Upgrading my laptop

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I have an "Acer Aspire 5520-5334" with vista installed, and I was wondering if anyone could help me think of way to update it and upgrade it in both hardware and software so I can make it better and faster. Does anyone know how to find compatible things and whats good?

Your only options are really more ram and a bigger hard drive. Oh, and you can replace the cd drive.

Other than that, nothing would really need or get an upgrade. Thats the sad thing about lappys, it's not like you can toss a new motherboard in.

As far as the actual upgrades you want to do, take it to a SMALL computer store and see what the prices are. Thats usually what gets people.

And install XP. Srsly.

Yeah on vista my mouse randomly stops working on the touchpad and I don't have it though

You can find a nerd. They are everywhere. And they have XP.

Just don't ask where it came from. kthnx.

You can still buy retail copies though. Through like, I think the end of this month? Or was it today... meh. I have no idea. All I know for sure is that microshaft promised to allow people to keep registering copies of XP, even though you cannot buy it anymore. Technically.

And dude... your B-day is like, 3 days before mine... creepy...

With age comes much wisdom
I just want to make sure it stays up to date and doesn't slow me down, as for the XP thing I'll just keep thinking if Vista didn't crash so much it'd be way better but then I wonder if anyone even makes a decent OS anywhere and I don't mean the best I mean good as in actually made to use and use and use w/o crapping out

System 1.0

But you don't want that

You could try a distro of linux. Nearly every one has some sort of live option, so you don't even have to install it until you know you like it. I recomend Ubuntu for a beginner. It's really easy for anyone to learn, mum had it figured out and the last computer she owned was in like, 2000. And they've changed a lot.

It even has an easy option of the live CD, so you could run it till you're blue in the face. The only thing is, it seems to have trouble with network adaptors like your ethernet and wireless unless it is installed, so you may not get internet why using it live.

Go with Hardy, 8.04 LTS. It's the latest, most likely to recognise your hardware right off the bat. And you can visit Ubuntu Forums for any info you'd need too.

What about compatibility issues with software?

Oh, be prepared to learn all new software.

Microshaft is BAD about letting their programmes work on any other OS. But... there are a LOT of freeware programmes that are just as good, if not better.

The only reason I haven't completly made the switch is PS. If that worked in linux...

But I dual boot. I have my wonderful XP, and then my PERFECT 10 linux. *my xp is wonderful cause I'm smarter than billy g *

I use a lot of freeware already like I use Mozilla (IE SUCKS) and spybot search and destroy is great too then theres all the game playing stuff.

Yea. Firefox instead of IE, GIMP instead of paint, and to some limited extent PS, OpenOffice instead of microsoftword.

As for the games... if it's stuff like WOW, you're gonna need to keep windows really. The WINE emulator, and others like it, have a REAL hard time with heavy graphics games like that.

But, if your fave game is minesweep... theres a version for linux.

depends what your currently using really - if you gave a list im sure someone else can give decent substitutes, main issue might be file compatability but dual-boot first to pre-empt that if you can or just run a linux distro in a VM?

Actually I meant my emulators

You can get ROM emulators easy in linux.

What about my epsx? Will it work b/c it was a pain to set up but I can play all my games w/o needing a PSX or a PS2 I have a PS2 but it's an original and OLD still works just makes an odd and scary (to a gamer) clicking noise.

That emulator has a linux version.

And I'm sorry about the playstation. If I didn't know better... I'd say the HD was about to go the way of the dodo. Does it sould like two spoons clicking together?

No just a soft clicking noise I think it's the disk drive or whatever it's called that spins the disks. It's not loud just soft and it doesn't always do it either.