenorth