Old Laptop

[bonsaimax]

I've got an old Dell Latitude Pentium II 355 MHz with 128 MB of RAM (I think) laptop which works fine. Successfully installed WinXP on it albeit a bit slower than the Win 98 it used to have.

When I try playing a video using windows media, the image appears choppy, but the sound is OK. I know the graphics card is not up to the task, but is there any way I could adjust/lower the resolution of the video files or change some settings so they could be viewed properly?

Cheers!

[Tywais]

That is an antique you have. Probably the only chance to improve the video performance is to increase the ram (128M is pretty small for XP) but don't know if memory for a unit that old is readily available or cheap. You could install linux on the computer and probably be able to run the video ok. Or go back to Win98

[bonsaimax]

Yes, it indeed is an antique but still quite useful nevertheless. Does well for typing docs and emails. My intention is to use it as a full-time video player, connecting it to the TV while playing videos from an external HDD.

Would reverting back to win 98 not cause any incompatibilities with some codecs? I'm not quite familiar with these.

Thanks, Tywais.

[Tywais]

Would reverting back to win 98 not cause any incompatibilities with some codecs? I'm not quite familiar with these.

Codecs won't be a problem, I can point you to where to download complete codec sets (free) if you need them.

[Lannig]

Windows 98 definitely gives much better framerate than 2K/XP on hardware with borderline specs.

I sometimes watch DVDs on a PIII/500 that has dual boot 98/2K. They play quite nicely on 98 and very choppy on 2K,

even with ample memory (this box has 256Mb, which is more than 98 can use anyway).

You shouldn't have any problem with codecs (I haven't had any).

What kind of video are you playing? probably not DVDs, but VCDs? WMV? DiVX/XViD?

PII/355 might be a bit too low for DiVX/XViD I'm afraid.

On a slow machine, VCDs play much faster using the small VCD player application that is found on many commercial VCDs than with WMP.

This one bears many different brand names, the one I have online at the moment says

"CeQuadrat VideoDisc Player Version 1.02.01.19"

I've also seen it under the "Roxio" brand.

It's fairly easy to find it for download on the Internet.

It plays VCDs decently on an old AMD K6-333 box I have.

--Lannig

[lung]

this one plays everything on every OS

www.videolan.org/vlc/

and is small

[Tywais]

this one plays everything on every OS

www.videolan.org/vlc/

and is small

I agree with that. Remarkable how compact it is and the number of codecs that come with it.

[Lannig]

this one plays everything on every OS

www.videolan.org/vlc/

and is small

How does it perform on low-spec machines? I haven't tried on VCDs, but on DVDs it wasn't doing quite well.

Much slower than WinDVD, on par with PowerDVD.

I mean, I love VLC. It's a great freeware program done by very smart people in France

But the OP was explicitely asking about playing on a low-spec machine.

[Tywais]

How does it perform on low-spec machines? I haven't tried on VCDs, but on DVDs it wasn't doing quite well.

"As a standalone DVD player, VLC's performance is in line with the rest of the players reviewed. Its CPU usage was the lowest measured, making VLC a first-choice solution for networked machines or relatively low-powered systems. VLC's GUI isn't especially exciting, but it works smoothly and flawlessly. If you don't need extensive file format support or if your system fits the target model, then I have no hesitation recommending VLC."

Source: Linux Journal - Yes I know he has a Windows machine but the performance translates well to PCs also. In any case, a downgrade of the OS will be the best bet. Or use Linux as I mentioned before.

Edited September 18, 2006 by tywais

[Lannig]

"As a standalone DVD player, VLC's performance is in line with the rest of the players reviewed. Its CPU usage was the lowest measured, making VLC a first-choice solution for networked machines or relatively low-powered systems. VLC's GUI isn't especially exciting, but it works smoothly and flawlessly. If you don't need extensive file format support or if your system fits the target model, then I have no hesitation recommending VLC."

Source: Linux Journal - Yes I know he has a Windows machine but the performance translates well to PCs also.

Doesn't match my own experience at all on Windows...

[Firefan]

Personally i would keep the XP but increase the RAM as much as $ allow. Finding some used RAM in Pantip should be possible. It is amazing what that upgrade did to my oldest laptop (I had similar problems). Cheers!

[bonsaimax]

I also use VLC on my other PCs because it plays everything including those videos that other players won't play.

The laptop is running low on disk space having a HDD of only 6 GB and I really am not keen on spending on it if I can avoid it. It's not worth anything having specs this low so I just have to make the most of it.

I can't remember how much disk space win 98 takes. If I could squeeze it in, I will install it and give it a shot.

Cheers all!

Edited September 18, 2006 by bonsaimax

[Tywais]

I can't remember how much disk space win 98 takes. If I could squeeze it in, I will install it and give it a shot.

Cheers all!

A full install of Windows 98 on a FAT32 drive requires 175 MB of free hard disk space, but may range from between 140 MB and 255 MB, depending on your computer configuration and the options that you choose to install.

Edited September 18, 2006 by tywais

[Amethyst]

The best way is to bring it to PAntip or cash convertor outlet lol

[bonsaimax]

The best way is to bring it to PAntip or cash convertor outlet

I already did, and the most they could offer me was 3,000 baht. I saw a laptop with similar specs being sold in Pantip for 9,000 baht.

I think I'll just keep it for now and wait for its value to appreciate over a few more years.

[Tywais]

This is another player that has a small memory footprint, plays DVD & Video files and is freeware. Media Player Classic

[johnh101]

Does anyone know of a region free DVD player available as freeware ?

[pgrin]

I've got an old Dell Latitude Pentium II 355 MHz with 128 MB of RAM (I think) laptop which works fine. Successfully installed WinXP on it albeit a bit slower than the Win 98 it used to have.

When I try playing a video using windows media, the image appears choppy, but the sound is OK. I know the graphics card is not up to the task, but is there any way I could adjust/lower the resolution of the video files or change some settings so they could be viewed properly?

Cheers!

Bonsai,

Go to Crucial and run thier free scan. It will tell you how much Ram you have, how much Ram you can add, and the type of Ram you need.

P

[Lannig]

Does anyone know of a region free DVD player available as freeware ?

Isn't VLC region-free, precisely?

Jonhn101, I don't know what the policies are on Thaivisa, but usually it's better to start a new topic instead

of 'hijacking' an existing thread like this. Just my 2 satangs, I'm no moderator here.

[astral]

The best way is to bring it to PAntip or cash convertor outlet

I already did, and the most they could offer me was 3,000 baht. I saw a laptop with similar specs being sold in Pantip for 9,000 baht.

I think I'll just keep it for now and wait for its value to appreciate over a few more years.

Or find a local punter who will buy it for 6-7000 baht.

I doubt the price will ever appreciate........