help in upgrading processor etc. without having to install windows and all other software

[msim2020]

is there a way i can substantially upgrade my pc without having to
invest hours and hours re-installing windows, customizing firefox and
numerous other things.

i have an intel pentium 2.53GHz processor and 640MB of RAM to go with
it.
ASUS P4R800VDELUXE
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 7 GenuineIntel ~2539 Mhz
Total Physical Memory 640.00 MB

Thanks!!

 

[Rod Speed]

is there a way i can substantially upgrade my pc without
having to invest hours and hours re-installing windows,
customizing firefox and numerous other things.

Yes, a repair install works fine with XP and you
dont usually need to do anything special with 98.

With XP, boot the CD, ideally slipstreamed with SP2.
Operate as tho you are doing a clean install on the partition
its already installed on. DONT FORMAT THAT PARTITION.
The install will say that its found an existing install and offer
to repair that. Say yes.

 

[Mals]

That is comforting.

Any advise on what motherboard and processor and graphics processor etc
to upgrade to? i do not do any gaming. i do have several programs
running at once. Like to be able to start my machine from hibernation
as fast as possible. also, i run photoshop occasionally and that feels
terribly slow right now. occasionally, i would also like to copy my DV
tapes and make a DVD out of that.

i wonder if there is a kit etc that i could buy...

i guess i can use my hard disk, my power supply, the case, the LCD
monitor.

 

[msim2020]

That is comforting.

Any advise on what motherboard and processor and graphics processor etc
to upgrade to? i do not do any gaming. i do have several programs
running at once. Like to be able to start my machine from hibernation
as fast as possible. also, i run photoshop occasionally and that feels
terribly slow right now. occasionally, i would also like to copy my DV
tapes and make a DVD out of that.

i wonder if there is a kit etc that i could buy...

i guess i can use my hard disk, my power supply, the case, the LCD
monitor.

 

[Rod Speed]

That is comforting.

Any advise on what motherboard and processor
and graphics processor etc to upgrade to?

Fraid not, I normally choose what is best value at the time
and doesnt have any known serious problems, and I dont
bother to keep track of what is best value except when I am
about to upgrade myself. I normally avoid the bleeding edge too.

i do not do any gaming. i do have several programs running at once.

Are they actually doing much simultaneously tho or are they
mostly kept loaded so ou can switch to them instantly ?

Like to be able to start my machine from hibernation as fast as possible.

I leave most of mine on all the time, but do want a fast start
from hibernation with the ones that arent running 24/7.

also, i run photoshop occasionally and that feels terribly slow right now.

It benefits from plenty of ram and a decent fast hard
drive subsystem because it uses ram rather crudely.

occasionally, i would also like to copy my
DV tapes and make a DVD out of that.

i wonder if there is a kit etc that i could buy...

There isnt that much of that around anymore.

i guess i can use my hard disk, my power
supply, the case, the LCD monitor.

MIght be worth upgrading the hard drive too given the
photoshop use depending on how old the current drive is.

 

[msim2020]

i do mostly keep these programs loaded so that i can switch from one to
the other fast.
and i agree that upgrading hard disk might be a good idea.

now i got to figure out what i should look to upgrading to.

i have to say though that i have heard that windows needs to be
reinstalled when one upgrades. and as a result the preferences etc need
to be upgraded as well...

 

[Rod Speed]

i do mostly keep these programs loaded so
that i can switch from one to the other fast.

and i agree that upgrading hard disk might be a good idea.

now i got to figure out what i should look to upgrading to.

i have to say though that i have heard that windows
needs to be reinstalled when one upgrades.

It doesnt, that changed with XP.

and as a result the preferences etc need to be upgraded as well...

A repair install does that.