How can I bring my old desktop back to life? It works, but won't do certain things.?

Hey NightFlyer.....

BRING BACK TO OUT OF BOX CONDITION

READ...

I mean 8 years IS OLD.

And Without knowing what programs have collected on it over time to slow it down, and if any Adware , malware or Viruses etc.. has become a problem..

If the ORIGINAL hard drive has never been changed or formatted then You really should just restore it to "OUT OF BOX" running condition.

Then when it's done , you go on the internet , install the latest driver updates , windows updates , JAVA & especially Adobe flash player ( for YouTube & other streaming videos.)

( NOT WINDOWS RESTORE)

Microsoft Windows XP operating system provides

" System Restore" to allow you to return your

computer to an earlier operating state (without affecting data files

When you use the "Symantec" program from Dell.

It restores your hard drive to the operating state it was in when

you purchased the computer.

****I M P O R T A N T ****

Dell PC Restore permanently deletes all data on the hard drive

and removes any applications you have installed after you received the computer.

YOU CAN NOT RECOVER THEM!!

To use the DELL SYMANTEC PC Restore:

1

Turn on the computer.

During the boot process, a blue bar with

www.dell.com

appears at the top of the screen.

2

Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press <Ctrl><F11>.

If you do not press <Ctrl><F11> in time, THEN Let the computer finish restarting, and then

restart the computer again. AND REPEAT #2

3

On the next screen that appears, click

Restore

.

4

On the next screen, click

Confirm

.

The restore process takes approximately 6–10 minutes to complete.

5

When prompted, click

Finish

to reboot the computer.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Do not manually shut down the computer. Click

Finish and let the computer completely reboot.

6

only When prompted, click

Yes

.

The computer restarts. Because the computer is

restored to its original operating state, the

screens that appear, such as the End User

License Agreement, are the same ones that

appeared the first time the computer was turned on.

7

Click

Next

.

The

System Restore

screen appears and the computer restarts.

8

After the computer restarts, click

OK

.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_dimension_desktops/dimension-4700_owner%27s%20manual_en-us.pdf

....

Holy crap, that's one old computer. Upgrade IMMEDIATELY! Microsoft is dropping all support for Windows XP on April 8th, 2014; that's only 5 months from now! Don't worry, there are plenty of affordable Windows 8 computer options available now, and they will almost certainly work better than that old dinosaur of a computer you have now. Get a laptop, if you prefer. Anything available is better.

If you want it to run like when you purchased it just run system recovery.

But make sure you save any important files first to a flash or other drive. They will be deleted.

it has poor mainboard chipset and therefore doesnt support many good cpu's. But it can be fitted with up to 4gb ram, and can accept a modern video card of low wattage.

it should run win xp reasonably well.

recommended video cards(preferably less than 25 watts due to your poor power supply)

gt210 < 31 watts may be too powerful

gt610 < 31 watts may be too powerful

HD5450 < 20 watts should be ok

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/gefor...

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/gefor...

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/at...

go to best buy, and have the geek squad look at it. :)