Recommended Posts

Today i tested Windows 7 on an pretty old laptop

a Toshiba Satellite with a very old specs

Pentium 4 2.26 GHZ Northwood

768 MB ram DDR1

40Gb Hard drive

Geforce 4 MX 420 32 mb

I'm impressed with windows 7 so far, it run almost like XP, in performance area it took a minute with 10 seconds to startup which its ok because xp almost takes 50 seconds.

Audio was not recognized but windows update found a driver and installed with those critical updates, What its really disappointing its that microsoft and nvidia could NOT provide a driver for my legacy but good old video card. After searching and google i found that a very OLD XP driver 72.30 its compatible with Vista and so i tried it with windows 7 and works ok so far.

Nvidia 72.30 driver topic

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/8829/331431.html

thats all for now, but its amazing how windows 7 improve in performance area compared to vista, somehow a only cons that i find so far its that windows 7 its kinda instable sometimes explorer crash kinda like xp, something that i didn't experience with vista which its a very stable.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/725196-windows-7-on-a-old-machine/
Share on other sites

Well my second day with windows 7

i installed eset nod32 2.7 version and it works very well, so i assume that version 3 will work too.

Installed opera 10 alpha and works great flash 10 installed and works as well, fired up youtube and the video run nice, even in high quality mode.

Now what its the issue its standalone video like .avi .mkv, among other video files. I tried many players like windows media player 12, media player classic, KMplayer and all freeze when i try to open a video file.

after reading some topics maybe its a OLD XP driver issue in windows 7, with Nvidia and microsoft not having a good updated driver its gonna be hard to fix, well i sent a feedback, lets hope they get it fixed soon.

I've had like results on a similar machine, though it was a desktop.

Pentium 4 3.06 GHz

80 GB HDD

768 MB DDR1 RAM

GeForce 4 MX 440

Unlike Vista, which ran extremely slow, forcing me to uninstall it and go back to XP, Windows 7 has been running as well as you describe on yours. But likewise, I have the same driver issue as you with the GeForce 4. I couldn't run anything in WMP, as the now playing mode would crash and if I tried to fullscreen something on YouTube or a similar site, I'd also get a blue screen there.

Driver issue aside, I'm pleasantly surprised by how well Windows 7 runs on such old hardware.

As a broke student this has been my main computer for several years and the beta breathed new life into it. But just yesterday I finally got a new laptop (MacBook 2.04 GHz) and Windows 7 is running like a dream on that after I got some driver issues sorted out! I can finally shut that old thing off from now on unless I'm listening to my music library.

i have a pentium 3 1Ghz machine with only 384MB of RAM. I would have tried it on that but it uses PC133 which isn't easy to find and isn't cheap as far as i saw so i wont even bother. I was gonna buy the RAM though and use one of the other HDDs i have (old 20GB 7200RPM Maxtor) to test it on that.

Old PC :D ? mmm, I think My Vaio is very very old: Core 2 Duo 1,6 Ghz with only 1GB RAM.

Erm, 3.0GHz P4s are much older than your Core 2 Duo.

Also, the 3.0GHz Northwood P4 was released in April 2003 so it's nearly six years old. That's pretty ancient in computer terms. Let's not forget that six years before that we were using Pentium 233s!

i have a pentium 3 1Ghz machine with only 384MB of RAM. I would have tried it on that but it uses PC133 which isn't easy to find and isn't cheap as far as i saw so i wont even bother. I was gonna buy the RAM though and use one of the other HDDs i have (old 20GB 7200RPM Maxtor) to test it on that.

I was able to run Win7 inside a VM with just 256 MB RAM and it was useable.

well i tried it on my laptop (specs in my sig) and with only WMP running it ate up a minimum of 87% processor usage and a constant 57% of RAM.. hence i switched back to XP :(

87% is high and is not supposed to be like that, something else must had be going on, maybe in the background. As for the RAM, live with it, Vista and 7, with the use of SuperFetch, will EAT all you have in RAM. It's normal behavior and it's not going to slow down your PC.

actually i'm quite satisfied with RAM usage.. it's just the CPU usage.. presently i've reverted back to windows XP and i do wish to reinstall windows 7 one more time.. i just need to find an easier way to backup and restore my document and specific folders without having to manually copy and paste them..

Erm, 3.0GHz P4s are much older than your Core 2 Duo.

