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Topic: Old software for old pc? (Read 4586 times) previous topic - next topic
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Old software for old pc?

I've been round to a friends house today, to install a new cd-rw in their pc. they told me it was top of the range, so i thought, no probs. When i got there, it turns out to be a 400mhz celeron with 128mb ram. The drive is installed, but unfortunately, nero does not work. I think it may need higher specs. is there anyway i can get other software to work with it? All she needs is to back the cd's up onto other cd's.

thanks

Old software for old pc?

Reply #1 –
Quote
I've been round to a friends house today, to install a new cd-rw in their pc. they told me it was top of the range, so i thought, no probs. When i got there, it turns out to be a 400mhz celeron with 128mb ram. The drive is installed, but unfortunately, nero does not work. I think it may need higher specs. is there anyway i can get other software to work with it? All she needs is to back the cd's up onto other cd's.

thanks
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=349224"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Try Burrrn (http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=6) or BurnAtOnce (http://www.burnatonce.com/downloads/)
Both burn fairly well, but aren't destined to the same thing.
They're freeware.

Old software for old pc?

Reply #2 –
burrrn would work fine because it does not "on the fly" decode and burn, it compiles the cd image then burns, which leaves the more CPU intensive process independant of the actual burn
Chaintech AV-710

Old software for old pc?

Reply #3 –
If the PC is properly configured, you shouldn't have any trouble using the drive. I know because I sometimes still use my old machine, which has similar specs (Celeron 400, 196 MB RAM) for burning with a 16x DVD burner and Nero 6. You won't reach top speeds, but something like 24x CD (or 8x DVD) should not be a problem.

Just make sure you enable DMA for the drive (and the HD of course). In case your friend wants to backup audio CDs, she might want to consider using EAC for creating "secure" copies. If that's too complicated, Burnatonce will do the job too. However, neither EAC nor Burnatonce will backup additional content included with some audio CDs (videos etc). Nero will.

Old software for old pc?

Reply #4 –
Burnatonce can't clone discs? Since when?

Old software for old pc?

Reply #5 –
hmmm, well, she bought Nero 7 Premium, and when she tries to install it, it just says 'cannot translate, a device attatched to the system is not functioning'

Old software for old pc?

Reply #6 –
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hmmm, well, she bought Nero 7 Premium, and when she tries to install it, it just says 'cannot translate, a device attatched to the system is not functioning'
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=349309"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Nero 6 should work?

Old software for old pc?

Reply #7 –
Sometimes I just wish Nero'd include the minimum requirement somewhere on its webpage...

~orMaybeIJustCouldn'tFindItEasily...

Old software for old pc?

Reply #8 –
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Burnatonce can't clone discs? Since when?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=349261"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Last time I checked (and this was with the current version) burnatonce could not properly copy two-session discs with audio in session 1 and additional content (like videos and lyrics) in session 2. It would just copy the first session and ignore the second, while Nero would copy the first, leave the CD open, then copy the second, and finally close the CD.

jimhaddon, maybe you should try burnatonce or even Windows' built-in burning capabilities just to make sure the hardware is functioning.

Old software for old pc?

Reply #9 –
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jimhaddon, maybe you should try burnatonce or even Windows' built-in burning capabilities just to make sure the hardware is functioning.[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I wonder if the PC uses WinXP...?
I do have a PIII 550MHz 256MB SDRAM w/ WinXP installed, but I don't know if a 400MHz Celeron could handle it.

Anyway, try [a href="http://www.cdburnerxp.se/]CDBurnerXP Pro[/url]; see if it works fine.
Though it needs a .NET Framework to be installed first...

Old software for old pc?

Reply #10 –
I use a 400mhz PII and can do -almost- everything non-cpuintensive with it.

CD-Burning also is no problem if i do not go higher than 20x speed and do not do any on-the-fly stuff.

The speed and reliability of non-cpuintensive and non-3D stuff.... has very little to do with the speed of the PC. Most multi GHz mainstream PCs do run much slower than my 400MHz box. It mostly depends on the software-configuration - have lots of bloated apps and services run in the background, and everything will lag and run unstable. Do the opposite, and it will also behave the opposite way. The only aspect regarding hardware which does have a significant impact, is the amount of RAM - but with 256mb or more, there should be no issues. Also, i do strongly unrecommend WindowsXP for older PCs. If the PC has less than 160mb RAM, pick Win98SE.... if it has at least 160MB, then choose Win2k SP4 and debloat it by disabling unnecessary services.

- Lyx
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

Old software for old pc?

Reply #11 –
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... Also, i do strongly unrecommend WindowsXP for older PCs.[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=349389"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Exactly the point.
I wondered if jim's friend had WinXP installed 'cause oudalrich suggested to test the built-in burning feature.

Old software for old pc?

Reply #12 –
no im afraid she does have win98se, im no novice, and i know she hasnt got any redundant services running in the background. She only has 128mb of ram so win98se is perfect for the job. i think nero7 however is overkill for the system of this spec.

Old software for old pc?

Reply #13 –
If so, then you might want to try Burnatonce or even CDBurnerXP Pro.
[span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'](I don't really how both s/w perform at quite a low-end system since mine doesn't even have a burner...)[/span]
 

Old software for old pc?

Reply #14 –
You might check out www.oldversion.com as well .... they keep an archive of old revisions of popular software (no warez)

I use them to get old, smaller versions of Adobe acrobat reader all the time..It's also neat to see how it's gone from being a 1.4 Mb package to a 16.3 Mb package.

There might be something there that will give you burning capability.......