Very Old PC - Google Chrome refuses to install - Suggestions please?

[Chris56000]

Hi!

 

I thought I'd use CAG for this one as it's not infested with so much spam and rubbish as the PC help forums!

 

I have a very old PC which I cannot afford to replace as I'm out of work at the moment!

 

Spec:-

 

M/B Asus A7V-600X with 2.1 GHz Athlon CPU;

RAM 1.5GB DDR II type;

Graphics GeForce FX5500

On-board AC97 Sound

145 GB HDD

16X DVD-RW Multi-drive & 48X CD-RW Optical drives, both IDE

 

I am running Windows 7 Pro at the moment with Google Chrome 26.0.1410.5, and any more recent version refuses to install with an error message "your PC hardware is not supported by Chrome!"

 

I am getting incessant Google Chrome crashes, lockups, pages repeatedly not loading, etc., etc.

 

I am getting the Free Windows 10 Upgrade Offer but this also refuses to install on the grounds of "Unsupported Hardware!"

 

My Broadband is a BT Home Hub connection provided by my landlord and is very reliable, last about 65 MBps when I tried a Speed Check on it!

 

Can anyone suggest:-

 

1) Is there a way round the Chrome/Windows 10 problems;

 

2) What other alternative browser(s) can I try in this elderly machine?

 

Many thanks!

[Conniff]

If it is telling you the hardware isn't supported, I think you will have to accept that until such time as you can afford a more up to date PC.

[JoeyJoeC]

If it is telling you the hardware isn't supported, I think you will have to accept that until such time as you can afford a more up to date PC.

 

After analysing the error messages, I have came to the same conclusion. This is known to happen on XP machines.

[brassnecked]

You are at the very bottom of the hardware requirements for Win 7 and below Win10, your memory is probs mainly keeping the OS afloat with little left to run applications, you could try a different more lightweight browser like Midori

 

http://midori-browser.org/

[Queens_king]

Try chrome canary. You will need to do a Google search for it as it is not advertised

[Guest]

2) What other alternative browser(s) can I try in this elderly machine?

chris

i just about manage to run w7 with a lower spec than yours (apart from the graphics card, 6800)!

i use firefox, with hardware acceleration off, and with noscript (it really helps with page load as no auto ads/flash etc. fox now has its own ad/tracking blocker in private browsing mode which may help with speed). is ok generally re browsing, though vids (when allowed) dont really work well due to the spec.

[trebormoinet]

Before you retire that machine an interesting weekend project would be to download and try Lubuntu, a light version of Ubuntu, a popular free operating system.

 

You will be surprised how fast and fresh and responsive your PC will feel, you will be able to run the latest chrome browser and not have to worry about slowing your machine down with all those anti virus / malware / speed booster etc etc etc applications.

 

Unlike windows where it seems 70% of the time is spent maintaining the PC, Lubuntu will also free you from that burden.

 

If you need hand holding during the process they have a fantastic army of users who will guide you in every way.

 

http://lubuntu.net/

[dx100uk]

why do you need to run chrome?

 

 

if you've simply gone over to it because IE became useless

then sort the IE problem out.

 

 

you should easily be able to run IE11 if you properly update the machine with all the relevant updates.

 

 

I have a lappy that's quite happily running it on pro 1.8 processor I think.

[Conniff]

Before you retire that machine an interesting weekend project would be to download and try Lubuntu, a light version of Ubuntu, a popular free operating system.

 

You will be surprised how fast and fresh and responsive your PC will feel, you will be able to run the latest chrome browser and not have to worry about slowing your machine down with all those anti virus / malware / speed booster etc etc etc applications.

 

Unlike windows where it seems 70% of the time is spent maintaining the PC, Lubuntu will also free you from that burden.

 

If you need hand holding during the process they have a fantastic army of users who will guide you in every way.

 

Four silly myths about Linux security;

 

1 – Linux is invulnerable and virus-free.

 

2 – Virus writers do not target Linux because it has a low market share.

 

3 – Windows malware cannot run on Linux.

 

4 – On Linux you install software from software repositories, which contain only trusted software.

 

We are well into the 21st century, but it is astonishing how people can still believe that Linux-based operating systems are completely secure. Indeed, “Linux” and “security” are two words that you never see together.

 

Just as some people believe Macs are immune to viruses, some Linux users have the same misconception – and who can blame them? After all, vendors have been telling them that for years.

 

In 2012, after an exponential rise of OS X malware (such as MacDefender and Flashback), Apple decided to change its homepage by removing sentences like “It doesn’t get PC viruses.”

 

It doesn’t get PC viruses.

A Mac isn’t susceptible to the thousands of viruses plaguing Windows-based computers. That’s thanks to built-in defenses in Mac OS X that keep you safe, without any work on your part.

 

Only recently, Red Hat also decided to (finally) remove the label “virus-free” from the feature overview of Fedora Linux.

 

Virus- and Spyware-Free

No more antivirus and spyware hassles. Fedora is Linux-based and secure.

 

This is not to say don't use Linux, this is to say please be aware.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Conniff
Added last sentence

[Guest]

 

 

you should easily be able to run IE11

 

 

.

 

IE is ok for me also, used sometimes. with ad/tracking filtering (in addons) and flash off by default.

