Dell Dimension 4600 fresh win 7 install way too slow, why?

Newbie Forum
#1

Hi everyone,

I have a Dell Dimension 4600 with a 120GB sata HDD and 3GB RAM (this is all I know about it for now ill explain why) my computer had died and I did a fresh install of Win 7 hopping that it will work well, previously it was on Win XP.

Win 7 took overnight to install! ( i did the install twice hoping that will solve the problem, and of course it didn’t :() and it is extremely slow, takes 20-30 min to boot up and 5-10 min to open any window or application.

My question is, is my computer is compatible with win 7? and if it is should i download something to make it work? (chipset drivers etc… problem is the dell website only provides drivers for win XP)

All help is appreciated!

#2

You absolutely have to have chipset drivers and other drivers for Win 7. There is no way around that. If Dell doesn’t provide them for this computer, you will have to revert back to XP.

By the way, Win7 install is very quick on a compatible system. Much faster than XP.

#3

Is there a way to test a system to see if it is compatible with Win 7?

Dell was not helpful at all!

#4

Well, there is the Win7 upgrade adviser from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15&displaylang=en

But if the manufacturer of the motherboard doesn’t provide chipset drivers, audio drivers, lan drivers, etc., you could be stuck.

#5

Here another way to try go to each of those manufacture site if you can find out what hardware you have on your motherboard and see if they have updates for those updates for Vista if you can’t find for Win7 cause Vista drivers should work fine in Win7 if you can’t find drivers for 7. So that is if you can figure out what the specs are you might be able to find otherwise as Kerry says your out of luck with your dell and you will have to go back to XP. But do check the each of the manufacture site not just dell to find Vista drivers and see if you get lucky.

#6

Is there a scanner that I can download that will tell me the hardware that i have on my Motherboard? I can check each site for the drivers, but not sure how to find out what I have… ( I have open up my computer only a hand full of times and I dont even know the name or function of 99% of the parts :stuck_out_tongue: … but i have been learning :smiley: )

Thanks!

#7

[QUOTE=burningdvd;2506333]Is there a scanner that I can download that will tell me the hardware that i have on my Motherboard? I can check each site for the drivers, but not sure how to find out what I have… ( I have open up my computer only a hand full of times and I dont even know the name or function of 99% of the parts :stuck_out_tongue: … but i have been learning :smiley: )

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Put this way if you were able to install Win7 on your system do a windows update and if it that works it will tell you what drivers you will need for Win and the Dell drivers. That would be the first start…

#8

[QUOTE=burningdvd;2506333]Is there a scanner that I can download that will tell me the hardware that i have on my Motherboard?[/QUOTE] Why would you? Just type in the Dell Tag Number of your machine in the Dell support website.

#9

i typed the dell tag number, all I see is win xp drivers not even vista. I called dell and they were going to connect me to software support and they were going to charge me for the time via CC. No help at all I had a very simple question.

You guys always help me more than actual techs that i could take my comp to. and because it involves me I end up learning (little by little, but learning haha)

#10

Go to MS and look for windows 7 update advisor, d/l and run that and see what it tells you that you have to upgrade for win 7, or you can pm me with your email address and I can send you the zip file for the upgrade advisor

#11

Thanks Jimbo,

I PM you.

#12

Hi,

Windows 7 upgrade Advisor is linked on MS frontpage. Here is the link: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

With a few exceptions, Dell is using Intel chipsets. I’d expect Win7 to have the basic drivers built-in.

The poor performance could be due to some faulty hardware. It is a good idea to test the HDD, preferably with the utility from the HDD manufacturer. Or give Dell Diagnostics a chance.

Michael

#13

mciahel, thanks for posting the link, as I din’t think of that as I still have the zip file for it and was just going to send that instead of looking up the link

#14

[QUOTE=burningdvd;2506523]i typed the dell tag number, all I see is win xp drivers not even vista.[/QUOTE] Of course. Dell never intented to upgrade this system to windows 7, so it will not ever give you drivers.

