Do you have an old Windows XP Pentium 4 computer sitting around that is slow and no one wants to use it? Bring it back to life! Here’s what I did to breathe some life into an P4 2.0Ghz HP Pavilion with 512MB RAM. It’s about $150 and is not for the faint of heart, but if you really want to make the computer usable again and are on a limited budget it just might be the ticket.
- Upgrade the RAM to the maximum (This Pavilion’s max was 1GB, check Crucial.com for your systems specs): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141437
- Install a SATA PCI card (I used an Adaptec 1210SA I had laying around):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816102062 - **Boot and install the SATA card driver** (VERY IMPORTANT)
- On a separate computer make an image of the existing IDE hard drive: (This thing rocks)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812161002 - You’ll probably need an SATA power adapter. You’ll definitely need an SATA cable.
- Restore image to a new SATA hard drive: (The Pavilion had a 60GB drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148231 - Remove the IDE hard drive and install the new SATA drive. Boot it up!
- WOW