[law_abider]

i agree lubuntu is excellent.

[trebormoinet]

We are well into the 21st century, but it is astonishing how people can still believe that Linux-based operating systems are completely secure. Indeed, “Linux” and “security” are two words that you never see together.

 

Just as some people believe Macs are immune to viruses, some Linux users have the same misconception – and who can blame them? After all, vendors have been telling them that for years.

 

In 2012, after an exponential rise of OS X malware (such as MacDefender and Flashback), Apple decided to change its homepage by removing sentences like “It doesn’t get PC viruses.”

 

 

 

Only recently, Red Hat also decided to (finally) remove the label “virus-free” from the feature overview of Fedora Linux.

 

 

 

This is not to say don't use Linux, this is to say please be aware.

 

There is no such beast as absolute security, no one with any sense is saying Linux is immune to malware, the weakest link in the chain is the user on any operating system, but as an alternative light operating system that will bring new life to an old PC, lubuntu is an ideal, safe and secure choice amongst many others offered by the open source community.

 

 

"Indeed, “Linux” and “security” are two words that you never see together." now that is just plain wrong.

 

I am not getting into the Microshaft V Linux V Apple debate I am basing my opinion on 35 years working on all flavours of operating systems and over the years whenever I have converted someone over to Linux I never had them returning with a problem again apart from hardware, I could fix a window users PC and normally they would be back again within a month, sometimes the next day.

[brassnecked]

Lubuntu or Elementary OS are good choices for old XP boxes or laptops and are more user friendly than used to be the case as in like Windows, you don't have to use the Terminal or Command Line unless you want to.

[labrat]

linux isnt any more secure, to be honest unless they have improved since the last one i saw it was easier to bust the password on linux than on windows as you don't need any outside tools, whereas on windows Konboot or active password remover are your best friend

 

just been having a good poke around as i have piles of old computer parts but i dont think i have anything that might fit your system sorry

oldest ive got is a amd 64 chip.

got an old mainboard which still has a pentium D 820 in, its a bridge board so takes DDR1/DDR2 and has both a AGP and PCI-E slot on it but i dont know if it still works or not

[trebormoinet]

linux isnt any more secure, to be honest unless they have improved since the last one i saw it was easier to bust the password on linux than on windows as you don't need any outside tools, whereas on windows Konboot or active password remover are your best friend

Anyone with physical access to your PC it is game over regardless of operating systems.

 

Linux was built from the ground up with security in mind whereas security for Windows was an after thought.

 

Windows has progressed somewhat and is getting better security wise but it still has a long way to go to equal the security open source software offers, by its very nature of being closed source.

 

Still each to their own.

[Conniff]

The only reason that Linux has had less attacks it that there are not many using it so not worth the bother. Attacks are now taking place frequently mainly for the sheer hell of it but also to show that it is not as secure as those who claim it is try to put across.

 

Windows alone has 1.5 Billion users so it makes it worthwhile and more newsworthy.

 

Linux wasn't built with security in mind, in the days of beta Linux there wasn't the problems there are now and the internet was unheard of as a general consumer utility.

[trebormoinet]

Linux wasn't built with security in mind, in the days of beta Linux there wasn't the problems there are now and the internet was unheard of as a general consumer utility.

How long back in time do you think networks existed, you might be surprised.

You do realise the majority of the internet is run on open source software and thus is a prime target for attacks but we are still here. so it it is doing a pretty good job ya think ?

 

Regarding not being built with security in mind, are you attempting to rewrite history or you have access to a document which proves your point ?

[Conniff]

Linux was written with 'free' in mind, not security.

[trebormoinet]

Linux was written with 'free' in mind, not security.

I do not think you understand the word "Free" in open source, dig a little deeper.

 

It is the FREE-dom to read the source code and allow thousands of security experts review that code and make changes, that makes open source far more secure than a propitiatory closed source OS and applications that only a very few can review.

 

 

 

Can you really trust code you cannot read, who knows what backdoors and bugs lie in that bloated OS.

[Conniff]

Whatever.

[trebormoinet]

Whatever.

whatever

Used in an argument to admit that you are wrong without admitting it so the argument is over.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whatever

[Conniff]

Hello everybody out there using minix -

 

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).

 

I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them

 

Linus ([email protected])

 

I don't see anywhere it saying 'I'm building an os that everyone can add to'. I do, however, see where it says 'free'

[trebormoinet]

I don't see anywhere it saying 'I'm building an os that everyone can add to'. I do, however, see where it says 'free'

 

“Free software” means software that respects users' freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, “free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer”. We sometimes call it “libre software” to show we do not mean it is gratis."

 

This is what Linus meant by free, you obviously have your own definition.

[labrat]

Anyone with physical access to your PC it is game over regardless of operating systems.

 

Linux was built from the ground up with security in mind.

 

really? boot recovery mode. ls the usr directory to get username then one command to change password

 

i agree this anyone with physical access and its game over

 

did an experiment where I brought a "cleared" hard drive from cex within an hour got name address and family photos off it

[Conniff]

This is what Linus meant by free, you obviously have your own definition.

 

Of course he does, I should have realised you were there with him at the time so will know that. Well that certainly throws a different light on 'free' for me, I will never think of 0800 number in the same way ever again.