But then again, SP2 is also even crappier for old software while SP1 allows you to keep playing old games without as much trouble.

Beleive me, I know...

For Some reason I thought it would make it slower, and I do have a copy of win xp sp3... so should i upgrade it without making it even slower?

about disableing applications I already disabled as many apps as possible (messenger, msn, explorer, windows media player ....)

right now it is working fine...little bit slow but fine...the thing is that when i received it did not have any antivirus or antimalware installed and it was working pretty fast. Then I installed avira and boclean (not many resources needed) but you can see the difference of performance. So if an antivirus is a must, I started thinking maybe I should change the OS. And here I am trying to get the best from the old laptop :embarassed:

maybe I should also ask if there are less resource-demanding but strong antiviruses, or is there a better, not so demanding confirguration for security.

From experience, installing "new" software in old PC and expecting the resource allocation to be "small" is a huge mistake. "New" software, especially those which got out after Vista came out, take for granted that you will be using a beast to run them. The definition of "minimal resource use" changed over time.

I've had software installed in my computer for years which simply refused to work when I updated their version. But they still updated their defintion files fine with the old version, without the need to update, and that without any problem.

If you wish to find the "optimal" performance then I suggest that you go look at oldversion.com for older version of the same programs.

beeeeep big mistake. service pack 2 with security leaks patched +even the default firewall equals no threats unless you download very suspicious files. viruses don't pop up for themselves (if you have security leaks closed), they install only after you manually open suspicious excutables or scripts.

i run without any antivirus. at first i had that basic microsoft preinstalled firewall but then after i closed all the holes i don't even use that one. it works like that for about 2 years now and recently i ran a virus scan just out of curiousity, 0 threads, 0 infectinos

for start, disable autoruns on all your drives with tweakUI (saves you a lot of trouble, believe me)

and close the most critical holes with windows worm hole cleaner

Since you're not using any specialized programs (Photoshop, etc.) just get a LiveCD of Ubuntu, Debian, or any other Linux distro.

Thanks a lot It seems reasonable and a very good option I think I will go for that one. BTW how did you make the virus scan after two years? online virus scan or just install a program and uninstall it?

i used this online free scanner by kaspersky lab (one of the best antiviruses, only nod can compete)

Ok, I am following Russ advices + using a users limited account and it is working pretty good.

Do you think I should get also a full recovery program? those programs that recover not only the system but also all your files and software and configuration as it was in case of any crash or virus?
Do you have any to recommend?( freeware please.:) as always)

for that i recommend using windows defualt recovery thingy

WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe

Yes I thougt the same but The main difference with other programs is that you can restore the system even before windows starts to load. with this windows system restore the best you can do is to go to safe mode at the beginning and restore the system from there... Am I right?