I can help if you upload a screenshot of your computer. Assuming you are using some version of Windows:
Click on "Start" then "All Programs"
Open the Accessories file, then open System Tools,
Then click on "SYSTEM INFORMATION"
That will bring up a page that shows all the basic hardware your machine is running
On that page, go to "Edit" and click on "Select All" then "Copy"
I've done that, and I can now paste my information here:
OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Version 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name SHARON-PC
System Manufacturer Gateway
System Model M-6322
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU T2370 @ 1.73GHz, 1733 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Gateway 91.22, 3/28/2008
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6001.18000"
User Name Sharon-PC\Sharon
Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 3.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 2.99 GB
Available Physical Memory 1.66 GB
Total Virtual Memory 6.18 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.82 GB
Page File Space 3.28 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
The most important thing is to check the SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS contained with your Wilcom literature against what your system has. The major points to note with a graphics-heavy program like digitizing software is the graphics accelerator (must have one) and the amount of RAM you machine has (that is the memory that holds bits of information while you are running a program). 512 megabytes would be the absolute minimum for any graphics program, and I would imagine anything less would make the program run so slow as to be worthless. Usually, if that is the problem, you can check with the manufacturer of your computer and they can tell you how to upgrade the memory--that is really, really simple and involves pushing a card in a slot inside the machine (you might have to remove what is there now). If your RAM cannot be upgraded, then a new machine is in order. If it can, upgrade it to the maximum amount that is possible (must be 1 gigabyte or more). Note my machine is using 3GB of RAM. My machine from 2001 had only 125 MB of RAM and is now a doorstop.
The other things that slow machines down are fragmented hard drives (the disk defragmenting software is under "Accessories" as well). It takestime to defragment a disk, but it pays off in the long run. Defragment every month to keep the speed up.
If you have been using the internet and downloading files without any form of anti-virus software, you probably have all kinds of things running on your machine that you don't even know about. Try holding down CTRL-ALT-DEL and bringing up the Task Manager--that will give you a list of programs your machine is currently running. You might be surprised to find a ton of spyware running. You can should download the freeware program Ad Aware for Lavasoft and run that to get rid of all the spyware that is likely slowing down your machine. Then you need to buy an anti-virus software. From several postings here and elsewhere (and from personal experience) don't buy Norton. I use McAfee and have had no major problems with it. The annual upgrades are less expensive than the first buy, but absolutely necessary if you want to keep your machine running.
Don't hesitate to email me if you have questions. It would help answer your basic question if you posted your system as I did if these suggestions don't help.
Sharon |