penfold Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 I'm put a few posts on over the last couple of months relating to my wife's Acer Aspire One which has been running like a dog lately. I've tried changing the AV and problems still persist so this weekend I was going to re-install windows from scratch. It was fine for her originally so the spec of the machine must be OK so I was just going to re-install Windows 7 but I got thinking could I do anything to make an old netbook any better. I can't afford to buy a new machine so I though with the price of SSD dropping maybe an upgrade would make a good option. She is mainly an internet user, using it for shopping/facebook/skype etc so I'm not sure how much of a boost an SSD would make? I was also wondering if I could put Windows 8.1? Would I be wasting my time/money trying to get an SSD and Windows 8 onto it? Should I just rebuild it with Windows 7? Suggestions.
penfold Posted March 28, 2014 Author Posted March 28, 2014 the atom cpu probably won't run Windows 8 I thought I'd read online of others who had installed Windows 8 on it. Must have been a different model.
Quackers Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 What resolution does the netbook support? I know Windows 8's new Metro does not support the res a lot netbooks can do (At least at launch)
LosOjos Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Depending on the screen resolution, Windows 8 will be crippled as no 'Modern' app can run below 1024x768: System requirements - Microsoft Windows I'd say throw Linux distro on there - it'll do everything you listed, it's free and it's a lot quicker than Windows in a low memory environment: 12 great Linux operating systems for netbooks « Everyday Linux User Personally, I have Xubuntu on my old Samsung netbook
penfold Posted March 28, 2014 Author Posted March 28, 2014 The screen res is too low as it's 1024x600 but doesn't that just mean the apps won't work but the rest of the OS would be fine? Although I had read there was some reg edits that could enable the metro screen. I thought about putting a Linux OS on there but it would need to look like windows otherwise it "wouldn't be as good" and I've only dabbled with Linux a while ago so if she couldn't do something I'm not sure I could sort it quickly. So would an SSD be a bit pointless also?
LosOjos Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Id rather bin it and buy a tablet than suffer a netbook with linux. Those of us without money to burn would happily take the free OS for light browsing I think
Arthur Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 I thought about putting a Linux OS on there but it would need to look like Windows otherwise it "wouldn't be as good" What about Elementary OS and make it look like a Mac?
gatelion Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Was going to say that put a linux on it. I did it at work, when teachers were complaining that something was too slow... They're too afraid to do anything else than use internet on it.
yugo Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 If it was mine I'd reinstall windows 7 and get an ssd or another stick of ram if it can take it.
Tricky_Dicky Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Both SSD and Win8. We are trialing Win 8.1 on a netbook and OK it's not perfect, but it works well and seems very responsive. This is on an Atom chip and 2Gb of Ram but with a normal HDD at the moment.
LosOjos Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Im sure his wife, who has already borked a win7 install, will take to linux like a duck to water. To be fair, for just web browsing (as most netbooks seem to get used for) I have found that shoving it on non-techies machine resulted in less problems - can't fill it full of crapware if the installer won't run OK, so it's security through obscurity but sometimes I just want an easy life!
Techykev Posted March 28, 2014 Posted March 28, 2014 Personally I wouldn't bother with putting in an SSD, I tried this in an old RM 210 netbook (Intel Atom N455, 2GB Ram) last week and tested it side by side with an identical machine (both were re-imaged Win 7 Pro at the same time) and the result was that the SSD was only a few seconds quicker at loading Windows and programs. In fact I discovered that disabling the Symantec AV made the non-SSD netbook a lot faster than the SSD one, so now considering what AV program we could use as a better alternative to Symantec (Just Windows Defender perhaps). The Netbook has been tried with Win 8 as well and although it sort of works there is still the problem of it being limited to 1024x600 so wouldn't run the apps from the metro screen without editing the registry, then they looked awful. Everything seemed to work OK from the desktop though. Hope this helps.
penfold Posted March 28, 2014 Author Posted March 28, 2014 If Windows 8 isn't going to run properly (not sure she would use the apps to be honest) then I'll probably stick with Windows 7. Thing is it was fine when she first had it and since then it has been upgraded to 2GB RAM so a fresh install of windows should improve it. I know over time it can slow down and she does also install some crap on it (but I'm slowly teaching her not to just click on install when prompted) but the fact is I can just provide it to her and leave her be. If I put something on it which doesn't look like Windows regardless of whether it is better or not is probably going to end with her telling me that she doesn't like it and wants Windows back on it. If we had the time I think I'd go along with putting a Linux distro on it, but with a 1 year old which takes up lots of home time, she hasn't got the time or patience (nor me) to be learning a different platform. I might end up sticking with Windows 7 then if there is improvement with 8, I just thought with my experience of 8 it seemed a little quicker than 7 on the same hardware. As others have said I haven't got the money for a new laptop and a tablet isn't a viable option as she may do more work on it as she increases her hours. Hence the thought of an SSD to improve performance & lifespan but it I'm not sure she would notice any improvement for web based activities.
yugo Posted March 29, 2014 Posted March 29, 2014 If you set chrome as her default browser and install the adblock plus extension it might stop some of the crap. You could also turn off some services (windows search) and do some other tweaks to help it run better.
Chris_Cook Posted March 29, 2014 Posted March 29, 2014 I've upgraded my aspire one with both an ssd and ram. It makes it a much more usable machine - even if it is only a few seconds faster. I've also put windows 8 on it. It works well apart from the metro apps. This wouldn't be a problem apart from the app store not working. The 8.1 update is only available on the app store - at least as far as I can tell. I would probably stick with windows 7 on netbooks because of this. If it keeps it out of the bin for a couple of years its probably worth it.
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