The manufacturers of the internal components however might have drivers! So put in that tag number again and find out the exact type and version of the internal components! (Like Conexant modem, nvidia 4200, etc). Then go to the website of the manufacturer of that specific internal component and find out if they made windows 7 drivers for it.

If they don’t have windows 7 drivers … you’re screwed…
If Dell put their own brand tag inside the internal component (they do that sometimes), then original manufacturer drivers may not work … you’re screwed…

Thing is, somebody had to write the drivers. Either Microsoft, either the manufacturer, either the company… So if they don’t, usually nobody will.

#15

Yeah you guys are right.

Jimbo I did the scan and it gave me a check mark for everything. except it gave me an information icon and it says “More info from Dell Computer Corporation” and a link to the Dell website. of course it is still dead slow.

I am going to follow belvedere’s advice and search all of the components on my mother board and try to install as many win 7 drivers as i can…

If that does not work I am going to go back XP, or should i try vista? what do you guys recommend? and 32 or 64 bit? ( I have 3GB ram)

#16

If your going backwards again just stick with XP till you get something that properly supports 7. I saw 7 at a friends house and he hooked me up with the RC of it and I’ve now gone to the RTM and I love it. Kinda reminds me of XP as far as the way it works and tends to be very stable and things, plus it’s pretty fast on MOST system even when the hardware is a bit lacking.
Luckily I built this box from the ground up so everything works fine with 7 otherwise I’d be right back to XP myself, never trusted Vista.
I run the 32 bit version and if you have a lot of older software and hardware that you still like maybe you should stick with 32. I probably can run 64 all right but then I might as well put another 4 gig of ram in here as it seems OK with 4 gig and can’t properly support more then that anyways with 32 bit.

#17

[QUOTE=burningdvd;2506898]Yeah you guys are right.

Jimbo I did the scan and it gave me a check mark for everything. except it gave me an information icon and it says “More info from Dell Computer Corporation” and a link to the Dell website. of course it is still dead slow.

I am going to follow belvedere’s advice and search all of the components on my mother board and try to install as many win 7 drivers as i can…

If that does not work I am going to go back XP, or should i try vista? what do you guys recommend? and 32 or 64 bit? ( I have 3GB ram)[/QUOTE]

Do as belvedere and what I said find each of those components and see if the hardware companies has updates for those on 7 but if they have vista it will work in 7 as well. I would say depending I go for 64 but that depends on your CPU if it is made for x86 then your stuck at 32bit O/S otherwise go x64 on 7 only don’t go for that on XP and vista… well stay away from that 7 would do your more good on x64.

#18

[QUOTE=burningdvd;2506898]If that does not work I am going to go back XP, or should i try vista?[/quote] I do not recommend Vista at all. It is quite unstable compared to Windows 7.

what do you guys recommend? and 32 or 64 bit? ( I have 3GB ram)
Personally i do not recommend to change the Operating System at all if it does not benefit your purpose with the machine.

#19

I’m afraid you just have to wait out the first 30 minutes before install begins. Huge lag time between steps. I am having the same problem and all you can do is be patient. It helps if you have converted the system over to all SATA devices. As far as drivers everything works out of the box except one. The Nvidia FX5200 video card. For that you will need to go to the nvidia site and download the drivers for Windows Vista 64Bit and these work just fine. The only thing you can do to improve your experience would be to upgrade your P4 chip to a hyperthreaded P4 chip which can be obtained here for 15.00:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116403

So far everything is alot faster under Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit. I did however replace the IDE drive with a 250GB SATA drive and a SATA DVD/RW drive which helps considerably. Both can be picked up at Frys really cheap. Good luck!

#20

Dell Dimension 4600 is not compatible with Windows 7, that’s why it would not load properly. If you go to the Device Manager, you will see many errors with many Drivers needed that are not available. The 4600 is an old Model, you can’t even put Vista just XP. You will have to load Windows XP, and get the Dell Version. If you don’t have one you can order from the Dell Web Site. :cool: