Improving on Walter Mossberg's PC-buying advice

A few days ago in The Wall Street Journal someone with a 5-year-old PC asked Walter Mossberg how to determine when to buy a new PC. The response in the paper was short. Fortunately, this blog lets me offer a longer, more detailed answer.

The first thing Mossberg said in his response was "There's no universal answer to your question." I disagree. The simple answer is that a computer needs to be replaced only when it no longer does something you want or need it to do. This has nothing to do with the age of the hardware.

That said however, the Internet comes into play too. It's a dangerous place and one in which Windows users need a lot of protection. (I blogged about protection offered by the free DropMyRights program back in August.)

There comes a point where old Windows computers can no longer defend themselves online because the necessary anti-malware software no longer supports the machine, for hardware and/or software reasons. Then too, there is the constant flow of bug fixes that every operating system needs to install. At some point, Microsoft stops issuing bug fixes for old versions of Windows.

When an old computer can no longer defend itself on the Internet, either because of the lack of new bug fixes or the lack of support from anti-malware software, then the machine should no longer be used online. However, it can still serve many off-line functions and isn't necessarily at the end of its useful life.

I would not use Windows 95, 98, ME, or NT4 on the Internet. Many, if not most, anti-malware software no longer runs on these old versions of Windows and Microsoft no longer fixes bugs. Windows 2000 however, is fine.

Excluding the Internet, the most likely issue with an old computer is that it can't be used to run the most recent software. At times this can be a blessing in disguise, but if the hardware is what's lacking, there may be a simpler and easier option than buying a new machine.

If the new software requires additional RAM, I suggest going to crucial.com and letting it scan your computer. (This only works with Internet Explorer, and if you use DropMyRights, it needs to run in unrestricted mode.) The Crucial System Scanner reports on the number of memory slots in your computer, how much, if any, RAM is currently installed in each slot, and the maximum amount of RAM your computer supports. It's also smart enough to tell you whether your computer requires equal amounts of RAM in each slot. Obviously, this is a sales tool; it displays the prices for Crucial RAM compatible with your computer.

If the new software requires more hard disk space than the old machine has available, that too is not fatal. In fact, it's a good idea to replace the hard disk in an old computer. Perhaps even an excellent idea. A new hard disk is relatively cheap and sure to be faster than the old one. Plus, hard disks are perhaps the most likely component to fail in the long term.

Any competent computer nerd should be able to replace the hard disk, either in a laptop or a desktop computer. One approach is to connect the new one to the computer using a special adapter cable that plugs into a USB port and then use software to copy the old hard disk to the new one in its entirety. I prefer to use disk-imaging software to back up the entire hard disk to an external hard disk, then install the new hard disk and use the same disk imaging software to restore everything.

There are two things to be aware of when buying a new hard disk for an old computer. First, avoid hard disks with a SATA interface. Older computers use an older interface that goes by the names IDE, ATA and PATA. Second, rather than shop by price alone, I suggest buying a hard disk with the longest warranty you can find.

If an old computer is running slower than it used to, that's not a reason, in and of itself, to replace it. There are many things that can be done to make an old computer run almost as fast as it used to when new, too many to list here. If you can take it to a techie, he should be able to drastically increase the speed just using software. With extra RAM and/or a new hard disk, it should run faster than when it was new.

Finally, a big part of online safety is keeping software up to date, both the operating system and your applications. Even a new computer can be running vulnerable versions of popular programs such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader, QuickTime and Real Player and thus be more vulnerable than an older machine running patched versions of the software (not to pick on these applications, but they all had recent security problems). From what I've been reading about the firewall in the just-released Mac OS X Leopard, even old Windows computers are likely to have better firewall protection than a new Mac.

[tenc21]

Adding a grain of sand to a beach

Your "improvement" on Mossberg's advice is akin to adding a grain of sand to a beach...and I'm being generous. It's obvious you suffer "blog" envy; you pick on Mossberg because someone felt he has credibility and allows him to publish in a major print medium, while you are blogging away on minutia in total obscurity. Life is tough.

I'm no Mossberg-phile but what is wrong with his answer "There's no universal answer..."? You disagree, and then blab on and demonstrate exactly what he said--that there
are many variables in deciding when to buy a new PC.

Worse, your "simple answer" is itself deficient. One needs to replace a PC that no longer performs required functions AND there is something out there that will. What purpose does it serve to replace a PC with a another that does not do what you want or need it to? Just because a PC is newer does not mean it will perform as well or better than an older PC; for example, some older PCs have MIDI connections, few newer ones do. You'd have to look pretty hard to find an equivalent PC.

Accordingly, even with your answer, there is no universal answer because every user's needs are different. You just want to quibble with Mossberg, but you only confirm what he says. Your otherwise respectable blogging is degraded by these repeated and pointless attacks on Mossberg, who does not deserve the level of attention in a geek blog that you have bestowed upon him. Enough already!

[JunkMail4You]

wow get some new topics

You seem obsessed with Walter Mossberg. Give it a break. Get your own topics to write about and leave the poor guy alone. It is harder to come up with your own topics but everyone will appreciate it.

I am dropping my subscription to this RSS feed because it does not really cover anything - mostly just whining.

[lefty.crupps]

Reinstall the OS?

The first thing I suggest when i see an old PC running (very) slow, is to reinstall the (an) OS. This, more than anything else, will start the computer to running as fast as it would when it was new.

Depending on the user, I at least offer Linux, and possibly suggest it for the user. New versions of modern software and recent patches can run in Linux more securely than a reinstall of Windows 98 or even 2k or XP.

New RAM is great, running Spybot+AdAware+HijackThis+AV-scans three times each is helpful, but a machine will never be as "good" as it is when the Operating System is fully wiped and reinstalled with all of its available patches (and, for Windows, as minimal a software base as possible).

Only then, I believe, will the computer's speed fly, and when the user starts his or her usual install-everything-visrusy habit, then you will see it slow again. Much less of an issue on Linux, but background-running programs and a scattered hard drive is what slows the machine. Adding RAM is a bandaid.

[mhinnewyork]

Ignore tenc21 - it is a virtual stalker

Don't pay any attention to the comments made by tenc21. This person is stalking me, doing nothing but griping about anything and everything I post. Their purpose is not to debate anything just to argue. They comment on *every* blog posting of mine, regardless of the topic and are constantly mean spirited.
Michael Horowitz