Solved How to downgrade win 7 on acer aspire one netbook

[2bretired]

I have an old acer aspire one ZG5 which I use as a travel backup. When XP expired I installed win 7 ultimate The problem is win 7 runs very very slow. There is only 1 gb on board memory and apparently cannot be increased.
According to the memory gadget just booting up uses 98% memory and after a long time drops to 68% memory.
Any help how to downgrade win 7 to run a basic win 7 version Basic web browsing/ email/ letters etc.

Thanks Bob

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Actually I think you are doing well to get Ultimate booted at all with that amount of RAM as usually it requires a minimum of 4GB RAM to operate in any practical way. If I may ask why did you install Ultimate and not Home Premium??

As I cannot find the details for that motherboard it is hard to say how much RAM it will support but I think 2GB should not be out of the question but even that amount is hardly enough. So if you don't mind me asking again where did you get that info from??

The CPU from what I see in the specs for that machine is also inadequate in my mind and is used if I am not wrong in those tiny notepads with the 10" screens and with Windows 7 Starter version.

To be honest and realistic I would be inclined to buy a newer machine and have it set up for yourself because this one looks to be causing you some grief in manner of speaking. In any case there are some good deals on quite decent new laptops and if you don't like the 8 they come with you can always run that in 7 style using a free program to do that of course it is not quite the same but very close.

 

[ShoTTaS]

ICIT2LOL

sir, maybe this could help on the specs:
Acer Aspire One Laptop specs

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks Shottas looking at those specs I am wondering how on earth Ultimate got put on it because they are really quite inadequate in my mind.

I am waiting for an answer as to why 2bretired installed Ultimate when all is said and done if that drive according to those specs is 8GB then there would be very little room for anything but the OS - plus the supported RAM is quoted at 1.5GB again no where near enough for what that machine is being used for. That is also further made worse by the cache of the CPU at 0.5 KB and if the specs are indeed what they are in your link then little wonder the machine is slow

 

[ShoTTaS]

your welcome sir,

As what on my mind, i would suggest that 2bretired should buy newer and faster laptop. Forget on downgrading that ZG5's OS.

 

[SIW2]

If you just want it for browsing and email, it is easy to use Linux instead.

Mint 32 bit ( choose Cinnamon or Mate ) should be fine.

Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" - Cinnamon (32-bit) - Linux Mint

 

[ICIT2LOL]

your welcome sir,

As what on my mind, i would suggest that 2bretired should buy newer and faster laptop. Forget on downgrading that ZG5's OS.

Yes mate and what SIW has suggested is a good idea too I suppose if all that is required s some form of basic system. Plus it would not cost a cent as opposed to say Windows of some description.

 

[AddRAM]

If you just want it for browsing and email, it is easy to use Linux instead.

Mint 32 bit ( choose Cinnamon or Mate ) should be fine.

Linux Mint 17.1 "Rebecca" - Cinnamon (32-bit) - Linux Mint

I totally agree, or

Zorin OS - Home

or

Xubuntu

or

The leading OS for PC, tablet, phone and cloud | Ubuntu

 

[Slartybart]

I have an old acer aspire one ZG5 which I use as a travel backup. When XP expired I installed win 7 ultimate The problem is win 7 runs very very slow. There is only 1 gb on board memory and apparently cannot be increased.
According to the memory gadget just booting up uses 98% memory and after a long time drops to 68% memory.
Any help how to downgrade win 7 to run a basic win 7 version Basic web browsing/ email/ letters etc.

Thanks Bob

Bob,

Given the hardware in the Acer, Linux is probably your best bet. If you want Windows, put XP back on and run a good Antivirus application. XP will run fine, MS just isn't going to update it forever. That means any security holes will not be fixed and might be exploited.

Since you use the machine only for travel, XP should serve you well enough.
If you have or develop good practices for surfing the web (only trusted sites, +more) and eMail (don't open attachments from unknown senders, +more), then I don't see too much of a risk using XP in the manner you described. Oh, I suppose I should also mention that it might be a good idea to keep the Acer and other machines isolated from each other. Be cautious doing any transfers from the Acer.

I ran Win98 far past the 'expiration date' - you just have to be more conscious of the possibility of some malware. Just because the holes aren't being patched doesn't mean your machine will get infected. The risks increase so be wary of strangers and even friends (email addresses do get spoofed).

How did you come by Win7 Ultimate? Is it a retail or OEM version?

 

[Layback Bear]

I'm not understanding why some one would buy a $200.00 Windows 7 Ultimate and install it on a $75.00 or less computing device for searching the internet.

Two and two is not adding up to four.

 

[AddRAM]

And XP did not expire, you just don`t get updates, but who cares, MSE will update just fine and so will MBAM.

And don`t download email to it, use your ISP email program or yahoo, or whoever you use for your email address.

And download Chrome as your browser as some sites don`t support IE7 or whatever comes with XP or can be upgraded with XP.

 

[Slartybart]

And XP did not expire, you just don`t get updates, but who cares, MSE will update just fine and so will MBAM.
And don`t download email to it, use your ISP email program or yahoo, or whoever you use for your email address.
And download Chrome as your browser as some sites don`t support IE7 or whatever comes with XP or can be upgraded with XP.

You've been on fire lately Brian .. I keep bumping into you on threads. I added to your reputation recently, so it will take a while before I can do it again. Just know that I keep trying to tip the scales in your favor.

Good stuff!

 

[AddRAM]

I try Bill

 

[2bretired]

Ok I am back, Update The ultimate licence was transferred from a defunct desktop to the acer. I have always hated waste so I recycle or reuse as much as I can. That is how I manage to be comfortably retired.
From previous post I decide to use the original XP as I made it dual boot. This machine is now a server for my old magicjack so no emails or web surfing. My old magicjack needs to be plugged into a computer. Due to magicjack policy's I cannot transfer my subscription from my old MJ to a new one! I have paid up to 2019 so it did not make sense to upgrade as this is a backup MJ. Now the whole system will be given to my 93 year old mother who lives in UK. Now she can make free calls to USA as the MJ has a local USA phone number.
Thanks all for your input, will be leaving soon back to UK with my wife for a few months to take care of mother and continue on our bucket list.
Bob

 

[Slartybart]

Thanks for the update Bob, probably your best choice to return XP to the machine.

Safe journeys,

Bill
.