Hi All,

Situation: I have an 8 year old T42 (Windows XP SP2, 1.7 Ghz Intel Pentium M, 1.5 GB of RAM) which has served me well from graduate school to the present day. Should I get a new PC (Thinkpad X201)?
Usage Frequency: very infrequent (not since 2009).

Planned Use: I need to take the bar exam in 2 months. I am worried about my T42's reliability. I have had the motherboard and inverter replaced in the last 4 years so it is doing ok from a hardware perspective. The problem is the bootup time is very slow (~3-5 minutes from switch on to usage) and it sometimes cannot activate the wireless. Performance has been ok but multitasking is not really an option (random hangs sometimes result).

Should I try to:

reinstall Windows XP to help increase speed and stability?
Try to increase RAM?
Get a new laptop with Windows 7?

I love my T42 and will keep it no matter what (love my screen and keyboard), but need to think about the possibility of an upgraded machine.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Sounds like your laptop, which is a tool, is not meeting your needs or, at a minimum, is getting a little frustrating to use. I'd get a new machine, there are some great deals on the Lenovo outlet right now (new and refurbished machines). The cost of a new machine is likely not to be too great and you'll get a reliable, fast booting and likely flawless wireless experience from the new machine.

Nothing wrong with keeping your existing machine as a second machine since you really like it. Maybe even tinkering with some of the suggestions (like OS reinstall, etc).

But I'd get a new machine. That's my 2 cents anyway. Good luck with your decision.