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Computer help ?

ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

David

David Report 8 Jan 2014 10:58


I wonder if any one can help or advise?
My PC was plagued with unsolicited ads which I couldn't turn off.
So I installed a brand new version of Windows XP-Professional.It's fast but I have no sound on media or You Tube.It worked perfectly before on the previous XP version.
Getting dialogue boxes saying I have no drivers.
Have searched on Goolge but haven't solved the problem.

Any one solved this problem who can advise?

Bobtanian

Bobtanian Report 8 Jan 2014 11:59

have you tried control panel..........windows updates?
sometimes pulls in missing drivers......
Bob

RolloTheRed

RolloTheRed Report 8 Jan 2014 12:24

Open the box. Look at the motherboard and get the details of it which will be printed on the circuit board. Google using these details - if you have a half decent motherboard this will take you directly to support/download for the drivers.

Always use the OEM site NOT freelance driver sites which tend to download malware/adware and stuff along with the drivers and even ask for money.

If you are using sound integrated with the motherboard the above will fix the problem. MS Update very rarely fixes missing driver problem.

If you have a seperate sound card plugged into the motherboard then take the details from the sound card and go to the OEM site and download the drivers. If you do have a seperate sound card then the most likely site will be Creative Labs.

MS Update will not work unless MS ServicePack 3 and IE8 have been installed. Be warned that currently the time to do the XP post install updates can be hours.

MS Security for WinXP expires end March 2014. Best free alternative is BitDefender. Avoid McAffee/Intel.

Do NOT allow third party software to install tool bars and such. IE8 is no longer a fit product for today's internet - install any of Firefox, PaleMoon, Opera, Chrome instead.

If you are installing any kind of freeware do NOT choose ez or express install but go the slow way and make sure you are not giving opt ins to assorted stuff you don't want or need at best. Even Adobe will install McAffee along with its PDF reader or Flash player if you choose default install.

So long as there is 2 GB memory installed and a half decent CPU ( eg Athlon Socket A 2600 or Pentium 3.0 HT Prescott ) an old box running XP will be fine for most purposes to the end of this year and probably well into 2015. Currently DDR-400 184pin memory is very cheap. DDR2-800 is getting pricey.

Those with Intel Core 2 Duo systems can ignore the siren call of a new machine for a long time to come but again ensure that 2 GB ram is installed. Core2 systems will also run Win7 without any problems. Win7/32 is a worthwhile UG from XP and worth the money. If you have a Core 2 system using motherboard graphics it is worth installing a cheap PCIe graphics card instead.

For ALL WInXP machines ensure that ClearType addin (MS, free) is installed and turned ON. This makes a great deal of difference to the quality of type display. With VISTA, WIN7 and later it is on by default. Also ensure that color is set to 32bit Truecolor not 24bit.

good luck

David

David Report 8 Jan 2014 15:09


Thank you both