Browser for under resourced slow XP laptop

[Oscar]

Hi i currently have Internet Explorer 7 or 8 but keep getting messages that Microsoft were no longer supporting IE 8 and would have to update.

Is there a updated version of IE that is compatible with XP or a better browser for my slow under resourced laptop. I have tried Chrome which is slower then IE.

Thanks in advance

[jraju]

Hi, Just go to control panel ,  then go to system icon  and then select updates. It will show you any updates if needed and will automatically update if you are having internet connection. It will ask you to restart to complete the update process thats all. Internet explorer updates are done by window updates.

[Samson]

Give Firefox ESR a go. As well as running it on my 2 signature machines below, I also run it on a machine with a 1.2GHz Celeron and 512MB RAM @ 100MHz (Now that's what I call "under resourced"!  ).

The ESR (Extended Support Release) version does n't come with all the whistles and bells of the regular version, but does include all the security updates. I also use a little program called Speedyfox which helps too.

Firefox ESR here https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/

And Speedyfox http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/speedyfox.html

Hope that offers some help.

Samson.

[Shane]

I use firefox myself.

But the truth is, no matter what browser you go with they are going to be slower.

They all use to be really really fast. But they have all gotten bigger, bloated. Supporting new standards and new things. HTML5, java script, GPu drawing, games and the list goes on. This is why IE 8 feels faster to you, it doesnt handle crap so it doesnt have as much to do lol

They do this because they know machines can handle it now. But not the old ones. And so they all suffer because these browsers are using up the cpu and memory and now even the video like mad. Browsers are practically mini OS's now lol

But firefox is by far (At least I think) the most customizable. That means it is possible to speed it up like it use to be by disabling all the default crap. There are some guides and I think a few add ons that help with that.

Shane

[Oscar]

Hi all thank you

Which IE version is still supported for XP?

Firefox was suggested what is the difference between ESR and the other Firefox Shane suggested?

Thank again

[Samson]

I think IE8 is the last version supported by XP.

Firefox ESR is based on Firefox 24. It is a long term support version, meaning that any newer features (bloat) added after this version are not included, but security updates are. The other benefit of using the ESR version is that any add-ons that you have installed do not get broken every time that Firefox updates. Not always the case, but I have a few add-ons that seem to get broken after a Firefox update, which can be annoying and you then have to wait for a fix. As Shane pointed out, the reason I prefer Firefox is the ability to customize it to suit your personal preferences.

Samson.

[Oscar]

Hi thank you for your suggestions, i have downloaded Firefox ESR (the link that Samson posted).

A question is how do i speed it up now?

Thank you

[Oscar]

Hi can someone please help

I have Firefox ESR loaded but it wont play youtube, i have Adobe flash player 14 loaded
Also how do customize it for my situation where the computer is low resourced.

Thanks in advance

[Samson]

Check that Flash Player is installed and working correctly here:

http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html

To help speedup Firefox page loading times you may want to use Adblock Plus https://adblockplus.org/en/firefox

To release more resources from your PC try Shane's 2 great programs:

http://www.pcwintech.com/cleanmem

& http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/simple_system_tweaker.html

Samson.

[jraju]

Firefox may need active x update. Please download from this link
The link I provided was gleaned from http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html (scroll down) and will contain the links to the latest versions.  Get the Flash uninstaller from http://download.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/support/uninstall_flash_player.exe and run that during the uninstall before reinstalling.
               The uninstall will take less than a minute and reinstall takes a few minutes. It is my experience that i uninstall the adobe flash player and then reinstall the latest from the link i provided. I do not have any video problem in firefox.

[Samson]

Update:

I have recently ditched Adblock Plus in favour of Adguard Adblocker. I still use the EasyList subscription, and it works just as well, except that it uses far less memory than Adblock Plus did, maybe useful on a machine with low RAM. 

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adguard-adblocker/

Or, if you are really low on RAM, then try the MVPS Hosts file.

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

Samson.