Old PC, New I-Pod Question

Let me start out by saying--I am so computer illiterate it isn't even funny.
My pc is 9 years old, running Windows98, Internet Explorer version 6 (I think). I've tried to download an upgrade on the I.E., but I can't (I get a screen telling me I need Windows XP to do it). My pc runs so slowly that I can't even watch you-tube videos.

So, the other day my daughter bought an I-Pod. I told her I didn't know if I could even remotely download music for her, so now she's trying to beg downloads from friends.

I'm wondering if anyone else has an old, slow pc and has done music downloads? Is it even possible and, if so, does it take forever? Any tips on the best sites for downloading?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by libby74

Let me start out by saying--I am so computer illiterate it isn't even funny.
My pc is 9 years old, running Windows98, Internet Explorer version 6 (I think). I've tried to download an upgrade on the I.E., but I can't (I get a screen telling me I need Windows XP to do it). My pc runs so slowly that I can't even watch you-tube videos.

So, the other day my daughter bought an I-Pod. I told her I didn't know if I could even remotely download music for her, so now she's trying to beg downloads from friends.

I'm wondering if anyone else has an old, slow pc and has done music downloads? Is it even possible and, if so, does it take forever? Any tips on the best sites for downloading?

Thanks.

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Ok a basic rundown for you. Your PC is an antique , it will be slow no matter what you do, unless of course you upgrade the hardware (thats the stuff that makes it run. Your USB port will more than likely be 1.1 (thats the socket where the Ipod plugs into) in todays PC's they are 2.0 (basically means they operate faster) yours may be able to run the Ipod but it won't be a efficient,
Not being able to watch youtube correctly will be to do with the video card (thats a little card that displays video's for you) downloading music on the other hand shouldn't be too slow unless you use dial up (thats slow internet and that would also affect youtube) broadband is the way to go (thats fast internet) best place for downloading is limewire, the only catch is sometimes the music isn't labelled correctly so you end up with crap (this is rare about 1 in every 200 songs) it is a lot safer than kazaa, I've had to fix so many PC's that get flooded with tonnes of spyware and I had 1 mate whose daughter went there and ended up crippling his computer with viruses. Having said that, when ever you download anything from the net you should always scan the file(s) for viruses, now please note that your anti spyware software cannot detect spyware until its already in your PC. (that means if you scan a file for a virus and its clean, but then you open it and get spyware, its not due to a fault in your software its because it can't detect it until its there)

Thats a whole lot of info and its all useful. Thats pretty much the only suggestion I can give, short of telling you to buy a new PC. And if you are thinking of that, please consider just upgrading your hardware because this will save you a lot of $$$ and everyone wants to save. Oh and it really depends on what you use your computer for, if you don't use it for too many things then you don't want to be getting something with all the bells and whistles.


Oh yeah, I hope you don't think I was making fun coz I wasn't you'd be surprised how many people aren't good at using a PC, both young and old alike. If you have any further questions feel free to PM me.

I used to download music on my old computer when it had windows 95 (and dial up internet) and it took about 30-45 minutes per song. I used to just let them download overnight while I was sleeping.

I have dial-up, which is slower than slow. I've upgraded as much as I can (according to my local computer repair guy). I do get irritated by this machine sometimes, but it's not as if I use it for work or anything of major importance (unless you count buying on ebay ). I never download anything-seriously. Like I said, the pc is 9 y/o and the system is still almost 60% free.
So, after I wrote this question I went to itunes.com to see what I could do. The pc froze 3 times while I was waiting for the home page to load. I think I've answered my own question. I might try a couple of other sites just to see what happens.
I don't intend to replace this machine until I have to. I'm cheap, and I can't see buying another one as long as this one does what I need.

On your question about great music download sites the one i use for my I-pod is Limewire.com Its has 100,000's of songs and its free. There is an option on Limewire where you can pay a one time fee of $18 and be able to get access to MANY more songs.

yeah I forgot to mention about installing Itunes but you don't need to go to their site for that as your daughter should have got a cd-rom with that software when she bought the Ipod.

yeah I forgot to mention about installing Itunes but you don't need to go to their site for that as your daughter should have got a cd-rom with that software when she bought the Ipod.

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I'll check on that. I didn't get a chance to see any of the info that came with the i-pod; all I know is "Mom, I can play solitaire on this!" Wow, a $300 electronic deck of cards (can you tell I'm not overly impressed?)

Thanks for the info about limewire; apparently a friend has agreed to do some downloading for my daughter today, and that's the site she's going to be using.