Also, the 3.0GHz Northwood P4 was released in April 2003 so it's nearly six years old. That's pretty ancient in computer terms. Let's not forget that six years before that we were using Pentium 233s!

I know that PIII is quite old but I thought 3 Ghz are more speedy than my 1,66 Ghz Core 2. ;)

I know that PIII is quite old but I thought 3 Ghz are more speedy than my 1,66 Ghz Core 2. ;)

Nope not at all. Clock speed is only one indicator or performance. The Core 2 Duos do twice as much per clock as a P4 plus you have two cores to multitask better. Not to mention more & faster memory, etc.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Visual Studio finally gets long-awaited feature that developers will love by Usama Jawad Visual Studio Code is Microsoft's popular, lightweight, open-source code editor, it is actually Visual Studio that is the company's flagship integrated development environment (IDE). Although the IDE already offers a boatload of useful features for developers, Microsoft has finally introduced a long-requested capability that will be loved by many. While developers have already been able to create Git pull requests (PRs) directly within Visual Studio for the past couple of years, it had not been possible to review a PR without switching to the browser, until now. Microsoft revealed in December 2025 that it is working on UX that enables developers to do just that, and fast-forward to June 2026, and Visual Studio finally has native capabilities to open and inspect a PR, discuss feedback, and wrap up the review, all without switching to the browser. This integration works for both GitHub and Azure DevOps (including on-prem). Developers have access to multiple surfaces to open a PR, including Git Repository, Git Changes, and the Git menu in Visual Studio. Once you open a PR, all the important details will be immediately visible to you, from where you can navigate to various levels of granularity and branch states, depending on the reviews that you are engaged in. As you would expect, you also get a diff view that enables you to see code changes inline or side-by-side in a separate panel. You can also review commit-by-commit. Additionally, this UX fosters collaboration as you can leave comments, reply to threads, and resolve conversations easily. Naturally, you can also leverage Copilot to apply a code suggestion to fix a potential issue. When you are done, you have the ability to approve, complete, and merge the PR. This is a pretty major feature as it has been requested heavily for the past few years. You can try it out in Visual Studio 2026 version 18.7, made available here recently. Microsoft plans to enhance this experience further in future releases with comment filtering, a timeline of PR activity, and more.
    • This AdGuard Family lifetime deal is still only $15.97 by Steven Parker Today's highlighted Neowin Deal comes via our Apps + Software section, where you can get a lifetime subscription and save 90% on a lifetime AdGuard Family Plan. AdGuard is a unique program that has all the necessary features for what they claim to be "the best web experience." The software combines the an advanced ad blocker, a privacy protection module, and a parental control tool—all working in one app. This software deals with annoying ads, hides your data from a multitude of trackers, protects you from malware attacks, and even lets you restrict your kids from accessing inappropriate content. Install AdGuard and see the internet as it was supposed to be: clean and safe. Get rid of annoying banners, pop-ups & video ads once and for all Hide your data from the multitude of trackers & activity analyzers that swarm the web Avoid fraudulent and phishing website and malware attacks Protect your kids online by restricting them from accessing inappropriate & adult content Good to know Family Plan Length of access: lifetime This plan is only available to new users Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Max number of devices: 9 Access options: desktop & mobile Software version: AdGuard Family Updates included A lifetime subscription of AdGuard Family Plan normally costs $169.99, but this deal can be yours for just $15.97, that's a saving of $157.02. For full terms, specifications, and license info please click the link below. Get this AdGuard Family lifetime deal for just $15.97 (was $169.99) Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. Why we post these deals We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. So for those that keep moaning and complaining, be thankful we're still online for you to even do that. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
    • the MCT currently downloads 26200.8653, so not completely up to date.
    • Around 68% of developers are now using AI to generate code during development, and some experts are saying that a single developer using AI tools can now do the work of an entire team of 4 to 5 engineers.  According to Figma's State of the Designer 2026 report, 72% of designers now use generative AI in their workflows and 91% say it improves the quality of their work, not just their speed.  But does this mean web developers and designers are becoming less relevant, or are they simply evolving into a different kind of role? Would love to hear from developers and designers here has AI made your job easier, or do you feel threatened by how fast these tools are improving
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Timaximus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Timaximus earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      FBSPL went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      davidbazooked earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      davidbazooked earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      510
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      183
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      160
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      83
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      75
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!